No. 19 Elon 30, Stony Brook 20
Final Stats
STONY BROOK, N.Y. ? Scott Riddle passed for 241 yards and three touchdowns as No. 17 Elon held off Stony Brook in a torrential downpour for a 30-20 NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision victory Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.
The Phoenix (1-1) landed on the scoreboard first when Bo Williamson cashed in on a four-yard touchdown toss from Riddle, giving Elon an early 6-0 edge with 8:11 remaining in the opening quarter. Tim Applegate stretched the Phoenix advantage to 13-0 on a nine-yard TD pass from Riddle with 2:42 left to play in the first period.
Andrew Wilcox converted a 41-yard field goal to extend the Elon edge to 16-0 with 8:36 to go in the second stanza. Lynell Suggs put the Seawolves (1-1) on the board when he scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dayne Hoffman, cutting the deficit to 16-7 with 5:08 left before intermission.
Karlos Sullivan returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown to add to the Phoenix lead at 23-7 with 1:33 remaining in the second quarter. Stony Brook drew to within 23-13 for halftime when Donald Lee scored a touchdown on Hoffman’s 49-yard pass play with 24 seconds to play before the break.
Terrell Hudgins fattened the Elon advantage to 30-13 after scoring on a touchdown on a 57-yard pass play by Riddle with 5:45 remaining in the third period. Edwin Gowins brought the Seawolves to within 30-20 when he broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run at the 9:31 mark in the fourth quarter.
Please check back later for more details.
No. 1 Appalachian State 56, Jacksonville 7
Final Stats
BOONE, N.C. ? Top-ranked Appalachian State University football racked up 540 yards of total offense ? 448 of it on the ground ? and its defense registered seven sacks to handily defeat Jacksonville, 56-7, before a school-record crowd of 30,718 at newly expanded Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Appalachian (1-1) scored early and often, finding the end zone on four of its first six possessions en route to a commanding 28-0 halftime lead, while ASU’s defense pitched a shutout on the afternoon, with Jacksonville’s only points came on a 60-yard punt return midway through the third period.
The contest was decided in the trenches, as the Appalachian’s offensive and defensive lines generated a 448-43 advantage in rushing yards in favor of the Black and Gold.
Sophomore Robert Welton had a career day for the Mountaineers, leading the ground attack with 161 yards and touchdowns of 44, two and 72 yards on just 10 carries. Starting running back Devon Moore racked up 94 yards in only a quarter-and-a-half of action.
Quarterback Armanti Edwards accounted for 122 yards of total offense and a pair of touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) despite factoring into just 16 plays (eight passes, eight rushes). His understudy, freshman DeAndre Presley, was effective in relief of the Walter Payton Award candidate, completing 5-of-8 passes for 47 yards and adding another 18 on the ground.
Defensive end Quavian Lewis led the Apps’ sterling defensive attack with three tackles for loss and one of the team’s seven sacks among his six stops. Defensive back Leonard Love recorded a team-high nine tackles and reserve DB Travis Dowda notched the first two interceptions of his career on back-to-back series in the fourth quarter, including one which he returned 33 yards for a touchdown.
In all, Jacksonville (1-1) mustered just nine first downs against the Black-and-Gold defense. Starting quarterback Josh McGregor completed 21-of-34 passes for 198 yards, but was sacked four times. Backup signal-caller Erik Stepelton fared even worse, throwing two interceptions in his four attempts and getting sacked three times.
With the victory, Appalachian upped its all-time record in home openers to 58-18-2, including 18-2 under head coach Jerry Moore. ASU celebrated Moore’s 20th year at the helm by donning throwback uniforms which were replicas of the duds donned by the Mountaineers in 1989, Moore’s first season in Boone.
The Apps enter their only bye week of the season, giving them two weeks of preparation for the Sept. 20 showdown at James Madison.
