Appalachian State 45, The Citadel 13
Charleston, SC - All-America quarterback candidate Richie Williams threw for a season-high 259 yards and three touchdowns as No. 22-ranked Appalachian State downed The Citadel, 45-13, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
Williams completed 20 of 27 passes in leading the Mountaineers to their third victory of the season against one loss, and puts them atop the Southern Conference standings with an 1-0 record. The Citadel, which had an off week after a 62-10 loss at Florida State, falls to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. The Bulldogs also fall to 28-13 after playing a Division I-A opponent.
Williams also extended his streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 144.
The Citadel took an early 7-0 lead when Nuru Goodrum scampered a yard, and Williams then got on track and connected with Dexter Jackson on a 31-yard scoring strike with 3:47 left in the opening quarter.
ASU then scored 14 unanswered points as Williams hit Hans Batichon on a 19-yard touchdown pass to give the Mountaineers a 14-7 advantage. The visitors from Boone, NC added a second score in the second period when Kevin Richardson ran three yards for a touchdown to increase App State's lead to 21-7 with only 20 seconds remaining the in the initial half.
The Citadel opened the third period with a touchdown when quarterback Duran Lawson found Ta'Mar Jernigan in the left side of the end zone for a 16-yard scoring strike, decreasing App State's lead to 21-13. The Bulldogs failed to connect on the extra point.
The Mountaineers then followed with 17 unanswered points, starting with Trey Hennessee's 3-yard run with 14:12 left in the game. Kicker Julian Rauch then hit a 26-yard field goal with 11:33 left, and left end Marcus Murrell picked up a Lawson fumble and returned it for a touchdown with 6:39 left to complete the game's scoring.
App State rolled up 423 yards of total offense nearly doubling the 219 for the Bulldogs. For the second straight game, the Bulldogs failed to reach the 100-yard rushing mark, compiling only 69 net yards on 42 rushes.
On the day, in which temperatures reached into the low 90s, Williams paced the Mountaineers' rushing attack with 94 yards. Goodrum led The Citadel in rushing with 39 yards.
App State plays at Furman on Saturday, October 1 at 3:30 pm while the Bulldogs head to Cullowhee, NC to face the Catamounts at 6:00 pm.
Furman 44, Hofstra 41 (2OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. --Ingle Martin scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak in the second overtime period to lift NCAA I-AA ninth-ranked Furman to a
44-41 win over 17th-ranked Hofstra Saturday at Paladin Stadium.
Martin’s game winning plunge capped an 8-play, 25-yard drive that featured eight consecutive running plays and followed a 33-yard Rob Zarrilli field goal that gave Hofstra a 41-38 lead in the second overtime period.
“That was a shootout...just what we expected,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb, whose team improves to 3-1 overall on the season. “We knew Hofstra was a quality football team, and they certainly proved it today, but I thought our defense and offensive line proved to be the difference in the overtime periods.”
“I’m proud of our guys for the way they came back and overcame the heat and penalties,” said Hofstra head coach Joe Gardi, whose team fell to 2-1 on the season. “We’re a big play team, and sometimes that isn’t good enough. We have to establish a running game to keep the defense off the field. I think we ran out of gas in the second overtime. It was a tough loss against a good team, but we have a lot of good games coming up and maybe we’ll see Furman again in late November.”
Furman forced overtime when Martin drilled a 6-yard touchdown pass into the hands of tight end John Rust with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 35-35. The game tying score capped a 7-play, 46-yard drive.
The Paladins took a 38-35 lead in the first overtime on Scott Beckler’s 41-yard field goal, but Hofstra answered with a Rob Zarrilli 48-yard field goal on the Pride’s possession.
In the second overtime Zarrilli drilled a 33-yard field goal to put Hofstra ahead 41-38, but Furman struck for the game winner on the ensuing possession, using a 5-yard run by tailback Daric Carter to the 20 and four straight runs by fullback Jerome Felton for a first down at the Pride 1-yard line. After being stopped twice short of the goal line, Martin bulled his way into the end zone on third down to give Furman only its second win in seven overtime contests.
Martin, a senior from Nashville, Tenn., completed 22-of-34 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns. Felton led all rushers with his second straight 100-yard performance, totaling 109 yards on 17 carries. Using a school record 102 snaps, the Paladins amassed 488 yards in total offense to Hofstra’s 381. Pride quarterback Anton Clarkson threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Davale Ellis led all receivers with 10 catches for
132 yards and a touchdown.
Leading 28-21 midway through the third quarter, Furman appeared on the verge of taking control after moving 72 yards in 18 plays to the Hofstra 6, but Brandon Mays’ fumble on second down was recovered by Ken Sussman at the 1-yard line on the next to last play of the third quarter. From that point the Pride drove 99 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 28-28 on Clarkson’s 27-yard scoring strike to Brian Wolman at 12:58 of the fourth period.
After halting Furman on the ensuing possession, the Pride struck again when Marques Colston hauled in Clarkson’s 11-yard scoring strike to complete a 7-play, 64-yard drive for a 35-28 lead.
Following a pair of defensive stops by both teams, Furman forced overtime on its final possession of regulation with a 46-yard drive that included consecutive runs by Carter covering 17, 10, and 7 yards to Hofstra 12, and an 8-yard run by Martin to the Price 4. After getting pushed back to the
6 in two plays, Martin rolled left and threaded a 6-yard scoring strike into Rust’s hands with 32 seconds left to tie the game at 35-35.
Furman’s late game comeback overcame a shaky start that saw Hofstra waste little time in taking the early advantage. Defensive end Stephen Bowen gathered in a tipped pass from quarterback Ingle Martin and raced 31 yards into the end zone only and minute and 29 seconds into the game for a 7-0 lead.
