Georgia Southern 28, The Citadel 21
STATESBORO, Ga. – In a series that has seen nearly half of its games decided by seven points or less, Georgia Southern took a 28-21 win with a fourth-quarter drive capped by a four-yard touchdown score by starting quarterback Kevin Ellison. After taking a 20-7 lead into the fourth quarter, Georgia Southern fought off The Citadel as the Bulldogs took a brief 21-20 lead with back-to-back scores.
McKinnon, who started at the B-Back position, led Georgia Southern with 198 yards rushing on 32 carries and scored two touchdowns. Ellison guided the Eagles to the win with 135 yards rushing and went 7-10 from the air for 138 yards. McKinnon, a Walter Payton Award candidate, ran for 59 yards in the Eagles’ scoring drive, including a physical 30-yard rush up the middle to put the Eagles inside the Bulldog 10-yard line with a full set of downs. After Ellison’s touchdown run, he added two more points for Georgia Southern with a pass to Devin Scott to reclaim a seven-point lead.
What remained was a long 1:51.
A combination of pressure by the defensive line and coverage by the defensive backs frustrated Miller and his first two passes fell incomplete. His third pass to Darien Robinson put them at the Bulldogs’ own 32 with a pickup of only four yards. After a Bulldog timeout, Miller hit Thompson for just enough, 11 yards, for the first down, then hit three more passes for 14 yards to reach the Georgia Southern side of the field and to make Eagle fans a little nervous.
Miller’s next two passes fell incomplete with coverage by Deion Stanley and Nick Wright while freshman Bernard Dawson forced Miller to scramble. After a Bulldog penalty, only the second of the game for the least-penalized team in the nation, Miller’s deep pass fell incomplete.
A key penalty and turnover helped quickly get The Citadel back into the game and then take the lead. A long pass by Matt Thompson to Jake Stenson was out of reach, but a defensive pass interference call automatically added 15 yards on the Bulldogs’ position. After two running plays, Miller went to the passing game again, and hit Bulldog Brandon Eakins to bring The Citadel to the Georgia Southern 15 and an eventual Terrance Martin 13-yard score, trimming the Eagle lead to 20-14.
Georgia Southern took possession of the ball, but with 9:43 left in the game, the battle turned in favor of the Bulldogs as Akeem Garrett recovered a Georgia Southern fumble in its own backfield. He scored on the 36-yard return to put The Citadel up by one, 21-20 midway through the final quarter.
The Citadel got on the board first, and quickly, using only one play, a 73-yard keeper by quarterback Ben Dupree for a 7-0 Bulldog lead on the first drive. Georgia Southern answered back, tying the game using a similar approach, as quarterback Kevin Ellison handed off to McKinnon for a 63-yard carry to the Citadel three to set up his own touchdown two plays later. The Georgia Southern defense, which shined all afternoon, holding the Bulldogs to only 63 rushing yards in the final three quarters, kept The Citadel off the scoreboard for the second and third quarters. McKinnon and Johnathan Bryant put up touchdowns for the Eagles to break the 7-7- tie.
Ellison opened Georgia Southern’s first offensive possession of the second quarter with a 45-yard pass to B.J. Johnson, a career-best for Johnson. The Eagles had solid field position and Ellison’s air assault put them inside The Citadel’s 20-yard line. After two McKinnon rushes to the Bulldog nine and a fumble forward for a two-yard gain, McKinnon found the endzone on fourth-and-one for his second touchdown of the afternoon.
Helping the Eagles’ cause to open the second half, Ellison held onto the ball for a 53-yard rush and in doing so, tied his career long, bringing them inside the Bulldog 25. Another pass to Johnson, for 14 yards, put the offense at The Citadel five. Bryant went in for the three-yard score from the left side as the Eagles took their largest lead at 20-7 at the 11:02 mark of the third quarter.
