Georgia Southern 42, Coastal Carolina 34

CONWAY, S.C. ? Jayson Foster set a Georgia Southern record rushing for six touchdowns as Georgia Southern held off Coastal Carolina 42-34 Saturday night in Brooks Stadium. The Eagles start the 2007 season 2-0, their first undefeated start after the first two games since 2001.

Foster’s six TDs were one shy of the NCAA record set on two occasions. But that was only the beginning of his record-setting performance. The senior quarterback again joined elite company in the Georgia Southern record book, matching Adrian Peterson as the only Eagle to record consecutive 200-yard rushing efforts, but Foster did so in the first two games of a season. AP accomplished the feat midway through the 1998 season against The Citadel (231 yards) and East Tennessee State (209).

Foster rushed for a then career-high 231 yards last week in the win over West Georgia, but improved on that mark with 253 on 28 carries against the Chanticleers (1-2).

Lamar Lewis recorded another career-high effort against Coastal, 206 yards on 18 carries. His previous high came in last year’s win over CCU at Paulson Stadium.

The 459 combined rushing yards by Foster and Lewis set a Southern Conference record for the most rushing yards by two teammates in a single game, surpassing former Eagles Greg Hill (219) and Adrian Peterson (197) who ran for a combined 416 yards against Furman in 1999.

“This was a big win for our football team. We made one more big play than they did,” said head coach Chris Hatcher. “We came out and showed that we could throw the ball, which helped open up the running game... We just keep finding a way to win; it’s big to come out of here with a win as we start a three-game stretch at home.

“Foster has the knack of making a big play when we need one. But also give credit to the offensive line and our running backs ran the ball well too. I thought our wide receivers did a good job tonight too,” said Hatcher.

Coastal cut the Eagles’ lead to eight late in the game, thanks to Mike Tolbert’s third rushing TD of the game. GS recovered the kickoff with 4:27 left. Two key third down conversions kept the drive alive. Facing 3rd-and-3 on their 25, Foster gained five yards to move the chain. But the biggest play of the game was when the Eagles faced 3rd-and-9 from the 31.

Foster found Michael McIntosh, and the junior wide receiver made a diving catch for 11 yards to move the chains and end any hopes of Coastal’s comeback.

Georgia Southern struck first, needing five plays to cover 50 yards. On a quarterback keeper Foster broke through the left side, shaking off tacklers on the final five yards, to score a 31-yard touchdown. Jesse Hartley’s extra point made it 7-0. However, the Chanticleers quickly tied the score.

On the first play during Coastal’s ensuing drive, Jamie Fordham registered a career-long 61-yard run to tie the score.

But Foster showed why he’s one of the most dynamic players in all of Division I. On another keeper, Foster was facing a Chanticleer defender 1-on-1. He easily out-maneuvered the defender and scored from 36 yards out. Hartley’s extra point gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead.

In just one quarter Foster accumulated 106 yards rushing on nine carries, his 13th career 100-yard rushing and 15th career multi-touchdown game.

Early in the second quarter Foster’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Keon Cunningham, who returned it down to the Eagles’ five. Two plays later Tolbert broke away from two tacklers and scored from six yards out, tying the score at 14-all with 11:43 remaining in the first half.

Foster made yet another impressive run, this time a 55-yarder for his third score of the game. The point after gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead with 6:30 left.

The Eagles came up with two turnovers from that point but came away empty, narrowly missing on two field goal attempts. Brandon Echols recovered a muffed punt attempt by Ben Erdman, giving the Eagles possession on Coastal’s 22 but Hartley missed from 39 yards out. Chris Covington intercepted Will Richardson’s pass and returned it 45 yards down to the Chanticleers’ 15. A 3-and-out left the Eagles with a 32-yard FG attempt that missed just left, but the Eagles still took a touchdown lead into the locker room.

Richardson, who picked up a key first down on 4th-and-8 by rushing for 19 yards, scored from a yard out. Justin Durham’s extra point tied the game with 3:51 left in the third quarter. That also marked the first time Georgia Southern’s defense allowed points in the second half.

Foster’s then career-high fourth rushing TD put the Eagles ahead early in the fourth quarter, an 18-yard run up the middle for a 28-21 lead. Covington kept the drive alive by converting a fake punt, gaining four yards down to the CCU 29.

