SAVANNAH, Ga.- Devin Dominguez caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chris Mitchell with 10:08 remaining in the game and the Alabama State defense held off a late rally by Savannah State to win the 16th Annual Joe Turner Classic 20-17 at T. A. Wright Stadium.

It was the 2009 SSU home opener.

The win keeps ASU undefeated at 2-0 while the Tigers fall to 1-1.

During the pre-game ceremony, Doreen Crawford Holmes, a 1965 graduate of Tompkins High School, was awarded the Joe Turner Classic Merit Award.

The crowd of 5,947 saw SSU score on their second possession as Kurvin Curry threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Deron Talley to complete a eight-play, 41-yard drive. Derek Williams kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 4:39 on the clock. The drive was set up by a 38-yard punt return by Deleon Hollinger. Key plays on the drive was a 11-yard run by Curry and a 10-yard reception by Hollinger.

Alabama State opened the second quarter with Jake King kicking a 39-yard field goal to cap a 50-yard drive with 14:54 on the clock. The Hornets drove to the SSU 13 but Chris Reed and Sadrak JeanBaptiste sacked the ASU quarterback for a four-yard loss.

SSU's next possession was short-lived as the Hornets' Adrian Hardy intercepted a pass and returned it 17 yards to the SSU eight.

The Tigers played good defense as they stopped a run for a three-yard loss. A Alabama State fumble knocked the Hornets back to the 21 but on the next play Mitchell tossed a 21-yard touchdown to Darius Mathis. King's extra point was good with 11:50 left and ASU was ahead 10-7.

Savannah State re-gained the lead on their next possession when Curry scored on a four-yard run with 9:04 on the clock. Williams extra point gave the Tigers a 14-10 advantage. Key plays on the eight-play, 78-yard drive were pass completions to Hollinger (11-yards) and Byron Leggett (24-yards).

Alabama State fumbled on their next possession. SSU defensive lineman LaDarien Redfield forced and recovered the ball at the ASU 20. The Tigers drove to the ASU one but was unable to reach the end zone and had to settle on a 18-yard field goal from Williams. Justin Babb had a 13-yard run during the drive. Another key play was a roughing the kicker call on ASU after Williams missed a field goal attempt.

With 4:50 left before the half, Savannah State led 17-10.

Alabama State closed out the field half scoring when King booted a 32-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining to cut Savannah State's lead to 17-13.

After a scoreless third period, ASU scored the eventual game winner on Mitchell's 20-yard pass to Dominguez with 10:08 remaining.

SSU drove deep into Hornet's territory on their next two possessions but came up empty as Williams missed a pair of field goal attempts.

Williams missed a 36-yard attempt with 6:39 left and missed a 42-yard attempt with 4;04 remaining.

Curry led SSU with 159 yards passing and one touchdown. Babb ran for 78 yards and Leggett caught three passes for 78 yards. Antwan Allen, who was named the Joe Turner Classic Defensive MVP, had a game-high 10 tackles.

Rahmod led ASU with 36-yards on the ground and Nicholas Andrew caught nine passes for 124-yards. Mitchell, the Joe Turner Classic Offensive MVP, passed for 227-yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Burney led the defense with seven tackles.