SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah State University's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football game against Howard University at 1 p.m. Saturday will be a homecoming for SSU tight end Kris Drummond and running back Chris Strong.
 
SSU (0-3, 0-1) will play Howard (2-1, 1-0) at 1 p.m. at Greene Stadium. The game will be radio broadcast on WHCJ 90.3 FM.
 
Drummond, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound sophomore, is a graduate of St. John's High School in Washington, D.C. Strong, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound sophomore, graduated from Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C.
 
“It means a lot,” Drummond said of the game. “My whole family is going to be out there so I have to shine. My mom, my grandma, my great-grandmother, my cousins, friends, family.”
 
SSU is coming off a 45-33 loss to North Carolina Central University last Saturday in both teams' MEAC opener.
 
“We saw what we did on the film (against NCCU) and I think we can improve a whole lot more this week,” said Drummond, who made three catches for 85 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles, and received honorable mention honors from College Football Performance Awards. “Our offense made plays though, so we'll be able to make even more.”
 
SSU produced a 14-3 lead against NCCU with 7:47 left before halftime, and the Tigers held a 14-10 halftime lead, but NCCU scored three consecutive touchdowns to end the third quarter and scored the first touchdown of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
 
“Everybody really wanted that game,” said SSU receiver Simon Heyward, who made seven catches for a single-game school-record 220 yards and a touchdown, and received honorable mention in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's weekly football awards Monday. “Everybody could have come back with their head down on Sunday but everybody came back ready to work. I was proud to see that, happy to see that. We're playing with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder going into Saturday.”
 
SSU left Savannah by bus at 1 p.m. Thursday. The Tigers, who usually have Mondays off, practiced Monday and made Thursday their day off in order to be in compliance with NCAA rules regarding practice hours.
 
“We're supposed to go do some sightseeing, historic sites,” Heyward said. “We're supposed to do a little sightseeing (Friday morning).”
 
Bison outlook
Howard is coming off a 37-36 overtime victory over defending MEAC champion Norfolk State on Sept. 15 in Norfolk, Va.
 
The Bison beat Morehouse, 30-29, in the AT&T Nation's Football Classic on Sept. 1 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Howard lost, 26-0, at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., on Sept. 8.
 
SSU is 0-5 in the series with Howard. The Bison won, 34-14, last season at T.A. Wright Stadium.
 
“Offensively, they're very well-coached,” SSU head coach Steve Davenport said. “They do a tremendous job up front. A Savannah State alum, Chennis Berry, does an outstanding job with the offensive line. I've been impressed with their scheme, offensively.
 
“Defensively, their linebacking corps is probably the best in the conference. They run around. (No.) 13, (Keith) Pough, is tremendous, probably and NFL kid. They've got a tremendous program. We've got an uphill climb but we'll get up there ready to go.”
After Heyward's record-setting performance against NCCU, opponents might start to double-cover him.
 
“We hope so,” Davenport said after Wednesday's practice. “You double-team him, you've got, from our perspective, you've really got to start dealing with (Dylan) Cook, who we think is really good. (Edward) Lackey, we think is really good. We don't know if he'll be able to go this week (back injury) but we think the other guys are pretty good, too.
 
“I think North Carolina Central was more worried about Lackey than they were about Simon. We feel good about all three of them and, hopefully, a double-team on one will open another one up or at least give him opportunities one-on-one, which is what you want. I'm not sure about (Howard's) approach, but we're going to try to get the ball in Simon's hands again."