MONROE, La. – L.A. Ramsby's 41-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter thwarted ULM's comeback bid, and Georgia Southern earned its 10th consecutive Sun Belt Conference victory with a 51-31 decision over the Warhawks Saturday night in Malone Stadium.

After ULM trimmed a 31-3 deficit to seven points early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles faced 4th-and-inches from the ULM 41-yard line with all the momentum headed towards the Warhawks. Kevin Ellison turned and handed it off to Ramsby, who scooted through a hole on the left side and took it the distance to make the lead 38-24 and put the momentum back on the side of Georgia Southern (4-1, 2-0).

"I knew I needed to stuff it in there and get the yard, and a hole opened up to the left, I went through the hole, and all I saw was green grass," said Ramsby.

The Eagle defense forced a 3-and-out with the aid of an errant snap on third down that rolled down to the ULM 5-yard line before it was recovered. A 32-yard punt into the wind gave Georgia Southern the ball at the Warhawk 37-yard line, and the Eagles drove down to the ULM 6-yard line, where Breida ran around right end for his second touchdown of the game to open a 45-24 advantage.

ULM wasn't quite finished, and Garrett Smith connected with Ajalen Holley for a 28-yard pass to key a 75-yard drive that took just two minutes off the clock. Smith connected with D'Marius Gillespie on a 10-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left to make the score 45-31. 

The Warhawks tried the on-side kick, but Matt Dobson attacked the football and recovered it for the Eagles. Wesley Fields took over from there, rushing eight times for 44 yards and running it in from four yards out to make the score 51-31 with 31 seconds left and put the game away. 

Ramsby finished with 98 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns, while Breida toted the rock 19 times for 149 yards and a pair of scores. Fields logged 92 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, and Ellison rushed for 74 yards and completed three passes for 48 yards.

Ironhead Gallon had a career-high 11 tackles and blocked a punt, while Dobson, Darius Jones and Antonio Glover each intercepted Smith.

"I thought we did some good things offensively," said Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz. "We ran the ball extremely well, and there were a couple times we could have put them away, but we played sloppy with a lot of penalties that killed drives. We faced some adversity, and our guys were able to bounce back from it and finish the game." 

Smith completed 21-of-36 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns for ULM (1-3, 0-1), and Holley finished with eight receptions for 166 yards.

Defense and special teams keyed a hot start for the Eagles, who scored on their first five possessions of the contest. The defense forced a punt on the Warhawks' opening drive, and for the second straight game, Gallon got free to block the game's opening punt. Ken Butler scooped up the ball at the 26-yard line and ran it in for a 7-0 Georgia Southern lead 2:44 into the contest.

Glover set the Eagles up at the ULM 43-yard line with his fourth interception of the season, and Alex Hanks nailed a 29-yard field goal with 5:22 left in the first quarter for a 10-0 cushion.

ULM drove down to the Georgia Southern 36-yard line on the next possession but turned it over on downs when Gallon broke up a Smith pass. The Eagles went 64 yards in nine plays, and Breida capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run for a 17-0 advantage 2:02 into the second quarter.

After ULM got on the scoreboard with a 44-yard field goal, a 45-yard run by Favian Upshaw set up a 1-yard touchdown run for Ramsby with 5:29 left in the half, and the Eagles led 24-3. The Eagle defense got a 3-and-out, and the offense drove 69 yards and scored on a 1-yard run by Fields with 1:34 left in the half. Ellison completed a 24-yard pass to Keigan Williams on third down to keep the drive alive.

The Eagles tried a squib quick on the ensuing kickoff, but the ball bounced right into the waiting arms of Tre' Hunter, giving ULM a short field. Smith hit Harley Scioneaux for a 2-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-goal with 20 seconds left in the frame to make the margin 31-10 at halftime.

After the Eagles missed a field goal on their first drive of the second half, Smith went up top to Holley for a 69-yard gain and found Jared Mapps for a 12-yard touchdown two plays later to make the margin 31-17 midway through the quarter.

The Eagle offense couldn't get much going but the defense held ULM at bay as Jones and Dobson each picked off Smith passes. But the Warhawk defense made it a one-score game when Junior Williams picked off an Ellison pass and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles have a week off before hosting New Mexico State in a Sun Belt Conference contest Saturday, Oct. 17, in Paulson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
 

Georgia Southern Postgame Notes

• GAME CAPTAINS: #24 Riyahd Jones, #26 Ryan Brown, #47 Alex Hanks, #97 Jake Banta

• Georgia Southern wore blue helmets, with white jerseys and white pants today. The Eagles are now 6-3 in this combination under head coach Willie Fritz.

• Georgia Southern won the toss for the fourth time in five games this season.

• Ironhead Gallon blocked his fourth career kick in the first quarter. It was the second straight game the sophomore has blocked a punt. This one was returned 26 yards by Ken Butler, Jr., for his first collegiate score. The last time the Eagles returned a blocked punt for a touchdown was in 2008 at Chattanooga when Roderick Tinsley blocked it and David Arnold scooped it up for the score.

• Antonio Glover recorded his fourth interception of the season and the fifth of his career in the first quarter.

• The Eagles had 12 penalties in the game, marking the most under a Willie Fritz-coached team at GS. The team had seven penalties twice last season.

• Breida scored two touchdowns in the game, giving him 27 for his career and nine for the season. He also had 149 yards rushing, the 11th 100-yard game of his career and his fourth straight.

• In the past four games, Georgia Southern has rushed for 22 touchdowns, coming from four different players.

• Ironhead Gallon had a career-high 11 tackles in the game, topping his previous high of 10 stops against New Mexico State last season.

• Darrius White, Jr., recorded his second career interception and first of the season in the third quarter. On the next drive, senior Matt Dobson record his sixth career interception and his first of the season. The Eagle defense has recorded 10 interceptions in five games now. It's also the second time this season the defense has had three interceptions in a game.

• Georgia Southern ran for 455 yards in the game. The Eagles are now 12-1 under Willie Fritz when running for 300 yards or more in the game and 8-0 when rushing for 400 or more yards.

• The win was the 150th for head coach Willie Fritz at NCAA four-year schools. He now has a record of 150-66 in 19 seasons. Counting his time at Blinn, he has won 189 games as a head coach at the collegiate level.