JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Charleston Southern football team rebounded well from an early Jacksonville touchdown, but could not get past the Dolphins and fell 37-30 in a hard-fought effort at D.B. Milne Field in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the setback, the CSU offense exploded for a season-high four touchdowns, including two from B.J. Hackworth. Quarterback Malcolm Dixon picked up his first passing and rushing touchdowns of the season with a 25-yard completion to Carson Leshin and a three-yard run. Andy Brown also added in a 22-yard field goal was 3-for-4 on PATs. Dixon and Teddy Allen became the Bucs' first 100-yard rushers of the season with 163 and 125 yards, respectively. Leshin was the top receiver of the day with 26 yards on two catches, while Nathan Perera had two catches for a total of 16 yards. CSU finished the afternoon with 411 yards on 69 offensive plays, including 327 yards on the ground. Dixon was 9-of-14 for 84 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was sacked four times on the day.

The Bucs were 4-of-4 on red zone scoring chances and 6-of-14 on third-down conversions. However, they were sloppy with penalties, picking up a total of 12 for 83 yards.

Charles James led the CSU defense with eight tackles and an interception on the day. Chris Kuzdale had seven tackles, and Will Hunt also had a superb effort with seven tackles, two sacks for a total of 10 yards, five tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and two quarterback hurries. Zac Johnston finished the day with two TFL and five total tackles, while Tanner Rogers had a rumble recovery and a tackle. Brown had a strong day on special teams with seven punts for 267 yards (38.1 yards per punt) - six of which landed inside the 20.

Jacksonville had 410 total yards on the day, with 230 in the air and 180 on the ground. Quarterback Josh McGregor was 14-for-31 with two touchdowns and an interception for 207 total yards. Quinton Davis had 100 receiving yards for the Dolphins with four catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Joshua Philpart had five catches for 72 yards with a touchdown, while Larry Thompson had two catches for 23 yards and also threw a 23 yard completion. J.J. Laster led the run with 128 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown while Keith Dawson picked up another 41 yards and a touchdown as well.

Mike Mayoral led all Dolphin players with eight total tackles, but it was Luidiji Michel who picked up two of JU's four sacks. Chance Smith had 2.5 tackles for a loss of seven yards, including a sack. Joe Barnett and Blythe Weaver each recorded a sack on the day.

The Dolphins' Colby Walden took the opening kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown; easily taking the 7-0 lead after the PAT by Bladen Gudz was good. The Buccaneers had no answer for the early attack, going three and out on their first possession.

With neither team making it out of their own territory on their next drives, the match up quickly turned to a defensive battle at mid field. Hunt was stellar early on, stopping a McGregror rush for no gain and tackling Dawson for a loss of a yard. He was also credited with a quarterback hurry on an incompletion by McGregor that ended Jacksonville's drive at its own 49-yard line.

The Bucs started the second quarter off with a sack of Dixon for a five yard loss, ending their drive at the JU 32-yard line. After a 29-yard punt by Brown, the Dolphins got the ball back at their own eight yard line. A big 43-yard completion from McGregor to Davis, combined with a 13-yard rush by J.J. Laster set up first and goal at the CSU two-yard line for the Dolphins. Hunt knocked JU back to the three-yard line before Charles James got his hands on a McGregor pass in the end zone for his second interception of the season which he took back 25 yards to the CSU 25-yard line. However, James' stellar play was negated by a CSU fumble at the 30-yard line that gave the ball back to Jacksonville at the Charleston Southern 21-yard line.

JU made quick work of the short field, with three straight carries by Dawson for a pickup of 20 yards. After a short time out, Dawson made it the final yard into the end zone for the score. Gudz's kick was good to give the Dolphins the 14-0 advantage with 6:31 to go in the first half.

The Bucs picked up two early penalties on the ensuing drive, but were still able to get the first down on a three-yard rush by Hackworth. Dixon did most of the legwork for the rest of the drive, making it down to the JU 41-yard line before getting eight more yards on a completion to Carson Leshin. Leshin's catch would come up a yard short, forcing Brown to punt it away.

Jacksonville took over at its own 18-yard line, but Davis was quickly chased back to his own 13-yard line by Hunt. Hunt continued his perseverance on the next play, chasing Davis back another seven yards before forcing a fumble on the sack. Tanner Rogers recovered the ball for the Bucs at the Jacksonville six-yard line, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Hackworth to put CSU on the board down 14-7 after Brown's PAT with just under a minute to go in the first half.

A false start penalty forced the Bucs to repeat the kickoff, with Pryor's second attempt going for 45 yards. McGregor made completions to Philpart and Davis to put the Dolphins at the CSU 22-yard line. With the clock dwindling down, the Dolphins attempted a field goal with four seconds to go. Stubbs' 46-yard attempt went wide right, keeping the score at 14-7 in favor of JU at the half.

