No. 7 Appalachian State 27, No. 6 Elon 10
Final Stats
ELON, N.C. -- In front of a Rhodes Stadium record crowd of 14,167, the sixth-ranked Elon Phoenix came out on the short end of a 27-10 decision against the seventh-rated Appalachian State Mountaineers in a battle of Southern Conference unbeatens on Saturday. With the win by ASU, the program's 19th consecutive league victory, the Mountaineers improved to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in SoCon play to clinch at least a share of their fifth straight league crown. Elon saw its six-game winning streak snapped and is now 8-2, 6-1.
ASU's win makes the Mountaineers the second SoCon program to win five straight league crowns. Georgia Southern won six title from 1997-2002.
In the contest, Elon's Terrell Hudgins caught 10 passes for 127 yards to tie the NCAA Division I record (FBS or FCS record) with his 26th career 100-yard game.
After taking over at the 50 yard line following a Mark LeGree interception, Appalachian State took the early 7-0 lead on a 15-yard Armanti Edwards run with 7:17 to play in the first quarter. The drive lasted 2:43 and consisted of six plays.
The Mountaineers extended their lead to 14-0 with just under a minute remaining in the first period when Edwards ran in for the second time, this one from six yards out. ASU's drive went 90 yards in 3:32 aided by a 32-yard connection from Edwards to Blake Elder on a third and six.
On his second interception of the day, LeGree returned the ball to the Elon 15. Three plays later, Edwards plunged in from three yards out.
During the first 30 minutes, Elon found itself on the short end of the stats as ASU out-gained the Phoenix by a 281-110 margin. Edwards rushed for 73 yards and threw for 167.
On its first drive of the second half, the Phoenix marched 79 yards on 10 plays over 4:34 before Adam Shreiner booted a 23-yard field goal with 9:07 on the clock. Scott Riddle completed five of his six pass attempts for 66 yards on the drive.
The Mountaineers answered with a field goal of their own when Jason Vitaris drilled a 35-yarder just under five minutes later to give ASU a 24-3 edge. Vitaris added another three-pointer with 8:03 remaining in the game on a 26-yard attempt.
Aaron Mellette was on the receiving end of a 12-yard touchdown pass from Riddle to complete a nine-play, 75-yard charge by the Phoenix. On the drive, Riddle connected on six of eight attempts for 65 yards while A.J. Harris picked up the other 10 on his lone carry of the drive.
Elon's top-rated defense allowed a season-high 486 total yards to Appalachian State, the country's top-ranked offense. The Phoenix put up 270 yards of offense.
Joshua Jones and Nolan Ward led Elon with 10 total tackles each. Andre Campbell recorded one sack to improve his team-leading total to 13.5 on the season and now has 16.5 sacks during his career, the program record since moving to the NCAA Division I ranks.
Offensively, the Phoenix rushed for just 58 net yards, including 63 yards from reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Week Brandon Newsome. Riddle threw for 212 yards, the 28th career 200-yard passing game for the junior. He is now just one shy of equaling the SoCon mark of 29 games set by Appalachian State's D.J. Campbell (1989-92).
Appalachian State's Edwards finished with three rushing touchdowns and 73 yards on the ground. He added 281 yards through the air, completing 21 of his 24 pass attempts. Matt Cline led the ASU receiving corps with 104 yards on eight grabs.
The Mountaineer defense saw D.J. Smith rack up 15 tackles while Anthony Williams recorded two sacks. LeGree picked off Riddle twice in the contest. ASU finished the day with five sacks.
The Phoenix hits the road for its final regular season tilt next Saturday at Samford. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Eastern. Appalachian State will return home to take on Western Carolina at 3:30 p.m.
Furman 30, Georgia Southern 22
Final Stats
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern made a fourth quarter run at Furman but ran out of time, losing 30-22 Saturday afternoon (Nov. 14) at Paulson Stadium. The Eagles lost their third straight, matching the longest such streak in three years.
