No. 13 Elon 28, Georgia Southern 14
Final Stats
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix became just the second Southern Conference program to earn three consecutive league victories over the Georgia Southern Eagles by claiming a 28-14 decision from a rainy Rhodes Stadium in front of 10,189 fans on Family Weekend. In the victory, Elon quarterback Scott Riddle set new SoCon records for career completions and career passing yards.
Riddle established the new mark for completions with a four-yard completion to Terrell Hudgins in the second quarter which was the 15th of the game and the 695th of his career for the Phoenix quarterback and moved him past East Tennessee State's Greg Ryan's total of 694. Riddle would finish with 705 career completions. Ryan's mark of 694 had stood as the league standard since 1996.
Riddle was intercepted for the first time this season when GSU snagged one in the fourth quarter. Riddle had thrown 218 straight passes without a pick to set a new SoCon mark in that category as well. Furman's Braniff Bonaventure went 215 attempts without an INT between the 1995 and ’96 seasons.
Later in the second quarter, Riddle completed a two-yard pass to A.J. Harris which pushed his career passing total to 7,826 yards, two ahead of Ryan's former SoCon record. Riddle finished the day with 7,893 career passing yards.
The Phoenix, which had defeated the Eagles by scores of 36-33 and 22-20 the last two years, earned its third straight win in the series. The only other SoCon team to have accomplished that feat was Appalachian State from 1995-1997.
"Hopefully this is a continued step forward as we try to be a contender in this league," said Elon head coach Pete Lembo. "This was an incredibly physical game ? this game might have been more physical than last week's game (at Wake Forest). I thought we competed really well up front, particularly on the defensive side of the ball."
The Phoenix finished the day with eight sacks and three interceptions on defense. Elon also forced four consecutive three-and-outs to after taking a 7-0 lead.
Elon (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards downfield to grab a 7-0 lead when Riddle ran the ball in from the 19-yard line to cap a five-play drive in just over a minute. The Riddle TD run was set up by a 46-yard reception to Hudgins.
Thanks to a 53-yard completion from Riddle to Lance Camp, the Phoenix moved the ball down to the GSU 12 in the second quarter before Harris was stripped of the ball by Tavaris Williams. The fumble was recovered at the 15-yard line and returned 85 yards for the tying score by Georgia Southern's (2-2, 1-1) Darrell Pasco.
Elon would move back on top by a 10-7 score after Adam Shreiner drilled a 41-yard field goal with 11:33 to play in the second period. The field goal capped a five-play, 22-yard drive which used just 1:47.
With 8:25 left to play in the first half, Elon took over at its own seven yard line. After picking up a first down at the Elon 17, Riddle connected deep for 52 yards to Sean Jeffcoat and then hit Hudgins for another 26 yards to the Georgia Southern five. After two rushes moved the ball to the three, Riddle found Taylor Berry for a TD strike that finished off a drive that lasted only 2:52 and took just seven plays.
With just under 3:30 left in the first half, Riddle's record-setting four-yard pass to Hudgins moved the ball to the 50 yard line. The drive continued and the Phoenix moved to the GSU 28 following a 22-yard reception by Brandon Newsome and a Harris five-yard rush. On the next play, Harris broke through the end of the Eagle line for a 28-yard score that gave Elon a 23-7 lead. The drive went 71 yards in only six plays and took 2:14 off the clock.
Elon's defense turned in another dominating first half performance, limiting Georgia Southern's offense to just 22 yards on 22 plays, including -1 yard rushing on 11 carries. The Phoenix defenders swarmed GSU's Lee Chapple, putting the Eagle signal-caller on the ground for five first period sacks.
Riddle threw for 273 yards, including a two-yard reception to Harris on Elon's last possession of the half which propelled the Phoenix quarterback past Ryan for the SoCon's all-time lead in passing yardage.
Georgia Southern received the second half kickoff, but Elon kicked off from its 40-yard line thanks to two delay of game penalties on the Eagles for returning late to the field. GSU ended up going three-and-out on the drive and the Phoenix took its first possession at its own 42.
