#7 Appalachian State 49, The Citadel 42
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Making his first-career start, Jamal Jackson led Appalachian State University to a season-high 552 yards of total offense and a 49-42 victory over The Citadel on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
Jackson completed his first 15 passes and led Appalachian (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) to touchdowns on seven of its first eight possessions to help ASU jump out to a commanding 49-14 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Citadel (2-4, 1-4 SoCon) scored 28-straight points to cut the Mountaineer lead to just seven points with 6:10 to go but Appalachian put together a 13-play, 55-yard drive to milk the final six-plus minutes off the clock and seal the win.
Starting in place of injured All-America signal-caller DeAndre Presley, Jackson completed 21-of-27 passes without an interception for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the triumph. ASU's offense was also buoyed by two 100-yard rushers in Travaris Cadet, who carried 18 times for 133 yards, and Steven Miller, who also carried 18 times for 102 yards, and Brian Quick's 131 receiving yards.
After scoring only two offensive touchdowns in its last 23 possessions, Appalachian's offense clicked from the get-go on Saturday. The Mountaineers marched 82 yards in 10 plays on its opening series, never going deeper than second down and capping its most impressive drive in nearly a month with a five-yard touchdown run by Cedric Baker Boney.
Helped by a 26-yard gain on a fake punt, The Citadel (2-4, 1-4 SoCon) evened the score at 7-7 on its ensuing possession but ASU answered with four more consecutive touchdown drives to take a commanding 35-14 lead on Ben Jorden's three-yard TD catch with 1:18 to go in the second quarter. The Mountaineers' only punt of the first half came with less than 10 seconds to play before halftime.
It was more of the same for ASU immediately following the break, as it drove for touchdowns on its first two possessions of the second half to stretch its advantage to 49-14 midway through the third quarter.
Things appeared to get even more comfortable for Appalachian when Demetrius McCray ended The Citadel's next possession with his second interception of the year but, instead, the Bulldogs dominated the next 15 minutes of the ballgame to put the outcome in doubt. Thanks in large part to two ASU fumbles and a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, The Citadel scored four touchdowns in a 12:28 span to cut the Mountaineer advantage from 49-14 to 49-42 with 6:10 to go.
However, ASU responded to the score that brought the Bulldogs within one score by putting together perhaps its most critical drive of the season to date, driving 55 yards on 13 plays and, most importantly, milking the final 6:10 off the clock to seal the victory. Cadet carried seven times for 40 yards on the game-clinching drive and Jackson completed both of his passes, including a six-yard connection with Andrew Peacock on third down that kept the series alive. The Mountaineers had the ball on the Citadel one yard line with 59 seconds remaining but knelt twice to end the ballgame.
In all, Appalachian outgained The Citadel, 552-349, including a season-best 318 rushing yards and 234-88 advantage in passing, and held a commanding 35:07-24:53 edge in time of possession. ASU also converted 9-of-15 third downs, its second-best percentage of the season.
Defensively, Jeremy Kimbrough led Appalachian with 11 tackles while Dominique McDuffie turned in one of his finest games as a Mountaineer with eight tackles, including a tackle for loss, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery.
#1 Georgia Southern 50, Furman 20
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Football team (6-0, 5-0) scored 10 or more points in every quarter to pull off a 50-20 win over Furman (3-3, 2-2) at Paulson Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Six touchdowns, two field goals and a blocked extra point return combined to score the most points by either side in the 23-game series.
Adrian Mora set the FCS consecutive extra point record with his 127th career extra point in the third quarter. Mora finished the afternoon with 12 points on six extra points and two field goals to move even closer to Tim Foley's career-points record (300) for a Georgia Southern kicker.
Georgia Southern amassed over 500 yards of total offense and rushed for 365 yards on the ground in a total team effort. Johnathan Bryant carried the ball 10 times for a team-best 95 yards and one touchdown. Three other Eagles also scored a single rushing touchdown while Jaybo Shaw scored two touchdowns on just seven carries. He also completed six passes for 171 yards including a season-best 49 yarder to Zach Walker.
Furman ran for over 100 yards and passed for nearly 300 yards behind Chris Forcier's 217 yards and one touchdown. Colin Anderson caught three passes for 111 yards, including a 44-yard toss from backup quarterback Dakota Derrick. Jerodis Williams ran for 64 yards on the ground and averaged nearly five yards a carry.
The contest was a close one in the first half with the Paladins responding with a 96-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to 7-6, and a eight-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to cut a 10-point Georgia Southern lead back down to 16-13. Furman was poised to strike back again right before halftime, but Hudson Presume intercepted a Forcier pass in the back of the endzone to end the nine play 76 yard drive.
Georgia Southern scored all six touchdowns on the ground, including a five-yard scamper by J.J. Wilcox in the first quarter. They also had two blocked kicks for the first time since the 2010 Coastal Carolina game and returned an extra point for a two-point conversion with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter. They also blocked a field goal in the second quarter.
