Appalachian State 24, Eastern Kentucky 16
BOONE, N.C. --Marques Murrell forced two fumbles that led directly to touchdowns and Corey Lynch intercepted two passes and made a touchdown-saving tackle at the end of the first half to lead Appalachian State University to a 24-16 victory at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday evening.
The difference in the game were the timely big plays turned in by Appalachian’s much-maligned defense, which surrendered 32.5 points per game a season ago. The Mountaineers forced four turnovers and held EKU to just 5-of-16 on third-down conversions in the victory, with all four turnovers coming courtesy of Murrell and Lynch.
Murrell notched ASU’s first tide-turning play during the very first series of the contest. With Eastern Kentucky on Appalachian’s 13 yard line and threatening to take a 7-0 lead, Murrell laid a jaw-rattling blindside hit on EKU quarterback Josh Greco, who coughed up the ball at the Mountaineer 25. Linebacker Brad West scooped up the fumble and rumbled 72 yards before being caught by EKU’s Patrick Bugg at the three yard line.
Two plays later, Appalachian took a 7-0 lead when quarterback Richie Williams glided into the end zone from three yards out.
Eastern Kentucky tied the contest at 7-7 with under a minute to go in the first quarter, as running back Mark Dunn capped a seven-play, 58-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run.
Two series later, Murrell gave the Mountaineers the lead once again, as he forced EKU’s Andre Ralston to fumble on the five yard line and fellow defensive end Jason Hunter picked up the ball and waltzed into the end zone for a 14-7 ASU advantage.
Appalachian maintained its seven-point lead heading into halftime thanks to Lynch. With 7:11 remaining in the second quarter, the sophomore safety picked off a Greco pass to stall an EKU drive inside the ASU 10 yard line. Then, on the final play of the first half, Lynch made perhaps the most important play of the game as he chased down Ralston from behind, tackling the speedy receiver on the one yard line, leaving a 74-yard gain for naught and sending the contest Apps to the locker room with its 14-7 advantage intact.
After gaining just 121 yards in the first half, Appalachian’s offense displayed some firepower on the third play of the second half, as Williams avoided an EKU blitz and found senior wide receiver Jermane Little on a tunnel screen. Little did the rest, taking the pass and going 88 yards for his first touchdown since 2002 to give Appalachian a 21-7 lead.
The Mountaineers held on to the 14-point advantage for the rest of the third quarter, before the Colonels began to chip away at the lead with a 22-yard field goal less than three minutes into the final period.
The contest see-sawed back and forth for most of the fourth quarter, before EKU made it even more interesting by marching 65 yards in six plays and cut the ASU lead to just five with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Greco to Kyle Barber with 4:07 remaining. However, Appalachian made yet another big play on defense when it stopped Barber short of the goal line on the two-point conversion attempt to keep the lead at 21-16.
On the ensuing onside kick attempt, Appalachian’s Jeremy Wiggins grabbed the ball, reversed field and scampered 27 yards to give the Mountaineers the ball on the Eastern Kentucky 20. Williams ran the ball five-straight times for 17 yards to chew up 3:19 before kicker Julian Rauch gave the Apps an eight-point lead with a 21-yard field goal with 48 seconds left on the clock.
Despite a pair of short completions, Appalachian’s defense completed its bend-but-don’t-break evening by stopping the Colonels at around midfield as the time ran out.
In all, Eastern Kentucky out-gained the Mountaineers 455-334 and held a 38:04-21:56 advantage in time of possession, but Appalachian scored 14 points off EKU turnovers and held the Colonels scoreless on 4-of-7 trips inside the ASU 30 yard line to secure the victory.
The win snapped Appalachian’s five-game road losing streak, which dated back to a 34-12 triumph at Elon on Nov. 8, 2003 and its three-year drought in season openers, dating back to a 46-26 victory over Liberty in 2001. ASU also claimed its first season-opening win on the road since it topped Wake Forest, 20-16, in Winston-Salem in 2000.