Coastal took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in 11 plays, capped by Tolbert bouncing off the pile and crossing the goal line before fumbling on 4th-and-goal from the one. However, Durham missed the extra point wide left and the Eagles still held onto a 28-27 lead. But two touchdowns by Foster within 42 seconds midway through the fourth quarter sealed the win.

Foster completed 6-of-15 passes for 58 yards, but threw two interceptions ? the first time in his career throwing two picks. But the ground game piled up 512 yards and 570 yards of total offense.

Dedrick Bynam also recorded his first interception of the year. Carson Hill paced the defense with five tackles.

Fordham gained 96 yards while Tolbert added 74 as Coastal gained 205 on the ground. Richardson completed 15-of-32 passes for 165 yards. The Eagles defense held preseason All-America wide receiver Jerome Simpson to just three receptions for 49 yards, after he torched GS for a Paulson Stadium record 207 receiving yards last year.

The Eagles open Southern Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 22) at Paulson Stadium against Chattanooga. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised live on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.

#1 Appalachian State 34, Northern Arizona 21

BOONE, N.C. ­? Trey Elder totaled 298 yards of offense and Walter Payton Award candidate Kevin Richardson set career highs with seven receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns to lead top-ranked Appalachian State University to a 34-21 victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

An overflow crowd of 27,104, the second-largest in KBS history, saw Appalachian (3-0) rack up a season-high 429 yards of total offense in the win.

However, the Mountaineers’ 17th-straight victory and 29th in-a-row at home didn’t come easy, as Northern Arizona (1-2) pushed the Apps from the beginning. NAU forced the Mountaineers into three-straight three-and-out series to start the game and were out-gaining the Apps 125-19 at one point en route to a 3-0 lead through one quarter. The damage could have been worse, but the Black and Gold defense held Northern Arizona to just three points on two trips inside the ASU 15-yard line in the opening period.

Appalachian got on track at the end of the first quarter, as it marched into Lumberjack territory before Elder found Richardson on a 34-yard catch-and-run to give ASU a 7-3 lead on the first play of the second period.

After the Lumberjacks responded with another field goal, Elder marched the Mountaineers right back to paydirt, going 59 yards in nine plays, culminating with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hans Batichon that made it 14-6.

Thanks to a blocked field goal on the final play of the first half by Jerome Touchstone, Appalachian took the 14-6 advantage into the locker room. The field-goal block was Appalachian’s fourth in three games this season.

Julian Rauch capped the Mountaineers’ first two possessions of the second half with field goals to stretch the ASU lead to 20-6. However, NAU drew back within seven points on an acrobatic 18-yard touchdown pass from Lance Kriesien to Skyler Moore with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The score remained 20-13 until Richardson hauled in his second touchdown reception of the afternoon, a 47-yarder from Elder that gave ASU a 27-13 advantage with less than 10 minutes to play. Five minutes later, Appalachian put the game on ice when Trey Hennessee separated NAU punt returner K.J. Gerard from the ball and Cortez Gilbert scooped up the loose ball and returned it 32 yards to give ASU a 34-13 lead.

A one-yard touchdown rush by Kriesien and two-point conversion in the waning minutes accounted for the final margin.

Making his second-straight start in place of banged up starter Armanti Edwards, Elder completed 15-of-22 passes without an interception for 216 yards and three scores. He also ran 19 times for 82 yards.

Richardson went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his illustrious career with the 122-yard performance. He added 58 yards on 15 carries to finish with 180 all-purpose yards, the fifth-highest output of his career.

Jacque Roman led the Apps’ defensive effort with a game-high 14 tackles. Corey Lynch added 10 stops and a pass break-up and defensive tackle Anthony Williams chipped in with nine tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage and a sack.

Kriesien led the Lumberjacks with 300 yards of total offense (171 passing, 129 rushing).

Appalachian opens defense of its back-to-back Southern Conference championships when it visits perennial league-title contender Wofford next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The contest will be televised live on SportSouth.

NOTES: In addition to holding the nation’s longest overall winning streak in Division I and the nation’s longest home winning streak in Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision ? formerly Division I-AA), Appalachian has also won 23-straight games versus FCS competition ... ASU’s last loss to an FCS opponent was a 34-31 setback at Furman on Oct. 8, 2005 ... Saturday’s attendance is second only to last week’s crowd of 28,802 in KBS history ... the Mountaineers evened their all-time record versus opponents from the Big Sky Conference at 2-2 ... Justin Woazeah’s interception in the fourth quarter was the eighth of his career, moving him within one of ASU’s all-time top 10.