NOTES: Appalachian won for the 36th time in its past 37 home games ... ASU has not lost a home opener since 2000 (34-28 to Troy State) ... the win was Appalachian’s 15th in a row in games following a loss ... ASU has not lost back-to-back games since opening the 2003 season with losses at Hawaii and Eastern Kentucky ... with the victory, ASU avoided its first 0-2 start since the back-to-back losses to Hawaii and EKU in ?03 ... the Mountaineers have rushed for 400-plus yards as a team in three of their past nine games ... ASU held an opponent to less than 50 rushing yards for the first time since it limited Western Carolina to 46 rushing yards in 2006 ... Elliott Finkley’s 60-yard punt return for a touchdown for Jacksonville was the first punt return for a touchdown allowed by ASU since Georgia Southern’s Jayson Foster returned a punt 94 yards for a score against the Mountaineers in 2004 ... Welton’s three-rushing-touchdown performance was the eighth by a Mountaineer in the past 13 games ... freshman Orry Frye, who has played exclusively on the offensive line during his time at ASU, made his first-career start in his first-career appearance at tight end.
Chattanooga 47, Cumberland 6
Final Stats
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---The Chattanooga Mocs (1-1) overcame a sloppy first half to pull away to 47-6 win over Cumberland (1-1) in the Mocs’ home opener. Chattanooga used a dynamic passing attack gaining 368 yards in the air.
The first half saw the Mocs move the ball well, but not find the end zone. The first UTC drives went deep into CU territory, but resulted in just 16 points due to turning the ball over on downs once, two missed field goals and a missed PAT.
Junior QB Tony Pastore came off the bench to post career high numbers with 320 yards on 15 of 27 passing. He tossed three touchdowns to go with one interception. Starting QB Jare Gault was five-of-nine for 48 yards.
The favorite targets of the night were Blue Cooper and Clint Woods who combined for 18 of the 20 receptions for 334 yards. Cooper had 10 catches for 159 yards (both career highs) and two TDs, while Woods had a career-high 175 yards on eight receptions and one score.
The defense held the Bulldogs to 283 yards on the night. The Mocs were paced by LB Joseph Thornton’s nine stops. Safety Tony Swafford made five tackles to go with an interception and a blocked kick.
The Mocs return to action, weather permitting, next Saturday at Florida State, with a 3:45 p.m. start time. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
No. 13 Wofford 41, Charleston Southern 23
Final Stats
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College football team defeated Charleston Southern 41-23 on Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium. Charleston Southern took an early 10-0 lead and had a 20-19 advantage in the third quarter before two Terrier touchdowns gave Wofford the lead for good.
The Terriers are 2-0 on the season and Charleston Southern is 0-2. Wofford was led by Mitch Allen with 135 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, while Eric Breitenstein had 75 yards on seven carries. Charleston Southern quarterback Tribble Reese was 30-of-46 with one interception and 250 passing yards. On defense, Wofford was led by Buck Brown with twelve tackles.
“There is not doubt that they exposed some things tonight that we have to correct,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We have to get better in kickoff coverage. Defensively we played hard, but we had some missed assignments that we can correct. Their offense I thought was an excellent offense. Conceptually they are very good and they have the people to operate that. In some cases tonight there were long series that we were out there defensively, we get the ball back and in one play we score and the defense is back out there. Sometimes you love scoring, but then you have a bunch of guys out there that have not had time to take a drink before they are back out there.
“We will work really hard on conditioning the next two weeks along with the fundamentals,” added Ayers as the team heads into a bye week. “We have to work really hard on the mental game. That said, our kids are growing and they are maturing. When you look at our football team, we have young kids sprinkled throughout. We have a lot of young kids out there that are doing a lot of great things. We still have a ways to go.”
On the opening drive of the game for Charleston Southern, they were able to drive 44 yards in nine plays with a six-yard touchdown reception by Tim Jones capping the drive. After the Terriers punted on their first drive, the Buccaneers added a 48-yard field goal by John Paglia to take a 10-0 lead with 3:05 left in the first quarter.
Wofford responded in just three plays, as Eric Breitenstein had a 46-yard run which set up a 38-yard touchdown reception by a wide-open Andy Strickland from Ben Widmyer. The Terriers missed the extra point, making it a 10-6 game at 2:00 in the first quarter.
The Bucs then put together a 14-play drive that ended in a 35-yard field goal by John Paglia for a 13-6 lead at 9:54 in the second. On the ensuing kickoff, Mike Rucker went 66-yard to get the Terriers deep into Charleston Southern territory. Michael Scott capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 13-13 at 7:22 in the second.