Murrell finished the evening with eight tackles, three-and-a-half stops for loss, two-and-a-half sacks and two quarterback hurries to go along with his two forced fumbles, while Lynch added seven tackles to his two picks. Linebacker Monte Smith and safety Jeremy Wiggins notched 12 tackles apiece to lead the Mountaineers.
Offensively, Williams went 16-for-31 for 234 yards and added 66 yards on the ground for his fifth-straight contest with at least 300 yards of total offense, while Little caught four Williams passes for 107 yards.
Appalachian looks to move to 2-0 for the first time since 1998 when it travels to BCS opponent Kansas next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT) at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan.
The Citadel 28, Charleston Southern 14
CHARLESTON, SC - Sophomore quarterback Duran Lawson connected on three touchdown passes as The Citadel wore down cross-county rival Charleston Southern, 28-14, in non-conference action at Johnson Hagood Stadium Saturday night in the openers for both teams.
The Bulldogs' victory made first-year head coach Kevin Higgins' Citadel debut successful. Higgins spent the last four years as an assistant for the Detroit Lions after a successful seven-year stint as head coach at Lehigh.
"It was typical of what I thought it was going to be from the week of practice," said Higgins. "But later on we turned it up a notch and that was very evident tonight towards the end of the game."
Lawson successfully unveiled Higgins' spread-option offense after a shaky first half that saw The Citadel ahead, 7-0. But it was the Bulldogs' stingy defense that wore down the Buccaneers' offense that generated 314 total yards under junior quarterback Collin Drafts.
"I could sense that Duran was a little nervous and he never established rhythm in the passing game." Higgins added. "He made some good and bad decisions, which is very typical of the first game."
The Citadel amassed 360 yards of total offense with 192 coming on the ground and 168 through the air. The defense limited the Bucs to only 38 yards rushing on 32 carries.
The victory was The Citadel's third consecutive over Charleston Southern in the series that began in 2002. Last year's contest was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Frances.
Lawson, a native of Conway, SC, tossed his first touchdown pass to Ta'Mar Jernigan, an 11-yarder with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter, which served as the half's lone tally.
CSU opened the second half with a seven-play, 82-yard drive with Drafts connecting with Brian Meers for 16-yard pass-and-catch with 12:30 left in the third period.
The Bucs took the lead on their next possession after Lawson fumbled on the Bulldogs' 35 yard line, and Drafts scored on a two-yard rush with 11:06 remaining, making the score 14-7.
The hosting Bulldogs knotted the score at 14 apiece with 4:54 left in the third quarter when Lawson found Gary Domanski alone on the right side and Domanski broke several tackles with key down-field blocks coming from Jernigan and tackle Cale Conant for a 37-yard touchdown.
But in the final period, The Citadel wore down the Bucs with two touchdowns. The first came with 12:23 remaining as Lawson found recent Penn State graduate Kinta Palmer on the right side and scored from 33 yards out. The final score came with 9:53 remaining when Lawson ran off tackle from five yards out.
Chattanooga 30, Tennessee Tech 23 (OT)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Two key interceptions by Quintez Smith and an Eldra Buckley two-yard touchdown run in overtime led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team to a 30-23 overtime win over Tennessee Tech Saturday night in the season-opener for both teams.
It was UTCs first season-opening win since 2001 and avenged three straight losses to the Golden Eagles, 0-1.
Smiths second interception of the game came in the end zone with less than two minutes to play in regulation as Tech had the ball first and goal at the nine-yard line with the score tied at 23-all. Both teams had one final series before heading into overtime.
UTC, 1-0, used six plays to go ahead by seven points in the extra time. Junior college transfer back Eldra Buckley ran around right end for a two-yard score, and Esteban Lopezs kicked the extra point.
The Eagles converted a fourth-and-nine play, but the game ended when quarterback Stephen Brittons pass on fourth-and-16 fell incomplete in the end zone.
This wasnt pretty, UTC third-year coach Rodney Allison said. We made some mistakes. But we won the game. I am so proud of these kids. The defense played great, and we never gave up.
Smith picked off a Britton pass and returned it 30 yards for a score to give UTC a 13-0 lead with 4:54 left in the second quarter. Lopez had already given the Mocs a cushion with two 26-yard field goals, one in each of the first two quarters.
