Charleston Southern Shuts Out Tigers

October 6, 2007
CHARLESTON, SC- Nick Ellis kicked four field goals and converted two extra points to lead Charleston Southern past Savannah State 28-0 before a crowd of 2,829 at CSU Stadium.

Charleston Southern evened their record at 3-3 with the victory while Savannah State fell to 1-4.

While the Buccaneers offense tallied 454 yards, their defense limited SSU to just 66 yards of total offense.

The Buccaneers opened the contest by driving 70 yards in four plays to the SSU four yard line but was stopped when Calvin Leonard forced a fumble that was recovered by Antione Stewart at the Tigers one yard line. The CSU defense caught SSU running back Antwan Edwards in the endzone for a safety and a 2-0 lead with 13:18 on the clock. CSU was awarded a free kick and drove 55 yards in five plays as Eli Byrd scored on a 13 yard run. Ellis' PAT was good and the Bucs led 9-0 with 12:13 left in the first quarter.

CSU fumbled the ball on their next possession and SSU's Devin Rice recovered at the Bucs' 41. Savannah State drove to the CSU 23 but could get no further. A 41 yard field goal attempt by Luis Justiniano was short.

Early in the second quarter, CSU went ahead 12-0 when Ellis booted a 37 yard field goal. The Bucs drove to the SSU 13 but the Tiger's defense held strong. Charleston Southern drove to the SSU 11 on their next possession but had to settele for a 29 yard fild goal after a good SSU defensive stand. With 11:29 left in the second quarter, CSU led 15-0.

Late in the first half, CSU drove to the Savannah State one but the Tigers stodf their ground and held CSU without any points. SSU took over but could only net two yard on three plays. The Bucs took over and Ellis kicked a 28 yard filed goal with no time on the clock for a 18-0 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, CSU expanded their lead to 25-0 early in the fourth when Dee Brown caught a 41 yard scoring pass from Sidney Bryant.

On their possession, CSU drove to the Savannah State one but came away without any points. The Tigers took over and could only muster seven yards in three plays. After a 12 yard punt by Brandon Webster, CSU took over at the Tigers 20 but was limited to a 43 yard field goal with 5:48 left in the game to go ahead 28-0.

SSU freshman quarterback Greg McCrary rushed for 34 yards and passed for 26 and tossed three interceptions. Antwan Allen had a game high 14 tackles.

DeMarcus Moon rushed for 103 yards to lead CSU. Bryant passed for 171 yards and a touchdown while brown caught five passes for 76 yards and a score. Jada Ross had 13 tackles for the Bucaneers defense.

Savannah State will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to face Morehouse (4-2) on October 13. Morehouse is coming off a 33-10 loss from Tuskegee. it will be SSU's first trip to B. T. Harvey Stadium since 1996.