Senior linebacker Kyle Oehlbeck led the Eagles with nine tackles, including two for loss while he broke free to disrupt The Citadel offense. James Riley and Carl Robinson each had 10 tackles for the Bulldogs. Georgia Southern’s Edwin Jackson and Matt Dobson each had six total tackles.
The Citadel quarterback Ben Dupree had 99 yards rushing as the team leader. Eakins had three catches for 43 yards to lead the Bulldogs in that category.
Wofford 31, Elon 27
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Elon Phoenix football team traveled to Spartanburg, S.C., looking to upset the 12th-ranked Wofford Terriers on Saturday afternoon, but the bid fell just short as Wofford stopped a fourth-and-goal play as time expired for a 31-27 win.
After Wofford (4-2, 3-0 Southern Conference) erased a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter, Elon (2-5, 1-2) came back with an 11-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal from John Gallagher that put the maroon and gold back in front 27-24 with 6:35 remaining.
The Phoenix lead was short-lived, however, as Wofford connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass from James Lawson to Will Gay on the second play of the ensuing drive.
Elon had one final chance to pull out the victory and got the ball back with 5:55 remaining on the clock. The maroon and gold methodically advanced the ball down the field and had already converted twice on third down before facing a fourth-and-eight at the Wofford 30-yard line. Mike Quinn hit B.J. Bennett on the fourth-down play for a pick-up of 10 yards to keep the chains moving. On the next play, Quinn found Andre Davis for a gain of 15 to set up first-and-goal at the five. Bennett received carries on each of the first three plays and got the ball just inside the two-yard line. After a time out, Elon lined up with two tight ends and Bennett in the backfield. On the 19th play of the drive, the ball was handed to Bennett who was stopped at the line of scrimmage as time expired.
Elon received the ball to open the game and quickly moved into Wofford territory thanks to a nine-yard pass from Quinn to Rasaun Rorie and a 20-yard run by Kierre Brown. The Phoenix moved to the Wofford 23-yard line where it faced a fourth-and-three. On fourth down, Quinn dropped back and completed a six-yard pass to Justin Osborne to move the chains. Elon then moved it to the one where Quinn took the snapped and pushed behind his offensive line for a touchdown.
The Phoenix forced a three-and-out by Wofford on its first possession and then got the ball to the Wofford 16 before Gallagher came on to boot a 33-yard field goal that gave the Phoenix a 10-0 edge.
On the first play of Wofford's ensuing drive, the Terriers put the ball on the ground and Elon's Corey Mitchell fell on it to give the ball back to the Phoenix at the Wofford 25-yard line. Elon got back into the end zone on just five plays as Davis made a diving grab of a Quinn pass to make it 17-0 with around 3:30 left in the first period.
Wofford finally put together a drive that reached Elon territory late in the second quarter. They got there on a 29-yard run by Gay that tood the ball to the Elon 25. Three plays later, Jonny Martin took it in from nine yards out as the Terriers cut their deficit to 17-7 with 3:20 left in the first half.
The Phoenix immediately answered the Terrier scoring drive with one of its own. Elon drove 75 yards in 10 plays and moved ahead 24-7 when Quinn lofted a 12-yard pass to the back right corner of the end zone where Doug Warrick was wide open for his second TD catch of the year.
Wofford began its rally on the first possession of the second half, marching 75 yards to cut the Elon lead to 24-14 when Martin took the handoff five yards for a touchdown with 12:31 on the third quarter clock.
After a Kasey Redfern field goal in the third quarter made it a one possession game, the Terriers completed the rally and knotted the score at 24-all with 12:22 to play in the fourth quarter. The drive covered 89 yards over 19 plays with Octavius Harden toting the ball in down the Wofford sideline from 23 yards out.
Elon finished the day with 408 total yards of offense. Quinn put up career-best numbers by completing 37 of his 54 passes for 285 yards and two scores. The Phoenix again ran it for over 100 yards, compiling 123 yards on the ground including a team-best 49 by Bennett. Rorie finished with a personal-best nine receptions for 80 yards.
