SAVANNAH, Ga.- Most coaches will say that the biggest improvements are made between the first and second games.

For Savannah State, that was a true statement as Savannah State put together a solid offensive and defensive effort in their 13-0 win over Shorter on Saturday night at Theodore A. Wright Stadium before a crowd of 3,020.

Head coach Aaron Kelton was proud of his team sticking to the game plan which resulted in a win. "Coming in we made some adjustments and if we limited our mistake we would have a chance."

SSU entered the game coming off of a 41-14 setback to Edward Waters a week earlier.

The Tigers had 323 yards of offense while the defense held Shorter to just one rushing yard.

It was the first shutout for a SSU defense since a 24-0 win over Edward Waters in 2021.

Savannah State took a 3-0 lead into the half against Shorter, thanks to a 23-yard field goal by Jimmy Tran with 3:46 left in the second quarter.

Early in the third quarter, Cinsere Clark caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Christian Burks and the Tigers put the game away with 9:47 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Tran.

SSU drove to the Hawks 35 on their first possession but turned the ball over on downs.

Late in the first quarter, Gary Davis, Jr. sacked the Shorter quarterback and it was recovered by John "Wesley" Bentley at the Hawks 32. SSU drove to the Shorter 27 but once again came away empty with Tran missing a 37-yard field goal attempt.

Midway in the second quarter, the Tigers started a drive at their own 39 that resulted in a 23-yard field goal by Tran.

During the drive, that stalled at the Shorter 13, David Gardner, Jr. ran the ball three times for 35 yards and Burks completed a pass to tight end Arik Gilbert for 12 yards.

On SSU's final drive of the first half, the Tigers drove to the Shorter 14 but came away with no points when Tran missed a 24-yard field goal attempt. 

By halftime, Shorter only had 53 yards of offense and had seven penalties for 56 yards.

Savannah State scored on their opening drive of the third quarter on Clark's touchdown catch. During the drive, Jadon Adams had a 13-yard reception and Joseph Hampton ran the ball three times for 21 yards.

Shorter drove to the SSU 27 on their next possession but a ten yard sack by Darrian Bell halted any chances of the Hawks putting any points on the scoreboard.

The Tigers took over and made their way to the Shorter 26 but turned the ball over on downs, with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

Savannah State basically put the game away on their first drive of the fourth quarter that ended with a Tran field goal.

Key plays on the drive was a 12-yard run by Burks, a 19-yard run by Hampton and a nine yard reception by Gilbert.

The Tigers had a balanced offensive attack, ending the game with 188 passing yards and 135 yards on the ground.

Burks completed 15 of 29 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. Gardner was a workhorse in the backfield, gaining 72 yards while Hampton added 57. Clark had seven reception for 84 yards and a touchdown while Gilbert, who saw his first action of the season, pulled in five catches for 72 yards.

"We did a good job of running the ball," said Kelton, when asked about the offensive effort. "Arik and the other guys played well."

Lucas Edenfield averaged  43 yards per punt and put two inside the 20-yard line.

Tony Rountree, Jr. had six tackles for the defense while Tavare Bewton,  Ahlik Booker, Ameer Phillips and Bell had four tackles apiece. Bell also had a sack and three tackles for losses.

When asked about the defense getting getting the shutout, Kelton said "we played well. We played sloppy at times but we will get it together."

Savannah State will travel to Miles for their first road game of the season on September 20.

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