UL Lafayette Hangs on to Defeat Georgia Southern 33-26

Thursday, November 10

Statesboro, GA

7:30 P.M.

Georgia Southern University

4-6 , 3-3

UL Lafayette

4-5 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Louisiana

Georgia Southern

Myles Campbell had 41 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

11/10/2016 11:43:00 PM | Football

Box Score

The Eagles travel to Georgia State Nov. 19.

By: Marc Gignac

STATESBORO, Ga. – Anthony Jennings ran for 96 yards and a touchdown and threw for 210 yards to lead UL Lafayette to a 33-26 Sun Belt Conference football victory over Georgia Southern Thursday night in Paulson Stadium.

True freshman Seth Shuman completed 21 of 36 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown in his first career start for Georgia Southern (4-6, 3-3). It was the highest passing total for an Eagle in seven seasons. BJ Johnson III set career highs of nine receptions and 127 receiving yards, and Myles Campbell caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Dion Ray rushed eight times for 71 yards and a touchdown for UL Lafayette (4-5, 3-3), while Al Riles caught five passes for 81 yards and a score and threw a 48-yard touchdown pass.

Trailing 33-19 late in the game, Georgia Southern gave itself life when Darrius Sapp blocked a ULL punt, and Ironhead Gallon scooped it up and returned it 67 yards to the Ragin' Cajun 3-yard line. L.A. Ramsby punched it in from 1-yard out three plays later, and Younghoe Koo made the point after to make it a seven-point game with 4:23 to play.

But the Eagle defense could not get another stop as UL Lafayette converted two third downs while Georgia Southern had to burn its timeouts. The last came on third-and-8 with just over a minute left when Jennings completed a 9-yard pass to Riles. The Ragin' Cajuns were able to take two knees to run out the clock and seal the win.

The story
Georgia Southern cut a 14-6 margin to one point on a Campbell touchdown late in the first half, but UL Lafayette zipped down the field, covering 92 yards in 1:05, and pushed the lead back to eight points on a 10-yard run by Jennings with six seconds to go.

The score ignited 17 straight points by the Ragin' Cajuns, who took control of the game. Stevie Artigue hit a 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and ULL used a trick play for a 48-yard touchdown pass that opened a 31-13 advantage just over two minutes later. Riles took the snap and faked a sweep to the left, then pulled back and hit a wide-open Keenan Barnes for the big play.

The Eagles converted two fourth downs, including a fake punt when punter Matt Flynn threw to Ross Alexander for a 26-yard gain, to work the ball down the field late in the third, and Ramsby capped the 86-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run. The Eagles opted to go for two to make it a 10-point game by faking a kick attempt, but Otha Peters intercepted Flynn's pass and took it all the way back for the defensive two-point conversion to make the score 33-19.

Georgia Southern's average field positon was its own 28-yard line, the Eagles were 6 of 16 on third down and UL Lafayette stacked the box all night and gave up just 52 yards on the ground.

Koo got the Eagles on the scoreboard first with a 39-yard field goal that capped a nice drive on their opening possession of the game. Ray rushed for 30 yards on three carries on the Ragin' Cajuns' ensuing drive, and Elijah McGuire scored from a yard out to give UL Lafayette its first lead of the game.

Koo hit a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter after Shuman found Johnson for a 53-yard pass to move the Eagles into Ragin' Cajun territory. UL Lafayette answered with a 16-yard run by Ray to open a 14-6 lead, but Shuman led the Eagles' next scoring drive, completing six passes for 61 yards, and hit Campbell with a 10-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-13.

Post-Game Notes
• Captains: #1 L.A. Ramsby, #6 Myles Campbell, #42 Nardo Govan, #94 Tre Griffin

• Georgia Southern won the toss and took the ball. It's the seventh time GS has won the coin toss this year.

• With two field goals, senior kicker Younghoe Koo now has 18 made kicks this season and moved into second place at Georgia Southern for single-season made field goals. Adrian Mora had 19 made field goals in 2010 for the record. Koo has made 18 of 19 field goals this year.

• BJ Johnson III had a career-high nine receptions and 127 receiving yards in the game. His previous high was five receptions against South Alabama in 2014 and 93 yards against Idaho in 2014. His nine receptions fell just one short of tying the school record for catches in a game, set twice by the late Raja Andrews (The Citadel, Samford; 2008) and his 127 yards are tied for the ninth-most in a Georgia Southern game (Chris Johnson at Western Carolina; 10/7/00).

• Freshman quarterback Set Shuman got his first career start and threw for 228 yards and a score. His first collegiate touchdown was a 10-yard strike to Myles Campbell.

• BJ Johnson III had 127 yards receiving, a week after Myles Campbell had 121 yards at Ole Miss. It's the first time GS has had a 100-yard receivers in consecutive games since Raja Andrews recorded three-straight 100-yard games in 2008. Andrews, who passed away two weeks ago in an automobile accident, had three straight 100-yard games: 121 yards against Western Carolina (10/25), 102 yards against The Citadel (11/1) and 114 yards against Samford (11/8).

• The loss marks the first time since 2010 that the Eagles have lost consecutive games at Paulson Stadium.

• BJ Johnson III now has 81 career receptions, passing Tony Belser (80, 1985-88) for third place all-time at Georgia Southern. He is now 11 receptions away from tying Monty Sharpe for second place. Sharpe has 92 catches from 1983-86. Raja Andrews holds the all-time record with 127 receptions from 2005-2008.

Quotables
Head coach Tyson Summers
On offense
"We went into the game knowing we would have to have a different game plan with all the injuries, and though we had some success at times, we weren't able to execute the way we needed to at times. They were able to put seven or eight guys near the line of scrimmage and because we were not in our normal offense with the ability to run the option, we got stalemated early. But we made some adjustments had some success throwing the ball with quick passes and making some plays that way. I thought our receivers played well and with all the looks Seth saw, he played pretty well."

On defense
"We didn't play well enough to win. We didn't stop the run with enough consistency, and we had lots of big downs where we weren't able to make a play. The drive at the end of the first half is a gut-wrencher, especially when you are able to get yourself back in the game like we did."

On the fake PAT and fake punt
"We used the Swinging Gate to check numbers, and we certainly saw the numbers and looks you want to see to give it a try. We're trying to get it back to a touchdown and a field goal. We didn't execute the way we needed to, and it winds up being a 14-point game. On the other side, the fake punt was executed really well - a nice job and throw by Matt and a nice catch and run by Ross."

Senior receiver BJ Johnson III
"I don't really like to talk about my performance because it wasn't good enough, and we didn't get the job done. We are going to continue to come out and practice hard like we have been and just see what happens. To be a part of a team like this that continues to fight and persevere is pretty special."

Senior linebacker Ironhead Gallon
On the punt
"I saw the ball fumbling around and nobody was around me so I scooped it up, and the guys did a great job blocking for me. I just wish I would have got it in there."

On the outcome
"It's very tough. We just have to be able to bounce back. Our backs are against the wall, and we just have to pick it up and find a way to make it happen."

Next up
Georgia Southern travels to Georgia State Saturday, Nov. 19, and kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in the Georgia Dome. Two points will be on the line in the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series.

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