Tennessee Tech pulled to within six with 20 seconds remaining in the first half on a three-yard TD run by Trey Bonner, and the teams went into the locker room at the half, 13-7.
In the second half, Tech scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to leap past the Mocs. Britton ran it in from one yard out to give the Golden Eagles a 14-13 lead at 10:07, and Brent McNeal aired it out for a 65-yarder to Larry Shipp for a 20-13 edge at 8:21. The PAT failed on a bad snap.
UTC sophomore outside linebacker Jeff Phillips, who led the squad with 10 tackles, picked off Britton and bobbled the ball briefly as he headed down the open field for a 35-yard interception return with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter. The second pickoff for a TD knotted the game at 20-20.
The teams traded field goals in the final quarter. Josh Foster gave Tech a 23-20 lead on a 20-yard chip shot with 10:20 remaining. Lopez, who was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts for the game, responded with a 30-yard kick for the tie with 4:51 to play.
A fumble by UTC's Lironnie Davis gave the ball to Tech on the Mocs' 44 yard line with just over three minutes to play. Britton's first pass scrimmage found Larry Ship for a 35 yard gain. His next pass was intercepted by Smith.
The Mocs scored twice on defense for the first time since a 26-7 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 21, 1996. The game was the ninth overtime game in school history and improved UTCs record to 3-6 in overtime.
Sophomore quarterback Antonio Miller led all Mocs runners with a career-high 86 yards on 11 carries. Miller also completed 9-of-17 passes for 77 yards and two interceptions. Buckley gained 65 yards on 10 totes. Lironnie Davis totaled 61 yards with 47 yards on three receptions and 14 on the ground. Junior Emanuel Hassell caught three balls for 14 yards. Junior quarterback Matt Lopez replaced a shaken-up Miller and completed a 25-yard pass play to Michael Gilmore.
Senior lineman Troy Blackwell collected nine tackles for the Mocs. Senior safety Lonnie McCowan added seven, and senior linebacker Ovince St. Preux and sophomore backer Chris Johnson were credited with six each. Sophomore punter Jonathan Wright averaged 47.7 yards on three punts.
Bonner gained 118 yards on 27 carries to lead all runners. Shipp compiled 153 yards on five catches, and Britton threw for 227 yards completing 16-of-35 passes.
UTC student-athletes collected over $2,000 during the game for the American Red Cross to donate to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.
UTC travels to two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion Jacksonville State Saturday with a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. Tech hosts Lambuth Thursday night.
Coastal Carolina 17, Elon 10
ELON, N.C. - Tyler Thigpen threw for 132 yards and Aundres Perkins scored twice as Coastal Carolina outlasted Elon 17-10 in the season opener for both teams Saturday night at Rhodes Stadium.
The Chanticleers (1-0), the defending Big South Conference champions, finished the 2004 campaign ranked 24th in The Sports Network poll after turning in a 10-1 record. They entered the season listed high among "others receiving votes."
Kyle Belkoski reeled in a three-yard touchdown pass from Kye Hamilton to give the Phoenix (0-1) a 7-0 advantage with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter. Belkoski's score capped a six-play, 57-yard drive that ate 2:53 off the clock.
Perkins evened the count on a one-yard run with 13:56 left in the second stanza, ending an 11-play, 70-yard drive that lasted 4:44. Josh Hoke's 30-yard field goal gave the Chanticleers an eventual 10-7 halftime advantage with 2:12 to play before the break. Hoke's kick concluded a 14-play, 83-yard drive that went on for 7:05.
Andrew Wilcox tied things up for the Phoenix by kicking a 33-yard field goal with 14:55 to go in the fourth quarter, capping an eight-play, 44-yard drive that took up 4:19. Perkins scampered for a two-yard touchdown run to give Coastal Caroling the lead for good with 8:38 remaining. That score finished a four-play, 12-yard drive that lasted 1:30, following Jamar Leath's recovery of a Hamilton fumble incurred by Maurice Simpkins' 11-yard sack.