Dixon was sacked twice on the first drive of the second half, forcing the Bucs to punt the ball away. Mike DeTerlizzi's tackle on the return stopped Thompson for a loss of a yard as Jacksonville took over at its own 39-yard line. Laster rushed twice early on to pick up 17 yards before a pass interference penalty gave JU the first down at the CSU 38-yard line. McGregor ran 13 yards for another first down at the CSU 24, but could not connect with Philpart of Thompson on two consecutive attempts. The Dolphins were instead forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Gudz, taking a 17-7 lead with 8:26 to go in the third quarter.

A huge 46-yard run by Dixon started the next drive off of the right foot and kept going as Allen was able to pick up 21 yards on the ground as well. The Bucs were able to cap things off with a 12-yard touchdown run by Hackworth, who scored his second touchdown of the day. A failed extra point kept the score at 17-13 in favor of the Dolphins.

Jacksonville had no answer to the Bucs' momentum, going three-and-out on their next drive. CSU kept things going with an early 11-yard completion to Nathan Perera for the first down. After a few miscues that included a fumble and a false start, the Bucs continued on with a 12-yard catch by Kevin Glears to bring them to their own 35-yard line. Dixon picked up the first down on the ground before Allen picked up another 17 to take the Bucs to the JU 40-yard line. A pass interference call on the Dolphins brought the Bucs to the JU 25 Dixon completed a 25-yard pass to Leshin for the touchdown. Brown's kick was good to give the Bucs their first lead of the day at 20-17 with 2:13 to go in the third quarter.

The Dolphins struck with a 43-yard kickoff return to start their drive at the CSU 39. Thompson threw a 23-yard pass to Philpart to pick up the first down at the CSU 16-yard line before Laster had back-to-back carries of eight yards apiece for the touchdown. The extra point gave the Dolphins the 24-20 lead with just under a minute to go in the third quarter.

Charleston Southern got the ball on its own 36-yard line after a 27-yard kick return by Estevan Cintron. Allen and Dixon rushed for seven and eight yards, respectively, before Perera picked up the first down with a five-yard catch at the JU 44. Allen picked up another first down on back-to-back carries, with Dixon picking up another on a 15-yard run to the Jacksonville 14-yard line. A presumed touchdown pass by the Bucs was negated by an ineligible receiver penalty, forcing the Bucs to try again. Perera caught what was presumed to be another touchdown pass, but the officials ruled he did not have control of the ball before going out of bands and ruled it an incompletion. CSU was forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Brown, putting the score at 24-23 in favor of JU with 11:13 to go in the fourth quarter.

A 41-yard kickoff return, combined with an illegal procedure penalty on CSU, gave the Dolphins a short field to work with as they started the drive at the CSU 39-yard line. The Dolphins quickly made work of the short field, picking up the first down on a 10-yard rush by Dawson. A four-yard carry by Laster meant a first down for the Dolphins at the CSU 19 and a 15-yard throw to Philpart gave the Dolphins the touchdown. Gudz missed the extra point, putting the score at 30-23 in favor of the Dolphins with 8:44 to go in the game.

The Bucs quickly struck back with a touchdown drive of their own. Dixon crossed into JU territory on a six-yard rush before a 47-yard run by Allen brought them down to the Jacksonville three-yard line. Dixon finished of the drive with a three-yard touchdown run which, combined with Brown's PAT, tied things up at 30-30 with 6:57 to go in the fourth quarter.

However, the Dolphins also kept the momentum going with a 61-yard touchdown drive. A 15-yard completion to Philpart brought the Dolphins into CSU territory. After back-to-back carries by Laster, McGregor threw a 42-yard pass to Davis for the touchdown. Gudz's kick put the Dolphins ahead 37-30 with just over four minutes to go in the game.

A personal foul on Jacksonville was enforced on the kickoff, but the Bucs still took over on their own side of the field. Dixon picked up the first down on a 10-yard carry, but couldn't keep things going as the Bucs were forced to punt it away.

Jacksonville picked up the first down right off the bat on a 1-yard run by Laster. The CSU defense stood strong after that, allowing just nine more yards on the drive and getting the ball back at their own 26-yard line after a seven-yard return by James. The Bucs had 1:15 to make it down the field, and started off with a nine-yard run by Dixon. A holding penalty on JU gave CSU the first down, but the Dolphins would negate the yardage with a nine-yard sack of Dixon. A final attempt by Dixon would be intercepted by Colby Walden at the JU 31-yard line, ending all hopes of a CSU comeback as they took the 37-30 loss.

The Buccaneers will return to Charleston on Saturday to kick off their home schedule when they host Norfolk State at Buccaneer Stadium. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.