The Terrier defense was able to force the first three-and-out of the game and the Bucs punted. Wofford and Charleston then traded punts, with Wofford the recipient of a punt by the Bucs that went for minus-eight yards after the snap went over the punters head. With 1:12 left on the clock and the ball at the Bucs’ 36-yard line. After two first downs, the drive stalled and Wofford settled for a 22-yard field goal by Patrick Mugan for a 16-13 lead as the first half expired.
To open the second half, Dane Romero picked up two big rushing first downs for Wofford. A holding penalty called back a touchdown run by Ben Widmyer and the Terriers added a 38-yard field goal by Patrick Mugan for a 19-13 lead at 11:46 in the third quarter.
Charleston Southern was able to put together a 14-play drive that went 75 yards and was capped by a three-yard touchdown run by Antwan Ivey to take a 20-19 lead at 4:57 in the third quarter. The Terriers wasted no time in responding when Andy Strickland went 71 yards on a reverse on the first play of the drive. Patrick Mugan then ran in the two-point conversion for a 27-20 lead at 4:36 in the third.
The Bucs were forced to punt after a sack by Matt Norcia and Aaron Scott for a loss of eleven yards. Mitch Allen came in at quarterback for the Terriers and after two rushing first downs, went 29-yards on the ground for a touchdown. Wofford was up 34-20 at 14:52 in the fourth quarter.
Charleston Southern’s Gerald Stevenson went 61-yards on the ensuing kickoff return, however the drive ended with a 34-yard field goal by John Paglia for a 34-23 score at 13:08 in the fourth. Wofford had another long kickoff return by Mike Rucker, but the Terriers turned the ball over on downs at the one-yard line.
On the next drive by Charleston Southern, they were able to drive to the Wofford 19-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs. With the Terriers just trying to run out the clock, Mitch Allen broke free and went 42-yard for a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game for a 41-23 score. Charleston Southern had a 48-yard kickoff return, but on the first play Keaton Thompson picked off the pass which effectively ended the game.
Wofford out-gained Charleston Southern 443 to 103 on the ground and had a 490 to 310 advantage in total yards. Charleston Southern was 12 of 19 on third down. Charleston Southern had the ball for 38:33 to Wofford’s 21:27.
After a bye week, the Terriers will face South Carolina on September 20. A game time has not yet been announced by South Carolina, however it is expected to be a night game.
Wofford vs. Charleston Southern
Post-Game Notes
The game was moved to Spartanburg earlier in the week due to tropical storm Hanna, which hit the South Carolina Coast early Saturday morning. Attendance was 3,817. “It was a rough week planning with the weather issues,” said Ayers. “I appreciate everyone that showed up. On short notice there was a good crowd there and they got loud and I know our guys appreciated that.”
Wofford’s Michael Scott scored his first career touchdown in the second quarter. Alex Goltry recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.
The 38-yard field goal by Patrick Mugan in the third quarter was a career long.
Mitch Allen scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard run in the fourth quarter and added a second in the fourth quarter.
Keaton Thompson intercepted his first career pass in the fourth quarter.
Georgia Southern 34, Austin Peay 20
Final Stats
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern's defense forced three fumbles in the fourth quarter, keying the Eagles' 34-20 non-conference football win over Austin Peay, Saturday night (Sept. 6) at Paulson Stadium. The win snaps Georgia Southern's (1-1 overall) three-game losing streak -two against Football Bowl Subdivision teams - dating back to last year.
Down by seven in the fourth quarter and forced to punt, Georgia Southern's Charlie Edwards pinned APSU inside its 10. On the first play Markeith Wylie forced a Jeff Lyle fumble and J.B. Shippy recovered on the four. It took just one play to tie the game.
Antonio Henton had a wide open lane for a touchdown. Jesse Hartley's extra point tied the game with 13:56 remaining.
On the Governors' next drive, Chris Rogers laid a hit on Ryan White and Wylie recovered the fumble, setting up the offense on the 38. Six plays later Henton scored from 16 yards out to put the Eagles ahead for good 27-20.
The Eagles allowed only three Austin Peay plays to turn a seven-point deficit into a touchdown lead. The Governors recorded one first down on their next drive, however, facing 4th-and-2 from the 42, Carson Hill broke up a pass attempt and the Eagles took over on downs. The Eagles covered those 42 yards on eight plays. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the two, Henton connected with Darell Norman on a touchdown pass. Hartley's extra point helped seal the win.
