Samford 27, Georgia Southern 17
Final Stats
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern set and broke several records, however, the Eagles dropped a 27-17 Southern Conference contest to Samford on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 8). With the loss, the Eagles fell to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the league while Samford improves to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon.
Senior Raja Andrews, one of 19 recognized during pre-game ceremonies on Senior Day, tied his own single-game record with 10 receptions, a total he set last week at The Citadel. Antonio Henton matched a program record completing 27 passes, but in the end it was Samford who was able to take control over the final three quarters.
The Eagles out-gained Samford 330-317 in the game, however, the Bulldogs held a 315-223 edge over the final 45 minutes.
Georgia Southern received the opening kickoff but the drive stalled near midfield. Samford ran into punter Charlie Edwards so the Eagles got another first down thanks to the personal foul. After driving down to the 10, the Eagles had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Adrian Mora.
The defense forced a 3-and-out, including a third down stop in which Dakota Walker added to his Southern Conference sack lead sharing on one with Quentin Taylor.
Another Eagle drive went to the five, but a clipping penalty set up 1st-and-goal from 20. On the next play Antonio Henton tied yet another Georgia Southern record when he found Raja Andrews for a 20-yard score. The sophomore quarterback threw a touchdown pass for the fifth straight game tying a program record (Chaz Williams in 2004), and Mora's extra point made it 10-0.
In the first quarter the Eagles held Samford to just two total yards of offense and none by Chris Evans, but were flagged for 20 yards of penalties.
Samford (5-4, 3-3) used three big plays to take the lead for good. Dustin Taliaferro found Jonathan Lowery for a 73-yard TD pass in the second quarter. During the final minute of the half DeMarcus Covington hauled in a 43-yard scoring strike from Taliaferro. On the first possession of the second half, Chris Evans took a direct snap and raced 31 yards for a score. Larry Beard blocked the extra point attempt as the Eagles were down 20-10 with 10:39 left in the third.
Henton hit Michael McIntosh on the left edge and the senior wide receiver raced 16 yards for a score, cutting the deficit to 20-17. It was McIntosh's fourth TD reception this season.
Early in the fourth quarter Henton tried launching a pass into the wind but Andy Davis intercepted the pass and returned it 25 yards down to the GS 17. On 4th-and-2 from the nine, Taliaferro faked a handoff and raced into the endzone to take a 27-17 lead with 9:08 remaining for the final margin.
"A lack of discipline on the field and an inability to make the plays - that's what disappoints me the most. We're 5-5 and our guys have to decide if they want to be 6-5. And if they don't show up on Monday ready to go, I'll be disappointed," said head coach Chris Hatcher. "If you let a team like Samford hang around long enough, they'll beat you."
Henton tied the individual single-game completions record in 44 attempts, totaling 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed for 69 yards on 20 carries.
On the season he now owns sole possession of program records for: completions (155), yards (1,842), touchdowns (15), total offensive plays (437) and most 200-yard passing games (5), while tying the record for consecutive games with a TD pass (5) and ranking third in total offense (2,470) and second in attempts (278).
Andrews added to his career record with his fifth season and career 100-yard receiving game, recording 114 yards on the 10 receptions and a TD. He extended his GS career receptions record to 119, ranks third all-time with 1,456 receiving yards and is sixth with nine TDs.
Tim Camp and McIntosh set personal-highs with six receptions each, totaling 55 and 36 yards, respectively.
Damon Suggs matched a career-high with 10 tackles. Taylor finished with eight, including 1.5 for a loss, while Chris Covington and Walker added six tackles apiece.
Evans led the Bulldogs rushing attack with 142 yards, all during the final three quarters. Taliaferro completed 14-of-17 passes for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lowery caught two passes for a team-leading 79 yards.
Davis intercepted two passes and led the defense with seven tackles.
The Eagles close out the regular season next Saturday (Nov. 15) at Furman. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and will be televised live on SportSouth. Samford hosts Wofford next Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
No. 11 Elon 33, Western Carolina 14
Final Stats
ELON, N.C. ? Terrell Hudgins hauled in seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown on his way to breaking three records while Scott Riddle tallied 230 net yards and was responsible for three touchdowns and another record, leading No. 11 Elon to a 33-14 Southern Conference football triumph over Western Carolina on a Homecoming Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium.
