No. 15/7 Elon 31, No. 17/15 Furman 10

Final Stats

 

ELON, N.C. ? Brandon Newsome rushed for a career-high 161 yards and scored a career-high two touchdowns as No. 7 Elon pounded out a 31-10 Southern Conference football triumph over No. 15 Furman for its fifth victory in as many weeks Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium.

On his 25 carries, Newsome gained a game-best 161 yards and lost none while rushing for one of his two touchdowns. He also hauled in a team-high six receptions for 29 yards and his other touchdown as the Phoenix (5-1) opened SoCon play at 3-0 for the first time ever and improved to 5-4 in contests versus the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision’s top-25 teams over the past three seasons.

Scott Riddle connected on 21 of his 30 passes with one interception for 160 yards and three touchdowns for Elon while Jordan Sorrells ? the SoCon September Offensive Player of the Month ? converted 26 of his 43 tosses with two picks for 248 yards and one touchdown for the Paladins (4-2, 1-1), who own a league-leading 12 SoCon championships.

Furman’s Adam Mims caught a game-high eight passes for 62 yards and teammate David Hendrix snagged five receptions for a game-high 71 yards. All-American Terrell Hudgins came down with five catches for a team-high 64 yards as the Phoenix defeated the Paladins for the first time in nine years.

Elon finished with 391 yards of total offense ? 231 on the ground ? to 320 net yards for Furman, including 248 in the air. The Phoenix defense held the Paladin offense to 72 rushing yards on 28 carries.

William Middleton amassed a game-high 11 tackles ? including a sack ? to go with a pair of pass breakups to lead the Furman defense while Brandon Wiggins tallied nine tackles to pace the Elon defense.

Andrew Wilcox ? the two-time defending SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week ? put the Phoenix on the scoreboard first by sinking a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Paladins evened the count on Matthew Cesari’s 28-yard field goal in the first period.

Elon transformed a 3-3 deadlock into a commanding 24-3 cushion by scoring three consecutive touchdowns via a 12-yard pass to A.J. Harris from Riddle in the second quarter, a 28-yard pass to Hudgins from Riddle in the second frame and a one-yard pass to Newsome from Riddle in the third stanza.

Furman cut the deficit to 24-10 when Chris Truss reeled in a three-yard touchdown toss from Sorrells with 8:16 remaining in the contest. Newsome’s touchdown run from nine yards out with 2:17 left determined the final margin.

Both teams return to action at 2 p.m. next Saturday as Furman hosts Western Carolina during its Homecoming weekend and Elon visits The Citadel.

 

 

No. 3/2 Appalachian State 47, No. 20/12 The Citadel 21

Final Stats

 

BOONE, N.C. ? Second-ranked Appalachian State University jumped out to a 41-7 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a convincing 47-21 win over No. 12 The Citadel at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Appalachian (3-2, 1-0 SoCon) racked up 363 yards of offense in the first half alone and found the end zone on its final six possessions of the half to take the commanding halftime lead. Quarterback Armanti Edwards, who overcame an ankle injury suffered in last Saturday’s win over Presbyterian, highlighted ASU’s first-half dominance by rushing 11 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns and completing 10-of-12 passes for 177 yards and three more scores before the break. The junior, who became only the 12th player in NCAA Division I history (FBS or FCS)  with 3,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a career, finished the contest with 225 yards and a career-best four touchdowns on 14-of-18 passing and 80 yards on 15 carries. The Mountaineers scored just once in the opening quarter on Devin Radford’s 29-yard touchdown run just under 10 minutes in. However, the second period was all Black and Gold, as the Apps scored five times to take the 41-7 advantage into the break. Edwards accounted for all five second-quarter touchdowns with runs of 16 and three yards and passes of 25 yards to Matt Cline, four yards to CoCo Hillary and, the back-breaker, a 68-yard screen pass to Radford with 15 seconds to go in the half. Not to be overlooked in the impressive performance was the effort turned in by Appalachian’s defense. ASU limited The Citadel (3-2, 1-1 SoCon), which came into the contest with the Southern Conference’s second-ranked scoring offense at 35.5 points per game, to just 245 yards on the afternoon, 170 below its average. The Citadel managed only 82 yards in the first half. The Bulldogs tried to make it interesting by cutting the deficit to 41-21 midway through the fourth quarter on a 50-yard punt return by Andre Roberts and a nine-yard scoring connection from Bart Blanchard to Alex Sellars. However, after recovering an onside kick, the Mountaineers iced the triumph on a 24-yard strike from Edwards to Josh Johnson. Besides Edwards, Radford was Appalachian’s offensive star with 72 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to go along with the 68-yard touchdown reception. Cline chipped in with 74 all-purpose yards (49 rushing, 25 receiving).   The Citadel’s Asheton Jordan recorded a career-best 162 all-purpose yards in the game, including a career-best 62-yard kickoff return. Jordan’s 162 all-purpose yards included 47 yards rushing on 11 carries and two catches for 19 yards. Jordan also recorded 96 yards on three kickoff returns, including his career-best 62-yard return. Quarterback Bart Blanchard was 17-for-41 for 172 yards and one touchdown in the game for The Citadel Cortez Gilbert paced the Mountaineers defensively with 11 tackles and two pass break-ups. D.J. Smith added nine tackles and a pair of pass break-ups and true freshman Lanston Tanyi made seven stops and hurried the passer four times. Appalachian continues SoCon play next Saturday when it travels to league-newcomer Samford. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. (EDT) at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. NOTES: Appalachian won for the 37th time in its last 38 home games ... ASU moved to 29-8 all-time and 16-4 under head coach Jerry Moore in SoCon openers ... the Mountaineers beat The Citadel for the 14th time in the past 15 meetings and eighth-straight time in Boone ... with their 11th in the past 12 homecoming games, ASU moved to 34-11-2 all-time in homecoming affairs ... ASU’s 41 first-half points were its most in a single ahalf since scoring 45 in the first half of last year’s win over Western Carolina while they were the most allowed by The Citadel since Florida State scored 49 in the second half in 2005 ... in three career games versus The Citadel, Edwards has accounted for 953 yards (547 passing, 406 rushing) and 12 touchdowns (seven passing, five rushing) ... Cline’s touchdown was the first of his career while Hillary’s was his first-ever scoring reception.