Chris Covington snuffed another APSU drive later in the quarter when he drilled tight end Jack Hoeh, who fumbled the ball and Lennie Richardson recovered.
"It's been a long time since we've won a game," said head coach Chris Hatcher. "We're still learning our team, we're still learning what we do well, but it was good to see that many young players today respond in the fourth quarter and we'll take 13 more wins like the one we had today."
After the Eagles stalled on their first drive, Austin Peay marched into GS territory. Facing 4th-and-2 on the GS 35, Richardson and Larry Beard stuffed White for a 2-yard loss.
The Eagles, led by Henton, drove into the Governors territory. The sophomore quarterback found Raja Andrews down the right sidelines for 36 yards, setting up the Eagles 1st-and-goal from the four. Two rushes by Adam Urbano resulted in the true-freshman's first touchdown. However the team was flagged offsides and moved back five yards on the extra point attempt. Hartley missed his first-ever extra point attempt as an Eagle, snapping his streak of 50 consecutive extra points made.
Andrews went back to field another punt by Ryan Key at the start of the second quarter. He caught it on his own 22, eluded several tacklers and scored a touchdown. However, the punt rush team was flagged for offsides, wiping out what would have been the second punt return for a touchdown in his career.
Lee Chapple hit Michael McIntosh on 3rd-and-long to set up a short fourth down inside APSU territory then Urbano converted on fourth down. Samair Baker rushed twice, Jarrell Crawford rushed it down to the one then Leander Barney punched it in for a 13-0 lead with 5:33 left in the first half.
Theo Townsend capped an 8-play, 87-yard drive that covered 3:16 when he scored from one yard out. The extra point cut Georgia Southern's lead to 13-7 with 2:17 before halftime.
On 4th-and-1 the Eagles tied a fake punt but Covington fumbled the ball out-of-bounds and the Governors took over inside GS territory.
With 24 seconds left in the half Gary Orr connected with Lanis Frederick on a 20-yard touchdown. Beard charged through the line to block the extra point attempt, making it 13-all heading into the locker room.
The Governors squibbed the ensuing kickoff. Terence Hall returned the kick to the Eagles' 40. Henton took off on an 18-yard run, down to the APSU 42. However, his pass was intercepted in the endzone to end the half.
Orr and the Governors drove down the field to start the second half, covering 67 yards on eight plays. His touchdown pass to Jontamion Forrest for eight yards and the extra point put APSU ahead 20-13.
Urbano broke through the right side but was hit and fumbled as the Governors took over on the GS side. The Eagles defense held APSU to a 3-and-out, however, on the first play of the next drive, Henton fumbled and Austin Peay took over on the GS 48 late in the third quarter. But on 4th-and-1 the defense stepped up again as Quentin Taylor and Beard stuffed Townsend for a loss.
"At halftime we were just 'out there'. We had no emotion, we were a flat group and they just stuck it to us. We tried reverses, we tried to fake a punt and fumbled when we would have gotten a first down. We just couldn't do anything right," admitted Hatcher. "And then I challenged them at halftime to come out and play better and then all of the sudden they had a great drive. We didn't do much, but in the fourth quarter our defense really stood up and forced some big turnovers. We then got behind that big offensive line and Henton and those running backs did a great job of running the football and we came out of here with a big win."
Henton finished with 103 yards on the ground on nine attempts and scored two touchdowns. He also completed 10-of-16 passes for 68 yards and another score.
Defensively, Covington matched his career-high of 11 tackles. The senior also shared on a sack and forced a fumble. Taylor, Hill and Brandon Echols had seven tackles apiece.
Urbano rushed for 41 yards and a touchdown. Norman caught three passes and Andrews hauled in two for 42 yards. Overall, the Eagles out-gained Austin Peay 224-123 on the ground and 313-292 in total offense.
Lyle rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries for the Governors. Orr completed 17-of-29 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked four times. Frederick caught a game-high six passes for 71 yards and a score.
The Eagles continue their four-game homestand next Saturday (Sept. 13), playing host to Northeastern. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.