Hudgins became the Phoenix’s all-time leader in receiving yards in the first quarter, eclipsing the 3,460 yards by former Elon great Richard McGeorge in 1966-69. He upped his total to 3,544 yards to become the Southern Conference’s all-time leader in receiving yards in the fourth quarter, surpassing the 3,520 yards by Marshall standout Mike Barber in 1985-88.
Along the way, Hudgins recorded his 18th career contest in which he registered at least 100 receiving yards to become the Southern Conference’s sole all-time leader in that category. He entered the game tied with Appalachian State’s Rick Beasley (1978-80) and VMI’s Mark Stock (1985-88) for the milestone with 17 games of 100 or more receiving yards.
Riddle connected on 17 of his 26 passes with one interception for 210 yards and two touchdowns, throwing his 853rd career pass to eclipse former Elon star Burgin Beale and become the program’s all-time leader in passing attempts. Beale attempted 849 passes from 1965-68. Riddle also carried the football five times for 20 yards and another touchdown.
Andrew Wilcox converted three point-after-touchdown kicks to tie Elon legend Phil Renn as the Phoenix’s all-time leader in career PAT kicks. Renn booted 129 successful PAT kicks in 1979-82. Wilcox had an opportunity to break the record in the fourth quarter, but his final PAT attempt could not recover from a low snap and was blocked.
Wilcox put Elon (8-2 overall, 6-1 Southern Conference) on the scoreboard first with a 47-yard field goal in the first period. Lance Camp hauled in a three-yard touchdown toss from Riddle to extend the Elon edge to 10-0 in the second stanza. A 34-yard field goal by Wilcox fattened the Phoenix advantage to 13-0 for halftime.
Western Carolina (3-8, 1-6) drew to within 13-7 on a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mitchell Bell in the third frame. Riddle then scored a touchdown on a five-yard run before the Catamounts’ Andrerius Thomas scored on a four-yard touchdown toss from Zack Jaynes in the third quarter.
A pair of Elon touchdowns in the fourth quarter ? on a 17-yard pass to Hudgins from Riddle and a one-yard run by Jamal Schuman ? determined the final margin as the Phoenix concluded its regular season home schedule at 4-2.
“We are really pleased to get win No. 8 and league win No. 6,” Elon coach Pete Lembo said. “I think those are both good milestones for this program here, in terms of where we’ve come from and where we’re at. It’s good to get another win at home and have a winning record at home this season.”
The Phoenix, who recently endured a half-decade stretch with a 14-42 record (2001-2005), has ranked among the country's top-25 FCS teams in The Sports Network, FCS Coaches, Sports Media Entertainment and Any Given Saturday polls throughout the 2008 campaign. Elon finished the 2005 season with a winless ledger in Southern Conference action.
Jaynes made 24 of his 31 passes without an interception for 182 yards and a touchdown as Elon amassed 354 total yards ? 210 passing and 144 rushing ? to 231 net yards by the Catamounts.
“I felt like defensively in the first half we played a pretty good football game,” Western Carolina coach Dennis Wagner said. “In the second half, we kind of let some things go. Offensively, we never got any rhythm in the game at all. Late in the second quarter, they got up and pressed our receivers and took them out of the passing game.”
Next Saturday (Nov. 15), Elon visits Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. while Western Carolina is idle prior to the season finale Battle for the Old Mountain Jug on Nov. 22.
No. 2 Appalachian State 49, Chattanooga 7
Final Stats
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Another beautiful autumn afternoon in the aptly named Scenic City saw Chattanooga (1-9/0-6) fall 49-7 to No. 2 Appalachian State at Finley Stadium.
The Mountaineers struck quickly with a five-play, 80-yard drive in just 1:24 to open the first quarter up 7-0. Running back Robert Welton capped off the drive with an 18-yard run up the middle to score.
After trading punts, Jare Gault found Clint Woods down the left sideline to knot the score at seven. That score was answered almost immediately following a touchback on Craig Camay’s kickoff.
Welton scored his second touchdown of the day on a one-yard run to make it 14-7. The touchdown was set up two plays earlier on a 76-yard scamper by Armanti Edwards as App State covered 80 yards in just three plays and 1:19.
The Mountaineers continued the onslaught throughout the first half scoring on five of its seven first half possessions to take a 35-7 lead into the break. App’s final drive went 95 yards on seven plays in 1:21 scoring with 10 seconds left in the half. Two more scores in the third quarter provided the final cushion of 49-7.
