The Savannah State Tigers held on to secure a 16-13 win over the Winston-Salem State Rams Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Adnan Kiljajic’s 19-yard potentially game tying field goal attempt hit the left upright and handed the Rams (0-2) their second loss of the season.
WSSU redshirt freshman running back Nic Cooper was a bright spot for the Rams as he netted 144 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. He ran for positive yardage on all 21 of his carries in the contest.
Cooper tallied his first of two touchdowns of the evening with a 15-yard run to give the Rams the early lead 7-0. His second score of the game put the Rams ahead 13-9 at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter when he powered his way into the endzone from 23 yards out.
Despite the production from Cooper, the Rams fell short in the game as 342 yards of total offense netted WSSU only 13 points.
“We need to play tougher. We honestly do,” Cooper commented in post game interviews. “This game is about lining up and smacking the other guy across from you in the mouth and that is a mentality that we need to take”.
The Rams controlled the contest throughout yet couldn’t overcome turnovers down the strength that helped to seal the Tigers victory. A pair of interceptions stalled WSSU’s bid to find the endzone on two occasions.
“It’s an easy game and they outplayed us in certain phases of the game,” WSSU head coach Kermit Blount said. “The one turnover hurt us badly. We don’t like to turn the ball over and when we do that like we did tonight it makes it tough to win ballgames”.
For the second consecutive week the Rams had an opportunity to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and for the second straight week WSSU’s bid for an extra frame was denied.
Kljajic’s game-tying field goal attempt was unable to sneak between the 18 feet six inches of space between the uprights and the Rams fell to 0-2 for the first time since the 2005 season as Savannah State escaped Bowman Gray Stadium with a 16-13 victory.
The win moves Savannah State to 2-1 on the year as the Tigers won back-to-back games for the first time since the 2000 season.
Winston-Salem State returns to action on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. as they play host to the Bears of Morgan State University at Bowman Gray Stadium.
For additional information on WSSU football, contact the Winston-Salem State University Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at WSSURams.com.