Furman 31, The Citadel 14
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Cody Worley ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lift FCS 23rd-ranked Furman to a 31-14 win over arch-rival The Citadel in the 2010 Southern Conference season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Worley's two-yard scoring run in the first quarter gave Furman a 7-0 lead, and his 35-yard touchdown strike to Daniel McFadden in the fourth period put the Paladins up 24-7. The fifth-year senior, who capped his performance with a 3-yard late fourth quarter scoring run, completed 12-of-20 passes for 171 yards and rushed for 36 yards.
The victory marked the sixth straight for Furman (2-1, 1-0 SoCon) over The Citadel (2-2, 0-1 SoCon) in Greenville.
The Paladins tallied on their first possession, moving 56 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on Worley's 2-yard run around left end with the contest barely five minutes old.
From that point, however, Furman did next to nothing offensively until the final minute of the first half when Worley hooked up with Sederrik Cunningham for a 45-yard completion to the Bulldog 7-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. With no timeouts, the Paladins could run only one play, an incomplete pass, and had to settle for a Ray Early 24-yard field goal as time expired for a 10-0 lead.
Furman opened the second half with a scoring drive that covered 67 yards in nine plays for a 3-yard Jerry Williams scoring run that stretched the advantage to 17-0.
The Citadel got on the board in the fourth quarter on Matt Thompson's 3-yard plunge with 11:18 remaining to make it 17-7.
The Bulldogs recovered an onside kick but failed to capitalize when Thompson's third down pass was picked off by Furman's Max Lerner at the Paladin 49.
Four plays later Worley lofted a 35-yard strike behind the Bulldog secondary into the hands of McFadden to give the Paladins a 24-7 advantage with 8:39 to go.
The two teams traded scores the rest of the way, with Worley sealing the game's outcome with a 3-yard run set up by a 24-yard pass to tight end Colin Anderson to The Citadel 8.
The Citadel ran 78 plays to Furman's 50 and forged a 36:51 to 23:09 advantage in time of possession. The Bulldogs also claimed a 359-296 advantage in total offense, but Furman won the turnover battle with three takeaways to none.
Junior linebacker Kadarron Anderson paced Furman's defense with 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Sterling Johnson added 11 stops, and Chris Wiley had 10. Sophomore defensive end Josh Lynn registered a career high nine tackles, including three for-loss, and Ryan Steed was credited with seven tackles, an interception, and three pass deflections.
No. 1 Appalachian State 35, Samford 17
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Top-ranked Appalachian State University intercepted four passes and rolled up 447 yards of offense to down Samford, 35-17, on Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
For the second-straight week, ASU jumped out to an early lead en route to the triumph.
The game was scoreless for the first 11 minutes but Mark LeGree kick-started the rout by intercepting his third pass of the season and returning it 21 yards to the Samford 13. Three plays later, DeAndre Presley scored from a yard out on a quarterback sneak to make it 7-0, Mountaineers.
On ASU's next possession, Presley engineered a 76-yard scoring drive, capped by a pretty 30-yard touchdown pass to Matt Cline that made it 14-0, Mountaineers, on the first play of the second quarter.
Samford got on the scoreboard when Fabian Truss cut the deficit in half with a 74-yard touchdown run on the second play of the Bulldogs' ensuing possession and, after an ASU punt, got the ball back with a chance to tie the game.
However, ASU linebacker D.J. Smith turned the tide of the game when he intercepted Samford's Dustin Taliaferro at the Samford 42 and returned it 26 yards. One play later, Presley scored on a 16-yard touchdown run to stretch the advantage back to 14 points.
On its next series, Appalachian rode tight end Ben Jorden to its fourth touchdown in a 13:41 span. The junior caught three passes on ASU's 75-yard scoring drive, all of which accounted for first downs, including a 15-yard touchdown that gave the Mountaineers a commanding 28-7 lead late with 5:06 to go first half.
Samford (2-2, 0-1 SoCon) attempted to grab a bit of momentum with a field goal in the waning seconds of the first half but Appalachian effectively ended the Bulldogs' upset hopes when Devon Moore made it 35-10 with a nine-yard touchdown run on the second play after the break.
From there, ASU cruised to its first 4-0 start in 12 years. Defensive backs Ed Gainey and Dominique McDuffie intercepted passes in the second half to give Appalachian four interceptions for the first time since it accomplished the feat against Presbyterian on Sept. 27, 2008.
