Football Travels to Chattanooga Saturday

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Football will play its first game outside the state of Georgia this Saturday (Oct. 4), traveling to Chattanooga for a Southern Conference contest. Kickoff at Finley Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Following their season-opener at Georgia, the Eagles (2-3 overall, 0-2 SoCon) recently wrapped up a four-game stretch at home. The game will be the Eagles’ first across the state line.

Every Georgia Southern Football game can be heard on the 19 station Georgia Southern Radio Network (Eagle 102.9 FM the flagship station) and on the internet at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Chris Blair (play-by-play), Terry Harvin (color analyst) and Ryan Chambers (sidelines) will call the action. Fans at Finley Stadium can listen to the Georgia Southern radio broadcast by tuning into 107.3 FM.

The game will be video streamed live by Chattanooga Athletics and Eagle Vision subscribers can also watch the game live.

The Eagles, who erased a 17-point deficit during the final 20 minutes of the game against 11th-ranked Wofford, eventually lost 38-37 in overtime to the Terriers. Georgia Southern is looking to snap a two-game losing streak.

Senior Quentin Taylor (Apopka, FL/Apopka) moved into the Southern Conference lead averaging 11 tackles per game, which also ties him for 13th nationally. Chris Covington (Lawrenceville/Brookwood) and Terrione Benefield (Conyers/Heritage) are close behind averaging 8.8 and 8.5 tackles per game, respectively. Covington enters the UTC game third in the league and Benefield is fourth.

Carson Hill (Milledgeville/Baldwin County) is second in the league and tied for 18th nationally averaging 1.8 pass breakups per game. Chris Rogers (Athens/Athens Academy) has forced a league-leading three fumbles.

The defense is tied for seventh nationally recovering seven fumbles and tied for 49th with nine turnovers gained. Offensively, the Eagles are one of six SoCon teams ranked among the top 38 nationally in scoring offense at 29.2 points per game. Georgia Southern has converted nine times on fourth down, tying for the national-lead in that category.

Quarterbacks Antonio Henton (Fort Valley/Peach County) and Lee Chapple (Norcross/Greater Atlanta Christian) both rank among the league’s passing leaders.

Henton is fifth averaging 151 passing yards per game, second with 13.2 points responsible for per game (31st nationally) and fourth in total offense with 203 yards p/g.

Chapple came off the bench versus Wofford and threw for a season-high 202 yards and two touchdowns against Wofford. He is has completed 58 percent of his passes this season, and ranks 10th with 80 passing yards per game.

Raja Andrews (Swainsboro/Swainsboro) continues to close in on the Georgia Southern career receptions record, needing 10 to match Monty Sharpe’s mark of 93. Andrews is 15 receiving yards shy of 1,000 in his career. He stands third in the league for receptions (5.0) and yards (80.0) per game.

The explosive duo of Samair Baker (Valrico, FL/Brandon) and Darrel Pasco (Clearwater, FL/Countryside) also rank among the SoCon and national leaders in kickoff returns. Baker - who earlier this season ran a kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown - averages 25.2 yards, fourth-best in the league and 35th nationally. Pasco averages 22 yards per return, sixth in the SoCon and 63rd nationally.

Redshirt-freshman punter Charlie Edwards (Tifton/Tift County) is averaging a SoCon-best 42.2 yards per punt this year, which also puts him 18th nationally. He has landed six of his 23 punts inside the 20-yard line and kicked five for 50-plus yards.

Chattanooga (1-4, 0-1) is coming off a 35-10 defeat at Furman last week. The Mocs scored 47 points in their win over Cumberland, but only 22 points combined against the four Division I opponents.

Quarterbacks Tony Pastore (26-of-51, 454 yards) and Jare Gault (29-of-61, 244 yards) will likely split time under center. Pastore has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions while Gault has one interception and one rushing TD.

Clint Woods leads the receivers with 22 receptions for 294 yards and a TD. Tony Swafford has recorded a team-leading 31 tackles. Joseph Thornton recorded 27 tackles with three pass breakups and Jarvis Newson has 26 stops, including a team-high 5.5 tackles for a loss.

Category: Football

Published on Wednesday, 01 October 2008 00:01