Football Southern Conference

SoCon Football Round-Up, Sept. 7, 2002

Georgia Southern 56, Gardner-Webb 0

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Georgia Southern rolled up 606 yards of total offense
and used a career-high rushing effort from
freshman fullback Jermaine Austin to post a 56-0 victory over Gardner-Webb
Saturday at Paulson Stadium.

The shutout, a first for an Eagle squad since 1999, also marked GSU
first-year head coach Mike Sewak's home debut in front of
18,895 fans.

The Georgia Southern ground game ruled the day, rolling over the Bulldog
defense with 591 rushing yards -- the most by an Eagle
team since racking up 638 against Youngstown State in the NCAA I-AA
National Championship Game Dec. 18, 1999.

Three Eagles turned in over 100 rushing yards during the contest. Austin
was the GSU offensive highlight, averaging 11.4 yards a
carry by running for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts while
sophomore quarterback Chaz Williams also contributed a
new personal standard with 120 yards and a pair of scores. Reserve fullback
Hakim Ford was right behind them, adding 106 yards
on 12 attempts. The trio of 100-yard rushers was the first for Georgia
Southern (1-1) since Adrian Peterson, Greg Hill and Bennie
Cunningham all recorded triple-digits during the Eagles' 59-24 victory over
the Penguins in the 1999 title game.

The Bulldog offense struggled to break away from the Eagle defense the
entire game, tallying up 208 yards of total offense --
which included just 58 rushing yards. Gardner-Webb (1-1) was forced to take
to the air behind senior quarterback Jeremy Martin,
who completed 13-of-39 passes for 120 yards. GWU's William Andrews led the
Bulldogs with five receptions totaling 51 yards.

The Eagles broke out on top 14-0 with two quick scores in the first five
minutes of the game, powered by a running attack that
racked up 210 yards on 19 attempts in the first quarter. Slotback T.J.
Anderson picked up the Eagles' first 2002 home score with a
61-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game. Austin followed by
breaking away on a 55-yard touchdown run on the next
Eagle drive.

Early in the second quarter, David Young ripped through the line to block a
Bulldog punt on the GWU six-yard line. The Eagle
offense wasted no time as Williams pushed through for a six-yard touchdown
run for a 21-0 cushion. Young and the GSU defense
got back into the act again when, with 7:06 left in the half, the senior
safety picked up a fumble and took it 34 yards for a score to
give GSU the 28-0 lead.

Williams closed out the first half scoring by rushing for a 10-yard
touchdown with 1:59 remaining to give the Eagles a 35-0 lead
heading into the locker room.

While the GSU defense continued to clamp down on the Bulldogs in the second
half, Austin rushed six yards for his second
touchdown of the day with 1:45 left in the third quarter to put the game
out of reach.

The Bulldogs, who completed 17-of-45 passes for 150 yards, were shutout for
the first time since 1996.

The victory served as Georgia Southern's 29th consecutive regular season
home win, dating back to a 29-28 setback to William &
Mary on Sept. 6, 1997. Overall, GSU has now won 39 of its last 40 at
Paulson Stadium.


Alabama State 41, Chattanooga 23

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Alabama State capitalized on four Chattanooga
turnovers in the first half downing the Mocs 41-23 September 7 in
the River City Classic at Finley Stadium. It was UTC's first home-opening
loss since 1994. Chattanooga's Michael Dodd returned the opening kickoff 22
yards only to fumble it into the hands of Marcus Winn on the Chattanooga
32. The Hornet's backup quarterback, Gary Brashears, connected on an
18-yard pass to Chris Coleman 2:25 later to go up 7-0.

Alabama State's starting quarterback, Jermaine Crenshaw, did not play in
the game following a trip to the hospital Thursday with kidney stones. It
was the first career start for the junior Brashears, who completed 24-of-39
for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

UTC, 0-2, answered with a score of its own on its next possession driving
80 yards in two minutes. Senior transfer Ryan McCann completed a 27-yard
pass to Jason Jones to tie the game at 7-7. McCann was 19-for-36 for 257
yards and two interceptions.

