BATON ROUGE, La.- Savannah State University opened their season with a 42-10 setback to Southern University in the Pete Richardson Classic on September 7, 2024.

The first ever meeting between the teams drew 15,267 fans at A. W. Mumford Stadium.

It was a cat fight between the Division II Tigers from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Jaguars, who compete in the FCS, from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.


The Tigers had a three and out on their first possession while Southern was able to march to the SSU 40 on their opening series before Noah Bodden had his pass intercepted by Savannah State defensive back Deandre Creary at the Jaguar 45.

Midway in the first quarter, Southern drove deep into SSU territory but could only get as far as the 16. That set up a 44-yard field goal by Joshua Griffin which gave the Jaguars a 3-0 lead with 2:55 showing on the clock.

Savannah State answered on their next possession as quarterback Jadon Adams took a busted play and raced around the left side and down the sidelines untouched for a 81-yard touchdown. Jimmy Mal's extra point kick was good and SSU led 7-3, with 1:52 left in the quarter.

The Jaguars added 13 points in the second quarter and took a 16-7 lead into the half.

Southern had the ball first in the third quarter and made their way to the SSU 18 before stalling. A 45-yard field goal attempt by Griffin was blocked by Dreshawn Dawkins and picked up by Elijah Norwood who returned it 43-yards to the Jaguar 20-yard line.

Savannah State could only get to the 16 but that set up a 33-yard field goal by Mal with 6:10 left in the third quarter to pull the Tigers within 16-10.

The Jaguars added a touchdown with 3:35 left left in the third quarter to expand their lead to 23-10 and then scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to seal their victory.

SSU's defense harassed Southern all night but depth and injuries came into play in the second half. The Savannah State offense never could find their groove and was limited to just one first down and held to to just 65 yards, during the contest.

The Tigers had 50 passing yards and only 15 on the ground while Southern put up 554-yards of offense on the night.

Savannah State drew six penalties for 40-yards and the Jaguars were flagged eight times for 71-yards.

Adams completed 7 of his 16 passing attempts for 15-yards while he was able to run seven times for a game-high 81-yards. Da'Shun Mitchell had one reception for eight yards for the Tigers.

Defensively, Tavare Brewton and Louisville transfer Darrian Bell had nine tackles each for SSU. Bell, John "Wesley" Bentley and Nathaniel Chisholm all had one sack for the Tigers.

Czavian Teasett came off the bench to lead Southern (1-1) with 316 passing yards and had touchdown passes of 38, 31 and 33 yards.

Savannah State will play their home and conference opener on September 14 at 6 p.m. at Ted Wright Stadium against Central State University (0-2).