STATESBORO, Ga. ? Weather factored into another Georgia Southern fall camp practice, only this time it wasn't the heat but lightning.
The football team was on the field for nearly 30 minutes of a scheduled two and a half hour practice before the clouds rolled in and lightning forced the squad to the Herring Pavilion.
After a delay that lasted more than two hours, the team was able to finish an abbreviated schedule. Second year head coach Chris Hatcher thought his team responded after the extended wait.
“I thought we did all right. We started, had about 30 minutes before the long two hour lightning delay, and were probably a little stowed up being under the Pavilion. Overall I thought we had a good day,” said Hatcher. “We had some good plays on both sides the ball... Our conditioning looks like it is pretty good. Tomorrow we will come out for three more, then take a couple of days off, and then finish up camp next week.”
Sophomore Antonio Henton (Fort Valley/Peach County) recovered a bad snap, rolled out of the pocket and hit true-freshman Samair Baker (Valrico, FL/Brandon) on a pass down the sidelines... Junior linebacker Terrione Benefield (Conyers/Heritage) recovered a fumble... Senior wide receiver Joe Haynie (Fairburn/Creekside) took a hit going across the middle from freshman Derek Heyden (Atlanta/Marist) and still came up with the catch... Freshman linebacker Dion Dubose (Dacula/Norcross) recorded a sack, then later fellow rookie Tavaris Williams (Hahira/Lowndes County) broke through the line on 3rd-and-short as he and the defense swarmed the ball carrier for a loss... Freshman wide receiver Nick Bass (Warner Robins/Northside) made an impressive diving catch across the middle... A.J. McCray (St. Marys/Camden County), another true-freshman, broke on a pass and nearly came up with an interception... The biggest hit of the day came when redshirt-freshman Brett Layson (Macon/Tattnall Square Academy) put a hit on a wide receiver and knocked his helmet off, which fired up the defensive players on the sidelines.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE: Season tickets for the six Georgia Southern football games at Paulson Stadium are currently on sale. To purchase the packages call the ticket office at 800-GSU-WINS.
HATCHER TO MAKE APPEARANCE AT HARVEYS: This Saturday (Aug. 9) Harveys Supermarket on Fair Road is teaming up with Coca-Cola and Eagle Sports Marketing to kick off the football season the right way. From 2-4 p.m. fans can come out and meet head football coach Chris Hatcher... The Georgia Southern Cheerleaders and everyone's favorite mascot GUS will also be in attendance. Eagle Sports Marketing will be on hand giving out free Georgia Southern promotional items. There will also be free samples handed out of Vitamin Water and Coke Zero, courtesy of Coca-Cola. The event is free and open to the public. For any additional information call Eagle Sports Marketing at (912) 478-1500.
STUDENT TICKETS FOR GEORGIA GAME ON SALE FRIDAY, AUG. 22: Georgia Southern student tickets for the August 30th Georgia Southern-Georgia football game will go on sale Friday, August 22nd at 4 p.m... Full-time Georgia Southern students will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets at $45 apiece at the ticket booth at Gate 4 of Paulson Stadium on Friday, August 22nd beginning at 4 p.m. Ticket purchasers will not be allowed to camp out and can line up no earlier than 2 p.m... Students must present a GSU student ID which will be scanned to verify current enrollment status. Tickets can be purchased with cash or Visa/Mastercard only.
