Box Score TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- Savannah State had their best offensive performance of the season but could not take advantage of offensive mistakes by Florida A&M in a 24-14 lost to the Rattlers.
 
The crowd of 9,868 in Bragg Memorial Stadium saw the Tigers produce 362 yards of offense while the defense intercepted three passes and recover a fumble.
 
SSU scored on their second possession of the contest, driving 86 yards in 10 plays as Richard Williams scored on a nine-yard run with 3:21 left in the first quarter. John Barron kicked the extra point and the Tigers led 7-0. It was the first time all season that SSU led in a game.
 
A key play on the scoring drive was Williams running for 20 yards with the Tigers facing a third and 11 from their own 13.
 
Early in the second quarter, SSU's William Broadbent recovered a fumble at the FAMU 24. However, the Tigers stalled at the Florida A&M nine and Barron's 37 yard field attempt went wide left.
 
FAMU scored touchdowns on their next two series to grab a 14-7 advantage.
 
The teams traded interceptions on their next possessions as the Rattlers' Jules Dornevil picked off a pass by Savannah State quarterback Tino Smith at the SSU 20 and SSU's Stephen Reynolds intercepted a pass by Rattler signal caller Damien Fleming in the end zone.
 
The Rattlers scored a touchdown with six seconds left in the second quarter top increase their lead to 21-7.
 
FAMU (1-5, 1-1) kicked and recovered a onside kick at their own 46 with two seconds left on the clock. As time expired, SSU defensive back Jalen Bush intercepted Fleming's pass at the SSU 17.
 
Nobody scored in the third quarter but Wayne Johnson intercepted a pass for SSU and returned it 31 yards to the Florida A&M 33. The Tigers made it to the FAMU 12 but came away empty as Barron missed a 47 yard field goal attempt with 12:14 left.
 
In the final quarter, both teams scored points.
 
Smith threw a five-yard touchdown pass to wideout Derek Kirkland with 7:58 left in the game while Chase Varnadoe kicked a 40-yard field goal for FAMU with 1:16 remaining.
 
Savannah State's scoring drive went for 12 plays and 89 yards. During the drive, Smith threw two passes to Steven Hagan for 18 yards while Ker-Sean Wilson caught three passes for 44 yards.
 
For the game, Williams ran for 62 yards and a touchdown for Savannah State (0-6, 0-3) while Smith passed for 290 yards and a touchdown. Hagan caught eight passes for 60 yards while Wilson had five receptions for 80 yards. Marquis Smith led the defense with seven tackles and 1.5 tacks.
 
It was a career-high effort for Williams, Tino Smith, Hagan and Wilson.
 
Lemond Buice had 29 rushing yards for the Rattlers, Fleming passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns and Brandon Norwood caught three passes for 43 yards. Akil Blount had 12 tackles for the defense.Florida A&M had 390 yards of offense.
 
The FAMU defense had six sacks while the Tigers had five sacks.
 
Savannah State will host Bethune-Cookman on October 18 at Theodore Wright Stadium. The Wildcats (5-1, 2-0) are coming off a 49-12 Homecoming win over Howard.
 
MEAC Roundup
Florida A&M 24 Savannah State 14
Bethune-Cookman 49 Howard 12
North Carolina Central 48 South Carolina State 35
Delaware State 13 Norfolk State 10 (overtime)
North Carolina A&T 31 Hampton 14