#3 Appalachian State 14, #14 Chattanooga 12

BOONE, N.C. --- Despite a shutdown effort from the UTC defense, the Mocs lost 14-12 at No. 3 Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium Saturday afternoon.  In what is becoming an annual tradition, UTC and App State played one of the most exciting games of the year.  The loss drops the Mocs to 2-2 and 0-1 in the Southern Conference.  ASU improves to 3-1 and 1-0 in SoCon action.

UTC's defense has been lights out the last three games.  Coming into today's contest, they had not allowed a point in the second half in the previous two games and no scores in the fourth quarter all year.  They kept that intensity going, shutting out the Mountaineers in the first half.  It was the first time ASU had been blanked in the first 30 minutes of an FCS game since 2004.

Appalachian's defense was just a stingy.  The only points the Mocs could muster in the first half was a 22-yard Nick Pollard field goal late in the second quarter.  Both teams combined for just 283 yards before intermission. 

The second half looked to be more of the same with neither team scoring in the first 13 minutes of the third quarter.  Pollard extended the Mocs lead with another 22-yarder to make it 6-0.  The Mocs rushing attack had been stymied to just 8 yards entering the drive, but had 35 yards on six carries to get within four yards of the goal line.

On the very first play of the ensuing Mountaineers possession, Ryan Consiglio forced a DeAndre Presley fumble. Toyvian Brand pounced on the ball to give the Mocs prime real estate on the ASU 30.

UTC got inside the 10 for the third time in the game only to be stopped at the ASU nine.  Pollard came on for a 27-yard attempt but the snap was fumbled.  Mountaineer Rodger Walker scooped it up and returned it 73 yards for App State's first score to end the third quarter.

On the next Mocs possession, lightning struck again for an opportunistic Mountaineers defense.  B.J. Coleman's pass was picked off by Jeremy Kimbrough who returned it 46 yards for a 14-6 ASU lead.

Coleman rallied his troops and answered right away.  Chaz Moore returned the kickoff to the UTC 47 putting the offense in great field position.  Coleman marched the Mocs 53 yards in nine plays, capped by a 20-yard pass to Sloan Allison in the end zone down the right sideline.  The two-point conversion failed and the Mocs trailed 14-12 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Alas, UTC had just one more true possession before a desperation one to end the contest.  ASU registered four of its seven second-half first downs in its final two drives to run time off the clock to seal the win.

Consiglio and Wes Dothard led the Chattanooga defense which was the story of the game.  Consiglio had a game-high 13 tackles with one for loss and a forced fumble.  Dothard made 11 tackles in limiting ASU to a meager 284 total yards.  The Mocs have kept its opponent's offense out of the end zone in eight of its last 10 quarters.

Coleman moved into third-place all-time on the Mocs passing list during the game.  He was 22 of 42 for 270 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Marlon Anthony was his top target with six catches for 48 yards.  Joel Bradford and Jeff Veres each had five for 89 and 57 yards, respectively.

DeAndre Presley had 195 yards of total offense. He completed 12 of 22 tosses for 143 yards and two interceptions - Chris Lewis-Harris and Kadeem Wise had the picks - while running for 52 (18 carries).  Tavaris Cadet led all rushers with 63 yards on 11 rushes.

Kimbrough led a stout effort on defense for the Mountaineers with 11 tackles, two sacks and two pass-breakups to go with his pick-six.  Brandon Grier also had 11 stops for ASU.

#1 Georgia Southern 52, Western Carolina 20

STATESBORO, Ga. - Behind the third best rushing performance in school history, the Georgia Southern Football team (3-0) improved to 2-0 in the Southern Conference with a 52-20 win over Western Carolina (1-2, 0-1). The Eagles ran for 634 yards and had four players with over 90 yards on the ground. The ground game was third only to a 665 yard rushing performance against Glenville State in 1994 and a 638 rushing performance against Youngstown State in the1999 NCAA FCS Championship Game.

Ezayi Youyoute led the team in rushing with 119 yards including an 83 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. J.J. Wilcox recorded 115 yards on six carries, while Jerick McKinnon tallied 114 yards. Robert Brown finished with one yard short of 100.

