FAMU tops Savannah State, 19-14 for first win of season

Florida A&M (1-4, 1-1 MEAC) picked up its first win of the season with a 19-14 victory over Savannah State (1-3, 1-1 MEAC) before a crowd of 16,789 at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

The Rattlers scored on their first possession of the second quarter as they capped a five play, 66 yard drive when Ryan Stanley threw a screen pass to Tevin Spells and he ran 21 yards for a touchdown. Austin Miller converted the extra point and FAMU had a 7-0 lead with 11:31 on the clock.

The Tigers got on the scoreboard just before the first half closed.

With 7:25 remaining and starting at their own 26, SSU marched 74 yards on 13 plays. The result was a touchdown run by Nicholas Bentley with 1:43 left. Bentley carried four times on the drive for 25 yards.

John Barron nailed the extra point to tie the score.

SSU had the ball on the Rattlers 24 and a 12 yard reception by Tino Smith and a 11 yard run by Derek Kirkland gave the Tigers a first and goal at the one yard line to set up Bentley's touchdown.

FAMU took the ensuing kickoff and used 14 plays to score their second touchdown of the game as Spells operated out of the Wildcat formation and scored on a one yard run with six seconds on the clock. The extra point was blocked by SSU and FAMU led 13-7.

The Rattlers scored on their second series of the third quarter, going 85 yards in 10 plays as Hans Supre scored on a 10 yard run with 6:06 remaining. Once again, SSU blocked the extra point and the Rattlers led 19-7.

Savannah State closed their deficit to five when Bentley scored his second touchdown of the game on the Tigers next possession. Barron's extra point was good and SSU trailed 19-14 with 13:56 left in the contest.

On the drive, TJ Bell had a 13 yard run, Cantrell Frazier had a 12 yard run, Jeremiah Harris had a 14 yard run and Arshon Spaulding had a 10 yard run.

Both squads turned the ball over on their next possession.

FAMU drove to the SSU 23 but turned the ball over on downs when they failed to convert a fourth and three situation with less than ten minutes on the clock. Savannah State marched as far as the Rattler 11 before Bell had his pass intercepted by Jacques Bryant in the end zone with just under four minutes left.

The Rattlers turned the ball over on downs after getting as deep as the SSU 33 with 36 seconds left.

Facing a first and ten at their own 35, SSU's Blake Dever was sacked for a nine yard loss. On the following play, Dever's pass was incomplete and officials ruled it was intentional grounding and the game was declared over.

The Tigers fell to 1-3 with the loss while FAMU improved to 1-4. Both squads are 1-1 in the MEAC.

SSU had 16 first downs and 213 total yards. Florida A&M picked up 22 first downs and had 450 yards of offense. The Rattler also had nine penalties for 115 yards.

Bell had 48 yards rushing for the Tigers while passing for 32. Derek Kirkland had three receptions for 20 yards. Marcus Lee had eight tackles for the defense and four of Barron's punts landed inside the 20 yard line.

Supre ran for 93 yards for FAMU while Stanley passed for 230 and Brandon Norwood had 10 catches for 58 yards. Bryant had eight tackles for the defense.