Falling to 4-6 overall (3-4 in the Southern Conference), Georgia Southern will record just its third losing season since football was reinstated in the 1982 season.
Furman (5-5, 4-3) took the opening kickoff and drove 84 yards on 10 plays to get the first score. Tersoo Uhaa found the endzone on a 16-yard run and early 7-0 lead.
Junior quarterback Kyle Collins, making his first collegiate start, got a first down on a pass to Patrick Barker. Three plays later, Collins was picked off by Ryan Steed, who raced in for a 44-yard touchdown and 14-0 Paladin lead with just over seven minutes remaining.
Early in the second quarter Jordan Sorrells hit Adam Mims on a crossing pattern that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown. The Paladins took a 21-0 lead with 11:49 left in the first half. Matthew Cesari kicked a 42-yard field goal five minutes later.
The Eagles finally crossed the Paladin 40-yard line late in the first half. Facing 4th-and-3 in the final minute the Eagles sent Adrian Mora on for a 37-yard attempt, but the sophomore kicker missed just right.
Furman out-gained GS in the first half 166-126. Sorrells completed 11 of his 13 passes for 123 yards and a TD.
Lee Chapple entered the game on the Eagles' second drive of the third quarter. The sophomore quarterback drove down to the Furman 10, facing 3rd-and-9. Chapple threw to Mitchell Williford, and the freshman wide receiver launched a pass across field back to Chapple for a wide-open TD with 9:21 left in the quarter.
The Paladins responded with a 2-yard TD run by Jerry Williams as 6:01 remained in the third but Furman missed the extra point, making it 30-7.
After getting sacked and fumbling on the play, GS responded when sophomore Brett Layson recorded his first career interception, picking off Chris Forcier on the seven. The Eagles needed 12 plays to cap the longest scoring drive of the year as Chapple dove in from a yard out. He hit Barker in the back of the endzone to complete the 2-point conversion.
The Eagles looked to successfully recovered the onsides kick attempt but was flagged for offsides. In the final minute, Collins found Jamere Valentine for 49 yards (the longest pass completion by the Eagles this season), then on the next play threw his first collegiate TD pass, a 16-yard strike to Johnathan Bryant. Mora kicked the extra point. However, the Eagles could not recover the onsides attempt and Furman was able to take a knee and run out the clock.
"We made a great play on the opening kickoff. We were fired up coming out of the gates and then they go and convert a couple of third downs on us. We miss a couple tackles, they go down and score and then we come out and throw a pick six. At the end of the half I wanted to go in with some momentum and put points on the board. (Adrian) Mora has been so great all season long and he hooked that one to the left," said Hatcher. "We came out the second half and had an opportunity to quit, but we fought all the way to the final whistle. And for that I'm proud of the boys."
Collins finished 13-of-22 for 124 yards and a touchdown. He also led the rushing attack netting 53 yards on six rushes. Chapple completed 10-of-16 passes for 75 yards and each QB threw an interception.
Brandon Nolley gained 45 yards on the ground. Adam Urbano caught six passes while Barker finished with four receptions. Valentine had 76 receiving yards on three catches.
Senior Darrell Pasco nearly broke the single-game kickoff return yardage record, finishing with 155 yards on six attempts (25.8 average).
Sophomore K.R. Snipes matched a career-high with 10 tackles, in addition to his forced fumble and fumble recovery. Laron Scott made seven solo tackles, two pass break-ups and recorded his team-leading third interception of the year.
"It is hard to pinpoint our struggles defensively, but offensively we know exactly where we need to improve at. We have got some guys playing hard. I reiterate they didn't quit. We fought all the way there to the end, if we could have gotten that onsides kick to heave one more up and maybe make a play. We just came up short and didn't play well enough to win a ball game against a Furman team that just outplayed us today," said Hatcher.
Sorrells completed 17-of-23 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown. Mims caught seven passes for 139 yards and a TD.
Kadarron Anderson paced the Furman defense with 10 tackles.
