Savannah, GA—When Howard University takes on Savannah State this coming Saturday at Theodore A. Wright Stadium, it will feature two teams desperately looking for a win. The Bison (1-7, 1-4 in the MEAC) are coming off a 34-7 home loss to North Carolina A&T this past Saturday for their third loss in a row.
The Tigers (1-4, 1-2 in the MEAC) were off last week following a 33-3 road loss to North Carolina Central two weeks ago. The game will be broadcast live on www.whbc963hd3.com with Trevin Jones, Michael Lindo and Tiffany Hoyd calling all the action.
Savannah State recorded its only win of the season by defeating Bethune Cookman at home earlier in the season. The Tigers have never won more than one game in a season since coming to the MEAC.
In fact, Savannah State has yet to defeat Howard in nine head-to-head meetings. The score of the last two games is a combined 106-9, Howard.
"We are both fighting for a win," said Howard head coach Gary Harrell, which has managed only 20 points in the past two games.. "This is a tough team. "We are not looking at Savannah State as a team we've had success against the past couple of years. It's their homecoming so they will be energized and motivated."
The Tigers are coached by new head coach Erik Raeburn and they have had troubles both scoring and stopping their opponents from scoring. Like Howard, Savannah State plays two quarterbacks in freshmen Blake Dever and T.J. Bell.
The Tigers have had problems running the ball and are led by senior Arshon Spaulding with 117 yards on 32 carries. Junior wide receivers Derek Kirkland and Tino Smith, II have combined for 22 receptions on the season.
"They do good things on offense and they have a very good scheme," explained Harrell.
Defensive is the strength of the team. Senior linebacker Marquis Smith is a MEAC Player of the Year candidate. Smith has 36 tackles on the season, 9.5 for losses and 4.5 sacks. The Tigers have other good playmakers in senior linebacker Marcus Lee, sophomore defensive lineman Stefen Banks and sophomore defensive back Darrell Bonner.
"We are a little further ahead on the defensive side of the ball than we are on offense," noted Raeburn. "Hopefully the team will play better on Saturday. I think the only chance we have to be successful is if we get a great effort out of our defense."
The defense's focus will be on Howard's Anthony Philyaw, who is coming off a season-low rushing effort in the loss to NC A&T. The junior from Redondo Beach, CA, needs 214 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. He could be highly motivated against the Tigers.
"Obviously, their running back (Philyaw) is outstanding," said Raeburn. "He is the best that we have had to play against this season. We are definitely concerned about him."
Added Harrell. "A&T did a real good job, not just penetrating, but they had a real good push. It caused us to have a difficult time running the football. We tried to open it up with the passing game but our quarterbacks didn't have a good game. We need to be able to throw to open up running lanes for Philyaw."
GAME NOTES: /documents/2016/10/29//FB_SSU_Notes.pdf?id=462
NEXT UP: The Bison have a bye next week before resuming play at North Carolina Central on November 12 while the Tigers host Norfolk State next Saturday at 2 pm.