A couple of trick plays highlighted the Mocs day. Junior wide receiver Blue Cooper completed a 32-yard pass on a throwback to Gault in the third quarter. Cooper is 3-3 passing for 77 yards and two scores in his career.
Punter Jeff Lloyd was set to punt early in the second quarter when on a rugby-style kick he saw wide open spaces and scampered 13 yards. Lloyd also had six of his nine punts downed inside the 20.
ASU was led by Edwards who amassed 328 yards of total offense and two scores in one half of play. The Mountaineers had 428 rushing yards with Edwards leading the way with 152 yards followed by Cedric Baker with 107 and DeAndre Presley with 101.
The Mocs hit the road next Saturday, Nov. 15, traveling to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel at 2 p.m. Appalachian State entertains second-place Elon next Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
No. 12/10 Wofford 33, The Citadel 28
Final Stats
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Wofford College defeated The Citadel 33-28 on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium in a key Southern Conference match-up. Dane Romero had a big day for the Terriers, scoring three rushing touchdowns with 146 yards on the ground.
The Terriers are 7-2 on the season (5-1 SoCon) and The Citadel is 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the Southern Conference. Dane Romero led the team with 146 yards rushing, while Andy Strickland had 78 yards and a touchdown receiving. Ben Widmyer was 6-of-7 with a touchdown and added 79 yards and a touchdown rushing. Andre Roberts was a highlight reel for The Citadel, catching 14 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
“We knew it was not going to be easy today,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “They are a way better football team than what their record is. The one thing you know about a Citadel football team is they are going to play their tails off all the way through and they are very well coached. We had to come out and fight for our lives. The big thing was when we needed to stand tall, we stood tall. We made the plays when we had to and the interception was huge. We still have some issues. We are not as aggressive defensively as we need to be and I think they might be playing tentative, afraid to make a mistake. We need to start playing like we were earlier in the season. It is a big win, but we have to take a depth breathe and get ready for the next one.”
The Bulldogs picked up three first downs on their opening possession, but were forced to punt. A 26-yard punt return by Andy Strickland set up a six-play drive for the Terriers that was capped by a two-yard run by Dane Romero. The Citadel picked up two first downs, but on fourth and two, the pass from Bart Blanchard was incomplete, turning it over on downs.
Wofford was able to put together a drive that included a 39-yard reception by Justice Joslin to get the ball to the one-yard line. Dane Romero punched it in at 13:20 in the second quarter for a 13-0 lead as the point after was wide right. The Citadel was able to get on the board with 7:40 left in the first half with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bart Blanchard from Andre Roberts to make it a 13-7 game.
On the next drive for Wofford, the Terriers got to the eight yard line and had fourth-and-three. Dane Romero picked up the first down and one play later scored a two-yard touchdown to take a 20-7 lead with 2:08 left in the half. The Citadel responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts with 14 seconds left to make it a 20-14 game at the half.
The Terriers opened the second half with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Ben Widmyer to a wide-open Andy Strickland on the second play from scrimmage. The two-point attempt was incomplete, giving Wofford a 26-14 lead at 14:10 in the third quarter.
After the team’s traded punts, The Citadel was able to put together a seven-play, 42 yard drive that ended with a one-yard run by Terrell Dallas for a 26-21 score at 6:34 in the third quarter. After a Wofford punt, the Bulldogs were unable to get the offense started and punted. The Terriers only needed five plays to go 76 yards, including a 55-yard run by Dane Romeo, as Ben Widmyer scored from 20-yards out. With 10:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, Wofford had a 33-21 lead.
On the next drive by the Bulldogs, Preston Roseboro came up with an interception on the five-yard line to end a drive. Wofford was forced to punt and The Citadel took over the ball with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter. After two quick first downs, Bart Blanchard found Andre Roberts for a 30-yard touchdown reception with 3:48 on the clock and a 33-28 score.
Wofford converted a fourth-and-one on the final drive of the game to keep the ball and run out the clock for the victory.
Wofford had 409 yards of total offense, while The Citadel had 388 total yards. Possession time was almost even, with Wofford having a 30:40 to 29:20 advantage. The Terriers were 5-of-11 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down.
Up next, the Terriers will travel to Samford on November 15 in the first meeting between the two teams as members of the Southern Conference. Kickoff is at 3:00 pm ET. The final game of the regular season will be November 22 against Furman at Gibbs Stadium. The Citadel visits Chattanooga next Saturday at 2 p.m. for its SoCon season finale prior to visiting Florida in “The Swamp” on Nov. 22.