Chattanooga held Alabama State, 2-0, to five plays on its next series
forcing the Hornets to punt. However, the Mocs couldn't hang onto the
return as Alabama State forced another fumble. Richard Rowe recovered the
ball at the Chattanooga 17, and Brashears and Coleman would hook up again
for a one-yard score at 6:32. Coleman caught four balls for 23 yards and
three touchdowns.

On the next Chattanooga possession, McCann would be picked off at the
Alabama State 43 by Antwan Hill who returned the ball 48 yards to the
Chattanooga nine. The Mocs held off the drive sacking Brashears for a
10-yard loss, which forced a field goal by Chris Nichols for a 10-point lead.

Alabama State had just one turnover in the game. Brashears connected on a
short pass to Tommy Venisee. UTC's Greg Knight was there to force a fumble,
which was recovered by Bryan Lamar at the Chattanooga 39. The Mocs moved
the ball 30 yards, and junior Patrick Shutters kicked a 26-yard field goal
to pull the Mocs within 14 points at 24-10 with 6:50 before halftime.

It was a career day for two Mocs in the loss. McCann, who played two years
at UCLA, threw for 257 yards, surpassing his previous best at 236 against
Michigan in 2000. Sophomore receiver Jeremy Grier caught seven passes for
128 yards and two touchdowns. He totaled 209 all-purpose yards.

UTC travels to Tennessee Tech next Saturday for an 8 p.m. kickoff.

VMI 41, Davidson 16

LEXINGTON, Va. - Senior quarterback Joey Gibson completed 19 of 26 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead VMI past Davidson, 41-16, Saturday at Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington.

The Keydets piled up 558 yards total offense - the most ever under a Cal McCombs coached squad, and moved to 2-0 on the season, their best start since 1981. It was the season opener for the Wildcats.

Junior slotback T.J. Snelling rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass, and senior running back John Bell led VMI in rushing with 91 yards on 11 carries.

VMI, which never trailed in the contest, took the opening possession 63 yards in nine plays and capped it with a one-yard Gibson plunge at the 11:55 mark to take a 7-0 lead. Gibson added touchdown passes of eight yards to Zohn Burden and 21 yards to Snelling to boost the lead to 21-0 with 13:00 left in the second quarter.

The Keydets would tack on another score 3:50 before halftime before Snelling took a pitch 63 yards down the right sideline for a score to make it 28-0.

Davidson opened the scoring in the second half when quarterback Paul Nichols engineered a five-play, 65-yard drive capped by his eight yard keeper to the endzone with 11:01 left in the third quarter.

VMI responded by marching 72 yards in nine plays, and took a 34-7 advantage when Gibson connected with senior wideout Pedro Garcia on a 12-yard slant at the 6:44 mark.

Nichols lofted a 24-yard scoring strike to Randall Harvey to cut the VMI lead to 34-13 with 11:24 remaining in the fourth, but the Keydets responded on the ensuing drive moving 80 yards in 12 plays - reaching the end zone on a Snelling three-yard run.

Garcia finished with six catches for 92 yards to lead the VMI receiving corps, while Wildcat receiver Mike Chase caught six passes for 79 yards.

The Keydets were led defensively by senior outside linebacker Mike Bradley with 10 total tackles while sophomore outside backer Derik Screen finished six tackles and two sacks for -15 yards. Senior tackle Matt had two tackles-for-loss including one sack and a forced fumble. Junior cornerback Musa Sarki intercepted his second pass of the year and returned it 34 yards in the first half.

Tackle Ryan Tennis had three tackles for loss (two sacks) for Davidson.

VMI faces William & Mary next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. while Davidson returns home to host Jacksonville at 1:00 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES
- This is VMI's first 2-0 start since 1981.
- VMI punter Brent Barth moved into second place on VMI's all-time punt list with 218.
- VMI quarterback Joey Gibson is now second in VMI history in touchdown passes (26).
- The 41 points given up by Davidson is the most in an opening game since 1984 (Western Carolina, 45).
- The 398 yards of total offense by VMI was the most in the Cal McCombs era. The previous high was 398 vs. The Citadel on Nov. 11, 2000.
- The 41 points scored by VMI was the most scored by the Keydets since a 41-21 win over the Citadel on Nov. 11, 2000.
- The three touchdowns scored by T.J. Snelling were the most scored by a VMI player since Teray Frost scored three TD's in the 2000 Citadel game.
- This was the Joey Gibson's second three-touchdown pass game of his career. He also threw three TD's vs. East Tennessee State on Nov. 22, 2001 (Thanksgiving Day).