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it takes on Gardner-Webb in a 2:00 p.m. game in Paladin Stadium. Hofstra will entertain defending national champion James Madison next Saturday beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Georgia Southern 48, Chattanooga 10
STATESBORO, Ga. - Jayson Foster and Darius Smiley each rushed for three touchdowns as Georgia Southern rolled to a 48-10 Southern Conference win over Chattanooga Saturday night at Paulson Stadium. GSU (2-2 overall, 1-1 SoCon) ended its two-game losing streak.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards in six plays, capped by Foster’s 15-yard touchdown run. Southern attempted a trick play on the 2-point conversion but failed. That marked the fourth straight game Southern scored on its opening drive.
Esteban Lopez drilled a 32-yard field goal, however a running into the kicker penalty on GSU gave the Mocs first down from the 10. Quarterback Antonio Miller fumbled on third down but Lopez hit from 22 yards out, making it a 6-3 Eagle lead.
Foster and Austin quickly pushed the Eagles’ lead to 13-3. On the first play of the drive, Foster ran 56 yards then Austin followed with a 24-yard touchdown run.
The Eagle defense held when the Mocs went for it on 4th-and-2 from the Eagles’ 32 as Miller’s pass went incomplete. Spurred by Austin’s 50-yard run, Southern made it a 20-3 game when Darius Smiley scored from two yards out.
On Chattanooga’s next drive, Lironnie Davis bounced off tacklers, got to the outside and ran a career-long 45 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 10 midway through the second quarter.
Foster scored his second TD with 45.8 seconds left in the half, scoring from one yard out. The drive lasted 13 plays and went 80 yards, eating up seven minutes.
The Eagles ate up another 7-plus minutes early in the third quarter. A 15-play, 58-yard drive culminated when Foster scored from two yards out. Later in the quarter Smiley scored from 13 yards then again from three yards out in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Foster topped the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game, a game-high 134 yards on 21 attempts. Austin registered his 26th career 100-yard game with 127 yards on 11 carries. The senior fullback moved into second place (passing Joe Ross and Raymond Gross) on the Eagles’ career rushing attempts list with 696.
Smiley totaled 39 yards on 11 carries. The Eagles out-gained UTC 493-216 on the ground. Those 493 yards equal the 16th highest rushing total in Eagle history.
John Mohring and Larry Long each intercepted a pass by Miller.
“Any win is a good win. We executed a lot better tonight. Penalties did not hurt us and we didn’t have any turnovers so good things happened,” said head coach Mike Sewak. “We got a good push from our fullbacks and our offensive line did a great job attacking. At this point, every game is a one-game season. The guys had fun and showed a lot of enthusiasm. They needed to mature a bit and they showed that tonight.”
Davis led the Mocs (2-2, 0-1) with 117 rushing yards. Miller was 14-of-27 for 176 yards and threw two interceptions.
The Eagles travel to Elon next Saturday (Oct. 1) for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Chattanooga hosts Wofford next Saturday at 4 p.m.
Elon 12, NC A&T 9
ELON, N.C. - Reggie Hall rushed for a career-high 180 yards and a touchdown as Elon turned back North Carolina A&T 12-9 - its third consecutive victory - to highlight 2005 Phoenix Hall of Fame/E Club Weekend festivities Saturday evening at Rhodes Stadium.
On 32 carries, Hall gained 183 yards while only losing three to average 5.6 yards per carry as the Phoenix (3-1) defeated the Aggies (1-3) for the first time in five years. North Carolina A&T leads the seven-year series four games to three, but has been outscored in those games by Elon 123-121.
The Aggies struck first when Quante Speight turned a 16-yard run into a 7-0 advantage with 8:34 to play in the opening quarter, capping a 12-play, 81-yard drive that consumed 6:21.
The Phoenix, off to its best start in six seasons and its first three-game winning streak in five years, pulled within 7-3 on an Andrew Wilcox 41-yard field goal with 3:47 left in the first period after an 11-play, 49-yard drive that lasted 4:40.
Elon inched within 7-6 after a 30-yard field goal by Wilcox with 26 ticks to play in the second quarter, eventually deciding the halftime margin. That field goal concluded an 11-play, 53-yard drive that only took 2:06.
With 8:21 remaining in the third stanza, Hall punched in a one-yard touchdown run, giving the Phoenix its first lead of the contest at 12-7. Hall's touchdown capped a five-play, 47-yard drive that lasted only 1:54.
With the remaining time on the clock dwindling no further, Thomas Theron returned an Elon fumble of the extra-point attempt the length of field to bring the Aggies within 12-9. However, they would inch no closer as neither team would go on to score in the fourth quarter.
For North Carolina A&T, Marshall Glenn completed 10 of 20 passes with one interception for 114 yards while Speight rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The Aggie defense held Elon's Kye Hamilton, the Southern Conference's leader in passing efficiency, to 48 aerial yards on 7-for-17 passing.
Phoenix all-league linebacker Chad Nkang led all defenders, amassing a season-high 15 tackles. He also tallied three stops for loss, one pass break-up, one sack and one quarterback hurry.
Elon edged North Carolina A&T in first downs (15-13), rushing yards (202-117), total offensive yards (250-231) and penalties (4-9). The Phoenix entered the contest ranked 15th in the country in rushing defense, 20th in scoring defense, 27th in passing efficiency defense and 28th in total defense.
In next week's action, Elon enters Southern Conference competition when Georgia Southern visits Rhodes Stadium for a 2 p.m. contest Saturday to highlight 2005 Phoenix Family Weekend activities. The Aggies will host Tennessee State at 5 p.m. Saturday.