GAME NOTES: Beard's blocked kick was the first by an Eagle since Tim Camp blocked a West Georgia punt in the 2007 season-opener. The announced attendance was 18,225... Austin Peay held the ball 33:49 to 26:11 for the Eagles... Covington's other career-high tackle total was last year against South Dakota State... Shippy finished with five tackles. In addition, he, Beard and Wylie had 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Samford 62, Faulkner 0
Final Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?The Samford football team jumped out to a 41-point halftime lead and cruised to a 62-0 win over the Faulkner University Eagles Saturday evening at Seibert Stadium.
The win marked the first shutout posted by the Samford defense since Sept. 11, 1999, when the Bulldogs defeated Austin Peay, 51-0. The win was the biggest for Samford since Nov. 14, 1987, when Samford claimed a 62-0 win over Millsaps.
“We challenged our team to get better this week, and I thought we did,” Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. “I thought we came out with intensity and we played hard. The mistakes were down and whole group played well.”
The Samford running game tallied 374 yards on the night. Marcus Rice led the group with 10 rushes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Chris Evans rushed eight times for 66 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half.
Samford played three quarterbacks on the night. Richie Fordham completed all six of his passes for 47 yards. Starter Dustin Taliaferro completed 5-of-7 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Matt Malouf completed 1-of-2 passes for six yards on the night.
Fordham also caught two passes for 14 yards, returned three punts for 30 yards and he rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Defensively for Samford, Rumiko Forrester and Ty Levie each had an interception. Freshman Alex Davis had two and a half sacks for 13 yards. Jeremy Richardson had a blocked punt on special teams.
Samford rolled up 510 yards of total offense to Faulkner’s 37. The Bulldogs had 24 first downs, while holding the Eagles to just three.
After the teams exchanged turnovers on the first two drives, Samford got on the board first when Brock Johnson scored on a 52-yard run with 11:53 to go in the first quarter. John Paul Fraites added the extra point to give Samford an early 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 14-0 when Evans scored on a six-yard run with 4:29 to go in the first quarter and Fraites added the PAT. Taliaferro later hit Alex Barnett on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and Fraites’ PAT made the score 21-0.
Samford scored on its first possession of the second quarter when Evans scored on a one-yard run with 12:48 to go in the half. Fraites’ PAT gave Samford a 28-0 lead. On the next possession, Samford’s Richardson blocked a Faulkner punt and Omar Johnson picked up the ball and carried it in for the touchdown with 11:30 to go in the second quarter. The PAT by Fraites gave Samford a 35-0 lead.
Samford’s Rice scored on a five-yard run with 6:40 to go in the second quarter. Fraites’ extra point was no good and Samford held a 41-0 lead. Samford took its 41-0 lead into halftime.
Samford got on the board in the third quarter when Barnett scored on a five-yard run with 9:29 to go in the third quarter. Matthew Jordan kicked the PAT to make the score 48-0.
Fordham scored on an 18-yard run with 13:00 to go in the fourth quarter, and Jordan’s PAT pushed Samford’s lead to 55-0. The final points were scored when Harris Johnson scored on a seven-yard run with 4:45 to go in the game, and Jordan added the PAT to make the final score 62-0.
Samford improves to 2-0 with the win, while Faulkner drops to 0-1. Samford is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2003 and just the second time since 1996.
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Bulldogs play at Ole Miss. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Clemson 45, No. 23 The Citadel 17
Final Stats
Clemson, S.C. ? The Citadel Football team lost to Clemson in a 45-17 final before a crowd of 76,000 on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. Andre Roberts recorded nine catches for 153 yards and a touchdown while Bart Blanchard was 22-for-35 with three interceptions and a touchdown pass to Roberts in the game.
The attendance tied for the sixth all-time largest crowd to witness a Citadel game. The first was when the same two teams met on Sept. 2, 2000 at Memorial Stadium when the 17th-ranked Clemson Tigers topped The Citadel, 38-0.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first half, as The Citadel defense made two quick Clemson stops. However, a dominating running game for the Tigers took over in the second half, finishing the game with 252 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
To start off action, the Tigers received the ball first, driving it 69 yards before Bulldog junior linebacker Jordan Gilmore forced a James Davis fumble on the 3-yard line on 2-and-goal. Senior captain defensive back Jonathan Vest recovered the ball for the Bulldogs, marking only the second lost fumble for Davis in his career and the first career forced fumble and recovery for Gilmore and Vest.
The Bulldogs took over on their own 3-yard line but was unable to produce a score on the drive.