VMI HEAD COACH CAL MCCOMBS

"It feels good to be 2-0. I thought that we played a really good first half of football. In the second half, we came out a little lethargic and didn't put the game totally away."

"I was really dissappointed that we turned the ball over (twice in the second half). We really have been stressing (the lack of) turnovers."

"You've got to give the Davidson kids credit. They came out in the second half and kept playing."

"Looking at our football team now as compared to two years ago, I think we are alot better as a team."

"We had an opportunity to use some of our younger kids so that we could develop some depth on our team."

DAVIDSON HEAD COACH MIKE TOOP

"I told our players we got outcoached and outplayed. (VMI head coach Cal) McCombs did a terrific job of preparing his team for today's game."

"What hurt is that when we had opportunities to make plays. We simply didn't."

"We had a great goal-line stand after the blocked punt. Unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on that momentum."


Vanderbilt 49, Furman 18

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Bobby Johnson's new team tore apart the team he helped build.

Freshman Jay Cutler threw two touchdowns and ran for two more as Johnson recorded his first win as Vanderbilt with a 49-18 rout over Division I-AA Furman.

Johnson spent eight years at Furman before accepting the Vanderbilt position in the offseason. He led the Paladins to the Division I-AA national championship game last season and is tied for fourth on the school's all-time win list with 60.

But Johnson's new squad is an entirely different level and it showed as the Commodores gained 557 total yards, including 344 on the ground. They held the Paladins to just 253 as Johnson improved to 8-1 in home openers.

Cutler completed 11-of-15 passes for 215 yards and rushed six times for a career-high 107 yards. He is the first Commodores quarterback to run for more than 100 yards since Ronnie Gordon on October 15, 1994.

The redshirt freshman opened the scoring with his first career touchdown pass, a 43-yarder to Dan Stricker on Vanderbilt's first play.

Cutler connected with Stricker on a 59-yard scoring strike seven minutes later. He had a one-yard TD run - the first of his career - in the second quarter and a 12-yard scoring run with 11 seconds left in the first half.

Stricker caught four passes for 132 yards and moved into second place on Vanderbilt's career receiving yards list with 2,392. He has 17 receiving touchdowns in only 10 games with the Commodores, which already ranks third in school history.

Norval McKenzie rushed for 99 yards on 11 carries for Vanderbilt (1-1).

Furman (0-1) lost its first game under new coach Bobby Hill and fell to 1-11 in its last 12 meetings against Division I-A teams.

Billy Napier completed 21-of-31 passes for 241 yards for the Paladins. Bear Reinhart caught seven passes for 127 yards and Isaac West had seven receptions for 82.

East Tennessee State 20, Mars Hill 10

Johnson City, Tenn. East Tennessee State survived a slow start and a few injuries to some key players to overcome Mars Hill 20-10 at Memorial Center Saturday night.

The Buccaneers, who evened their season record at 1-1, scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a couple of big time plays by two of ETSU's big time players. Fullback Scott Carter (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Bucs the lead, 13-7, on a 13-yard touchdown run. Then, after a Mars Hill field goal, wide out Cecil Moore (Morristown, Tenn.)caught a 38-yard TD pass from quarterback Dashannon Gamble (Ladson, S.C.) for the game's final score.

The three abovementioned players provided a much-needed spark for East Tennessee State. Moore caught three balls for 93 yards, including a 42-yard reception from Jason Davis (Sevierville, Tenn.). Carter rushed for 60 yards on seven carries (8.6 avg.), while Gamble was a perfect two-for-two in the passing category with two TD passes.

The second-half outburst came despite the loss of running back Mondo Miller (Chamblee, Ga.), starting outside linebacker Marco Bryant (Morganton, N.C.) and All-American cornerback Tony Tiller (Lithonia, Ga.) to injuries. All three players failed to return to the game.