#7 Wisconsin 45, The Citadel 31

Madison, Wis. ? The Citadel football entered halftime tied 21-21 against the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers before their third largest crowd in any Bulldogs game in Madison, Wis. 80,327 spectators witnessed the Big Ten powerhouse struggle in the opening half of Saturday’s matchup; however, the Bulldogs were unable to stop a second half explosion by the Badger offense, that dominated the third quarter and put the Badgers on top for good, 45-31.

Senior Duran Lawson was spectacular in the first half and formidable throughout the day, going 23-for-35 and passing for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan went 14-for-20 on the game, passing for only 201 yards while getting sacked three times by the Bulldog defense. However, the impressive numbers on the day came from redshirt senior Tory Cooper who gained 66 yards rushing on 15 attempts and caught five passes for 89 yards. Sophomore Andre Roberts caught five passes for 54 yards in the game.

A pass break-up by Tillman Millhouse put a slight stop to the Badger offense in their first possession of the game, making them third-and-one at the Bulldog 22-yard line. However, one play later Wisconsin’s P.J. Hill found a hole in the Bulldog defense and ran the ball in for the first score of the game at 10:28 on the game clock, putting the Badgers up 7-0.

In an impressive second possession, the Bulldogs appeared to do almost everything right moving the ball 72 yards in 2:53 for the score. Receiving the kick-off on the 6-yard line, senior running back Tory Cooper returned the ball 22 yards to start The Citadel possession on the Wisconsin 28-yard line. In the first play of the possession, senior quarterback Duran Lawson completed a 17-yard pass to sophomore Andre Roberts for first-and-10 with the ball on the 45. A reverse played ended with senior Ta'Mar Jernigan rushing for 25 yards to give the Bulldogs another first down with the ball on the 30. Jernigan on the next play connected on a 6-yard pass from Lawson, followed by a one-yard rush by Cooper. An incomplete pass to Roberts in the end zone was overthrown, but holding was called on the Badgers to give the Bulldogs another first down. Second-and-10, Lawson connected on a pass to fifth-year senior Tim Higgins for the touchdown to tie the Badgers 7-7.

Feeling the momentum, the Bulldog defense stepped up their game and forced the Badgers to punt on the next possession. Credited with the stop are senior Trevar Broughton who sacked Badger quarter Tyler Donovan for a loss of seven yards at 4:10 in the first, making the Badgers third-and-19 on about the Bulldog 35. The next play sophomore Reggie Rice was credited with a quarterback hurry that ended with a Donovan incomplete pass, forcing the Badgers’ punting unit on the field. Unable to move the ball on their next possession, the Bulldogs ended the first quarter tied, 7-7.

The Badgers led off the scoring in the second quarter with a Hill 2-yard run for a touchdown at 9:05 in the quarter. Wisconsin moved the ball 78 yards in 11 plays while taking 5:46 off the clock, putting the Badgers up 14-7. However, Cooper led the Bulldogs on what became their second scoring drive of the game. The running back, who led the Southern Conference in all-purpose yards in 2006, opened the drive with a 23-yard return from the Bulldog 5-yard line and totaled 38 of The Citadel’s 72 yards in the drive. The possession ended with a 6-yard pass to Aaron Kelly who was wide open for the touchdown to tie the game at 14.

The Badgers quickly answered as Hill rushed the Badgers to their next score. Topping for the last two plays of the drive with a 40-yard rush that put Wisconsin on the Bulldogs 1-yard line. Hill completed the drive with the 1-yard touchdown run, putting the Badgers up 21-14 after taking only 1:00 off the clock.

On what was the Bulldogs most impressive drive of the game, The Citadel moved the ball 81 yards in nine plays, taking only 1:58 off the clock. After Lawson rushed the ball for a 1-yard gain to start off the drive, Cooper followed with a 13-yard rush to Bulldog 33-yard line for a first down. Lawson then threw a 16-yarder to Higgins to put the Dogs on the 49-yard line. After an incomplete pass to Roberts, junior Joshua Haney caught his reception of the season to gain 22 yards for The Citadel, placing them on the Wisconsin 29. Four plays laters, Lawson completed a 19-yard pass to Cooper who was wide open for the touchdown with 59 seconds left in the first half, tying the game at 21.

