Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. - Florida A&M scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and held on for a 27-14 victory over Savannah State on Saturday night at T.A. Wright Stadium.

A crowd of 5,620 watched as FAMU snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 2-4 overall, 1-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. SSU fell to 1-6, 0-3.

"We came out and played flat," SSU first-year head coach Earnest Wilson III said. "We had some new guys starting. I don't know if the chemistry wasn't there but they seemed like they were flat.

"I think everything's a learning stage for these guys. Once we get to one plateau, we seem to feel like maybe we've arrived. And I think that's been a problem. And so they were feeling pretty good about themselves but they weren't doing what they were supposed to do. I think that's why we came out flat. Give credit to Florida A&M. They did a great job."

FAMU tailback Lemond Buice ran for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Rattlers a 6-0 lead with 7 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter. Chase Varnadore missed the extra point. Buice's touchdown capped an eight-play, 48-yard drive.

SSU punted during its ensuing possession and FAMU's Devonte Johnson returned the ball for a 63-yard touchdown. Varnadore kicked the extra point to make it 13-0 with 5:23 left in the first quarter.

"On both sides of the ball, I thought we did an excellent job of just getting a body on a body," FAMU first-year head coach Earl Holmes said. "We started fast. And that's what you've got to do."

With 12:53 left in the second quarter, the Rattlers made it 20-0 on quarterback Damien Fleming's 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Casey Glines. Varnadore kicked the extra point. Glines, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound redshirt junior, out-jumped SSU cornerback John Wilson, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior, in the end zone. Glines tipped the ball before falling on his back and the ball dropped onto his chest.

SSU did not earn a first down until starting quarterback Antonio Bostick ran for 19 yards with 12:38 left in the second quarter. But the Tigers eventually punted and the Rattlers gained possession.

FAMU's drive ended when SSU linebacker Marquis Smith intercepted Fleming's pass and returned the ball for a 46-yard touchdown with 6:13 left before halftime. Preston McCarthy kicked the extra point, cutting the Rattlers' lead to 20-7, which stood at halftime.

"I just got back in coverage and he threw it in my zone, and I picked it off," said Smith, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound freshman who finished with nine tackles, including a sack.

During a scoreless third quarter, Bostick made his longest throw of the game, a 31-yard strike to wide receiver Jeremy Moore that moved SSU to FAMU's 10-yard line. But the drive stalled when Bostick threw an incomplete pass and ran for 3 yards before injuring his left (non-throwing) hand. Bostick was replaced by redshirt freshman Leon Prunty, who threw an incompletion.

Preston McCarthy missed a 24-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the third quarter. McCarthy, a junior, was kicking in place of freshman John Barron, who is injured.

FAMU made it 27-7 when Fleming threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lenworth Lennon in the back of the end zone and Varnadore kicked the extra point with 2:57 to play in the game.

SSU's Bostick returned at quarterback with 2:42 remaining, wearing a glove on his left hand. Wilson said Bostick "cut it open" and required stitches. Bostick engineered a six-play, 41-yard scoring drive that was capped by his 7-yard touchdown pass to DeQuan Daniels with 39.5 seconds left. McCarthy kicked the extra point, making it 27-14.

"Savannah's a good football team," said FAMU's Holmes, a Tallahassee, Fla., native who was a star linebacker for the Rattlers before a 10-year career in the NFL, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We beat a good football team today."

FAMU ran for 179 yards on 45 carries compared to SSU's 37 yards on 23 carries. Fleming, the Rattlers' leading rusher with 59 yards on nine carries, finished 11-of-18 passing for 110 yards and two touchdowns to go with an interception.

SSU's Bostick finished 15-of-22 passing for 99 yards, including a touchdown. Prunty was 4-of-11 passing for 44 yards. Neither Tigers quarterback threw an interception but both were sacked a combined seven times.

Simon Heyward made a team-high five catches for 17 yards. Moore had two catches for a team-high 46 yards.

SSU linebacker Justin Dixon made a game-high 13 tackles.

"We did a good job but we didn't do good enough," said Dixon, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound sophomore. "If they don't score any points, we win the game. The fact that they outscored us, that's on us. Point-blank. Period."