SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Savannah State University did it again.
SSU defeated Delaware State University, 35-21, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday night, winning back-to-back games for the first time since last season when the Tigers beat Howard University and Norfolk State University.
A crowd of 2,371 at T.A. Wright Stadium watched as SSU (2-7 overall, 2-4 MEAC) never trailed against Delaware State (1-8, 1-5) and beat the Hornets for the first time in five attempts in the series.
"We played much better defense these last two weeks," said SSU second-year head coach Erik Raeburn, whose Tigers defeated Norfolk State, 27-9, last Saturday in Norfolk, Va. "I think that's been huge. We've done a better job of controlling the line of scrimmage with our young offensive line.
Today, we had some huge plays on special teams. A couple of bad plays, but we had some huge ones on special teams."
After playing three consecutive road games, SSU relished the opportunity to perform at home. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead when quarterback D'Vonn Gibbons ran for a 9-yard touchdown and Giovanni Lugo kicked the extra point with 8:29 left in the first quarter. Gibbons' touchdown run capped a 14-play, 84-yard drive and was made possible thanks to wide receiver Cameron White's acrobatic catch for a 23-yard gain to the Hornets' 9-yard line on fourth-and-6. White snared the ball and managed to get a foot down inbounds despite tight coverage.
"I feel very comfortable now," said Gibbons, who made his seventh collegiate start and finished 13-of-22 passing for 162 yards, a touchdown and one interception. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound freshman from Stone Mountain, ran 27 times for a game-high 126 yards and two touchdowns. "I've kind of gotten the speed of college and everything so it's just time to get better now."
On Delaware State's ensuing possession, SSU linebacker Isaiah Bennett intercepted Delaware State quarterback Keenan Black's pass attempt at the Tigers' 45-yard line.
SSU took over possession and Gibbons ran for a 25-yard gain to Delaware State's 30-yard line. On the next play, Gibbons connected with freshman wide receiver Elijah Shah for a 5-yard gain to the Hornets' 25-yard line but Shah fumbled after being hit by linebacker Devin Adams. Delaware State linebacker Moses Dupre recovered and returned the ball to SSU's 45-yard line.
Late in the first quarter, SSU defensive tackle Brandon Carswell sacked Delaware State's Black, and SSU defensive end Stefan Banks recovered at the Hornets' 39-yard line. Four plays later, Gibbons connected with White for a 39-yard touchdown and Lugo kicked the extra point to put SSU up 14-0 with 1:36 left in the first quarter.
"It was a bad snap," White said of SSU's second touchdown. "Our quarterback, I just kept running and he saw me. He threw it and I made a cut-back into the end zone."
White, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior from Atlanta, finished with three catches for a game-high 67 yards and a touchdown.
"Cam's a big target," Raeburn said. "He looks like he's about 6-foot-7 when he's really 6-4 or 6-5. Just a really tall, long-armed guy. As a quarterback, you've got a little more margin for error when you throw it up and he gets his hands on it. For most corners, he's a matchup nightmare."
Delaware State's Wisdom Nzidee attempted a 46-yard field goal with 13:15 remaining before halftime but the ball fell short.
With 5 minutes left before halftime, SSU linebacker Mekhi Cooper intercepted Black's pass attempt and returned the ball 6 yards to the Tigers' 41-yard line. Four plays later, SSU attempted to punt on fourth-and-9 from the Tigers' 42-yard line but SSU long snapper Raheem Coxfield's snap sailed past punter Chandler Williams. Coxfield recovered the ball at the Tigers' 6-yard line and Delaware State took over.
Two plays later, Delaware State's Black connected with wide receiver Trey Gross for a 5-yard touchdown and Nzidee kicked the extra point, cutting the score to 14-7 with 3:20 left before halftime.
Delaware State's Black finished 12-of-27 passing for 216 yards and three touchdowns. He threw four interceptions. Running back Nyfease West ran 14 times for a team-high 72 yards.
SSU went up 21-7 with 1:15 left before halftime thanks to Shah's 0-yard punt return. Delaware State's Fidel Romo-Martinez attempted to punt from deep in the Hornets' end zone but the ball struck one of his teammates on the rear end, and SSU's Shah scooped up the ball for a touchdown. Lugo kicked the extra point.
"We had them backed up on the 1-yard line so we went for the block," SSU's Raeburn said off the odd play. "We got good push and I think we actually pushed one of his blockers into him, and (the ball) ended up going off of his back, and Elijah got the ball."
Early in the third quarter, Delaware State's Black found Gross again, this time for a 25-yard touchdown, and Wisdom kicked the extra point to cut it to 21-14. The three-play drive covered 50 yards in 1:05.
SSU's JaMichael Baldwin, a freshman from Conyers, Ga., returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to Delaware State's 24-yard line. Four plays later, SSU made it 28-14 when Gibbons ran for an 8-yard touchdown, faking out Delaware State's Joshua Fala. Lugo kicked the extra point.
SSU's Lugo missed a 40-yard field goal attempt wide to the left with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
Delaware State cut it to 28-21 on Black's 40-yard touchdown pass to Taronn Selby with 4:19 to play in the game. Selby finished with four catches for 63 yards.
SSU's Baldwin returned the ensuing kickoff for a 70-yard touchdown, and Lugo kicked the extra point, giving the Tigers a 35-21 lead with 4:04 remaining.
"We played a little conservative, passing-wise," Raeburn said. "We just felt like we were playing, defensively, so well. I thought (Gibbons) had a good night. We could have been a little more aggressive and thrown more, particularly in the fourth quarter when they were selling out on the run. We could have made some more big plays in the passing game."
SSU running back Jaylen McCloud, a freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., ran for 92 yards on 19 carries.
SSU registered eight sacks for losses of 58 yards. The Tiger's Banks made seven tackles, including four sacks for losses of 25 yards. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound junior from Columbus, Ohio, also recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.
"He's as dominating as any defensive lineman in the league," Raeburn said of Banks. "Last year, he had a great year opposite Marquis (Smith), where teams couldn't really double him. This year, without Marquis, he's getting doubled. He's getting chipped by the tight ends and by running backs. But with the effort he plays with, he's still making plays. Our defensive coordinator is doing a great job making it hard for (offenses) to cover him. When I watch him play, the thing I appreciate the most is there is not a single second of practice where he does not go all out. I try to point it out to our younger guys all the time. He's played the best of anyone on our team all year, and it's because he's practiced the best of anyone on our team all year."
SSU freshman linebacker Jeremiah Bundrage also made seven tackles, including a sack. Carswell and junior linebacker Christian Guinn each forced fumbles. Bennett and Cooper each intercepted a pass. Guinn had two sacks. Carswell had a sack. Strong safety Donald Rutledge made three pass breakups for the Tigers, whom many critics said would finish the season winless.
"At Savannah State we're used to it," Banks said. "We're used to being the underdogs."
If the Tigers win their remaining two games against North Carolina A&T and South Carolina State, they would finish 4-4 in MEAC play.
"That's our goal now, just to finish the year strong," Banks said.
SSU next will travel to Greensboro, N.C., to play North Carolina A&T at 1 p.m. Saturday.
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