Football Begins Road Swing at Elon
9/23/2009 2:06:00 PM | Football
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Football begins a stretch of three straight games on the road, and five of the next six, this Saturday (Sept. 26) at Elon. Kickoff for the Southern Conference contest is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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. The pregame show begins two hours prior to kickoff. Fans inside Rhodes stadium can listen to the broadcast on 88.1 FM.
Head football coach Chris Hatcher and his staff are joining thousands of coaches from the American Football Coaches Association in supporting the Coach to Cure MD program. This Saturday coaches in all levels of collegiate football will wear a logo patch and fans will be asked to donate money to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. For more information go to www.CoachtoCureMD.org.
GS leads the all-time series against Elon 7-2, but the 13th-ranked Phoenix have won the last two meetings by a combined five points. Elon won in double-overtime two years ago (36-33) and kicked a field goal in the final seconds last year at Paulson Stadium (22-20).
The Eagles (2-1 overall) snapped a four-game losing streak in SoCon openers thanks to a 27-3 win over Western Carolina last weekend. The defense held WCU to minus-12 yards rushing and only four first downs. It was the lowest point total by an opponent in five years.
Led by quarterback Lee Chapple, the offense improved to 17th nationally in passing offense (254.7 ypg) and 46th in total offense (340.3). Chapple ranks 38th nationally in total offense (220 ypg) and fifth in completions per game (27.0). The sophomore QB moved into fifth place on the GS career 'Top 10' list with 159 pass completions.
Sophomore Adam Urbano moved into eight place among the SoCon rushing leaders (51 ypg) while freshman Darreion Robinson ranks 10th (43.7). Urbano also stands 10th in the league averaging 100 all-purpose yards per game.
Fellow sophomore Adrian Mora continues to lead the league, and moved up to fifth nationally, averaging two field goals per game. His 8.0 point-per-game average is tied for 32nd in the nation. Mora broke the Georgia Southern record last weekend by kicking a field goal in 11 consecutive games. Freshman wide receiver Jamere Valentine is tied for seventh in the league and tied 76th nationally averaging six points per game (team-leading three receiving touchdowns). Valentine is tied for 36th nationally averaging 5.7 receptions per game. His 59 receiving yards per game stands seventh in the league.
Senior Darrell Pasco leads the conference in both pass break-ups (5) and kickoff returns (27.0 ypr). Those numbers place him tied for 19th and 34th in the nation, respectively.
Sophomore linebacker Dion DuBose leads the Eagles with 26 tackles. His 8.7 per game average stands eighth in the league and tied for 73rd nationally.
Elon opened the year with a 56-0 win over non-scholarship Davidson and 41-7 win at Presbyterian before suffering a 35-7 loss at Wake Forest. The Phoenix rolled up 1,162 yards of total offense the first two games but was limited to 263 against the Demon Deacons.
Senior Terrell Hudgins, named to the Walter Payton Award watch list, ranks third nationally averaging 10.3 receptions and 134.3 receiving yards per game. Junior quarterback Scott Riddle leads the SoCon and stands 11th nationally averaging 279 yards of total offense per game. Jamal Shuman leads the SoCon while ranking fourth nationally in rushing (119.7 ypg) and seventh in all-purpose yards (185.7 ypg).
Lance Camp stands 11th in the nation averaging 13 yards per punt return. Cameron McGlenn leads the SoCon with three interceptions.