On the next Wisconsin possession, the Badgers were unable to gain a first down after Bulldogs Kendrick Lyles and Andrew Rowell combined for a huge sack at third-and-eight for a loss of nine yards, forcing the Badgers to punt with 20 seconds left in the half. Wisconsin ran three plays for a loss of seven yards in the 42 seconds taken off the clock. The Citadel got the ball with 12 seconds left on the clock, running the clock out and going into the half tied with Wisconsin 21-21.

At the end of the half, the Bulldogs led the Badgers with 16 to 10 first downs and a 245 yards of total offense to Wisconsin’s 188. Lawson completed 13-of-16 passes for three touchdowns, while Cooper led the Bulldogs with 50 yards rushing, 36 receiving, and 59 in kickoff returns. The Bulldogs only trailed the Badger rushing game by 15 yards, carrying the ball 24 times for 105 yards to their 19 carries on 120 yards. The Citadel was 3-of-3 in the redzone. Wisconsin’s quarterback Donovan completed on six of 10 passes for 68 yards total.

The Badgers received the ball opening the second half and found some improvements in their passing game. After only completing six passes in the first half for 68 yards, Donovan completed 4-of-5 passes for 55 yards in the first possession of the third quarter. Driving the ball 81 yards in 12 plays and 6:17, the Badgers scored on a 1-yard rush by Hill, his fourth touchdown of the game, at 8:38, putting Wisconsin up 28-10.

Appearing to have done a flip-flop in offensive, Lawson was sacked for the second time in the game on their second play of the half and followed the 9-yard loss with his first interception of the 2007 season, turning the ball over on the Bulldog 36-yard line. The Badgers got to the Bulldog 1-yard line, but found Terrence Reese for the stop on 4-and-1 and was forced to settle for a field goal at 3:57 in the third. Wisconsin extended the lead, 31-21.

The Bulldogs struggling in the third quarter, was forced to punt on their next possession and allowed another Hill touchdown in the first play of the fourth quarter. Four downs later, the Bulldogs found themselves punting again. This time, after a X-yard return on and Bulldog facemask penalty, the Badgers started their drive on The Citadel’s 28-yard line. Just two plays later, Donovan completed a 25-yarder to Travis Beckum for the Badgers’ first passing TD of the game. Wisconsin took the lead 45-21 at 12:27 in the fourth.

Dwight House forced and recovered a Wisconsin fumble on The Citadel’s 17-yard line, preventing another Badger touchdown and giving the ball to the Bulldogs. On the first play of the drive, Lawson went deep to Cooper for a 55-yard reception, the longest reception of Cooper’s career. That put the Bulldogs on the Wisconsin 28-yard line. After rushing seven yards over three downs, the Bulldogs faced a 4th-and-3 situation on the 21, allowing Mike Adams to kick a 38-yard field goal to make the score 45-24. The 31 points scored in the game tops the most number of points scored against a ranked Division I-A/FBS team. The Citadel scored 24 points in a 45-24 loss to No. 15 South Carolina in 1980.

Taylor Cornett put the Bulldogs on the board one final time, catching his first pass of the season with a one-yard touchdown reception from Lawson with 00:11 remaining in the game. That capped off a 12-play, 42-yard drive spanning 1:52 late in the game.

The Citadel takes next week off before beginning Southern Conference play on Sept. 29 at Chattanooga. The Bulldogs and Mocs are set to kickoff at 6 p.m. in Chattanooga. For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.

#20 Clemson 38, #16 Furman 10

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Cullen Harper passed for 266 yards and three touchdowns to lead nationally 20th-ranked Clemson to a 38-10 win over Furman in front of 79,215 fans at Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Harper, a junior, completed 16 of 19 passes and threw scoring strikes of 49, 33, and 23 yards for Clemson (3-0).

Furman (1-2) compiled 384 yards in total offense to Clemson’s 377, but the Paladins continually hurt themselves with turnovers, suffering five miscues, including two fumbles and three interceptions in the contest.

“We knew coming into the game that we couldn’t turn the ball over and have a chance to win, and that certainly turned out to be true against a very talented Clemson team,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb.  “Despite that there are several positives we’ll take away from this game and try to build on, including the fact that our effort level was good, our defense had five sacks, and we had over 380 yards in total offense.”