It appeared that Elon had again tied the score when Reggie Hall scurried 15 yards into the Chanticleers' endzone with 7:33 to play, but the touchdown was called back due to an illegal shift penalty against the Phoenix. Elon's Jacobi Jones had set up the opportunity with a 78-yard kickoff return.
"Coastal Carolina is a really good football team," said Elon coach Paul Hamilton. "I watch them on tape, getting better and better last year. Physically, they're as good as any football team I have coached against over the years. It was a tough loss for our players. We're so close to becoming a good football team right now."
Thigpen connected on 12 of 22 passes without an interception while Hamilton hit 15 of 26 passes with one pick for 130 yards. Nathan Farley hauled in three catches for 64 yards for the Chanticleers and Michael Mayers snagged a pair of receptions for 58 yards for the Phoenix. Hall piled up 74 yards on 20 carries for Elon while Patrick Hall tallied 71 yards on 22 attempts for Coastal Carolina.
Elon's Chad Nkang led all tacklers with 16 stops. Leath and Anthony Steele led the Chants with 14 tackles apiece. Simpkins registered 11 stops for CCU while Zach McAlister racked up 11 tackles for the Phoenix.
Coastal Carolina edged Elon in first downs (15-13), rushing yards (130-103), passing yards (132-130), total offensive plays (63-62), total net yards (262-233) and third-down conversions (7-5).
"A tough win, an ugly win, whatever you want to call it, is better than a beautiful loss," said Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett. "Of course, I don't really know of a beautiful loss. We knew Elon had a good defense. They held Furman to 10 points on this field last year."
Georgia Southern 41, Northeastern 38 (OT)
BOSTON, Mass. - Jonathan Dudley drilled a 24-yard field goal during the first overtime, sending Georgia Southern to a 41-38 win over Northeastern Saturday afternoon at Parsons Field. The Eagles won their first road season-opener since 1996.
The Eagles elected to go on defense in their first overtime game since November 1987, a first round playoff game against Maine (GSU 31-28 win). The defense held on three plays, forcing Miro Kesic to try a 40-yard attempt. He missed left sending the Eagle offense onto the field.
Jayson Foster rushed five times, picking up a first down after his first two rushes. Facing a 4th-and-3 from the eight, head coach Mike Sewak sent the junior placekicker on to try the game winner.
Georgia Southern needed some last minute magic to give Sewak a happy present on his 47th birthday. Darius Smiley hit wide receiver Reggie McCutcheon twice on fourth down. The first came on a 4th-and-5 for 27 yards then the big one came on 4th-and-4 from the 15. McCutcheon made a diving grab in the left corner for his first career touchdown catch, and Smiley’s first touchdown pass, to tie the game with 57 seconds left.
The Eagles held Northeastern on three plays to send the game into overtime.
Jermaine Austin rushed for a game-high 199 yards on 20 carries, the most rushing yards by an Eagle in a season-opening game (Adrian Peterson, 192 yards versus Savannah State in 2001). Foster rushed for career-highs of 142 yards and two touchdowns. GSU out-rushed the Huskies 474-184 and held an edge in total offense 520-405.
Northeastern’s Jared White muffed a punt in the fourth quarter, totaling just 12 yards and the Eagles took advantage. Foster tied the game midway through the fourth quarter, showing why he was named the starting quarterback. The sophomore shook off several tackles, including one time when he looked stop, for a 35-yard touchdown run.
Alex Broomfield returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards, the first time in 18 games the Eagles allowed a TD off a kickoff return (100 yards by Xavier Goodard of Western Carolina in 2003) to put the Huskies up 38-31.
The opening drives gave a glimpse on how the game would transpire. The Huskies converted a 3rd-and-7 on the opening drive when Anthony Orio, throwing just his third pass attempt, hit a wide open Pat Graham for a 46 yard touchdown pass two minutes in.
Georgia Southern marched right down the field. Brandon Andrews scored from three yards out, capping a nine play, 78-yard drive. Austin provided the big run, breaking through up the middle for 43 yards on first down. That run moved the senior fullback into second place all-time among the GSU career rushing leaders, behind Peterson.
