The 2011 Savannah State Tigers football team represented Savannah State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers are a first year member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). This was the first season under the guidance of head coach Steve Davenport and played their home games at Ted Wright Stadium. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for ninth place.
Coaches and support staff
Media
Radio flagship: WHCJ
Broadcasters: Steve Richards (play-by-play), Curtis Foster (analyst)
Schedule
Game summaries
Albany State
The Tigers lost the season opener, 37-34, as the Golden Rams' quarterback Stan Jennings scored on a twelve-yard run with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the 2011 Music City Classic. The Tigers trailed at halftime 19-0, but took a 27-22 lead early in the fourth quarter. SSU's quarterback A.J. Defilippis threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns while running back Justin Babb rushed for 37 yards on sixteen carries. Brian Lackey had 3 receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown. Derek Williams kicked a 52-yard field goal, breaking the SSU record of 51 yards which was set by Calvin Tucker in 1986. Linebacker Nate Clay had 18 tackles in the game.
Southeastern Louisiana
The Tigers keep the game close in the first quarter, trailing 14-6, but Southeastern Louisiana scored 49 unanswered points the rest of the way and easily won 63-6. Senior kicker Derek Williams kicked field goals of 27 and 39 yards for the Tigers only scores of the game. Quarterback AJ DeFilippis passed for 68 yards and Darren Heyward led the Tigers defense with 11 tackles.
Appalachian State
The Mountaineers of Appalachian State University, ranked at #3, scored on five of the first seven possessions of the game and cruised to a 41-6 win over the Tigers at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Tigers trailed 27-0 and halftime and were only able to muster one score, a 10-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter by quarterback Antonio Bostick. Starting quarterback AJ DeFilippis left the game early in the second quarter with a head injury. Bostick threw for 136 yards but was sacked three times. DeFilippis, passed for 81 yards before leaving the game, but was also sacked three times by the Mountaineer defense. On defense, Vaughn Cornelia led the Tigers with a game-high 11 tackles.
North Carolina Central
The Tigers earned their first ever MEAC conference win in their first MEAC Conference game with a 33-30 win against North Carolina Central. Quarterback Antonio Bostic got his first start of the season and ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Senior running back Justin Babb rushed for a game-high 93 yards and one touchdown. The Tigers defense sacked the Eagles quarterback five times in the game.
Howard
The Tigers scored first in the newly renovated Ted Wright Stadium, taking a 7-0 lead with seconds left in the first quarter, but the Howard Bison scored 20 unanswered points in the second quarter en route to a 34-14 win in the Tigers first home game of the season. A crowd of 5,635 were on hand as the Tigers played on campus for the first time since Nov. 14, 2009 because of stadium renovations. Starting quarterback A.J. DeFilippis finished the game with 91 yards, completing 12 of his 26 pass attempts and threw one touchdown. He was intercepted once by the Bison defense and sacked five times. Sophomore quarterback Antonio Bostick also threw one interception and was sacked three times. He threw for 62 yards and one touchdown. The Tigers finished the game with 74 total yards of rushing on 32 carries, despite the fact that senior running back Justin Babb led the team with 79 yards on 11 carries. The win by the Bison was their first MEAC victory since October 27, 2007.
Morgan State
A boisterous crowd of 14,356 were on hand as the Tigers gave up 30 points for the sixth consecutive game the season in a 44-17 loss to Morgan State. The Tigers struggled on both sides of the ball managing just 188 yards of total offense and surrendering 430 yards to the Bears who entered the game ranked last in the Football Championship Subdivision in scoring (9.2 points per game) and total offense (190 yards per game). The Tigers fell to 1-5 this season and 1-2 in the MEAC.
Florida A&M
The Tigers scored their only touchdown of the game on a 38-yard TD run by Sheldon Barnes with 11:09 to go in the third. The Tigers were led on offense by Justin Babbs, who rushed for 117 yards on ten carries and A.J. DeFillips who had six completions in 19 attempts for 97 yards. Chris Asbury led the Tiger defense with a game-high ten tackles.