Defensively, Mitchell and Jonathan Spain tallied nine total tackles each. The Phoenix picked off a pass for the third straight game as David Wood intercepted a second-quarter Wofford toss.
Samford 34, Appalachian State 10
BOONE, N.C.—The 23rd-ranked Samford football team improved to 3-0 in the Southern Conference for the first time with a 34-10 win at Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With the win, Samford improves to 5-2 overall, earning its third-straight victory. The win was Samford’s first over Appalachian State since joining the SoCon in 2008. ASU drops to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.
The Samford defense held Appalachian State to just 223 yards of total offense. Justin Shade led the unit with 12 tackles. Brandon Wilkinson, who missed the first couple of games this season with an injury, had two big sacks to go along with his four tackles on the day.
Offensively for Samford, quarterback Andy Summerlin completed 20-of-31 passes for 265 yards and a touchdown. Fabian Truss rushed for 82 yards on 11 carries, and he caught four passes for 73 yards. Karel Hamilton caught three passes for 56 yards for the Bulldogs. D’Morrise Bledsoe rushed 10 times for 79 yards and a touchdown, and defensive lineman Michael Pierce recorded his second rushing touchdown of the season.
For Appalachian State, Kameron Bryant completed 20-of-33 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Peacock had six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown for the Mountaineers.
Samford scored on the opening drive of the game. Pierce scored on a one-yard run with 12:58 to go in the first quarter to give Samford a 7-0 lead. The score capped a six-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 2:02.
Appalachian State put its first points on the scoreboard on the final possession of the first quarter. Drew Stewart kicked a 38-yard field goal to cut the Samford lead to 7-3.
The Bulldogs scored another touchdown when Bledsoe scored on a 26-yard run with 8:07 to go in the second quarter. The score gave Samford a 14-3 lead over the Mountaineers.
Samford added another score before halftime. Summerlin completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Clay with 1:36 left in the second quarter, and Samford went to halftime with a 21-3 advantage.
In the third quarter, Samford’s Warren Handrahan kicked a 30-yard field goal with 8:08 left in the quarter. The kick pushed Samford’s lead to 24-3.
Early in the fourth quarter, Handrahan added another field goal. This one came from 23-yards out and gave Samford a 27-3 lead with 13:39 to go in the fourth quarter.
Appalachian State scored its lone touchdown of the contest with 4:11 to go in the fourth quarter. Bryant hit Peacock for a 15-yard touchdown to cut Samford’s lead to 27-10.
Samford added one final score late in the fourth quarter. Jeremiaha Gates scored on a one-yard run with 22 seconds to go to make the final score 34-10.
As a team, Samford finished with 461 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs had 196 yards rushing and 265 yards passing.
Chattanooga 31, Furman 9
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) powered their way to a 31-9 Homecoming win over Furman (2-4, 1-2 SoCon) Saturday evening. It was a dominant performance on defense, while the rushing maintained its string of 200-yard efforts.
Keon Williams and Jacob Huesman combined for 173 yards on the ground with three scores. Williams continued his power run through the Southern Conference with 101 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. It’s his fourth 100-yard game in his last five outings.
Jacob Huesman found the end zone twice with 73 yards on 19 carries. The Mocs’ 218 rushing yards mark five straight games topping 200 yards, a first since 2005.
As impressive as the rushing attack was, the defense topped it. It limited the Paladins to 189 yards of offense for the night including a mere 3.4 yards per play.
It started with UTC scoring on two of its first three drives, while just missing a third touchdown turning the ball over on downs at the one. Huesman from 12 yards and Kendrix Huitt from three made it 14-0. As dominant as the first quarter was for the Mocs, Furman was opportunistic in the second.
The Paladins scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to 14-6. The first came off an interception, while the second drive was almost as immediate as the first as the kick team recovered a fumble on the return.
Chattanooga scored 10 points on the first two drives of the second half for a 24-6 advantage. Furman’s Ray Early kicked his third field goal late in the third quarter to get within 24-9, but the Mocs held strong. Early was three-for-three on field goal attempts making them from 50, 31 and 43 yards out.