The Eagles tacked on 24 points in the second half and held Furman to just one fourth quarter touchdown. Mora notched his longest field goal of the season at 49 yards to start the second-half scoring. Shaw and Robert Brown capped off scoring drives with a one-yard and two-yard run, respectively. Ezayi Youyoute carried the ball three times for 65 yards on the Eagles' final drive which ended with a 36 yard rushing touchdown by the redshirt-freshman signal caller.
Samford 43, Elon 31
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Elon fell behind early and twice rallied from double-digit deficits, but could not overcome six turnovers and a career-high 191 rushing yard by Fabian Truss as the Phoenix fell by a 43-31 margin at Samford on Saturday afternoon.
Elon fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the SoCon while the Bulldogs improved to 4-2, 2-2 and won their first game against the Phoenix in four league meetings.
The Elon defense allowed its opponent to score in its opening drive for the first time all season as Samford marched 62 yards on nine plays to take a 3-0 lead on a Cameron Yaw 21-yard field goal. The Bulldogs lead stretched to 10-0 with 5:13 left in the first quarter when Jonathan Sillers ran it in from two yards out.
Elon responded with a 15-play, 80-yard drive of its own that ended when Thomas Wilson threw to Aaron Mellette in the front left corner of the end zone to make it a 10-7 game just two plays into the second quarter. The Phoenix had a third-and-six from its own 24 when Wilson picked up nine yards with a pass to Christian Dennis. Later, Elon converted a third-and-one from its own 42 as Mellette gained seven yards on a catch. On third-and-10 at its own 49 Wilson hit a streaking A.J. Harris down the Samford sideline for a 20-yard pick-up and a first down at the Bulldog 31. The Phoenix converted yet another third down when Wilson found Dennis for an 18-yard gain down to the Samford 12. After moving to the three-yard line, Wilson tossed his TD to Mellette, giving the wide out a touchdown grab in eight consecutive games.
Starting at its own 14 after an Elon punt, Samford moved to its own 36 before Truss took a handoff and raced 64 yards for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 17-7 with 10:15 left on the first half clock. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 24-7 with just under four minutes to play in the second quarter when Kelsey Pope ran a reverse in from 14 yards out.
On the ensuing Elon possession that began at its own 25, the Phoenix went 75 yards on nine plays to close its deficit to 10 points, 24-14. The first play of the drive moved the ball out to the Elon 46 thanks to a six-yard completion to Mellette and a Bulldog penalty. On third-and-eight at its own 48, Wilson found Mellette again, this time for a gain of 20 yards to the Samford 32. Back-to-back completions to Harris moved Elon another 20 yards downfield. On second-and-goal at the five, Wilson drilled a pass into the back of the end zone where Dennis made a grab while absorbing a blow from a Bulldog defender.
Elon got the ball back at its own 29 after Blake Thompson recovered a Bulldog fumble. The Phoenix moved to the Samford 33 before Adam Shreiner came on to bang a career-best 50-yard field goal between the uprights to make it a 24-17 game at the break. The 50-yarder was the longest for the program since Paul Mullen's 52-yarder in 1986 against Presbyterian. He is the fourth player in Elon history to hit from 50+ yards, joining Mullen, Phil Renn and Mitch Rippy who all connected from 52 yards out.
The Phoenix received the kick to start the second half, but fumbled the ball away to the Bulldogs who recovered at the Elon 35. Truss scored from three-yards out to up the Bulldog lead to 31-17. All 35 yards came on the ground, including 25 from Truss.
Keith Shoulders picked off a pass that was tipped by multiple players on Elon's next drive, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Elon 31. Samford would end up adding three points on Yaw's 29-yard field goal that made it 34-17.
The third Elon turnover of the half came on the kickoff as the ball was fumbled away again and recovered by Samford at the one. The defense held and forced a 20-yard field goal from Yaw which made it 37-17 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
With Samford set to punt from its own 22, Gary Coates knifed through the punt team to block his third punt in the last two weeks. Harris scooped the ball up at the 16-yard line and dashed in for the score to make it a 37-24 game with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter.
Elon got the ball back when Thompson picked off a Dustin Taliaferro pass and brought it back to the Samford 33. The Phoenix gained 16 yards on a Dontay Taylor first-down carry before a completion to Mellette went for another 13 yards to the four. Taylor took it in from two yards out for his fifth rushing score of the season with just 16.7 seconds left in the third as the Phoenix clawed back to make it 37-31.
The fourth Bulldog interception of the game led to another Samford touchdown. Starting at the Elon 17, a reverse to Riley Hawkins looked like it would go for a loss before he broke back and carried it to the one. Truss scored his third touchdown of the day on the next play. The two-point conversion failed and the Phoenix trailed 43-31 with 8:15 showing on the clock.
Elon had three more possessions, but could not add any points to its total.
Wilson completed 35 of his 60 pass attempts for 312 yards and two touchdowns. Mellette accounted for 171 yards and a score on 15 grabs. Defensively for Elon, Joshua Jones made 11 total tackles, 10 of which were solo stops.
Truss carried the ball 26 times for 196 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs. Taliaferro was efficient, completing 16-of-21 passes for 115 yards.
Chattanooga 51, Western Carolina 7
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Five Western Carolina turnovers led to 27 Chattanooga points and redshirt freshman quarterback Terrell Robinson racked up 195 yards of total offense including three touchdown passes as the Mocs handed Western Carolina a 51-7 defeat at Finley Stadium / Davenport Field.