Georgia Southern closes out the 2009 season next Saturday (Nov. 21), playing host to The Citadel. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.
Furman will conclude its season with a 3 p.m. game against Wofford next Saturday in Greenville. It will be televised on SportSouth
Samford 27, Wofford 24
Final Stats
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? In the final home game of the season, the Wofford football team was defeated 27-24 by Samford on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers had two 100-yard rushers but could not stop Samford’s Chris Evans who had 257 rushing yards.
Wofford drops to 3-7 on the season and 2-5 in the SoCon, while Samford is 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the conference. Wofford was led by Michael Scott with 165 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Mitch Allen had 103 rushing yards. Chris Evans led the Bulldogs with 257 rushing yards, while quarterback Dustin Taliaferro had a rushing touchdown and threw two touchdown passes.
“We just have run out of people for the most part,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We have been beat up and we lost another one in Gary Blount. We had some issues with assignments and stuff like that. In the first half defensively I thought we played solid and offensively we struggled. In the second half we came out offensively and did some good stuff and gave ourselves a chance to win. I felt that if we got the ball one more time, we might have had a shot. It is frustrating, there is no doubt it is frustrating. But it is a learning season and a learning process and nobody likes the outcome. We felt like we had an opportunity to win the game. We had some plays that if we make in the first half, you are sitting a little better. You have that much time on the clock you are hoping you can stop them and make them kick one more time. The problem was we never got it back.”
Samford began the game with a 46-yard kickoff return by Alex Barnett. The drive stalled and a 52-yard field goal attempt by Cameron Yaw went wide left at 12:37. Each team then traded punts. On the second drive of the day for Wofford, Mitch Allen found Brenton Bersin alone in the middle of the field and Bersin outran the defense for a 69-yard touchdown. Wofford had a 7-0 lead at 5:09 in the first quarter.
On the next drive by the Bulldogs, Chris Evans had a 34-yard run to get the ball into Wofford territory. The drive was capped by a 35-yard field goal by Cameron Yaw with 1:51 left in the quarter for a 7-3 score.
Wofford turned the ball over on a fumble on the second play of their next drive and Samford recovered at the Terriers 26-yard line. The drive ended with a 43-yard field goal attempt by Cameron Yaw that as wide left at 14:07 in the second quarter. Wofford was able to drive, but a 41-yard field goal by Christian Reed was blocked and Samford took over.
Samford gained one first down before punting back to the Terriers. Wofford gained a couple first downs before a fourth-and-seven that was not converted. With the ball back, the Bulldogs picked up one first down before punting again.
The Terriers got the ball back with 2:09 left on the clock and used a 24-yard run by Mitch Allen and a 22-yard catch by Joseph Inman to get the ball inside the 10-yard line. However the Terriers were stopped twice from the one-yard line and turned the ball over on downs with 24 seconds left in the half.
To open the second half, Wofford had a first down run by Mitch Allen before having to punt. Samford used a 47-yard pass from Dustin Taliaferro to Riley Hawkins to move to the Wofford 20-yard line. An eight-yard touchdown pass from Taliaferro to Richie Fordham ended the drive and the Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead with 9:59 in the third quarter.
With the ball back, Wofford needed nine plays to go 62-yards, including four rushing first downs by Michael Scott. Christian Reed tied the game with a 24-yard field goal at 5:39 in the third quarter. Samford responded with a quick drive that included a 30-yard run by Chris Evans and ended with Dustin Taliaferro taking it in from one-yard out. The Bulldogs had a 17-10 lead at 4:24 in the third.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Michael Scott went 59-yard up the middle to tie the game at 17-17 with 4:08 left in the third quarter. Samford used a 42-yard run by Chris Evans to get inside the 20-yard line. The drive ended with a 25-yard field goal by Cameron Yaw with 46 seconds left in the quarter to take a 20-17 lead. Wofford was unable to gain a first down and punted.
After the punt, Samford scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Taliaferro to Jonathan Lowery in the left corner of the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 27-17 lead with 10:57 remaining in the game.
