Eagles Conclude SoCon Play Against Furman

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Football closes out their regular season home schedule, playing host to arch-rival Furman. The Southern Conference contest will be televised live on SportSouth, kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

General Admission tickets are still available by calling 800-GSU-WINS. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 3-12. There is a ‘Blue Out’ occurring at Paulson Stadium Saturday as all fans are encouraged to wear as much blue as possible.

Every football game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network (flagship 102.9 FM in Statesboro) and affiliates statewide. Chris Blair (play-by-play), Terry Harvin (color analyst) and Ryan Chambers (sidelines) will call the action.

Every Thursday at 7 p.m. ‘The Chris Hatcher Radio Show’ is on the air at Locos Grill and Pub. Coach Hatcher and Chris Blair will recap the previous game and look ahead to the Furman contest.

This Friday at Bishop Field House will mark the final regular season coach’s luncheon, featuring Coach Hatcher. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling Southern Boosters at (912) 681-5522.

Prior to the game, Georgia Southern will honor the 2007 senior class. The current group of seniors have accounted for 27 wins, two NCAA FCS playoff berths and one SoCon title. A win over Furman would clinch at least a share of the Eagles’ ninth SoCon championship.

The Eagles (7-2 overall, 4-2 SoCon) continue to lead the nation in rushing offense, averaging 341 yards per game. GS also ranks sixth in total offense (461 ypg), 10th in scoring offense (38.4 points), 14th in turnover margin (1.11) and 16th in punt returns (11.7 ypr).

Quarterback Jayson Foster (Canton/Cherokee County), one of the seniors to be honored, continues on his quest to win the Walter Payton Award given to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Coming off his fourth 200-yard rushing game this season (personal-high 279 yards in win at Wofford) in which he was named SoCon and National ‘Player of the Week’, Foster now ranks second nationally averaging 174 yards per game. He also stands 16th in total offense (275 ypg), third in scoring (14.2 ppg), sixth in all-purpose yards (191 ypg) and tied for 61st in punt returns (7.1 ypr).

Foster has now picked up three SoCon weekly awards and twice won national accolades. Entering the game with 1,567 rushing yards, Foster needs 36 more to break the NCAA FCS season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (Southern Utah’s Matt Cannon in 2000).

Junior Jesse Hartley (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln) also earned his third SoCon ‘Special Teams Player of the Week’ award this year following his performance at Wofford. Hartley converted all five extra point attempts and nailed a 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the game-winner. To date, Hartley has converted 15-of-19 field goals, just two shy of Tim Foley’s season record, and 41-of-41 extra points. Hartley’s 1.7 field goals and 9.6 points per game place him in a tied for sixth and 12th, respectively, in the country.

Senior running back Lamar Lewis (Jacksonville, FL/Trinity Christian) stands third in the league and 39th nationally averaging 94 yards on the ground. Junior Raja Andrews (Swainsboro/Swainsboro) leads the team with 30 receptions, tying him for sixth among the GS season ‘Top 10’ leaders.

Senior punter Daniel Jordan (Evans/Greenbrier) is tied for second and 32nd in the country at 40.9 yards per punt. Junior Chris Covington (Lawrenceville/Brookwood) moved into a tie for the SoCon lead, and 20th nationally, recording his fourth interception during the Wofford win.

Furman (4-5, 2-3) currently leads the Southern Conference allowing just 135 rushing yards per game. On special teams the Paladins rank ninth nationally in punt returns (12.9 ypr) and ninth in kickoff returns (25.2). The defense ranks seventh nationally averaging more than three sacks per game while on offense the Paladins rank 12th having allowed only one sack per game.

Senior Jerome Felton is tied for fourth in the conference scoring 12 touchdowns and eighth in scoring. Kicker Scott Beckler ranks 10th converting 12 field goals and 30 extra points.

Category: Football

Published on Wednesday, 07 November 2007 00:05