Although the Bucs were missing some of their gladiators on the defensive end, ETSU came up with some big stops late in the game preventing any type of a comeback by the Mountain Lions. The visitor's last two possesions resulted in interceptions courtesy of Allen Davis and Montreal Harkely (Hanahan, S.C.). Linebackers Scott Brumett (Pioneer, Tenn.) and Andrew Foerster (Kingsport, Tenn.) were the big run stoppers for ETSU, leading the Buccaneers with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.

One bright spot for Mars Hill was senior running back Travis McFadden who became the Mountain Lion's all-time leading rusher after gaining 97 yards on 32 rushing attempts.

McFadden had the team's lone touchdown on a three-yard scamper in the first quarter. However, the running back's shining moment was overcast due to an injury suffered late in the fourth quarter.

ETSU will travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. next Saturday to take on the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

No. 24 LSU 35, The Citadel 10
MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ Domanick Davis ran for two touchdowns as 24th-ranked LSU bounced back from its season-opening defeat last week with a 35-10 victory over The Citadel on Saturday night.

After losing to Virginia Tech by 18 points, LSU (1-1) returned home to win its fourth straight game at Tiger Stadium.

The Division I-AA Bulldogs (0-1) were outscored 21-0 in the first half and outgained 317-106. They only made it past midfield once, and then only to the LSU 49-yard line.

The Tigers scored on their first possession, with Davis running 22 yards for the touchdown. LaBrandon Toefield made it 14-0 on a 59-yard run. Davis added another touchdown in the second quarter on an 8-yard run.

LSU quarterback Matt Mauck ran for a 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 28-0.

The Citadel rallied in the third quarter, producing 116 total yards, to just 42 for LSU. The Bulldogs avoided the shutout with an 81-yard touchdown drive that took up 6 1/2 minutes, capped by Nehemiah Broughton's 1-yard run.

LSU had 400 yards on offense, to 236 by The Citadel. The Tigers outrushed the Bulldogs 296 yards to 138. The passing game was almost even, with LSU gaining 107 yards to The Citadel's 105.

Klien completed 11 of 25 passes for 100 yards
.
Mauck was 8-of-18 for LSU, for 90 yards. He was intercepted once.

Davis had 86 yards on 15 carries for LSU. Joseph Addai led the Tigers with 89 yards on 14 carries.

Ern Mills had 56 yards on nine carries for the Bulldogs. Nate Mahoney had 56 yards on 14 carries.

Auburn 56, W. Carolina 0
JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) _ Carnell Williams rushed for first-quarter touchdowns of 20 and 42 yards in Auburn's 56-0 win over Western Carolina on Saturday.

Backup quarterback Jason Campbell passed for one TD and rushed for another for the Tigers (1-1). He completed 12 of 14 passes for 147 yards against the Division I-AA Catamounts (1-1).

The Tigers, who stopped a four-game losing streak dating to last season, racked up 335 yards in the first half, five days after gaining just 35 in the second half of a loss to Southern California.

It was exactly the kind of game the Tigers needed after getting bruised and battered in Los Angeles on Monday night. Auburn started nine new players from the opener, resting several starters with minor injuries.

The Tigers won their 11th straight nonconference home game and their 23rd home opener in 24 years.

Auburn, which finished with 621 yards, hadn't scored 50-plus points since getting 62 against Fresno State in 1996.

Williams carried only four times for 67 yards and didn't play after the first quarter. He was held to minus-3 yards in the second half on Monday.

Butler, the third-teamer, led all rushers with 12 carries for a career-high 91 yards and freshman Tre Smith gained 73 yards on 14 carries. The Tigers gained 345 yards on the ground.

Campbell hit third-team tight end Cooper Wallace on a 17-yard score, and tailback Chris Butler _ another third-teamer _ added a 10-yard score in the third.

Cobb was 9-of-16 for 129 yards and a touchdown as Auburn converted 8-of-11 third-down plays.

Western Carolina, which rushed for 257 yards in its opener against Liberty, managed just 86 yards on the ground as the no-huddle offense was largely ineffective against the bigger, faster Tigers.

Brian Gaither was 19-of-32 for 135 yards with an interception while Pat Cilento was 7-of-13 for 40 yards.