Foster's Record Day Helps Eagles Get Key SoCon Win
11/3/2007 4:21:00 AM | Football
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Jayson Foster turned in another record-setting performance during his amazing senior year, helping Georgia Southern pull out a 38-35 win at Wofford Saturday afternoon (Nov. 3).
With the win and thanks also to Furman's upset win over Elon, the Eagles (7-2 overall, 4-2 Southern Conference) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the standings.
Foster rushed for a personal-high 279 yards on 28 carries, one shy of matching for the second-highest total in program history. It was the fourth 200-yard rushing game of his career (all this season) and he now owns the third, fourth and eighth-best single-game rushing performances. But it was a fourth down run late in the game that was arguably the biggest yardage gain.
Holding on to the three point lead with 1:22 remaining - and facing 4th-and-1 from the Wofford 32 - Foster hit the left corner for two yards and thanks to that first down was able to take a knee to secure the Eagles' first win in Gibbs Stadium since 2001 (48-10 win).
The senior quarterback wasted no time getting the Eagles on the board. After completing a pass to Joe Haynie on first down, Foster broke through the line and out-raced the Terrier defense 82 yards for a touchdown. Jesse Hartley's extra point gave GS a 7-0 lead. It marked the sixth-longest run in Georgia Southern history, and for Foster it was his fourth career 80-plus yard run.
However, the Terriers used a quick play strike to even the score just 82 seconds into the game. Keyed by a 59-yard halfback pass, in which Chris Covington made a TD saving tackle, Michael Hobbs scored from three yards out on the next play.
Wofford marched down the field and took the lead when Justice Joslin took a pitch and scored a 19-yard touchdown with 6:07 left in the first.
The Eagles' quick play strike offense tied the score, again needing just two plays. Foster faked a pitch and sped 72 yards for his 20th career multi-touchdown game, but more importantly tying the score at 14-all. On that TD run he surpassed his 2005 total of 121 rushing yards at Gibbs Stadium as the Eagles' starting quarterback.
Foster and company did it again on the ensuing drive. Thanks to key runs by Lamar Lewis and Mike Hamilton, Foster scored from three yards out and combined with Hartley's extra point put the Eagles ahead 21-14 early in the second quarter.
On Foster's third TD run, he matched his 2005 rushing TD total of 21 ? which ties as the fifth-most in a GS single season.
Hamilton dove in from a yard out with 3:06 left in the first half, capping a 10-play drive that covered 48 yards while eating 3:53 off the clock. Hartley's 40th extra point of the year made it 28-14.
In fact, Wofford entered the game allowing a SoCon-low 117 rushing yards and 25 points per game but the Eagles rolled up 215 yards alone in the first quarter and 314 at the half.
Foster set a pair of SoCon records in the first half ? most rushing yards in a quarter (173 in the first) and a half (232).
Josh Collier threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Marshall on Wofford's drive to start the third quarter cut the Eagles' lead to 28-21. With 3:21 left in the third, Kevious Johnson scored a 2-yard touchdown to tie the game again.
Forced to a 3-and-out the Eagles punted and Wofford took over on its own 35. Marshall attempted a halfback pass but the defense forced the throw and Chris Covington picked off his fourth pass this year. That interception moved him into a tie for the SoCon lead.
GS took advantage of the short field. Foster hit Raja Andrews on a key third down conversion, and with a facemask penalty had 1st-and-goal from the three. During the first minute of the fourth quarter, Hamilton tied his personal-high scoring his second TD of the game, a 1-yard plunge to put the Eagles ahead again 35-28.
Andy Strickland scored off a 39-yard reverse with 10:52 remaining to tie the game for the fourth time.
Two minutes later, the drive stalled but Hartley nailed a 44-yard field goal for what proved to be the final margin. His 15th field goal of the year not only marked the highest by an Eagle in a regular season since 1993 but also moved him into a tie for third among the season ?Top 10'.
Wofford again drove into GS territory late in the game. Facing a 4th-and-2 from the 15, Wofford went for it instead of trying a potential game-tying field goal. Dane Romero tried hitting the right corner but Larry Beard made a game-saving stop for no gain. The Eagles took over on downs and eventually ran out the clock.
Foster improved on his Georgia Southern record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (253 earlier this year at Coastal Carolina). He also completed 7-of-13 passes for 57 yards. Not only did Foster set a Georgia Southern and Southern Conference record, but with 1,567 rushing yards, he stands 35 yards away from Matt Cannon's (Southern Utah) record set in 2000 for most QB rushing yards in a season.
Andrews caught four passes for 53 yards. He now has 30 receptions this year, tying for sixth place among the season ?Top 10' leaders. Lewis tallied 96 yards and Hamilton added 49 on the ground.
Quentin Taylor recorded a season-high 10 tackles. Covington officially added nine stops and forced a fumble to go with his interception.
Overall GS out-gained Wofford 421-341 on the ground but overall the Terriers held a 500-481 edge in total offense. The Eagles also held the ball for nearly six minutes longer (32:59-27:01).
Johnson led the Wofford rushing attack with 137 yards on 18 carries. Collier completed only 3-of-10 passes but totaled 100 yards. Jason Leventis and Seth Goldwire paced the defense with 13 tackles each.
Wofford closes out its regular season next Saturday (Nov. 10) at Chattanooga. The Eagles return to Paulson Stadium for the regular season home finale against Furman, in what turns out to be a championship deciding game.
If the Eagles can defeat Furman, they are guaranteed no worse than a share of the SoCon title (their first since 2004). Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised live on SportSouth.
NOTES: Georgia Southern converted another fourth down opportunity early in the fourth quarter. Sporting an 87 percent success rate on fourth down (second-best in the country), on 4th-and-inches Foster broke away from the pile to pick up the first down... Foster climbed up the season 'Top 10' in several categories. He now ranks: tied for fifth in TDs, third in rushing yards, tied for fifth in scoring (126 points) and third in total offense (2,430)... The team finished 2-for-3 in the game but had their streak of eight straight conversions snapped... Midway through the second quarter Taylor forced a fumble and Chris Rogers recovered on their own 20. It was the second fumble recovery for the sophomore defensive back this year and Taylor's first forced fumble... Haynie's 50-yard kickoff return was not only a personal-high but also a team season-high.