Elon drove the ball down the field to the Eagle nine and added three points to its lead when Shreiner sent a 26-yard field goal through the uprights.
On their next drive, the Georgia Southern offense got going, driving 73 yards on nine plays for its first offensive score of the game. Adam Urbano carried three times for 33 yards on the drive and the TD came when Chapple found Patrick Barker for an eight-yard strike.
The Phoenix punted the ball away on the first play of the fourth quarter and pinned the Eagles inside their own one yard line. On the first play Urbano took the handoff and was met in the backfield by Elon's Jordan Daniel who brought the back down for a safety.
Elon sealed its victory thanks to an interception by Joshua Jones with 3:55 remaining in game. Jones' pick was returned 48 yards and halted a GSU drive which had moved to the Phoenix 26 yard line.
Riddle finished the game with 338 passing yards, the 14th career game in which he has thrown for at least 300 yards, on 25 completions and one TD. Riddle now boasts 7,893 passing yards and 705 completions for his career.
Hudgins finished with 12 receptions for 138 yards and is now just three receptions shy of setting a new NCAA Division I record with 318 catches.
On the ground, Harris rushed nine times for 50 yards and a score while Brandon Newsome recorded his first carries of the season, rushing for 36 yards.
Elon's defense concluded the game with eight sacks, including 2.5 from Eric Ludwig and another 2.0 from Andre Campbell. The Phoenix also picked off three passes, doubling its season total to six. Jones led all players with 11 tackles and had one interception.
GSU's Urbano picked up 73 yards on 14 carries while Chapple completed 18 passes for 122 yards and a score. Barker caught five balls for 46 yards and a score.The Eagle defense was led by a 10-tackle performance from K.R. Snipes. Georgia Southern sacked Riddle four times, one of which came from Brent Russell who also picked off Riddle. The INT was the first of the year for Riddle who had not been picked off in four games dating back to last season.
The Phoenix ended up with a 423-153 edge in total offense and has now out-gained its opponents by a total of 1,875 yards to 774 yards.
Elon will head to Greenville, S.C., to take on Furman in a league contest at 3 p.m. next weekend which will air live on SportSouth next Saturday. Georgia Southern pays a visit to Wofford for a 1:30 p.m. kick that same day.
No. 10 Appalachian State 20, Samford 7
Final Stats
BOONE, N.C. ? Bucking the trend of slow starts this season, No. 10 Appalachian State University football jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 20-7 win over Samford in the Southern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at rain-soaked Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Appalachian (1-2, 1-0 SoCon), which had been outscored, 41-17, in the first halves of losses to East Carolina and McNeese State to open the season, outgained Samford (2-2, 0-1 SoCon), 283-71, en route to the commanding 20-0 halftime lead.
After holding Samford to the second of three-straight three-and-outs to open the game, ASU got on the board when quarterback Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) capped a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. With the score, Edwards became just the second player in school history and the eighth in the SoCon’s annals with 50 career rushing touchdowns.
The Mountaineers stretched the advantage to 10-0 early in the second quarter on a 21-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris (Seneca, S.C./Seneca) but the Bulldogs posed their first serious scoring threat of the afternoon on their ensuing possession when they drove to the ASU 12 yard line. However, Appalachian cornerback Ed Gainey (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) turned the tide of the game when he intercepted a pass by Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro on the ASU 2 and returned it 54 yards to the Samford 44.
Four plays later, Edwards rolled right, looked back to his left and found high-school teammate Jordan Gary (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) wide open in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The first reception of the sophomore tight end’s career gave the Apps a 17-0 lead.
Appalachian closed the impressive first half by forcing Samford to punt for the fifth time in six first-half possessions with 2:24 to go in the second period and driving 42 yards in eight plays on the ensuing series to set up a season-long 44-yard field goal by Vitaris that made it 20-0 on the final play of the half.
The score remained 20-0 into the fourth quarter but the Bulldogs ended ASU’s bid for its first shutout over a Division I opponent in nine years when they drove 80 yards in 18 plays and finally got on the board on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Chris Evans with 6:16 left to play.
