STATESBORO – Trey Ragas ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns to lead Louisiana to a 37-24 Sun Belt Conference football win over Georgia Southern Saturday evening in Paulson Stadium.
It was the conference opener for both teams.
GS Players of the Game:
Shai Werts ran for 93 yards and threw for 37 yards in his first game since the season opener.
Tyler Bass made three field goals, and his 44-yard field goal with 12:09 left in the second quarter set the school record for made field goals of 40 or more yards.
Key Moments: Trailing 24-13, the Eagles (1-3, 0-1) put together a 78-yard drive over 7:41 and scored a touchdown on a
J.D. King 1-yard run near the end of the third quarter. King ran it in for a 2-point conversion to trim the margin to 24-21, but Louisiana responded with a touchdown in just over two minutes. Levi Lewis hit Peter LeBlanc with a 24-yard pass to help set up a 19-yard touchdown run by Elija Mitchell.
Bass' third field goal of the night brought the Eagles to within a score with 5:35 to go in the game, but Ragas took over for Louisiana (4-1, 1-0). He broke off runs of 9, 20 and 32 yards and capped the 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to ice the game with 2:34 remaining.
Key Stats: Georgia Southern held a seven-minute edge in time of possession, but Louisiana outgained the Eagles 440-252 in total offense.
Key Scoring Plays:
LA - Elijah Mitchell 5-yard run with 13:42 left in the 1st, 0-7
GS –
Tyler Bass 28-yard FG with 5:20 to go in the 1st, 3-7
GS – Bass 44-yard FG with 12:09 left in the 2nd, 6-7
LA – Trey Ragas 3-yard run with 8:05 left in the 2nd, 6-14
GS –
Logan Wright 2-yard run with 4:58 left in the 2nd, 13-14
LA – Kenneth Almendares 25-yard FG with 0:00 left in the 2nd, 13-17
LA – Ja'Mar Bradley 1-yard pass from Levi Lewis with 8:04 left in the 3rd, 13-24
GS –
J.D. King 1-yard run, King 2-point conversion with 15 seconds left in the 3rd, 21-24
LA – Elija Mitchell 19-yard run with 12:30 left in the 4th, 21-31
GS – Bass 31-yard FG with 5:35 left in the 4th, 24-31
LA – Ragas 1-yd run with 2:34 left in the 4th, 24-37
Up next: The Eagles have a short week before traveling to South Alabama for a Thursday night tilt. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will air on ESPNU.