Northeastern caught the Eagle defense off guard on its second drive. Two defensive linemen jumped offsides but no whistle was blown. Orio connected with a wide open Graham for 42 yards spotting the Huskies to a 14-7 lead.
Dudley nailed a 37-yard field goal cutting the deficit to 14-10 with 1:51 remaining in the first.
Austin rambled 47 yards on the first play of GSU’s third drive then a facemask penalty put the Eagles down to the NU 13. Three plays later Foster rolled left and scored from four yards out. Dudley’s extra point tied the game at 17 with 8:13 remaining in the first half. The drive went 72 yards on four plays.
Orio’s keeper on 3rd-and-goal from the one put the Huskies back in the lead with 3:29 left before halftime.
Austin recorded his third long run of the game, breaking three tackles along the way to a 60-yard TD run just 1:39 into the second half tying the game at 24.
The Huskies were successful on two third downs during their first drive of the second half but held on a 3rd-and-10 forcing the first punt of the game.
John Mohring led the defense with nine tackles, equaling his career-high. Shaheen Solomon and Rico Zackery each had a sack. Zackery’s came during the final series in regulation.
The Eagles open their home schedule next Saturday (Sept. 10) against McNeese State, kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. at Paulson Stadium. This will be the season-opener for the Cowboys, who had their season-opening game against Southern cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina.
Wofford 34, Georgetown (KY) 24
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Wofford had two players rush for over 100 yards each and the Terriers piled up 413 yards on the ground in posting a 34-24 win over NAIA-member Georgetown (Ky.) College on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.
Michael Hobbs rushed for 115 yards, Gabriel Jackson added 104 yards and Corey Dunn ran for a pair of touchdowns in leading the Terriers to their fifth consecutive home-opening win.
Dunn scored on a 3-yard run midway through the first quarter to stake Wofford (1-0) to a 7-0 lead. The Terriers extended the lead to 14-0 when Alex Love blocked a Georgetown (0-1) punt and Kyle Horne recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Jackson rushed for 88 yards on four carries in the first quarter alone.
The Terriers extended their lead to 21-0 when Aaron Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 9:49 remaining in the half.
Georgetown earned its first touchdown with 6:11 left in the second quarter when quarterback Jeff Smith hit David Penland on a 52-yard pass. The Terriers took the ensuing kickoff and drove 72 yards with Brandon Berry scoring on a reverse with 3:51 left in the half. Wofford kicker Nick Robinson missed the extra point to leave the Terriers with a 27-7 lead.
Georgetown cut the lead to 27-14 at halftime when Jeff Smith threw 20 yards to C.R. Rohrbough for a score with 37 seconds left.
The Tigers drew to 27-17 on their opening drive of the second half as Micah White converted a 33-yard field goal. Wofford was stopped on downs on each of its next three possessions, failing to convert on fourth down on each occasion.
Georgetown closed to within three points at 27-24 with 5:59 left in the game when Smith threw his third touchdown pass of the contest, hitting Adam Russell from 3 yards out.
The Terriers then drove 70 yards in 11 plays as Dunn scored on a 6-yard run with 1:43 left in the game. Dunn carried five times for 33 yards on the drive, including a crucial 7 yard run on a fourth and three from the Georgetown 31.
A desperation pass by Smith was intercepted by the Terriers’ Brian Ford at Wofford’s 8 yard line and the Terriers were able to run out the clock by taking a knee on the final three plays of the game.
Wofford quarterback Josh Collier, making his first career start, completed 4 of 17 passes for 35 yards. Smith finished 26 of 41 for 271 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked twice and intercepted twice.
“We faced a heckuva football team,” said Wofford head coach Mike Ayers. “Those guys know how to win and they know how to play for championships. They tested us and that will make us better. We were challenged. We had opportunities that we wasted but I’m proud of our kids and proud of our effort. The coaching staff did a good job in getting the team ready to play.”
Wofford will travel to West Virginia to take on the Big East club next Saturday night at 6 p.m.