Despite losing the shutout, the story of the day was the Mountaineer defense. Just one game after surrendering 522 yards of total offense in a 40-35 loss to McNeese State, Appalachian limited Samford to 192 yards on Saturday. ASU sacked Taliaferro twice, hurried him eight times and broke up eight passes while holding the 2008 SoCon Freshman of the Year to just 86 yards on 12-of-33 passing. Evans, a Walter Payton Award candidate, didn’t fare much better, managing just 86 yards on 22 carries against the Black and Gold defense.
Linebacker D.J. Smith (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) led the defensive charge with 16 tackles, two pass break-ups and two quarterback hurries. Cornerback Cortez Gilbert (Goldsboro, N.C./Charles B. Aycock) added nine tackles, including one for a loss and a pair of pass break-ups, and linebacker Justin Lloyd (Charlotte, N.C./Victory Christian) tacked on eight stops and a sack.
Offensively, Edwards paced the Mountaineers with 211 yards of total offense, including 194 on 19-of-28 passing. He also turned in ASU’s top play of the year to date in the second quarter when he escaped a sack, lost control of the slick ball, corralled the loose ball, escaped another sack and completed a pass to Cedric Baker (Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover) while being dragged to the ground for a 16-yard gain that helped set up Vitaris’ first field goal.
Other offensive stars included junior running back Devon Moore (Mebane, N.C./Cedar Ridge), who turned in his second-straight 100-yard rushing performance with 106 yards on 17 carries (6.2 avg.), and CoCo Hillary (Edgefield, S.C./Strom Thurmond), who led all receivers with six catches for 63 yards.
Appalachian continues SoCon play next week when it travels to The Citadel for a 1 p.m. affair.
NOTES: ASU extended its winning streak in SoCon games to a school-record 13 ... the 13-game SoCon winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest in league history and is the longest since Georgia Southern won 15-straight SoCon games from 1997-99 ... after losing consecutive home games for the first time in nine years, Appalachian won for the 43rd time in its last 46 home games ... the Mountaineers won for the 16th time in its last 17 games that immediately followed a same-season loss and avoided their first 0-3 start since 1993 ... ASU moved to 30-8 all-time in SoCon openers ... the 100-yard rushing effort was the third of Moore’s career ... with 211 yards of total offense, Edwards moved to 14th in NCAA Division I FCS history with 11,301 yards of total offense ... an over-capacity crowd of 22,139 braved the steady rain that fell throughout the game.
Chattanooga 38, Wofford 9
Final Stats
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---It was a rainy day heading into Homecoming 2009, but the rain ended just in time before kickoff as Chattanooga took down No. 17 Wofford 38-9 at Finley Stadium on Saturday evening. The Mocs held the Terriers to just 226 yards of total offense.
The Mocs last win over a ranked FCS team was a 27-26 win in Finley Stadium over No. 19 Georgia Southern on Sept. 23, 2006. In that game, UTC place-kicker Estaban Lopez kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired.
Sophomore quarterback B.J. Coleman threw for four touchdowns while completing 23 of 30 for 176 yards. The four touchdown tosses and 23 completions were season highs for the Chattanooga native.
The Mocs’ receiving group was led by junior Chris Pitchford who set new career highs with eight catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. Senior captain Clint Woods recorded five receptions for 50 yards and a score as well. Fellow senior Blue Cooper also caught five balls for 20 yards and two scores.
Wofford was led by Mike Rucker’s 57 rushing yards on nine carries. Wideout Justice Joslin had three catches for 60 yards and the Terriers’ lone touchdown. Defensively, Tommy Irvin and Keaton Thompson each had a game-high 11 tackles.
It was a well-rounded defensive effort for the Mocs led by redshirt freshman Ryan Consiglio’s nine stops. Senior Joe Thornton had a thunderous stop to go with his five tackles, while senior defensive end Josh Beard had the lone sack along with his four tackles. The front seven had 39 of the Mocs 54 tackles.
Chattanooga got on the board first on a three-yard slant from Coleman to Cooper on third-and-goal to make it 7-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter on an 11-play, 55-yard drive. The scoring play was set up by a 12-yard third-down conversion on a pass from Coleman to senior Jare Gault.
