By Noell Barnidge, Savannah Morning News
Savannah State's football team will play its first three home games, including today's 1 p.m. home opener against Johnson C. Smith, at Memorial Stadium because T.A. Wright Stadium is being renovated.
But the renovations don't stop there. SSU second-year coach Theo Lemon has spent this week's practices shuffling his roster and searching for playmakers after the Tigers' 47-7 loss at Morgan State last Thursday.
The most notable change for today's annual Joe Turner Classic is at running back, where freshman Antwan Edwards of Miami has replaced junior Reginald May of Macon as SSU's starting tailback.
"We're waiting for a guy who just makes that position his," Lemon said.
"We've got a stable right now. We're looking for a guy who just goes in there and really makes it happen. Right now, Antwan Edwards is the guy. It's his (job), and we'll see what happens at the end of this game."
Edwards ran for 13 yards on nine carries against MSU. May gained 8 yards on eight carries. Both performances were lackluster, along with senior fullback Jamie Beard's team-high 18 yards rushing on six carries.
SSU (0-1) ran for 29 yards without a touchdown on 32 carries compared to MSU's 233 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries.
"There are no excuses about (last) Thursday night," Lemon said.
But there is plenty of blame to go around. As Lemon told his team earlier this week, "If you want to blame someone, look in the mirror."
The Tigers were 1-for-13 (8 percent) on third-down conversions against MSU.
SSU gained 15 yards of total offense in the first half, and 140 yards of total offense in the game, compared to the Bears' 345 yards of total offense in the game.
Too many penalties in opener
SSU starting quarterback JaCorey Kilcrease, a sophomore, was 9-for-19 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once.
Backup quarterback Greg McCrary, a freshman, was 0-for-4 passing. He was intercepted twice.
"Our confidence right now is in JaCorey," Lemon said. "We don't have any qualms or any hesitation if we have to play McCrary. But right now, looking at the tape, JaCorey probably played the most, and he played the best."
SSU was penalized 10 times for minus-115 yards. It was better than MSU's 13 penalties for minus-149 yards, but it is unacceptable to Lemon.
"We had too many mistakes," Lemon said. "We had too many guys that were doing a lot of bone-headed things. And I hate to use that phrase, but that's all (the mistakes) are. When you beat yourself it hurts the whole team. Whether it's holding or jumping off-sides or flagrant fouls, we have to settle down and just play Tiger football."
Division II JCSU (1-0) beat NAIA school Edward Waters, 24-0, on Aug. 25.
Last season, JCSU beat SSU 27-6 during the Golden Bulls' Homecoming. The Tigers own a 3-1 series lead.
"We need this win," said SSU strong safety Antwan Allen, a sophomore from Miami who made a team-high 10 tackles last Thursday.
Golden Bulls third-year coach Daryl McNeill coached SSU to its last winning season, 7-4, in 1998. His assistants, Steven Aycock and Jonathan Kelly, played for him at SSU.
JCSU quarterback Carl Richardson was 9-for-21 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown against Edward Waters. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior was intercepted twice. The Golden Bulls managed 62 yards rushing without a touchdown.
"I think (JCSU) will try to run the ball first," Allen said. "But when they see that they don't have success at running the ball then they will go to the air."
Savannah State's football team will play its first three home games, including today's 1 p.m. home opener against Johnson C. Smith, at Memorial Stadium because T.A. Wright Stadium is being renovated.
But the renovations don't stop there. SSU second-year coach Theo Lemon has spent this week's practices shuffling his roster and searching for playmakers after the Tigers' 47-7 loss at Morgan State last Thursday.
The most notable change for today's annual Joe Turner Classic is at running back, where freshman Antwan Edwards of Miami has replaced junior Reginald May of Macon as SSU's starting tailback.
"We're waiting for a guy who just makes that position his," Lemon said.
"We've got a stable right now. We're looking for a guy who just goes in there and really makes it happen. Right now, Antwan Edwards is the guy. It's his (job), and we'll see what happens at the end of this game."
Edwards ran for 13 yards on nine carries against MSU. May gained 8 yards on eight carries. Both performances were lackluster, along with senior fullback Jamie Beard's team-high 18 yards rushing on six carries.
SSU (0-1) ran for 29 yards without a touchdown on 32 carries compared to MSU's 233 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries.
"There are no excuses about (last) Thursday night," Lemon said.
But there is plenty of blame to go around. As Lemon told his team earlier this week, "If you want to blame someone, look in the mirror."
The Tigers were 1-for-13 (8 percent) on third-down conversions against MSU.
SSU gained 15 yards of total offense in the first half, and 140 yards of total offense in the game, compared to the Bears' 345 yards of total offense in the game.
Too many penalties in opener
SSU starting quarterback JaCorey Kilcrease, a sophomore, was 9-for-19 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once.
Backup quarterback Greg McCrary, a freshman, was 0-for-4 passing. He was intercepted twice.
"Our confidence right now is in JaCorey," Lemon said. "We don't have any qualms or any hesitation if we have to play McCrary. But right now, looking at the tape, JaCorey probably played the most, and he played the best."
SSU was penalized 10 times for minus-115 yards. It was better than MSU's 13 penalties for minus-149 yards, but it is unacceptable to Lemon.
"We had too many mistakes," Lemon said. "We had too many guys that were doing a lot of bone-headed things. And I hate to use that phrase, but that's all (the mistakes) are. When you beat yourself it hurts the whole team. Whether it's holding or jumping off-sides or flagrant fouls, we have to settle down and just play Tiger football."
Division II JCSU (1-0) beat NAIA school Edward Waters, 24-0, on Aug. 25.
Last season, JCSU beat SSU 27-6 during the Golden Bulls' Homecoming. The Tigers own a 3-1 series lead.
"We need this win," said SSU strong safety Antwan Allen, a sophomore from Miami who made a team-high 10 tackles last Thursday.
Golden Bulls third-year coach Daryl McNeill coached SSU to its last winning season, 7-4, in 1998. His assistants, Steven Aycock and Jonathan Kelly, played for him at SSU.
JCSU quarterback Carl Richardson was 9-for-21 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown against Edward Waters. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior was intercepted twice. The Golden Bulls managed 62 yards rushing without a touchdown.
"I think (JCSU) will try to run the ball first," Allen said. "But when they see that they don't have success at running the ball then they will go to the air."
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