Defense lifts Delaware St past Savannah St 35-10

Published Sep. 27, 2014 9:21 p.m. ET

foxsports

DOVER, Del. (AP) Kareem Leaver returned a fumble 44 yards on Savannah State's first possession and Delaware State turned two more fumbles into touchdowns in the first quarter for a 28-0 lead and 35-10 victory in both teams' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener Saturday night.

Savannah State committed five turnovers in total.

Lamar Shaw's 16-yard run capped a short drive for a 14-0 Hornets' lead. After that, the Tigers (0-4) had two more fumbles in four plays that Delaware State (1-4) turned in to a pair of touchdown passes by Gilbert Rivera.

Delaware State struggled on offense until Milton Williams III scored on an 18-yard pass from Marion Kelly with one minute left in the game. The Hornets had 316 yards of offense but threw four interceptions on 16 pass attempts.

Nicholas Bentley scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter for the Tigers, who finished with 230 yards and five turnovers.