 

 

 

Samford 21, Western Carolina 6

Final Stats

 

Cullowhee, N.C. ? Samford running back Chris Evans rushed for 166 yards on 34 carries and a touchdown and quarterback Dustin Taliaferro threw for two scores within a minute and 51 second span in the third quarter as the Bulldogs spoiled Western Carolina’s Homecoming Saturday with a 21-6 win in front of 9,174 fans at E. J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

 

Junior placekicker Blake Bostic was 2-for-2 on the day, including a career-long 43 yarder in the second quarter, to provide WCU’s lone scoring.

 

The loss ? Western’s fifth-straight to Samford since 1969 ? extends WCU’s Southern Conference losing skid to 17-straight games, one shy of tying for the second-longest such streak in conference history. It was also Samford’s first conference triumph since joining the SoCon this season.

 

“It’s a very disappointing loss today,” said head coach Dennis Wagner following the game. “I blame myself; offensively, we have been in a funk since the Presbyterian game (Sept. 20). We did not run the ball effectively enough. The defense played well today ? the numbers don’t look like it, and there were a few third down situations where they could have gotten off the field. But we didn’t do anything on offense to help them out.”

 

He added, “We knew this was going to be a battle. We didn’t play well, but we have to just put it behind us and move on.”

 

Senior wide receiver Donald James posted a career-best 82 yards receiving on eight catches to lead WCU, while red-shirt freshman running back Quan Warley was held to 47 yards on 16 carries on the ground for the Catamounts.

 

Western Carolina (2-4, 0-2 SoCon) forced three turnovers on the day as the Bulldogs put the ball on the new turf four times, losing three fumbles. However, the Catamounts, who committed three giveaways of its own, were only able to turn the takeaways into three points in dropping their second-straight game.

 

"This was a big win for our Samford family," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "What made it special to me was the way the kids played. We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but they played hard and just kept coming. When we had to make a play, we made a play. I was proud of all our guys."

 

Leading 7-0 after driving the opening kickoff 55 yards in five plays, Samford’s Taliaferro was stripped by WCU sophomore Mitchell Bell to give the Catamounts possession at the SAM 34-yard line late in the first quarter. However, on the first play of the ensuing possession, red-shirt sophomore receiver Adam Hearns was hit and rolled over, fumbling the ball back to the Bulldogs.

 

With Samford driving in the second, the Catamount defense came up with another key stop and turnover, as receiver Riley Hawkins fumbled an apparent reverse exchange with junior Gene Singletary pouncing on the bouncing ball to shut down the Samford drive at the four-yard line.

 

After the change of possession, Western mounted its longest drive of the year in terms of plays, moving 67 yards in 17 plays on a drive spearheaded by two different quarterbacks. With senior starter Andy Horn under center, Western moved from its own seven-yard line out to its own 38 before red-shirt freshman Zack Jaynes came in on a third and long situation. The Canton, N.C., native zipped a first-down earning, 13-yard pass to sophomore tight end Andrew Rogers to keep the drive alive as a part of six-straight completions to move the offense to the Samford 26-yard line.