Clemson’s second possession started on the 50-yard line, but once again the Bulldog defense put a stop to the Tigers’ running game and forced a turnover on downs on their own 25-yard line.
On the Bulldogs’ next possession, redshirt sophomore quarterback Bart Blanchard found All-American junior wide receiver Andre Roberts for a 42-yard pass; however a clipping penalty on the Bulldogs’ next play put The Citadel back 15-yards. Unable to make up the yardage, Sam Keeler attempted a 48-yard field goal that came up short with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
Clemson immediately took advantage of the time left on the clock and drove the ball 69 yards in three plays and 1:10 off the clock to put the first points on the board, giving Clemson a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Citadel’s next possession was highlighted by a 39-yard pass from Blanchard to Roberts to put the Bulldogs in Tiger territory. A couple of incomplete passes brought Keeler back out to attempt a 39-yard field goal. The kick was no good and the Bulldogs remained scoreless at 12:31 in the second quarter.
Plagued by penalties in the quarter, the Bulldog defense gave up two more Tiger touchdowns. Clemson extended their lead to 21-0 at 4:25 in the third after three offsides penalties by The Citadel in one drive.
The Citadel got back in the game on the next possession when Blanchard found senior receiver Josh Haney for a 37-yard completion. Two plays later, Blanchard found Roberts again for a 41-yard completion and a touchdown at 1:42 left in the half, making the score 21-7 going into halftime. The Bulldogs’ 79-yard drive was completed in five plays and 2:38 off the clock.
At the end of the first half, The Citadel totaled 32 plays for 257 yards of total offense, while Clemson recorded 34 plays for 303 yards. Blanchard completed 14-of-21 passes, one touchdown and an interception for 229 yards, while Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper completed 10-of-14 passes for 127 yards. Roberts finished the half with 140 yards on six catches.
Opening the third quarter, Blanchard earned his second interception of the game, causing the Tigers to regain possession on The Citadel’s 19-yard line. However, the Bulldog defense forced the second lost fumble of the game when Jeremy Buncum knocked the ball loose from Tiger Tyler Grisham. Rod Harland recovered the ball for the Bulldogs, who took over on their own 18-yard line. Once again, The Citadel came up short and was forced to punt the ball.
The Tigers then took over the game, putting 14 more points on the board in the third; one a 17-yard run by C.J. Spiller and the other a 26-yard pass from Harper to Michael Palmer. The score was 35-7 with 4:09 left in the third. The fourth quarter was dominated by the Tigers, who managed to put 10 more points on the board.
Redshirt freshman Sam Keeler made the third of three field goal attempts late in the game to make the score 45-10. With 1:17 to go in the game, Cam Turner hit Luke Caldwell for a 50-yard touchdown pass, marking the second straight game that Turner has hit Caldwell for a score. With Keeler’s point after, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to a 45-17 Clemson advantage.
For more information on Bulldog Football or The Citadel Athletics, go to the official website for Bulldogs Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Virginia Tech 24, Furman 7
Final Stats
BLACKSBURG, VA. -- Virginia Tech converted a pair of third quarter turnovers into touchdowns to break open a tentative second half lead en route to a 24-7 win over Furman in football action Saturday afternoon in front of 66,233 fans at Lane Stadium.
Leading only 3-0 at intermission, Virginia Tech (2-0) scored on its possession of the second half and later used a fumble recovery at the Furman 31 and an interception return to the Paladin 9 to set up two more scores to extend its lead to 24-0.
After having a 33-yard field goal attempt blocked, Furman (1-1) finally got on the board with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Sorrells to tight end Chris Truss with six minutes left in the game.
“I told our guys I was very proud of their effort today,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “Our defense, in particular, played well, especially when considering we didn’t do anything offensively to help them out in the first half. Our field position was awful. It seemed like we were in the middle of their band section for over half the game we were down there so far.”
“The good thing is we won,” said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. “We made some plays i the third quarter to win, but I want to give Furman a lot of credit. I think they are a scrappy team with a very accurate quarterback. They execute and perform well.”
Playing in the 1000th game in program history, Furman, which managed only one first down and 31 total yards in the first half, initiated its first three possessions at its own 5, 8, and 7-yard lines and nine of its first 10 possessions at or inside its own 20. The Paladins’ average field position for the contest was its own 16.