Paced by defensive end Wallace Artis, who notched two of Furman’s five sacks, the Paladin defense limited Clemson’s running game to 60 yards on 33 carries but on a day that Furman’s stop troops needed a few breaks, the Paladin offense, which has suffered nine turnovers in the last two games, failed to deliver.

Clemson claimed an early lead after taking its first possession of the game and covering 66 yards in eight plays for a James Davis 2-yard touchdown plunge just five minutes into the game.

On its second possession, Furman moved to the Clemson 46, but the Paladins turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert twice on third-and-one and fourth-and-one play.  From there the Tigers moved 49 yards to the Furman 4 before settling for a Mark Buchholz 22-yard field goal.

Two possessions later an interception by Michael Hamlin at the Furman 49 set up a 49-yard scoring strike by Haper to Tyler Grisham on the following play, stretching the Tiger advantage to 17-0.

Furman’s next drive ended with a fumble following a 12-yard catch by Ryan McKie at the Clemson 38.

After stopping Clemson on downs, the Paladins finally got untracked with a 13-play, 52-yard drive that ended with a Scott Beckler 38-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the half.

Furman opened the third quarter with a successful onside kick recovery at its 44, but a pair of penalties helped nullify the good start.

Clemson tallied on its first possession of the second half with a short completion by Harper to Jacoby Ford, who raced around right end for 33 yards into the end zone to give Clemson a 24-3 lead.

The Tigers tacked on two touchdown passes, including Harper’s third strike of the day, a 22-yard hook-up with Aaron Kelly, and a 33-yard scoring toss to a wide open La’Donte Harris by backup quarterback Willy Korn, to make it 38-3.

Furman finally got into the end zone at the 6:08 juncture of the fourth quarter when fullback Brantley Kendall burst up the middle on a 26-yard run to culminate a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

Furman is off next week before returning to open Southern Conference play against Wofford in Greenville on Sept. 29.  Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

Notes: Furman's five quarterback sacks against Clemson were the most ever against an Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-A) opponent and most by a Paladin defensive unit since the 2001 season, when Furman recorded nine takedowns in a 34-17 win over Lehigh. Furman now has 11 sacks in three games after compiling just 14 sacks in 12 games a year ago.  With four points today against Clemson, senior placekicker Scott Beckler moved from third to second on Furman's career kick scoring ledger with 251 points, surpassing Jason Wells (1996-99, 248 points).  Beckler also moved from eighth to seventh on Furman's overall scoring chart.

#23 Georgia 45, Western Carolina 16

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Matthew Stafford threw two second-quarter scoring passes and No. 23 Georgia recovered from the offensive malaise to beat Western Carolina 45-16 on Saturday.

Stafford lost a fumble on a sack during a sloppy opening quarter which ended 3-3. The Bulldogs pulled away with three second-quarter touchdowns.

Georgia (2-1), held out of the end zone for the first time since 2001 in last week's 16-12 loss to South Carolina, received a needed confidence boost while giving Western Carolina (0-3) its 12th straight loss.

Stafford was 14-for-20 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Joe Cox added a 34-yard scoring pass and three running backs ran for touchdowns.

Georgia freshman Knowshon Moreno rushed for 94 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown run. Thomas Brown caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Stafford and scored on a 4-yard run, and Brannan Southerland added a 2-yard scoring run.

Jonathan Parsons kicked field goals of 29, 40 and 46 yards for Western Carolina, which lost to another Southeastern Conference team, Alabama, 52-6 in its opener.

Georgia held Western Carolina to 63 yards rushing on 33 carries.

Stafford threw scoring passes to Brown and Sean Bailey in the second quarter. Stafford left after leading his fourth straight touchdown drive for a 31-9 lead to open the second half.

Georgia led 45-9 when Mike Malone's 2-yard run capped Western Carolina's late nine-play touchdown drive. Backup quarterback Adam Hearns, who was 10-for-14 for 122 yards, led the drive.

Georgia opened the game with an 11-play drive, but settled for Brandon Coutu's 37-yard field goal.

On the Bulldogs' second possession, Western Carolina's Gene Singletary forced a fumble when sacking Stafford. The Catamounts took over at the Georgia 14, setting up Parsons' first field goal.

Georgia scored its first touchdown on Stafford's screen pass to Brown. Stafford then directed a quick, four-play touchdown drive with four straight completions: 22 yards to Mohamed Massaquoi, 17 to Bailey, 8 to Mikey Henderson and 15 to Bailey for the touchdown.