Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. - When it was over, Savannah State quarterback Antonio Bostick and offensive coordinator Terance Mathis shared a long embrace. It was a poignant moment amid the celebration that ensued following SSU's 42-35 victory over Edward Waters College on Saturday.
 
A Homecoming crowd of 4,269 at T.A. Wright Stadium cheered as Savannah State (1-6) snapped its 13-game losing streak, which was the longest in the Football Championship Subdivision dating to last season. The Tigers also won for the first time since T.A. Wright Stadium was reconstructed.
 
“I think the one thing you'll recognize amongst our coaching staff and the players is that there's a genuine love for each other,” said SSU second-year head coach Steve Davenport, who hugged kicker Preston McCarthy 20 yards away from Bostick and Mathis. “And Terance is one of the most emotional coaches we've got. Obviously, with the lack of points that we've scored, he's taken some heat around here. And so has Antonio in the years that he's been here. I bet it was poignant. I wish I had seen it. They had a really good game tonight. Made some crucial calls on that last drive and I was proud of both of them.”
 
SSU scored a season-high 42 points to beat its Homecoming nemesis Edward Waters (4-4), an NAIA team from Jacksonville, Fla., that spoiled SSU's Homecoming with victories in 2007 (24-7) and 2003 (34-28).
 
Bostick threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns, to lead SSU to its first victory since Sept. 24, 2011, when the Tigers beat North Carolina Central, 33-30, in Durham, N.C., in both teams' first game as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference members.
 
In 2010, SSU beat North Carolina Central, 28-21. The game was played at Savannah's Memorial Stadium because T.A. Wright Stadium was being reconstructed. SSU's victory Saturday was its first on campus since Oct. 31, 2009, when the Tigers beat Edward Waters, 45-24.
 
“He believes in me in every situation,” Bostick said of Mathis, a former star wide receiver for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. “He puts me in every situation to be successful, and he did that tonight. I'm just thankful for everything he does for me. He's like a father to me out there on the field. We have this communication, this brotherhood, that no one else can take away. And that's what you want between your offensive coordinator and your quarterback.”
 
The communication between Bostick and wide receiver Simon Heyward was equally as good. Heyward made six catches for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
“Simon, he's a very explosive player. He's a playmaker. That's what he is,” Bostick said. “All I've got to do is be a game manager and give him the ball. You give your playmakers the ball.”
 
Said Heyward, “We just dug deep because last year we lost Homecoming and everybody felt kind of bad. We didn't want to do it again.”
 
SSU's first drive of the game ended when Bostick was intercepted by defensive back Kevin Hutchings, who returned the ball 13 yards to SSU's 27-yard line. Edward Waters, using its triple-option attack, scored two plays later when A-back Ray Dukes ran untouched into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. Jerry Martin kicked the first of his five extra points and Edward Waters led, 7-0, with 13:29 left in the first quarter.
 
Bostick regrouped and on SSU's next possession he led the Tigers on a four-play, 67-yard scoring drive that was capped by his 50-yard touchdown pass to Heyward with 11:44 left in the first quarter. McCarthy kicked the first of his six extra points, tying the game at 7.
 
Edward Waters responded with an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive that ended with quarterback Brandon Turman's 13-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7 with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter.
 
SSU answered on its ensuing possession with a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was capped by Bostick's 14-yard touchdown pass to Heyward, tying the game at 14 with 2:06 left in the first quarter. Wide receiver Dylan Cook made four catches during the drive, including three acrobatic receptions for gains of 25, 15 and 17 yards.
 
Edward Waters' first drive of the second quarter ended when SSU's defense stopped Edward Waters at SSU's 9-yard line. SSU's Bostick engineered a seven-play, 91-yard scoring drive that ended with his 26-yard touchdown run, which was made possible thanks to a nifty spin move he made before diving into the end zone to give SSU its first lead, 21-14.
 
Edward Waters rallied to tie the game at 21 on its next drive when Dukes ran for a 3-yard touchdown to cap a 16-play, 66-yard drive.
 
SSU responded on its next drive, going 72 yards in 10 plays to take a 28-21 lead when Bostick threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to running back Sheldon Barnes with 15 seconds left before halftime.
 
The first half was wildly entertaining, as both teams matched each other seemingly drive for drive. Edward Waters finished the game with 257 yards rushing but only 72 in the second half. It was a major improvement for an SSU defense that entered the game ranked No. 119 out of 121 FCS teams in rushing defense, giving up 316.8 yards rushing per game.
 
“(Edward Waters') offense is so, so tricky,” SSU's Davenport said. “If I knew how to run it, I'd run it. I've never had a lot of success defending it. But the people that run it well have a lot of success with it and I respect it tremendously. It requires that you play disciplined. The first time you lose your lane or assignment, they hit you really deep on it. We knew we would struggle early.
 
“Your scout team can't simulate in practice the efficiency they run it with. So we knew we'd struggle early with it. We got in at halftime and talked about 'Hey, we've seen it. Now let's go out and play as well as we can play.' And I thought we played better in the second half.”
 
In the third quarter, Edward Waters linebacker Bernard Dawson stripped the ball from SSU wide receiver Roosevelt Isom after a catch. Six plays later, Edward Waters' Turman ran for an 8-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28 with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
 
With 3:40 left in the third quarter, Edward Waters drove to SSU's 44-yard line but SSU nose tackle Terrance Williams forced Edward Waters B-back Cleve Williams to fumble and Williams recovered the ball. Three plays later, Bostick threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Heyward to give SSU a 35-28 lead with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
 
“The defense came together as one,” said SSU defensive end Micah Blount, who celebrated his 21^st birthday by making 10 tackles, three behind SSU linebacker Travis Alston's 13 tackles. “Finally played a full game together. We just came through. We had a good game. We were getting beat with the dive, so we just tried to key on the dive. Once we stopped the run we were able to stop the pass, too. In the second half, we had seen it enough that we were able to key in on what was going on.”
 
In the fourth quarter, Edward Waters backup quarterback Reymond Berhane, lined up at halfback, took a pitch and threw a pass that was intercepted by SSU cornerback John Wilson. Bostick engineered an eight-play, 54-yard scoring drive that ended with his 13-yard touchdown run that extended SSU's lead to 42-28 with 11:45 to play.
 
Edward Waters cut the score to 42-35 when Turman ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:44 remaining.
 
SSU sealed its victory by producing a 10-play, 63-yard drive that consumed the game's final 5:44.
 
“It feels good,” Bostick said. “We were 0-6. Edward Waters gave us a scare for a minute there but we hung in tough. We hung in tough and we got the win. And that's the most important thing. Now we've just got to capitalize on this and get ready for Hampton.”
SSU will play Hampton University at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 in Hampton, Va.
 
“It feels good,” Davenport said. “And you want that for your kids. They work as hard as any kids in the country. And it was just a shame that we hadn't had an opportunity to be celebratory at home. So you feel good for them. But now it's on to the next one. That's the nature of the business. We'll celebrate, especially on Homecoming. We'll celebrate this one and tomorrow start getting ready for Hampton.”