Georgia Southern Eagles Soar Over Bulldogs In Season-Opener

STATESBORO, Georgia — The South Carolina State Bulldogs dropped a tough, 37-6, decision in its season-opener to Georgia Southern Saturday (Sept. 1st) at Paulson Stadium.
 
"We played a very good Georgia Southern team and my hat goes off to them on they played today," said head coach Buddy Pough. "This team is a really young so this gave us a chance to see how these guys react in game situation."


 
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead in the first quarter.  Redshirt senior running back Moneo Garret scored on a 1-yard punch with 2:43 remaining late in the first to give GSU a 6-0 lead. The two-point conversion failed.
 
A costly fumble with 1:21 remaining gave the Eagles perfect field position the Bulldog 34-yard line. Redshirt sophomore Quarterback Shai Werts took full advantage scoring on a 23-yard run 0:36 seconds left to push GSU ahead two scores to close out the quarter.
 
Georgia Southern closed out the first-half off a 19-yard field goal by Tyler Bass to end intermission 16-0.
 
The Bulldogs were able to get on the board off a 2-yard run by redshirt sophomore Tyrece Nick at the 10:20 mark in the third quarter. The Eagles responded with back-to-back scores of 13 and 14-yards by Werts to extend the lead to 37-6 with 4:27 remaining in the game to seal the victory.
 
Senior defensive back Chris Adams and junior linebacker Lane Jones each finished with seven (7) tackles each in the loss, while Cornelius Walker added five (5). Redshirt sophomore Tyrece Nick led the rushing attack with 21 carries for 66-yards and a touchdown.
 
Freshman return specialist Tayshawn Baines had a solid day returning the football with two returns for 61-yards (31-long), while senior punter Jerome Pettiway posted three (3) punts for 140 yards (46.7 yards per punt) with a long of 71-yards.
 
"When you lose its always a tough feeling we have to regroup correct some mistakes and get ready for our next opponent," said Pough.

Box Score
 
Next up South Carolina State hits the road Saturday (Sept.8th) to take on Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is 6 p.m. and will televised on ESPN3.
 
For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS