Eagle Football Finishes Home Campaign with 35-19 Win Over Western Carolina
11/9/2013 7:45:00 PM | Football
Five touchdowns, four interceptions highlight final FCS home game
Box Score
Post-Game Notes
Post-Game Quotes
STATESBORO, Ga. – As the sun set over the western endzone of Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Georgia Southern ended its 2013 home slate with a 35-19 win over Western Carolina in its final FCS home game. Senior quarterback Jerick McKinnon ran for two touchdowns, tying Tracy Ham for seventh on the career rushing touchdowns list with 41, and sophomore running back Nardo Govan and redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Ellison each added a rushing score. Redshirt freshman Da'Quan Heard caught his first career reception, good for a 19-yard touchdown, also his first, for the Eagles' second score of the day.
Back at the quarterback position, McKinnon put the Eagles on the board first with his 23-yard keeper after senior cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks' first interception put the Eagles at the Western Carolina 38. A Catamount pass interference penalty drew Georgia Southern 15 yards closer as wide receiver B.J. Johnson threw to an open McKinnon on the left sideline, but the penalty flag gave the Eagles an automatic first down. On the only official play of the drive, McKinnon shot into the endzone for 6-0 lead with Younghoe Koo's point after for a 7-0 lead.
Western Carolina came back on its next possession and used a 14-play drive and more than six minutes to go 75 yards with Garry Lewis heading into the endzone on the one-yard run. Jonathan Battle had his second blocked in as many games to keep the Catamounts a point behind at 7-6.
Back-to-back scores in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 21-6 margin at the half. With his first career reception and first career touchdown catch, redshirt freshman tight end Da'Quan Heard grabbed the 19-yard pass from McKinnon to put Georgia Southern up 13-6. The 11-play, 55-yard drive ended with the score and Koo's second point after kick of the day for a 14-6 lead.
Two more Georgia Southern scores, one in the third, and one in the fourth quarter, negated Western Carolina's second scoring drive after the Eagles' lost a newly recovered fumble to give the Catamounts the ball at the GS 11. After the Georgia Southern miscue, WCU used three plays to find the endzone with Mitchell hitting Karnorris Benson for a two-yard touchdown and a 21-13 score with nine minutes left to play in the third quarter.
The Eagles bounced back on the next possession, keeping it on the ground for all 12 plays for the 69 yards to the goal line. Ellison, who spelled McKinnon at quarterback after he left for the sidelines, sparked the drive with carries of 11 and nine yards before handing off to Nardo Govan for a two-yard gain for the touchdown. Koo nailed the point after as the Eagles took a 28-13 lead.
Ellison directed Georgia Southern to its final touchdown with Govan contributing 20 yards to the drive on four carries. Tray Butler took the handoff from Ellison for 18 yards to the Western 41 and then Ellison split the defenders for a 40-yard trot to the left corner, just shy of the goal line. Ellison punched it in from the one and Koo added the point-after as the Eagles extended their lead to 35-13.
Eddie Sullivan, the Catamounts' backup quarterback, brought WCU from its own 22 to the Eagle 11, hitting John Sullivan for Western Carolina's final touchdown. A Darius Ramsey rush on the two-point conversion attempt failed to leave the Catamounts at 19 points, but they would get the ball back again with three minutes remaining. Another Eagle fumble, the fifth on the day, recovered at the GS 26, gave WCU another scoring opportunity.
After two incomplete passes, Sullivan connected with Michael Helms to get halfway to the Eagle endzone. A six-yard pass to Terryon Robinson put the Catamounts on the 10 on third down. Sullivan would attempt two more passes, the second would be tipped into the hands of Dobson for his second interception of the day as the defense made exceptional plays.
Westbrooks and Dobson each had two interceptions, marking the first time Georgia Southern had four interceptions in a game since the 2012 season opener against Jacksonville. Linebacker Kyle Oehlbeck had 14 total tackles for the game high, and Defensive lineman Blake Riley had 11, career high numbers for both seniors. Jonathan Battle had his second blocked kick and senior linebacker Josh Rowe was credited with a quarterback hurry in a key play that forced WCU to turn over the ball on downs on the GS 25.
Senior running back William Banks led all backs with 86 net yards, none lost, on 13 carries. Ellison finished with 83 with his one touchdown and McKinnon 68 yards and two scores. Govan had 42 yards on nine carries and his second career touchdown.
The Eagles play their last two games of 2013 on the road with a Saturday, Nov. 16th contest at Elon with a 3 p.m. kickoff and at Florida at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23rd.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS. Fans can follow Coach Jeff Monken on this official twitter @CoachJeffMonken.
