Savannah State rallies to beat Howard 31-27

SAVANNAH, Georgia -- A football game that seemed to slip away from Savannah State on Saturday afternoon took an abrupt turn back into the win column.

Freshman quarterback T.J. Bell found Derek Kirkland on a short slant route in the end zone with 19 seconds left to give the Tigers an emotional 31-27 victory over Howard on homecoming at T.A. Wright Stadium.

The win gave a crowd of 8,119 — the largest home attendance for SSU since joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2011 — more reason to party.

The Tigers (2-4, 2-2 MEAC) have now won two games in a season for the first time 2009, and it’s the first time they’ve won two MEAC games in a season.

SSU also snapped a nine-game losing streak to Howard while beating the Bison for the first time.

A year ago, the Tigers lost to Howard 55-9.

And the Bison appeared to have SSU on the ropes again after quarterback Kalen Johnson threw a 37-yard TD pass to diving freshman Kyle Anthony for a 27-24 advantage with 5:17 to go.

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