Chattanooga rattled off 31-straight first half points including 17 in the first quarter alone en route to handing Western Carolina its fourth-straight loss - and third-consecutive in the head-to-head series. WCU lost a pair of second quarter fumbles and three interceptions in the losing effort.
Western Carolina (1-5, 0-4 SoCon) had no answers for Robinson who rushed for 72 yards despite two sacks by the WCU defense. He also tossed three touchdown passes including an 18-yard strike to his tight end Faysal Shafaat on his first attempt in the first quarter. He added scoring passes of 35 and 21 yards in the first half to guide the Mocs to a 31-0 lead at the half.
UTC also got 93 rushing yards and one score from Marquis Green with J.J. Jackson adding a rushing touchdown for the Mocs.
Facing the stingiest defense in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, the Catamounts were held to just 113 yards on the ground on 34 carries - an average of just 3.3 yards per attempt. Through the air, the prolific passing attack was held to just 151 yards - over 100 yards shy of its seasonal average entering the game which had WCU ranked second in the SoCon.
After connecting on four of his first five on the opening drive, sophomore quarterback Brandon Pechloff finished 13-of-23 for 77 yards and two interceptions and was sacked four times. Senior Zac Brindise came on in relief in the third quarter, finishing 7-of-16 with a pick and was dropped in the backfield once.
WCU scratched the scoreboard with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Senior Blake Cain boomed a season-long 53-yard field goal, pinning the Mocs at their own one-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage following the punt, senior Trey Selby forced a fumble on a run between the tackles where classmate Brett Allen pounced on the loose ball giving the Catamounts possession inside the five-yard line.
After an encroachment penalty against the Mocs, junior Michael Vaughn plunged in from one-yard out to put WCU on the scoreboard, ending a streak of 44-straight points for UTC. Vaughn finished with 30 rushing yards on nine carries while wide receiver Josh Cockrell led the team with 42 yards on two carries including a team-high 34-yard rush on a reverse in the fourth quarter.
#4 Wofford 47, UVA-Wise 14
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford College football team defeated the University of Virginia's College at Wise 47-14 on Saturday at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers scored all 47 points in the first half and outgained the Highland Cavaliers 554 to 108 in total offense.
The Terriers are 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in the SoCon. UVa.-Wise is 4-3 overall. Wofford was led by Eric Breitenstein with 107 yards on ten carries with two touchdowns. Michael Harpe added two touchdown receptions. Mitch Allen was 4-of-5 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Brian Kass was 5-of-8 passing for 101 yards and three touchdowns. The Highland Cavaliers were led by receiver Michael Steele with four catches for 41 yards.
After both teams punted on their respective opening drives, Wofford was able to score first on a one-yard touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein. The Terriers had a 7-0 lead with 8:59 on the clock in the first quarter. The Highland Cavaliers gained a first down, but sacks by Alex Goltry and Alvin Scioneaux forced a punt.
Wofford added a touchdown with 4:55 left in the first quarter when Eric Breitenstein went in from three-yards out for a 14-0 lead. After a punt by UVa.-Wise, Mitch Allen found Michael Harpe for a 37-yard touchdown reception to take a 21-0 lead. Marcus Bratton then returned the ensuing kickoff 86-yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 score with 14:13 on the clock in the second quarter. Wofford returned the favor when Derek Boyce went 99-yards with the next kickoff for a touchdown. The point after hit the left upright for a 27-7 score.
The Highland Cavaliers went three-and-out and punted. The Terriers wasted little time and scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Brian Kass to Brenton Bersin for a 34-7 lead at 10:48 in the second quarter.
After another three-and-out for the Highland Cavaliers, Brian Kass found Kenny Barnes in the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown reception. Wofford had a 41-7 lead with 5:31 left in the first half. The teams then traded punts. UVa.-Wise quarterback Tye Marshall was intercepted by Josh Holt. On the next play, Brian Kass found Michael Harpe for a 27-yard touchdown as the Terriers were up 47-7 with fifteen seconds left in the half. The Highland Cavaliers ran one play before the end of the half. At the break, Wofford had 414 total yards to only nine for UVa.-Wise.
The teams traded punts to open the second half. The Highland Cavaliers picked up a first down, but Zack Cole intercepted Hunter Hoke and returned it 21-yards. However Wofford fumbled the ball back after only two plays. UVa.-Wise gained a first down before punting the ball back to Wofford. The Terriers gained several first downs, but were stopped on fourth-and-one.
The Highland Cavaliers scored on their next drive as Hunter Hoke found Nick Leftwich for a 24-yard touchdown reception to make it a 47-14 game with 13:04 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Wofford and UVa.-Wise traded punts again until the Terriers got the ball back with 4:27 left on the clock and gained four first downs to run out the clock.
Wofford had 554 total yards, with 321 on the ground. UVa.-Wise had 108 total yards, 113 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 32:35 to 27:25 margin. Wofford was 2-of-8 on third downs and 0-of-1 on fourth down. UVa.-Wise was 4-of-16 on third down.