ATLANTA - Big plays on offense, defense and special teams keyed a dominating 35-14 win for the Georgia Southern football squad over Georgia State Saturday afternoon at Georgia State Stadium. With the win, the Eagles tack on two points in the annual Southern-State Rivalry Series, which is now tied at 4 apiece.
Key Moment: Rashad Byrd went air born up the middle to block a 47-yard field goal late in the first half, which was returned 43 yards by
Monquavion Brinson to set up a 49-yard field goal by
Tyler Bass as the clock struck zero in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead.
GS Play of the Game: Wesley Fields capped off a big game with his second-longest run of the season in the fourth quarter, bursting up the middle and then zig-zagging his way down the left sideline for a 63-yard touchdown run to put the Eagles up by 28.
Key Stat: Lane Ecton's interception in the second quarter marked the 15th straight game the Eagles have forced a turnover and moved their turnover margin for the season to +22, the best in the nation.
Key Scoring Plays:
•
Tyler Bass hit from 39 yards out on the first play of the second quarter. 3-0 GS
• Werts found a streaking Anderson down the middle and connected with him for 38 yards and a score. 10-0 GS
• After a blocked field goal and big return, Bass drilled it from 49 yards out to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead heading into the locker room. 13-0 GS
• Werts ran it in from 18 yards out and then Bass flipped it to
Deshon Cooper for the two-point conversion early in the third quarter. 21-0 GS
• Werts found
Colby Ransom on the same pattern he found Anderson on and completed a 58-yard pass for the score. 28-0 GS
• On fourth and goal, GSU quarterback Dan Ellington found Devin Gentry from 7-yards out to get the Panthers on the board. 28-7 GS
•
Wesley Fields went right up the middle and toyed with the Panther defensive back, spinning him around several times en route to a 63-yard touchdown run with just over 8 minutes left. 35-7 GS
GS Player of the Game: Kicker
Tyler Bass made field goals of 39 and 49 yards and made three PATs and also threw a two-point conversion pass to
Deshon Cooper to highlight his day. He finished the regular season 16 for 18 on field goals with eight makes of 40 yards or longer.
Up Next: The Eagles (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) will await their bowl destination and opponent, which will be formally announced no later than Sunday, Dec. 2. For more information on bowl possibilities and ticket pre-orders, visit
GSEagles.com/bowl.