Post-Game Notes
Post-Game Quotes
STATESBORO, Ga. – As the sun set over the western endzone of Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Georgia Southern ended its 2013 home slate with a 35-19 win over Western Carolina in its final FCS home game. Senior quarterback Jerick McKinnon ran for two touchdowns, tying Tracy Ham for seventh on the career rushing touchdowns list with 41, and sophomore running back Nardo Govan and redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Ellison each added a rushing score. Redshirt freshman Da'Quan Heard caught his first career reception, good for a 19-yard touchdown, also his first, for the Eagles' second score of the day.
Back at the quarterback position, McKinnon put the Eagles on the board first with his 23-yard keeper after senior cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks' first interception put the Eagles at the Western Carolina 38. A Catamount pass interference penalty drew Georgia Southern 15 yards closer as wide receiver B.J. Johnson threw to an open McKinnon on the left sideline, but the penalty flag gave the Eagles an automatic first down. On the only official play of the drive, McKinnon shot into the endzone for 6-0 lead with Younghoe Koo's point after for a 7-0 lead.
Western Carolina came back on its next possession and used a 14-play drive and more than six minutes to go 75 yards with Garry Lewis heading into the endzone on the one-yard run. Jonathan Battle had his second blocked in as many games to keep the Catamounts a point behind at 7-6.
Back-to-back scores in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 21-6 margin at the half. With his first career reception and first career touchdown catch, redshirt freshman tight end Da'Quan Heard grabbed the 19-yard pass from McKinnon to put Georgia Southern up 13-6. The 11-play, 55-yard drive ended with the score and Koo's second point after kick of the day for a 14-6 lead.
Two more Georgia Southern scores, one in the third, and one in the fourth quarter, negated Western Carolina's second scoring drive after the Eagles' lost a newly recovered fumble to give the Catamounts the ball at the GS 11. After the Georgia Southern miscue, WCU used three plays to find the endzone with Mitchell hitting Karnorris Benson for a two-yard touchdown and a 21-13 score with nine minutes left to play in the third quarter.
The Eagles bounced back on the next possession, keeping it on the ground for all 12 plays for the 69 yards to the goal line. Ellison, who spelled McKinnon at quarterback after he left for the sidelines, sparked the drive with carries of 11 and nine yards before handing off to Nardo Govan for a two-yard gain for the touchdown. Koo nailed the point after as the Eagles took a 28-13 lead.
Ellison directed Georgia Southern to its final touchdown with Govan contributing 20 yards to the drive on four carries. Tray Butler took the handoff from Ellison for 18 yards to the Western 41 and then Ellison split the defenders for a 40-yard trot to the left corner, just shy of the goal line. Ellison punched it in from the one and Koo added the point-after as the Eagles extended their lead to 35-13.
Eddie Sullivan, the Catamounts' backup quarterback, brought WCU from its own 22 to the Eagle 11, hitting John Sullivan for Western Carolina's final touchdown. A Darius Ramsey rush on the two-point conversion attempt failed to leave the Catamounts at 19 points, but they would get the ball back again with three minutes remaining. Another Eagle fumble, the fifth on the day, recovered at the GS 26, gave WCU another scoring opportunity.
After two incomplete passes, Sullivan connected with Michael Helms to get halfway to the Eagle endzone. A six-yard pass to Terryon Robinson put the Catamounts on the 10 on third down. Sullivan would attempt two more passes, the second would be tipped into the hands of Dobson for his second interception of the day as the defense made exceptional plays.
Westbrooks and Dobson each had two interceptions, marking the first time Georgia Southern had four interceptions in a game since the 2012 season opener against Jacksonville. Linebacker Kyle Oehlbeck had 14 total tackles for the game high, and Defensive lineman Blake Riley had 11, career high numbers for both seniors. Jonathan Battle had his second blocked kick and senior linebacker Josh Rowe was credited with a quarterback hurry in a key play that forced WCU to turn over the ball on downs on the GS 25.
Senior running back William Banks led all backs with 86 net yards, none lost, on 13 carries. Ellison finished with 83 with his one touchdown and McKinnon 68 yards and two scores. Govan had 42 yards on nine carries and his second career touchdown.
The Eagles play their last two games of 2013 on the road with a Saturday, Nov. 16th contest at Elon with a 3 p.m. kickoff and at Florida at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23rd.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS. Fans can follow Coach Jeff Monken on this official twitter @CoachJeffMonken.
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