Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. - North Carolina A&T's Tarik Cohen ran for 115 yards and three third-quarter touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a 34-0 victory over Savannah State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday at T.A. Wright Stadium.
 
A crowd of 1,656 watched as SSU was shut out for the first time since Sept. 8, 2012, when it lost 55-0 to Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. It also marked the first time the Tigers were shut out by a MEAC team since becoming an official member of the conference in 2011.
 
SSU (0-11 overall, 0-8 MEAC) trailed 10-0 at halftime but N.C. A&T (9-2, 6-1 MEAC) reeled off three touchdown runs of 17, 2 and 54 yards, all by Cohen, in the third quarter to seal its victory and take over sole possession of first place in the MEAC.
 
"We've just got to get stronger," SSU head coach Earnest Wilson III said. "We've got to get physically stronger. We've got to get mentally stronger."
 
With the game scoreless and 12:17 left in the second quarter, SSU's John Barron attempted a 32-yard field goal but it was blocked by N.C. A&T's Marquis Ragland. N.C. A&T on its ensuing possession capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with Kwashaun Quick's 17-yard touchdown pass to Dequan Swann with 7:07 left before halftime. Cody Jones kicked the first of his four extra points for a 7-0 lead.
 
Jones' 33-yard field goal with 1:55 left in the second quarter gave N.C. A&T a 10-0 lead it took into halftime. The Aggies limited SSU to minus-9 yards rushing on 18 carries in the first half. Meanwhile, N.C. A&T ran for 57 yards on 14 carries in the first half.
 
"We have got to play four quarters of football," Wilson said. "I just don't think our kids are focused. It's like they play hard for a half and then in the third or fourth quarter their minds start wandering."
 
In the third quarter, Cohen's 17-yard touchdown run gave N.C. A&T a 17-0 lead. Four plays later, SSU's Anthony Smith ran for a 13-yard loss before fumbling. N.C. A&T's Jerome Beatty recovered the ball at SSU's 12-yard line, setting up Cohen's 2-yard touchdown run five plays later that put the Aggies ahead 24-0 with 11:09 left in the third quarter.
 
Cohen's 54-yard touchdown run capped a one-play, 54-yard scoring drive and gave N.C. A&T a 31-0 lead with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.
 
"Our job was to stop him and we didn't do it," Wilson said of Cohen, a 5-foot-6, 172-pound sophomore from Bunn, N.C.
 
SSU also struggled to slow down Quick, who finished 9-of-18 passing for 135 yards, including the 17-yard touchdown pass to Swann. Quick was intercepted twice by SSU's Wayne Johnson and Alfred Ansley, both in the first quarter. Quick ran for 58 yards on 10 carries. He lost one fumble, which was recovered by SSU's Justin Dixon.
 
SSU's Prunty, who started the game at quarterback, finished 11-of-30 passing for 119 yards. He was intercepted twice by D'Vonte Grant (game-high 11 tackles, including three sacks) and Donald Mattocks. Prunty lost one fumble, which was recovered by Ragland. SSU's Tino Smith finished 7-of-12 passing for 54 yards without an interception.
 
"When we come out in the second half, we've got to come out with that fire," Prunty said. "We come out sluggish and that's the result of it. We're trying to get to the bottom of it. We come out battling in the beginning of games but we don't finish. At the beginning of the year, we were coming out sluggish and finishing at the end of games."
 
SSU finished the game with 32 carries for minus-8 yards, while N.C. A&T ran for 224 yards on 39 carries. Leonardo Myers made a team-high nine tackles for SSU.
N.C. A&T made it 34-0 thank to Jones' 27-yard field goal with 9:55 to play in the game, the final home game for SSU's seniors.
 
SSU's season finale is at 3 p.m. Saturday against Football Bowl Subdivision member Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.