After a Mocs punt narrowly missed being downed on the one-inch line, Wofford mounted a 10-play drive of its own capped by the 35-yard scoring pass from Mitch Allen to Joslin on third-and-inches for the Terriers.
Taking over on its own 41, Chattanooga ground out a 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive with just 1:01 left in the half ending with another Coleman-to-Cooper connection from four yards out. On the ensuing Terriers possession, Jordan Tippit intercepted an Allen pass and returned it 20 yards to set up a 39-yard Craig Camay field goal as time expired.
Chattanooga received the ball to start the third quarter and picked up right where it left off. After a 27-yard kick return by Chris Awuah gave the Mocs possession on its own 31, UTC marched 69 yards in 13 plays culminating in the third touchdown strike of the game for Coleman, this time from six yards to Chris Pitchford to give the Mocs a 24-7 lead.
Coleman and the Mocs were not done. After holding the Terriers on downs at the UTC 22, Chattanooga marched 78 yards as Coleman completed his fourth TD pass to his third different target as Woods caught a fade pass in the front corner of the end zone from nine yards out. Chattanooga took a 31-7 advantage marking the fourth straight drive with a score (24 unanswered points).
On its next possession, Chattanooga made its first mistake of the game with a snap over Coleman’s head out of the shotgun resulting in a safety. On the ensuing kickoff, Tony Swafford forced a fumble on Wofford returner Trey Dillard that J.D. Dothard picked up and retuned 51 yards to the endzone extending the Mocs’ lead to 38-9, which ended as the final tally.
Chattanooga picked up 21 first downs and converted seven of 13 third downs generating 346 yards of total offense. The running game was a factor with the Mocs rushing for 170 yards on 42 carries. Bryan Fitzgerald (17-78) and Awuah (14-69) combined for 31 rushes and 147 yards.
The Mocs get the week off returning to the field Oct. 10 at Samford for a 3 p.m. (EDT) kickoff. Wofford returns to Spartanburg next week to host Georgia Southern at 1:30 p.m.
Furman 33, Western Carolina 14
Final Stats
CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) -Jordan Sorrells threw for 225 yards and a touchdown and Matthew Cesari kicked four field goals to lead Furman in a 33-14 win over Western Carolina on Saturday night.
Sorrells was 22-for-35 passing and added 33 rushing yards for the Paladins (3-1, 1-0 Southern Conference). Cesari kicked field goals of 24, 34, 31 and 36 yards. Jerodis Williams rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown, while Tersoo Uhaa added 49 yards on the ground and a score.
Furman jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half on Uhaa's 1-yard run, Williams' 3-yard score and a pair of Cesari field goals. The Paladins extended their lead to 30-7 with Cesari's third field goal and Sorrells' 8-yard TD pass to Chris Truss. Cesari's final kick sealed the win for Furman.
Dion Wilson led the Catamounts (0-4, 0-1) with 68 yards rushing and a touchdown.
The Citadel 46, Presbyterian 21
Final Stats
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel improved to 2-1 on the season after defeating Presbyterian, 46-21, in the Bulldogs' home-opener on Saturday night at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Quarterback Bart Blanchard led the Bulldogs by tying a school and Southern Conference record for passing touchdowns in a game with six, while All-America wide receiver Andre Roberts moved up the charts in the SoCon record book.
The Citadel won the toss and chose to receive the ball first and it worked in their favor as they drove the ball 66 yards in 3:42 to put the first points on the board. After a Bart Blanchard pass to Andre Roberts was incomplete, backup quarterback Miguel Starks rushed for eight yards, followed by a six-yard run to earn the opening first down of the game. A four-yard rush by running back Terrell Dallas, sandwiched by a couple of passes to Roberts, set the Bulldogs up for the score. Totaling 43 yards in the opening drive, senior All-America wide receiver Andre Roberts scored a touchdown on a seven-yard pass at 11:12 in the first quarter to take the lead, 7-0.