Georgia Southern scored in all four quarters and opened the game with a 17 point first quarter. The Eagles led 24-7 at halftime and added 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters, while holding the Catamounts to 13 second-half points. Wilcox started the scoring with a 36-yard touchdown run on GSU's first play from scrimmage.

Following an 80-yard touchdown drive by WCU, Georgia Southern rattled off 17-straight points, including a career-long 75 yard rush by McKinnon. He became the first Eagle quarterback to throw, catch and rush for a touchdown in his career since Jayson Foster. The sophomore finished with 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground while throwing for 39 yards and a score.

Western Carolina's Brandon Pechloff completed 16 passes for 233 yards, but tossed a pair of interceptions after not throwing a pick all season. Deja Alexander caught eight passes for 143 yards, the second best outing in his career. Michael Johnson carried the ball 16 times for a gain of 53 yards and scored two of the team's three touchdowns.

The Catamounts' offense was buoyed by 211 kick-return yards. George Richardson tallied 165 yards on six returns including a long of 60 yards. Richardson posted three returns for 129 yards in the first quarter, but was held to just 36 yards on his final three returns.


#8 Wofford 38, Samford 23

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Saturday night, the Wofford College football team defeated Samford 38-23 at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had three players rush for over 100 yards as the team had 443 yards on the ground. It was the home opener for Wofford and also the conference opener for the Terriers.

The Terriers are 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the SoCon. Samford falls to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference. Wofford was led by Donovan Johnson with 173 rushing yards, Eric Breitenstein with 126 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and Mitch Allen with 110 yards rushing and 69 yards passing. Eric Eberhardt had two sacks for Wofford. Samford was led by Kelsey Pope with 96 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs opened the game with the ball and scored on a 29-yard field goal by Cameron Yaw at 10:32 in the first quarter. Wofford used a long kickoff return by Stephon Shelton to start at midfield. After two first downs, Eric Breitenstein converted on a fourth-and-one. The Terriers took a 7-3 lead when Breitenstein scored from two-yards out with 4:27 left in the first quarter.

Samford answered with another field goal by Cameron Yaw, this time from 30-yards, with 1:01 on the clock in the first quarter. On the next drive by the Terriers, Mitch Allen was intercepted. The Bulldogs were able to convert the turnover into points when Kelsey Pope scored from three-yards out to take a 13-7 lead with 9:51 on the clock in the second quarter.

Wofford then used a 40-yard run and a 30-yard run by Donovan Johnson to move inside the 20. The Terriers used a 26-yard field goal by Christian Reed to cut the lead to 13-10 with 7:32 left in the first half. The Wofford defense, aided by two big Samford penalties, forced a three-and-out.

With the ball back, the Terriers converted a fourth-and-one by Mitch Allen. Allen weaved his way 21-yards to the endzone for a touchdown and a 17-13 lead with 51 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs were able to tack on a 46-yard field goal by Cameron Yaw as time expired in the half to make it a 17-16 score at the break.

To open the second half, Wofford gained four first downs before Eric Breitenstein scored his second touchdown of the day. The eight-yard run gave the Terriers a 24-16 lead with 9:12 on the clock in the third quarter. The Wofford defense then forced a three-and-out by the Samford offense. The Terriers then were able to move the ball down the field, but Christian Reed missed wide left on a 36-yard field goal attempt.

Samford picked up one first down before punting back to Wofford. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted for the first time in the game. The Bulldogs attempted a 47-yard field goal, but Cameron Yaw was wide left on the try. After gaining two first downs, including a 38-yard run by Donovan Johnson, Eric Breitenstein capped the drive with a one-yard run for a 31-16 lead with 8:42 left in the game.

The Bulldogs answered with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Taliaferro to Kelsey Pope to cut the lead to 31-23 with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter. Wofford gained one first down before having to punt back to Samford. On the first play for the Bulldogs, Eric Eberhardt sacked Dustin Taliaferro and forced a fumble that was recovered by Ameet Pall. One play later, Donovan Johnson scored on an 18-yard touchdown run for a 38-23 lead with 4:32 remaining. Both teams had two more drives in the final minutes, but the Terriers were able to run out the clock for the victory.