Wofford responded with a 14-yard touchdown run by Mike Rucker to cut the lead to 27-24 with 8:28 left in the game. However the Bulldogs put together a 75-yard and 17-play drive that used the remainder of the clock and ended the game with taking a knee on the one-yard line as time expired.
The Terriers had 466 total yards of offense, with 347 coming on the ground. Samford had 478 total yards, with 304 rushing. Wofford was 1-of-9 on third downs, while Samford was 7-of-16. Samford had the lead in time of possession.
Wofford will play the final game of the 2009 season on Saturday, November 21 at Furman. The game will be shown on SportSouth at 3:00 p.m.
Samford closes out the 2009 season next Saturday by hosting nationally-ranked Elon at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Chattanooga 31, The Citadel 28
Final Stats
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Fifteen Chattanooga (6-4/4-4) football players played their final home game at Finley Stadium. It was a memorable afternoon as the Mocs captured a stirring 31-28 win over The Citadel (4-6/2-5). Chattanooga mounted its largest fourth quarter comeback in school history after trailing by 15 points, 28-13, with 13 minutes remaining in the game.
B.J. Coleman's 356 passing yards keyed the Mocs charge. He completed 39 of 61 attempts including three scores and one interception. The completions, yards and attempts are all season highs for the Chattanooga native.
The Bulldogs got off to a strong start taking the opening drive 73 yards in 13 plays capped by a Tommy Edwards touchdown toss to Andre Roberts from three yards out. Roberts had four receptions on the drive for 28 yards.
After the Mocs went three-and-out, Roberts returned a 36-yard Mike Hammons punt 34 yards to set The Citadel up with excellent field position at the Mocs' 26. Six plays later, Edwards ran five yards to make it 14-0 Bulldogs.
An interception of a Coleman pass by Chris Billingslea gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Mocs' 49 yardline. The Citadel methodically moved the ball into the endzone on Roberts' second touchdown reception of the game to make it 21-0.
The ensuing kickoff return put the Mocs on their own 27 yardline. On third down from the 34, Coleman hit Jare Gault for five yards and a first down to the 39. The completion put Coleman over the 2,000-yard mark for the season becoming the seventh Mocs quarterback to accomplish the feat.
Four plays later, Coleman connected with Blue Cooper for 28 yards to the Bulldogs' 17. The offense could manage just four more yards before settling for a 30-yard Craig Camay field goal to end the half with the Mocs trailing 21-3.
The Citadel controlled the ball throughout the first half with 19:30 time of possession compared to 10:30 for the Mocs. The Bulldogs also scored on all three entries into the red-zone.
Chattanooga opened the second half the way it ended the first. The Mocs moved the ball 56 yards ending its drive with a 35-yard Camay field goal. Cooper caught four passes for 52 yards on the drive.
The Bulldogs responded moving the ball as methodically as they had all day. Edwards converted two third-and-15's. The first came on a 19-yard catch and run by Roberts, the second also went 19 yards to Cam Turner.
The Citadel moved the ball all the way down to the Mocs' five, but the Chattanooga defense held strong. It was aided by a personal foul call on The Citadel's Lincoln Kling to push Keller's field goal attempt from 22 yards to 37. The extra yards proved costly as Keller's kick went wide left. The Bulldogs did hold the ball for 6:44 before giving it back to the Mocs.
The Mocs answered quickly moving the ball 80 yards in just 1:33 ending with a Coleman 23-yard completion to Chris Pitchford on a post play to make it 21-13. Coleman completed a key third-down pass on third-and-15 of his own finding Gault for 27 yards.
The Bulldogs responded with a 12-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. They continued their third-down dominance converting in every way imaginable. When the Mocs held on third down at their own 18, the Bulldogs answered with an 18-yard touchdown on fourth down with B.J. Phillips on the receiving end of the Edwards offering.