 

Jaynes started the game a perfect 9-for-9 before consecutive incomplete passes stalled the drive at the Samford 26. Bostic then booted his career-best field goal to put Western on the board, trailing 7-3 which is where the scoreboard stood at the half.

 

Jaynes finished with a career-best 162 yards on 20-of-33 through the air with one interception.

 

The Catamounts closed to within a point on their opening drive of the second half, utilizing a 24-yard kickoff return by freshman Levon Curtis to open the possession at their own 32-yard line. Horn, who finished with 90 yards passing on eight completions with his first INT of the season, connected on double-digit pass plays to red-shirt sophomores Marquel Pittman (13 yards) and Adam Hearns (29 yards). However, with WCU threatening the red-zone, the drive stalled and Bostic again was called upon, splitting the uprights from 35 yards out to make it, 7-6.

 

Samford (3-2, 1-1 SoCon) then used consecutive scores within a decisive minute and 51 second frame to put the game away. The Bulldogs turned a 38-yard Richie Fordham punt return into points as Taliaferro found Jonathan Lowery on the very next play for a 22-yard scoring strike to push the game to 14-6.

 

Following a three-and-out for the Catamounts that consumed just over a minute of game clock, Taliaferro connected with Hawkins from 38 yards away to provide the final tally, 21-6.

 

For Western, junior Adrian McLeod led the defensive attack with a career-high 14 tackles, including eight solo stops and 2.5 tackles for loss. Classmate Chris Collins finished with 11 stops in the loss, while senior Jeff Bradley was credited with three tackles, all for losses that combined for nine yards.

 

WCU will hit the road for its next two contests in the Palmetto State. The Catamounts visit the nationally-ranked Wofford Terriers (Oct.4) and Furman Paladins (Oct. 11). Samford hosts Appalachian State next Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.

 

 

 

Georgia Southern 52, Chattanooga 28

Final Stats

 

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Despite a career night from Jare Gault, the Mocs were unable to slow down a potent Georgia Southern (3-3, 1-2) offense Saturday night, as the Eagles defeated Chattanooga (1-5, 0-2) 52-28.

 

Georgia Southern cracked the scoreboard first as the Eagles scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from Antonio Henton to Michael McIntosh to put GSU up 7-0. It would only take the Eagles 1:13 to find the endzone again as Georgia Southern as David Arnold returned a blocked punt 24 yards for the score. The blocked punt marked the sixth straight game in which a kick has been blocked by either Chattanooga or its opponent.

 

The Mocs got on the scoreboard a mere four minutes later as Jare Gault connected with Patrick Wilkinson from 14 yards out for the touchdown to cut the Georgia Southern lead in half. The touchdown was the first in both Gault’s and Wilkinson’s UTC careers. The score finished off a three-play, 22-yard drive for Chattanooga resulting from a Joseph Thornton recovery of an Eagle fumble on a punt return.

 

After a Georgia Southern field goal put the score at 17-7, the Mocs would strike again with a five-yard run by Gault to put Chattanooga within three, 17-14. Gault’s run capped off an 11-play, 72-yard drive for the Mocs that spanned 5:30.

 

Georgia Southern claimed a 31-14 halftime advantage via a three-yard run by Adam Urbano and an interception returned for a touchdown by Damon Suggs.

 

The Eagles scored quickly to open the second half with two scores to go up 45-14.  The Mocs answered as Gault took a vicious shot delivering a 76-yard touchdown pass from Gault to Jordan Hazard to pull the Mocs within three scores. The score marked the longest pass of the season for Chattanooga and the careers of Gault and Hazard.

 

After another Georgia Southern touchdown, the Mocs would add on one more score thanks to a Brent Hayes one-yard touchdown run, the first rushing touchdown of his career.

 

Gault had his best performance of the season completing 17 of 32 for 205 yards and two touchdowns before departing with cramps in the fourth quarter. Gault’s 32 attempts were a season-high for a Mocs signal caller this season. The quarterback also added a score on the ground.

 

Errol Wynn was the Mocs leading rusher on the night with 54 yards on 16 carries, while Jordan Hazard paced the team in receiving with a season-high 94 receiving yards and a touchdown, as well as 259 all-purpose yards.

 

Antonio Henton led the Georgia Southern offense with 177 yards passing and 88 yards rushing. The quarterback also accounted for two Eagles’ touchdowns. Demarcus Watts was GSU’s leading receiver with 51 yards on three receptions.

 

Next up for the Mocs will be No. 9 Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C., next Saturday, Oct. 11.  Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Gibbs Stadium. The game will be televised regionally by SportSouth. Georgia Southern has an open date next Saturday before returning to action on Oct. 18 with a 3 p.m. home contest against Appalachian State ? a game that will also be televised on SportSouth.