The interceptions help limit SU to 117 yards in the second half, including only 20 in the third quarter. For the game, the Mountaineers out-gained the Bulldogs, 447-311.
Presley led the Mountaineers offensively by accounting for 273 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in a little more than three quarters of work. He completed 16-of-27 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 15 times for 98 yards and two more scores.
No. 24 Georgia Southern 38, No. 11 Elon 21
STATESBORO, Ga. - Lee Banks rushed for 121 yards while Jaybo Shaw carried for two touchdowns as 24th-rated Georgia Southern snapped a three-game losing streak to the 11th-ranked Elon Phoenix with a 38-21 victory in the Southern Conference football opener for both sides on Saturday night.
After both teams turned the ball over on their first possessions, Elon (1-3, 0-1 SoCon) went 63 yards in just five plays to grab a 7-0 lead with 7:20 to play in the first quarter. The drive began with a 19-yard connection from Scott Riddle to Sean Jeffcoat that moved the ball to the Georgia Southern 44. Following a four-yard reception by Andre Labinowicz, Riddle found Jeremy Peterson for another 12 yards to the 28-yard line. Riddle then hit Aaron Mellette for 13 yards to the 15 before a shovel pass to Peterson went for the score.
The Eagles (3-1, 1-0) responded by marching 86 yards to knot the score at seven. The drive ate up 7:51 off the clock and carried into the second quarter. Back-to-back four-yard gains by Banks got the drive going for the Eagles. Darries Robinson followed that with two nine-yard pickups as GSU moved to their own 40. On the next two plays, Banks picked up a total of 18 yards to get to the Elon 42. Jerick McKinnon then got in on the act, rushing twice for 12 yards to the Elon 30. Georgia Southern would move to the Elon five before the first quarter came to a close. The first play of the second period gained four yards before Shaw plunged in from a yard out with the Eagle score.
Georgia Southern got the ball back and marched 80 yards on 12 plays to take the lead. The key play was a fourth down conversion from the Elon 31 when Shaw completed an 18-yard pass to Tray Butler that put the ball at the Phoenix 13. Three plays later, Shaw rushed in from two yards out to put the Eagles on top 14-7 with 6:37 to play in the first half.
The Phoenix would start its next drive at its own 30-yard line. On second-and-seven, Riddle hit Mellette on a screen pass for a gain of 46 yards all the way down the GSU 21. Peterson gained 12 on the next play to give Elon a first-and-goal from the nine. A second-down run by Harris got the ball to the three before Riddle found Mellette who leaped over defenders at the goal line for the score with 4:32 remaining in the second quarter. Adam Shreiner's PAT knotted the score back up at 14 apiece.
A 31-yard pass from Shaw to J.J. Wilcox on third-and-two got Georgia Southern in Elon territory at the 29 with just over two minutes to play in the second quarter. On third-and-five, Shaw dropped back to pass and was drilled by Travis Greene from behind and fumbled. Elon's Khiry Mullins recovered the fumble and returned it to the Elon 48-yard line.
On its second possession of the second half, Georgia Southern went back on top after chewing up 5:49 and covering 65 yards on 11 plays. The first three Eagle plays all gained six yards as GSU moved to the Elon 47. On third-and-two from the Elon 42, Darreion Robinson picked up 11 yards on a pitch play. After picking up four yards on first down, Wilcox took a pitch and picked up 14 yards down to the Elon 13 for an Eagle first down. GSU would face a second-and-14 from the 17 when Shaw completed a 13-yard pass to Mitch Willford. Robinson would take it in on the next play with 3:16 left in the third quarter as the Eagles took a 21-14 lead.
After Elon was forced to punt, Georgia Southern was able to pad its lead, taking a 28-14 lead after Tobi Akinnirayne capped a 56-yard drive with a four-yard run up the middle. The score came with 14:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles added another touchdown when Laron Scott intercepted a Riddle pass and returned it 36 yards for the score during Elon's next possession.
Elon cut its deficit to a two-score game when the Riddle completed a 19-yard pass to Mellette for a touchdown. The play finished off a 13-play, 85-yard drive. Riddle completed passes to five different receivers on the drive with Mellette catching the last two for a total of 25 yards.
