STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern Football travels to Appalachian State Saturday afternoon (Oct. 16) for a key Southern Conference showdown at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The game will be televised by MASN and can be seen locally on WGSA-TV in Savannah. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
All season long every football game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network (flagship station Eagle 102.9 FM). Chris Blair (play-by-play), Terry Harvin (color analyst) and Ryan Chambers (sidelines) will call the action. Every game can be heard for free on the Athletics Department website, www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
The Eagles (4-2 overall, 1-2 SoCon) are coming off a double-overtime loss at Elon last Saturday. The fifth-ranked Mountaineers (5-1, 1-1) were off last week.
Georgia Southern still leads the nation averaging 351.5 rushing yards per game. The Eagles also rank fourth in total offense (474.5), third in scoring (41.5 points) and 27th in turnover margin (0.83, +5 in six games).
Senior quarterback Jayson Foster
(Canton/Cherokee County), who earlier this week was added to the Walter Payton Award watch list, continues to lead the league and rank among the national leaders in several offensive categories. Among the national leaders, Foster ranks: fourth in rushing (159.3 yards per game), 37th in passing efficiency (131.45), 16th in total offense (280.8 ypg), tied for 55th in punt returns (6.9 ypg), fourth in scoring (15.0 ppg) and tied for 14th in all-purpose yards (173.2).
Senior running back Lamar Lewis' (Jacksonville, FL/First Coast) 100 rushing yards per game puts him second in the SoCon and 25th nationally.
Junior Jesse Hartley (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln) enters the game tied for eighth in scoring, averaging 10.5 points per game, and tied for fourth converting 1.8 field goals a contest. He has made 30-of-30 extra points and 11-of-15 field goals.
Larry Beard (Fairburn/Sandy Creek) moved into the national rankings thanks to his 2.5 sacks last week at Elon. The junior defensive end is tied for 46th averaging 0.58 sacks per game. Chris Covington (Lawrenceville/Brookwood) and Carson Hill (Haddock/Baldwin County) share the team lead, and rank 59th in the nation, with two interceptions.
The Eagles, who own the two longest home winning streaks in Division I FCS history (39 and 38 games), are looking to end App State's current 30-game win streak at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineers are led by fellow Payton Award candidate Kevin Richardson at running back and senior Corey Lynch, a Buck Buchanan Award candidate for ?Defensive Player of the Year'.
Richardson is averaging 72 yards per game rushing. Hans Batichon has team-leading numbers of 24 receptions for 380 yards. Quarterback Armanti Edwards, who has played in only two games this year due to injuries, has completed 68 percent of his passes and thrown three touchdowns. Senior Trey Elder has completed 66 percent of his passes for 921 yards and eight TDs to two interceptions. Jacque Roman lads the defense with 49 tackles while Lynch has 41 stops and an interception.