Once again Coleman and the offense were able to respnd with a drive of their own. Coleman capped off a 10-play, 71-yard drive by hooking up with Cooper for a four-yard touchdown. After Coleman hit Sloan Allison for the two-point conversion, the Mocs trailed by a single score, 28-21. UTC marched down the field with zero plays over 15 yards and needed just one third-down conversion.
The Mocs went for the onside kick and Camay's roll was recovered by redshirt freshman Robert Harrison. Less than two minutes later, Camay booted through a 33-yard field goal putting the Mocs within four of the Bulldogs, 28-24.
The defense sprung into action holding The Citadel to a three-and-out for only the second time of the game. Special teams rose to the occasion once again as Joel Bradford broke into the open field to return the punt 53 yards to The Citadel 9.
Still, it wasn't easy for the Mocs. Coleman completed a pass to Pitchford to just inside the one yardline. After a running play was stopped on the third down, Coleman converted the fourth-and-one finding Cooper in the end zone for their second touchdown of the quarter and gave the Mocs their first lead, 31-28, with 4:36 to play.
Again, the Mocs' defense answered when it mattered most holding the Bulldogs on four-straight plays including a two-yard loss on fourth-and-one.
Starting on their own 30, Edwards rushed for nine yards to give the Bulldogs a second-and-short. The defense stood solid holding the Bulldogs on three consecutive plays to turn the ball back over to the offense. The Citadel got one last crack, but the Mocs defense held strong to capture the victory.
Cooper caught 14 passes for 139 yards and two scores, both pivotal in the fourth quarter comeback. The fifth-year senior's game was dull in comparison to his post-game celebration as he proposed to Maci Gault, teammate Jare's sister.
Gault, last year's starting QB, caught seven passes for 70, but he made two of the biggest catches of the day to continue drives. Tight end Garrett Hughes added eight receptions for 72 yards, while Pitchford had six catches for 50 yards and a score.
Edwards led the Bulldogs with 214 yards in the air on 21 of 37 passing and three scores. The Mocs could not force a turnover on him, but they did record four sacks. Roberts caught 10 balls for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
The Citadel converted eight of 10 third downs through the first three quarters, but managed just one-for-five in the fourth. The Bulldogs defense held the Mocs to just 17 rushing yards which is the fewest in Chattanooga in a win.
The Chattanooga defense was led by senior middle linebacker Steven Smigelsky who recorded 11 tackles with two for loss including a sack. The Southern Conference's sack leader, and No. 2 in the nation, Josh Beard made his final home game memorable recording one-and-a-half sacks to give him 12 on the season which ties the school record held by Tyler Unzicker (2001).
True freshman DE Josh Williams came up big as well with seven stops. The Mocs broke up 11 passes led by senior LB Doug Faatiliga's four. Faatiliga made the tackle of the game on the Bulldogs' fourth-and-one with 4:29 to play in the contest.
The Bulldogs Cortez Allen led all tacklers with 13. Jordan Gilmore added eight tackles. Only four of the Bulldogs stops came for loss compared to 12 for the Mocs.
The six wins match the total of the last three seasons combined for the Mocs. It also clinches Chattanooga's first winning season since 2005.
Chattanooga ends its season next Saturday at Alabama with a 12:21 p.m. (ET) kickoff in Tuscaloosa. The game can be seen locally on Fox 61 via the SEC Network. The Bulldogs close their season next week at Georgia Southern (2 p.m.).
Western Carolina 24, Eastern Kentucky 7
Final Stats
Richmond, Ky. ? Western Carolina turned a pair of second half Eastern Kentucky turnovers into points as quarterback Zack Jaynes tossed three touchdowns, including two to junior Marquel Pittman, as the Catamounts ended an eight-game road losing skid with a 24-7 non-conference victory over the Colonels in front of 4,200 fans Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU had a pair of miscues on punts, including muffing an opportunity in the fourth quarter, and also coughed up a fumble inside its own five-yard line, finishing with four turnovers on the day. WCU turned those turnovers into a pair of TDs in the win, WCU’s first triumph away from Cullowhee since a two-point, 28-26, road win over Presbyterian in late September 2008. The victory also snaps WCU’s current three-game losing skid.
