Eagle and Red Flash Football Teams Meet for First Time Saturday Night
9/3/2013 9:33:00 PM | Football
Kickoff at 6 p.m. for Sept. 7 home game
GAME INFORMATION
St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash at Georgia Southern
Date / Time: Saturday, September 7 // 6 p.m. ET
Site: Allen E. Paulson Stadium
Audio / Video Streaming: GSEagles.com (Subscription)
Tickets: 1-800-GSU-WINS or GSEagles.com
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network / Local 102.1 WZAT & 102.9 WPMX
Social Media: Twitter @GSAthletics Facebook.com/GSAthletics
Live Stats: GSEagles.com
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Eagles' Streaks: Overall: Won 1 Home: Won 2 Road: Lost 1
Last 5: 3-2 Last 10: 7-3
Coaches
Georgia Southern: Jeff Monken (Millikin '89)
Record at GS: 32-12 (72.7), Fourth Year
Career Record: Same
St. Francis (Pa.): Chris Villarrial (Indiana (Pa.) '96)
Record at St. Francis (Pa.): 8-25 (.24.2), Fourth Year
Career Record: Same
WATCH AND LISTEN
Saturday's game will be available in both video and audio formats as part of GS All-Access on GSEagles.com with packages varying from a day to a full year. A single-day pass is $5.95 and content can be accessed on all Windows, OSX, iOS and Android devices. Eagle Football fans can catch all the action, as well as pre-game and post-game shows on the Georgia Southern Radio Network. A complete listing of stations is available to the left. Additional affiliates may be added.
FIRST MEETING FOR EAGLES & RED FLASH
This is the first-ever meeting between Georgia Southern and St. Francis (Pa.). The Eagles have previously played Northeastern Conference member Central Connecticut State and will play NEC member Duquesne at Paulson Stadium on Sept. 20, 2014.
THE COACHES
A finalist for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors in 2012, Jeff Monken is now in his fourth year as head coach of the Georgia Southern Football program with a 32-12 record for a 72.7 winning percentage. Monken is one of only two coaches in Eagle Football history, the other his mentor Paul Johnson, to record 10 or more wins in each of the first three years of his tenure. With 24 years of coaching experience, including five years as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern during one of its most successful periods, Monken is prepared to navigate the present and the future for this Eagle Football program.
All-Pro offensive lineman and 11-year NFL veteran, Chris Villarrial was named the 25th head coach of the St. Francis (Pa.) program in December 2009 and is also in his fourth year leading his program. In 2012, Villarrial led the Red Flash to five wins, most in a season since 1992, and the school's best record as a member of NCAA FCS. St. Francis (Pa.) set single-season marks for scoring, touchdowns, fieldgoals, yards and rushing attempts last year.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
..............................
Overall Record........................
Scoring.......................
First Downs.........................
Total Offense Avg. ....................651.0.......
Rushing Yards.........................
Passing Yards.........................
Kickoff Return Avg.....................23.0..
Punt Returns.......................
Net Punting.......................
Time of Possession................ 32:56............ ..31:16
Third-Down Conversions............5/11............ ..61/145
Fourth-Down Conversions...........2/2................ 8/16
Points Allowed.......................... 9............... ....333
Total Yards Allowed ............... 183.0............ ...4521
Rushing Yards Allowed............ 21.0............ ...196.5
Passing Yards Allowed........... 162.0.......... .....214.5
DA BEARS
Red Flash Head Coach Chris Villarrial was a guard for the Chicago Bears' offense from 1996-2003 and a teammate of the Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson from 2002 until Villarrial signed with the Buffalo Bills for the 2004 season.
ISLAND CONNECTION
Two of the 10 Hawai'ian members of the St. Francis (Pa.) football team, #2 Asalemo Fruean and Wesley Nagaseu were coached by none other than Eagle Tight Ends Coach Sean Saturnio at Waipahu High School.
SWOPE NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With two rushing touchdowns and racking up his 10th career 100-yard rushing game, Dominique Swope was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week after the Eagles won their opener against Savannah State.
TOP OF THE HEAP
Georgia Southern statistically begins 2013 where it left off in 2012 -- at the top of the NCAA rushing heap as the Eagles amassed 576 yards on the ground last Saturday for its eighth-best single-game output in history.
MOVE THE CHAINS
Saturday's 35 first downs against the Tigers tied the record for most in a single game. The last time the Eagles totaled 35 first downs, they ran 103 plays at East Carolina in 1984.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Twenty-three student-athletes played in their first football contest as Eagles in Saturday's game, including 11 true freshmen.
#JOINTHEJOURNEY
Georgia Southern, the FCS' winningest team with more than 50 games played, posting a .721 winning percentage and 288 all-time wins, begins its transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2013. The University announced its acceptance of an invitation to join the Sun Belt for the 2014-2015 academic year. Even though the Georgia Southern Football team will not be eligible for postseason play in 2013, Eagle student-athletes can be considered for honors.
UNIVERSITY BREAKS GROUND ON TWO PROJECTS
Georgia Southern University broke ground on two major projects earlier this summer with the progress more than evident in Paulson Stadium.
Scheduled for completion in April 2014, the new football operations center, a $10 million privately funded project, will house coaches' offices, team meeting rooms, a video production suite, locker rooms, strength & conditioning space, rehabilitation center, equipment room, and football Hall of Fame within its 50,000 square feet.
In addition, the north stands of Paulson Stadium will see improvements in the form of over 6,000 additional seats.The current on-grade seating will be expanded by approximately 1,500 new seats and 4,500 will be added with the construction of an upper deck. With this student-fee funded expansion, seating capacity at Paulson Stadium will exceed 21,000 permanent seats. Construction of this $10 million project is scheduled for completion in May 2014.
STILL THE FAVORITE
Despite not being eligible for the Southern Conference championship and postseason play, Georgia Southern was voted as the league's favorite by both the SoCon coaches and media this summer.
OUR HOUSE
Georgia Southern owns a 172-32 record in Paulson Stadium for an .843 winning percentage. From September 27, 1997 through December 15, 2001, the Eagles recorded 39 straight home victories, which stands as the NCAA FCS record for longest home winning streak. The Eagles also own the second-longest streak, 38 games, from Oct. 5, 1985-Sept. 22, 1990. Beginning with the win over top-ranked and previously undefeated Appalachian State in November 2010 through November 2012, Georgia Southern had the longest home winning streak in the nation in 2012 with 14 straight victories at Paulson Stadium.
McKINNON SELECTED TO WALTER PAYTON WATCH LIST
Senior quarterback Jerick McKinnon was selected to the 2013 Walter Payton Award watch list by The Sports Journal. The Marietta, Ga., native led the Eagles in rushing and scoring in 2012 and amassed 1,817 rushing yards, the third-highest single-season total in Georgia Southern history. That total ranks behind Adrian Peterson and Jayson Foster, Walter Payton Award winners in 1999 and 2007, respectively.
TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL
In its modern era games against FCS teams that now play at the FBS level, Georgia Southern boasts a composite win-loss record of 38-16 (70.3%) over those 15 teams.
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 his official twitter account, @CoachJeffMonken.
2026 Georgia Southern Football Ticket Video
Wednesday, February 25
The GATA Zone - Air Rifle
Thursday, February 19
Walk and Talk: J.I. Clements Stadium
Friday, February 13
2026 Baseball Pre Season Check in
Thursday, February 12