Wofford had 512 total yards, with 443 on the ground. Samford had 275 yards, 241 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 37:43 to 22:17 margin. Wofford was 7-of-13 on third downs and 2-of-2 on fourth down. Samford was 4-of-14 on third down and converted 2-of-4 fourth downs.

Elon 18, The Citadel 15 (OT) 

ELON, N.C. - Elon's Adam Shreiner drilled a 33-yard field goal through the uprights in overtime to lift the Phoenix to an 18-15 win over the visiting Bulldogs from The Citadel in the Southern Conference opener for the Phoenix on Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium.

After the Phoenix (3-1, 1-0) missed wide right on a 44-yard field goal attempt with four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter following a fumble by The Citadel (1-2, 0-2), Elon quarterback Thomas Wilson put Shreiner within range in OT after three straight rushes up the middle gave his kicker another shot from the right hash from 33-yards out.  As the ball sailed between the uprights, the fourth-largest crowd in Rhodes Stadium history erupted.

Following Shreiner's boot to give Elon a three-point edge, 18-15, the Bulldogs ran three plays and kicker Ryan Sellers attempted to tie the game from 37 yards away. But the red-shirt senior's kick sailed right and the Phoenix escaped with the OT win, the team's first extra-session game since last year's matchup at Richmond on Sept. 18. Shreiner made 4-of-6 field goals on the afternoon, including a game-long 36-yard boot in the fourth quarter to knot the game at 15-all with 10:55 to play.

Receiver Aaron Mellette just missed another 100-yard receiving game, as the Sanford, N.C., native finished with six grabs for 97 yards and a touchdown. Wilson connected with Mellette on a 41-yard score with 12:55 remaining in the third quarter to give the Phoenix a 12-7 lead.

Wilson completed 26-of-39 passes for 283 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the victory.

Wide receiver Jeremy Peterson, in his first game of the year, led all receivers with a career-high nine catches for 88 yards in the win.

The Citadel's Darien Robinson rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries, including a 67-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 advantage with 1:42 to play.

The first quarter featured missed field goals by both teams and the second quarter began with the game still scoreless. Elon kept a mid-second quarter drive alive on third-and-nine when Wilson found an open Christian Dennis for a completion of 16 yards to the Bulldogs' 46.  The next play picked up 19 more yards when Wilson found Mellette.  Elon converted a third down chance when Wilson teamed up with Dennis for a gain of eight to The Citadel 14.  On third-and-three, Wilson's pass into the end zone was incomplete, but Shreiner drove home the 25-yard field goal that gave the Phoenix a 3-0 lead with 6:46 remaining in the first half.

Elon added to its totals shortly after. On a second-and-10 from The Citadel 41, Elon's A.J. Harris eluded multiple defenders before finally being brought down at the six by Austin Boyle's touchdown-saving tackle.  The Phoenix got to the two on a pass from Wilson to Peterson, but Elon had to settle for a 19-yard Shreiner field goal to stretch its edge to 6-0 with 2:36 left in the first half.

The Citadel quickly erased its deficit on the ensuing drive when Robinson raced 67 yards for the first Bulldog touchdown. The PAT gave the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead with 1:42 remaining.

The Phoenix held the edge in total offensive yards over the first 30 minutes of play, 244-159, but two Elon turnovers inside Bulldog territory put an abrupt end to drives.