Kadeem Wise had a late interception he returned 31 yards to the Furman 14. Five plays later, Williams put the exclamation point on the Homecoming triumph.
The Mocs sacked Furman six times with Davis Tull getting a career-high 3.5 sacks. He now has 23 in his career, one-half sack behind former teammate Josh Williams’ (2009-12) school record. The defensive effort was big as Chattanooga is the first team to hold Furman without a touchdown since 2003 (Wofford 7-6).
The Paladins also received strong play defensively. Carl Rider had a game-high 16 tackles with two sacks. T.J. Warren added 11 stops with a fumble recovery. Furman tallied all three takeaways in the second quarter slowing the Mocs’ fast start.
Marcus Anderson and Hank McCloud were offensive bright spots. The duo posted 134 yards on 26 carries with 72 and 62, respectively.
Auburn 62, Western Carolina 3
AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn scored on four of its first five offensive possessions in the first half, racking up 427 yards of total offense in the decisive opening 30 minutes as the Tigers handed Western Carolina a 62-3 loss Saturday afternoon in nonconference action at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Making his first collegiate start, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson threw four touchdown passes as part of a 17-for-21, 201-yard performance with Tre Mason adding a pair of rushing scores for the Tigers in the win. All told, Auburn recorded eight scoring plays of 20-yards or more, including two of 50 yards or longer.
Facing its third NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team this fall, Western Carolina (1-6) used two quarterbacks in Saturday’s game. Sophomore Troy Mitchell earned the start and was in control of the offense for the first three drives – five total in the game, all coming in the first half. Junior Eddie Sullivan had seven total series in the backfield including all five of WCU’s drives in the second half.
Catamount sophomore wide receiver Karnorris Benson hauled in three catches for 65 yards – 35 of which came on a pass from Sullivan in the third quarter, the longest of the season for the second-year QB. Freshman Terryon Robinson also pulled down a 35-yard reception with classmate Willie Police and tight end Michael Helms also adding receptions.
After falling down 14-0 in the first quarter, the Catamounts mounted a 10-play drive that ended with kicker Richard Sigmon splitting the uprights on a career-long, 49-yard field goal to put WCU on the board. The drive was spurred by a 20-yard pass play from Mitchell to Benson, with Mitchell adding a 19-yard scramble while avoiding the Tiger pass rush.
The Tigers answered, however, with a quick-strike, lighting up the scoreboard for a third time in the opening quarter with a three-play drive that was capped off by a 46-yard pass from Johnson to Ricardo Lewis.
Ahead 42-3 at intermission, Auburn (5-1) – which has five wins on the season coming in its five home dates – scored on three of its five drives in the second half including an eight-play, 71-yard drive that ended in Jonathan Ford’s 38-yard rushing touchdown on the first play in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers churned out 511 yards on the ground on 43 carries and completed 17-of-22 passes for 201 yards for 712 yards of total offense. WCU was limited to 66 rushing yards on 31 carries and 107 yards through the air completing 6-of-17 passes for 173 yards of total offense on 48 plays.
Sophomore Sertonuse Harris led the Catamounts with nine tackles with classmate Jaleel Lorquet and juniors Ace Clark and Christon Gill finishing with eight tackles a piece. Clark and senior defensive lineman Brian Johnson both tallied half a tackle for loss while true freshman corner Trey Morgan had a TFL as a part of his five tackles.
Freshman corner Fred Payne gave the Catamount defense their first stop of the afternoon as he intercepted Jeremy Johnson pass over the middle, pulling the pick away from the Auburn receiver for the first interception of his career.
Western Carolina returns home and to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) play next Saturday as it opens back-to-back home games for Hall of Fame and Homecoming Weekends.
The Catamounts welcome the Wofford Terriers – ranked 12th this week in both polls – to E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field for a 3:30 pm kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 19. WCU will celebrate the induction of its 24th class into its Athletics Hall of Fame.