Courtesy of Savannah State AthleticsATLANTA, Ga. – Savannah State Football picked up their third consecutive win of the 2019 season, beating Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) foe Morehouse College 17-10 at B.T. Harvey Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday in front of 5,000 fans.
Historically, SSU ties the record at 15 wins apiece in the team’s 30th meeting.
After a thrilling back and forth to open the game, both teams settled into a defensive battle with SSU coming out on top behind a goal-line stand and a fortunate call.
Morehouse started a drive with 8 minutes to play in the game, trailing SSU 10-17. Late in the 6-minute drive, Michael Sims, coming in for starting quarterback Jalen Brown, hit Tremell Gooden for a 30-yard complete pass, putting the Maroon Tigers in the SSU red zone with minutes to spare.
Halfback Frank Bailey rushed for a 5-yard touchdown that would have potentially tied the game up with just minutes left. A costly penalty, however, on Morehouse cancelled the play and pushed them back to the SSU 15.
The Savannah State defense, who were stellar on the day, held the Maroon Tigers at bay to help SSU seal up the win the waning minutes.
The Tiger defense held Morehouse to 82 yards rushing but gave up 220 in passing. They also recorded two sacks and one interception for a touchdown. Morehouse racked up a total of 302 yards. The Tigers, on offense, had 158 yards rushing and 33 passing for a total of 191.
John Wilson led SSU’s defense on the day with 9 tackles. D’Angleo Durham and Quentavious Wilson led the Tiger offense with 66 and 51 rushing yards, respectively.
Brown led Morehouse’s effort in the air with 127 passing yards on 9 completions. Sims had 93 yards passing. On the ground, Santo Dunn led the Maroon Tigers with 51 rushing yards, followed by Bailey with 35.
Morehouse opened the first quarter strong, scoring on the game’s opening drive.
The Maroon Tigers pushed the chains slowly on a few rushes before Brown aired it out to Gooden for a 48-yard reception, setting Morehouse up in SSU’s red zone early on.
Bailey pounded in a 2-yard rush for six. After a good PAT, the Maroon Tigers took a 7-0 lead with 10:15 on the clock.
Savannah State struggled to get out of their own territory on their opening drive, despite several strong carries from Durham. With 3:10 left to play in the opening quarter, Morehouse’s Fernando Delamora drilled a 32-yard field goal to lift the home team to a 10-0 lead.
The Tigers, however, responded with seconds left in the first quarter. Wilson, a freshman who earned his first start this week, broke free around midfield for a 55-yard touchdown run, turning the offensive tide for SSU. With 41 seconds in the first quarter, SSU cut Morehouse’s lead to 10-7.
Early into the second quarter, Adorian Beach nabbed a quick interception and returned it 25-yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-10 lead with 14:50 on the clock.
SSU and Morehouse settled into a back and forth for most of the second quarter, as each offense struggled to get into the opposing red zone and a defensive battled ensued.
With 4 seconds until the half, Giovanni Lugo drilled a 27-yard field goal to give SSU a 17-10 lead into the locker room. It would be the final score of the game as both teams failed to put points up in the second half.
Savannah State downs Morehouse 17-10