Quarterback Zack Jaynes completed 24-of-34 passes for 232 yards to eight different receivers, and matched a career-high with three touchdown passes including two to junior Marquel Pittman. Jaynes added 26 yards rushing, including a 30-yard scamper that ended the first half.
EKU (5-5) capitalized on the early field position battle, taking advantage of a shanked punt out of the WCU end zone that netted just 13 yards to take an early 7-0 lead. Eastern Kentucky moved just 24 yards in five plays with running back C.J. Walker powering in from a yard out inside the final minute of the opening quarter.
The Catamounts answered, though, as Jaynes settled in the pocket and fired over the middle to Pittman who had found a seam in the Colonel secondary zone defense. The Maxton, N.C., native turned up field on the near hash and raced the remaining 30-plus yards, outrunning the EKU defensive backs for the equalizing score, 7-7.
Blake Bostic gave the Catamounts a field-goal edge it would carry into the halftime locker room. Moving off of its own two-yard line, the Catamounts, charged by an opening 34-yard pass play from Jaynes to Pittman and a 17-yard screen pass to Dion Wilson, moved into field goal range where Bostic punched one in from 43-yards out for the 10-7 lead. Pittman’s catch came while working one-on-one with EKU’s Jeremy Caldwell who entered the game ranked first in the NCAA FCS with seven interceptions on the year.
With time dwindling in the opening half, an Eastern Kentucky two-minute offense drive was thwarted as WCU senior Antoine George recorded his first interception of the season ? and just the second for the Catamount defense in 2009. Classmates Gene Singletary and Chris Collins pressured EKU signal caller, T.J. Pryor, nearly dropping him before he uncorked a wobbling spiral that was snagged by George to essentially end the half.
Despite being held on its opening possession of the second half, punter Blake Cain helped turn the field with the Catamount defense coming up with its second takeaway of the afternoon to help stake the Catamounts to a 10-point lead. Cain boomed a season-long 51-yard punt that pinned EKU at its own six-yard line. Two plays later, Pryor fumbled the exchange under center with senior LB Chaz Jackson pouncing on the bouncing ball at the EKU eight.
Jaynes then found Pittman for the second time in the game, pushing Pittman over 100-yards receiving, Jaynes over 200-yards passing and handing WCU a 17-7 edge midway through the third quarter. Pittman finished with a season-high tying nine catches for 109 yards and the two scores.
Special teams again came through for the Catamounts after the EKU defense has slowed the Catamount offense and forced a punt. Cain’s rugby-style kick took a high bounce off the artificial turf where Caldwell jumped to catch but could only get a finger tip on. Gunner Nate Harris was able to scoop the orb, giving the Catamounts possession back at the EKU 21-yard line.
Jaynes again struck through the air to give the Catamounts a 24-7 edge, finding tight end Chris Everett for the third-straight game for a scoring strike from 13 yards out.
Over the final quarter, the Catamount defense held EKU out of the end zone, stiffening on three fourth-down conversion opportunities for the Colonels, while the WCU offense sustained drives enough to run the clock out for the win.
Senior Adrian McLeod finished with 10 tackles including half a sack giving him his ninth-straight, double-digit tackle outing, while classmate Antoine George came away with his first interception of the season, seventh of his career. Chris Collins finished with seven stops with a break-up and three quarterback hurries including pressuring the QB on George’s interception.
All told, Western Carolina outgained EKU, 335-to-276, including 232 passing yards for the Catamounts.
Western Carolina will wrap-up its 2009 season next Saturday, Nov. 21 as it travels to Boone, N.C., to face arch-rival Appalachian State in the annual “Battle for the Old Mountain Jug.” Kickoff from Kidd Brewer Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m., with the Catamount Sports Network pre-game show airing at 2:00 p.m.