Presbyterian did not take long to respond. After a delay of game penalty set them back five yards to start the drive, Brandon Miley connected on an 11-yard pass to Patrick McKoy leading to second-and-four. Four first downs and 11 plays later, Trandon Dendy rushed for nine yards to The Citadel 4-yard line for a first-and-goal. Miley connected with Anderico Bailey for four yards, setting Miley up for a one-yard quarterback draw for the score to tie the game at seven with 6:08 left in the quarter.
On the next Citadel drive, the Bulldogs were unable to score and were forced to punt. However, a roughing the kicker penalty on Presbyterian gave the Bulldogs a first down and the ball on the Blue Hose 43-yard line. Dallas rushed for six yards and Ryan Keiper caught a 12-yard pass for a first down and the ball on the PC 25-yard line. Blanchard connected with Alex Sellars for the touchdown on the next play, extending their lead to 13-7 after a failed Sam Keeler extra point attempt.
Two Blue Hose drives into the second quarter, Presbyterian added to their score and took the lead. After several short-yard rushes by backup running back Lance Byrd to put them in Bulldog territory, Dendy broke for a 40-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the first half. Presbyterian led The Citadel, 14-13.
Just before halftime, defensive back Cortez Allen intercepted a Miley pass at The Citadel 10-yard line to regain possession and set the Bulldogs up to regain the lead. Blanchard connected with Roberts on five more occasions, totaling 78 yards in the drive with the last play an 11-yard touchdown catch from Blanchard to Roberts for a 20-14 lead before the break.
At halftime, Roberts led the Bulldog offensive effort with eight receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Blanchard went 12-of-19 with two interceptions for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Dendy led PC with 13 rushes for 85 yards and one touchdown. Miley connected on 11 of-17 passes with one interception for 74 yards.
To start the second half, both teams struggled with penalties and were unable to score in their first drives of the third quarter. However, after a 29-yard punt return by Roberts put the Bulldogs in Blue Hose territory, the Bulldogs got their running game going with backup running back Van Dyke Jones and quarterback Miguel Starks. Six plays into the drive, Blanchard found Sellars again for a five-yard touchdown pass with 7:48 left in the third quarter. Blanchard's two-point conversion failed and the Bulldogs led, 26-14.
The Citadel defense held the Blue Hose scoreless for the next two drives, while Blanchard and Roberts connected again for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 2:58 left in the third and a 14-yard touchdown pass with 11:56 in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 40-14.
The next Presbyterian drive ended when redshirt freshman defensive back Keith Gamble intercepted a Miley pass and returned it 89 yards for the touchdown with 7:04 left in the game. The Citadel led, 46-14. Sam Wilson returned a Ryan Sellers 45-yard kickoff for 40 yards to give the Blue Hose great field position on the next possession. After three Byrd rushes, backup quarterback Tim Webb found Tyler Robbins on the other end of a 22-yard pass for the score with 5:07 left in the game to make the score 46-21, the final of the game.
The Citadel finished the game with 414 yards of total offense, 151 on the ground and 263 in the air. Blanchard completed 20-of-30 passes with two interceptions for 263 yards and six touchdowns, tying a school record. Roberts finished with 12 receptions for 184 yards and four touchdowns, also a school record. He increased his career receiving yards to 3,221 improving him to third all-time in the Southern Conference, while his 233 catches improved him to second all-time in the SoCon. Roberts totaled 213 all-purpose yards on the night. Starks led The Citadel rushing effort with 12 carries for 103 yards. Jordan Gilmore led the defense with nine total tackles, with one sack for a loss of four yards. Allen had an impressive defensive performance as well with five total tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one pass breakup.
Presbyterian totaled 394 yards of offense, 204 rushing and 190 passing. Miley completed 17-of-33 passes with two interceptions for 168 yards. Dendy led the running game with 23 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown.
Bryce Smiley led the Blue Hose defensive effort with seven tackles, one for a loss of four yards, and one interception.
The Citadel (2-1 overall, 0-0 SoCon) will return to Johnson Hagood Stadium to open its Southern Conference schedule with Appalachian State on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.