Eagles Stage Come-From-Behind Homecoming Win
10/27/2007 4:07:00 AM | Football
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Jayson Foster ran for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns and the Georgia Southern defense held The Citadel in check during the second half, rallying for a 21-17 Homecoming win at Paulson Stadium Saturday afternoon (Oct. 27).
In a match-up of two of the nation's top scoring offenses, it was the defense for both teams setting the tone. The Eagles were averaging 41 points per game (third nationally) while Citadel was close behind at 40.1 ppg. Georgia Southern held the Bulldogs to three points and 128 total yards in the second half.
Georgia Southern (6-2 overall, 3-2 Southern Conference) finally hit the endzone with 12:36 left in the game, staging a 9-play, 52-yard drive. The Eagles, who entered the game second nationally in fourth down conversion, got another one thanks to Foster who picked up two yards on 4th-and-1. Just three plays later the senior quarterback faked a handoff and raced 15 yards for a score. Foster hit Raja Andrews for the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 17-14.
On the Bulldogs' ensuing drive they marched inside the redzone but the drive stalled. Mike Adams hit the left upright on his 29-yard field goal attempt and missed. Foster and the Eagles quickly took advantage.
He overthrew Andrews on a pass down the right sidelines, but on second down broke through the left side and was off to the races for an 80-yard touchdown run with 7:28 remaining, which proved to be the final margin. That sprint tied for the sixth-longest run from scrimmage in program history, matching an 80-yard run he recorded in 2004 against Johnson C. Smith.
The Bulldogs took over on their own 33 with 3:36 remaining. After picking up nine yards on first down, Citadel had two incomplete passes, including one drop, and the Eagle defense held Tory Cooper to no gain on fourth down as the GS offense took over. Facing another 4th-and-1 Foster called his own number for a 2-yard gain and the Eagles were able to take a knee and end the game.
“He (Foster) did a great job. He made two big plays in the fourth quarter. That's his job, to make big plays. The first touchdown he said he saw something, so I told him to huddle up. We didn't know what the play was going to be. He called his own play, and sure enough, he made it work,” said Eagles head coach Chris Hatcher. “All day I thought our defense played well. That's what I was so disappointed in at halftime. Our defense had practiced well all week ? our offense had our least-focused practice all season along. I was very, very worried, and we played like that in the first half and I think that's why I was so disgusted going into halftime.”
For the eighth straight game Georgia Southern scored first. The Eagles drove 46 yards on nine plays, capped by Jesse Hartley's 23-yard first quarter field goal.
The Citadel (5-3, 3-2) responded with a 73-yard drive. Duran Lawson found Andre Roberts on a 3-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs took a 7-3 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. That TD pass gave Lawson sole possession of the school's career TD record.
Daniel Jordan had his punt attempt blocked midway through the second quarter. It marked just the second time in 166 career attempts he had a punt blocked (2004 the other time). Citadel took advantage, needing six plays to reach the endzone. Lawson found Tory Cooper on a 4-yard touchdown pass, resulting in a 14-3 lead with 5:20 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs drove late in the half. Lawson's pass was deflected and E.J. Webb came up with his first career interception. However, the Eagles came away scoreless. In fact the three first half points were the lowest total since the Eagles were held scoreless at Appalachian State in 2005. Citadel held a 230-180 edge in total yards but the second half was a different story.
Chris Rogers bobbled the kickoff to start the second half but recovered, and in his first career return raced 30 yards to the GS 40. The Eagles drove down to the Citadel one but Mike Hamilton was stopped for a 2-yard loss on second down and the Eagles had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Hartley.
Mike Adams' 37-yard field goal made it 17-6 late in the third quarter.
“The Citadel came in with the best defense in the conference. They play very, very good. We missed some opportunities ? we had some guys running wide open ? I had a flashback to Elon in the first half because we were missing chances, especially with our defense playing so well,” said Hatcher. “We made some plays when we needed to... We didn't play our best game, but sometimes you have to give credit to the other team. They were very prepared, they were very well coached and they played extremely hard. But the exciting thing was, we made more plays than they did and came up with a big fourth-down stop at the end of the game, got a first down, kneeled on it twice and the game was over.”
Foster registered his 16th career 100-yard rushing game, 157 yards on 23 carries, while completing 11-of-16 passes for 106 yards. He also returned two punts for 13 yards.
Andrews and Irving Campbell each caught four passes totaling 53 and 26 yards, respectively. Lamar Lewis rushed for 82 yards on 18 carries.
Sophomore Chris Rogers earned the start and made a career-high nine tackles. Quentin Taylor added a season-high eight stops. Webb and Harland Bower added six tackles each.
Lawson finished 14-of-26 passing for 153 yards and the two TDs to go with the one interception. The senior quarterback rushed for 109 yards but did not play the final two series after suffering a knee sprain.
Cooper added 60 rushing yards. Tim Higgins caught five passes for 60 yards. Joshua Lawson recorded a game-high 14 tackles while Trevar Broughton and Andrew Rowell added 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
The Citadel plays host to Appalachian State next Saturday (Nov. 3). The Eagles travel to Wofford next Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Andrews set a personal-high with a 43-yard reception courtesy of Foster in the second quarter. His previous high was 42 yards set the previous week at App State... The 16 plays on Georgia Southern's opening drive of the third quarter were a season-high. Hartley's FG to cap the drive was his 14th on the year. That is the highest regular season total by an Eagle kicker since Reed Haley converted 15-of-22 in the 1993 season. Following that field goal Hartley perfectly executed an on-sides kick and recovered but the Eagles could not capitalize... Foster recorded his fifth career 100-yard rushing/100-yard passing game, and third this year. He also registered his 19th career multi-TD game and sixth this season. With 68 touchdowns accounted for in his career, Foster moved into a tie for fifth-place in SoCon history (Michael Payton of Marshall). Up next is former Eagle standout QB Greg Hill with 71... With 3,279 career rushing yards, Foster moved past All-America quarterback Tracy Ham for sixth place among the GS career leaders.