Following a 25-yard kickoff return by David Wood, the Phoenix started the third quarter at its own 36-yard line.  An 11-yard run and another 11-yard catch by Harris moved the Phoenix down the field. Wilson went deep on the next play and hit a streaking Mellette down The Citadel sideline for a 41-yard catch-and-run for the go-ahead touchdown as Elon built a 12-7 lead with 12:55 to play in the third quarter.  Elon failed to make it a seven-point game when its two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Citadel took possession at the Elon 43 with 3:32 left in the third quarter after an 18-yard punt that was partially blocked by Domonic Jones. Elon forced a fourth-and-inches before Dupree moved the sticks with a two-yard plunge up the middle to end the third quarter.  The Citadel moved the chains again and had first-and-goal from the 10 before Rickey Anderson took the pitch to the right side and, while under pressure, lofted a pass to Kevin Hardy in the back corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The Citadel's two-point conversion was good as Dupree hit Dalton Trevino in the front left of the end zone and the Bulldogs built a 15-12 lead with 13:52 to play in the game.

Elon responded with a seven-play, 55-yard drive to tie the game. Wilson started things off with a seven-yard pass to Andre Labinowicz before hitting Peterson for a 20-yard gain to The Citadel 47.  Jamal Shuman took the handoff on the next snap and raced 27 yards to the Bulldogs' 20 before being forced out of bounds. On third-and-11, Wilson was forced to run and the quarterback gained two yards. Shreiner came on for a 36-yard game-tying field goal with 10:55 left on the clock.

For the second straight week, the Elon defense came up big.  The Phoenix totaled eight tackles for a loss, including two sacks, and was led by Blake Thompson's career-high 13 tackles.  Through four games, the Elon defense has notched nine sacks after producing 13 a year ago.


Furman 62, Presbyterian 21

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Quarterback Chris Forcier passed for 226 yards and a Southern Conference record seven touchdowns to power Furman to a 62-21 victory over visiting Presbyterian in Paladins' head coach Bruce Fowler's home season coaching debut Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

Foricer, the former UCLA transfer who missed virtually all of Furman's 2010 campaign with a shoulder injury, completed 12-of-16 passes, including touchdown strikes of 13, 39, 6, 20, 64, 10, and 20 yards in the win, the 13-straight for Furman (2-1) over Presbyterian (1-3).  He also rushed 11 times for 58 yards and a touchdown, giving him a school record eight touchdown responsibilities on the day.

In all the 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior signal caller combined to set six new Furman and SoCon records, including a string of 20 consecutive completions that began in the Paladins' season opener against Coastal Carolina.

Forcier's recording setting performance was keyed in part by a Furman defense that forced four turnovers, including fumbles on PC's first two possessions.

A fumble recovery by Furman's Josh Lynn following a sack gave the Paladins the ball at the PC 19, and two plays later Forcier outran the Blue Hose defense to the pylon to give Furman a 7-0 lead less then two minutes into the game.

Furman's defense forced another miscue on PC's second possession, and Marcus McMorris scooped up a fumble and ran 31 yards to the PC 22.  Later, on fourth and one play at the PC 13, Forcier faked a handoff, and lofted a 13-yard scoring strike over PC's defense into the hands of tight end Cameron Mason to help give the Paladins a 14-0 lead.

Following a short PC punt, Forcier capped Furman's strong first quarter with a 39-yard hook-up with Daniel McFadden, giving the Paladins a 21-0 advantage.

The onslaught continued in the second quarter with four more Forcier touchdown strikes, including a 6-yard connection to tight end Colin Anderson that capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive, a 20-yard scoring toss to slot receiver Tyler Maples, and a 64-yard strike to flanker Sederrik Cunningham.  Forcier finished off his impressive first half by moving the Paladins 58 yards in six plays, culminated by a 10-yard hook-up with flanker Will King with eight seconds to go in the half for a 48-14 lead.

Forcier finished off his display with a 20-yard third quarter connection with McFadden, whose second scoring grab of the game highlighted a Paladin receiving corps that saw six players record touchdown catches.

Furman outgained Presbyterian 483-290, rushing for 251 yards and passing for 232.  Jerodis Williams paced all rushers with 17 carries for 95 yards.

Kadarron Anderson led Furman's defense with 14 tackles, a sack, and two pass deflections.  The Paladins finished the game with four sacks

PC's Justin Bethel topped all defenders with 15 tackles, a sack, two tackles-for-loss, and a blocked punt, which he recovered in the end zone to give PC its first score of the game, one play into the second quarter.