Despite the poor field position, the Paladins managed to check Virginia Tech over the game’s first two periods. Playing two quarterbacks, the Hokies registered only three points, which came on a 22-yard Dustin Keys field goal with 29 seconds remaining in the half.
In the second half, Virginia Tech finally got untracked offensively, moving 64 yards in six plays for a 10-yard touchdown pass from Sean Glennon to Kenny Lewis. Keying the Hokies’ scoring drive was quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who eluded a third down Furman blitz for a 50-yard run to the Paladin 14-yard line. Two plays later Glennon scrambled away from pressure and threw back across his body to a Lewis, who squeezed the ball in the end zone despite tight coverage by Furman cornerback William Middleton.
On the ensuing possession, Paladin fullback Brantley Kendall burst up the middlle for 10-yards but was stripped of the ball as he was going down. Virginia Tech’s Kam Chancellor pounced on the ball at the Furman 31. Three plays later Lewis brust through a hole off the left side for 23 yards and in to the end zone.
An interception and 18-yard return by Stephan Virgil to the Furman 9 led to another quick Virginia Tech score, which came on a 3-yard burst by Darren Evans at the 6:12 mark of the third quarter.
Furman finally kicked its offense into gear on its next possession, moving from its own 19 to the Hokie 15. A 22-yard completion from Sorrells to Truss and a 14-yard hook-up from Sorrells to Mike Brown keyed the drive, but the Paladins failed to capitalize as Matthew Cesari’s 33-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
The Paladins avoide the shuout with a 6-play, 72-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Completing five of six pass attempts, Sorrells covered the distance with passes, capped by a 17-yard scoring strike to Truss.
Virginia Tech forged a 329-247 advantage in total offense, including a game high 112 rushing yards by Taylor. Furman managed only 34 rushing yards in the contest, but Sorrells passed for 213 yards, completing 21-of-37 attempts.
Adam Mims collected seven receptions for 61 yards.
Linebacker Brandon Williams paced all defenders with 11 tackles, including two for-loss, and a sack. Furman, which entered the contest with a Southern Conference leading five sacks, registered four quarterback takedowns against the Hokies.
The Paladins return to action next Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. game at Colgate.
Florida State 69, Western Carolina 0
Final Stats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Christian Ponder threw three touchdowns passes and backup D'Vontrey Richardson ran for two more scores to lead Florida State to a 69-0 win over Western Carolina on Saturday night in a game interrupted more than two hours by lightning.
Ponder, making his first college start after throwing only 18 passes for the Seminoles, completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards before giving way to Richardson after the first series of the second half.
Richardson ran for a 52-yard score on his second play and moments later scored on a 7-yard run as Florida State (1-0) took a 48-0 lead early in the third quarter. He also hit Jamon Fortson with a 3-yard TD pass.
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden claimed his 374th career to win to stay abreast of Penn State's Joe Paterno as the winningest major college coach. Penn State beat Oregon State earlier Saturday.
With more than a dozen players, including several starters, sitting out suspensions for either academic or disciplinary reasons, 28 freshmen played for the Seminoles and two scored touchdowns -- Fortson and Jermaine Thomas, who ran for two TDs.
Western Carolina (1-1)) trailed by only a touchdown, 7-0, midway through the second quarter before surrendering three quick touchdowns in the final 6:54 of the half.
Tony Carter's 68-yard punt return 1:49 into the game spotted the unranked Seminoles a quick lead, but the game was stopped after the point-after kick for 55 minutes and Ponder and the offense seemed out of sync when the game first resumed.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Ponder, who beat out incumbent starter Drew Weatherford for the starting job this fall, shook off a sluggish start and completed seven of 10 passes for 123 yards in the second quarter. In the period, he teamed with Bert Reed on a 41-yard scoring pass and then hit Corey Surrency with a 7-yard TD throw to give the Seminoles a 28-0 at the break.
On Florida State's opening drive of the second half, Ponder hit 6-6 Greg Carr with a 54-yard scoring pass as the Seminoles took a 35-0 lead.
The start of the game was delayed by 1 hour, 21 minutes because of lightning and then for another 55 minutes right after Carter's touchdown.
Florida State is 3-0 against the outgunned Catamounts -- a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision formerly known as I-AA -- outscoring the Southern Conference school by an aggregate 175-20.