The Phoenix attempted an on-side kick, but Georgia Southern was able to cover it at the Elon 47 with 8:49 left to play. The Eagles would move the ball down to the Elon five before kicking a 23-yard field goal that provided the final margin.
For Elon, Riddle eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark for the 19th time of his career, throwing for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Mellette posted his third consecutive 100-yard outing, grabbing six balls for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Peterson's six catches for 56 yards were career-bests.
Shaw rushed for two of GSU's scores and also threw for 129 yards.
On defense, Jordan Jones and Brandon Wiggins both totaled 11 tackles. Jones also forced two fumbles while Wiggins recovered one GSU fumble.
Chattanooga 27, Western Carolina 21
CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- B.J. Coleman threw two touchdowns as Chattanooga earned a 27-21 victory at Western Carolina (1-3, 0-1) Saturday night. Chattanooga (2-2, 1-1) made the plays it had to on both sides of the ball to claim the crucial Southern Conference win.
The Mocs defense allowed just 249 yards of total offense limiting the Catamounts to 56 on the ground. UTC caused four turnovers, three by interception, dictating play throughout the game.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Gunner Miller made his first collegiate start recording nine tackles including four for loss which is a Mocs high for the season. Junior Ryan Consiglio had a team-best 12 stops on the night tying for game-high honors.
Coleman completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for 235 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also ran for a score. Coleman hit eight different receivers on the night with both scoring tosses going to tight end Garrett Hughes.
Running backs Erroll Wynn and Keon Williams combined for 121 yards on 29 carries and a score. Wynn had 80 yards on 16 totes, while Williams rushed 13 times for 41 yards.
It was a quick-strike start for the Catamounts. After a 27-yard Mike Hammons punt from the end zone gave WCU the ball on the UTC 32, the Cats went into their bag of tricks.
Zach Brindise threw a lateral screen to Josh Cockrell who then lofted a 32-yard scoring toss to Jacoby Mitchell for the 7-0 lead with 4:48 to go in the first quarter.
The Mocs immediately answered. Taking over at the Western 28, Coleman engineered a seven play, 72-yard scoring drive that ended with Hughes' second touchdown catch of the season. Coleman was 5-6 on the drive for 81 yards.
Later in the second quarter, Chattanooga took over at its own 23 following 35-yard Blake Cain punt. This time the Mocs struck quickly.
Wynn opened with a 21 yard run which was followed by a Coleman to Chris Pitchford connection of nine yards to Western territory. Coleman then lofted a 46-yard strike to Brian Sutherland who was forced out of bound inside the WCU one-yard line. The junior QB bulled his way into the end zone to put the Mocs up 14-7 halftime lead.
After a Kadeem Wise interception in the end zone gave the Mocs the ball on its own 20. Two plays later, Dre Thomas forced a Wynn fumble which was picked up by C.J. Johnson who rumbled 12 yards to knot the game at 14.
The Mocs did not hang their heads. On the very next possession, Coleman led the team on an 11 play, 83-yard drive. Mixing the run and pass, Chattanooga did not face a third down on the four-minute march that yielded the second Coleman-Hughes hook up of the night, this time from three yards to make it 21-14.
Wise set up the fourth UTC tally of the night. He made his second pick of the game, fourth of the season, giving the Mocs the short field on the Western 23.
On the very next play Wynn ran around left end for the score. The PAT was wide left for a 27-14 UTC lead.
With 7:48 left, Chattanooga took over at its own 20. Running as much clock as possible, the Mocs pushed to the WCU 37 before the drive stalled and Coleman's pooch kick just veered into the end zone. The drive did take up 4:27 which was the long for the night.
The Catamounts took over and marched the 80 yards in nine plays scoring on a third-and-goal from the one as Brandon Pechloff found Mitchell for his second score of the evening. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Sutherland and the Mocs took three knees as the clock ran out.
Pechloff came off the bench in the second half to throw for 127 yards on nine completions in 21 attempts and three interceptions. Brindise completed 10 of 14 but for just 34 yards. Michael Johnson led the Cats with 10 carries for 24 yards.
Brandon Vaught tied Consiglio with 12 tackles adding one for loss and one of WCU's three fumble recoveries. Angelo Brown added 10 stops forcing a fumble while recovering another.