Jalen White ran for 138 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagle defense came up with a big sack late in the contest as Georgia Southern topped Old Dominion 28-23 in Sun Belt football action Saturday afternoon in Ballard Stadium.
Georgia Southern (5-3, 2-2) led by five points and milked the clock for 4:42 on its final possession of the game before turning the ball over on downs at the Old Dominion 29-yard line with 32 seconds left. With the Monarchs out of timeouts, quarterback Hayden Wolff dropped back to pass, but LJ McCloud and Jalen Jackson sacked him for a 4-yard loss as the clock continued to tick. The Monarchs spiked the ball to stop the clock, threw an incompletion to set up 4th-and-long and Wylan Free tacked Blake Watson well short of the marker to seal the win.
Eagles of the Game
White averaged 4.6 yards a carry on 30 runs and scored a touchdown, while Gerald Green rushed 12 times for 91 yards and two scores. Kyle Vantrease completed 22 of 27 passes for 192 yards and a TD, and Amare Jones caught five passes for 54 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown reception. Free led the Eagles with 10 tackles, and Anthony Wilson made nine stops .
Key Moments
With Georgia Southern leading 28-23, under three minutes on the clock and the Eagles facing 4th-and-1 from the Old Dominion 37-yard line, Vantrease took the snap and ran straight ahead to pick up a yard and a first down. White gained three yards on the next play, and the Monarchs called their final timeout. The Eagles went back to White, who ran for six yards, and another carry for White was stopped for no gain, setting up 4th-and-1 again. This time, R'Tarriun Johnson stopped White for a 2-yard loss, giving Old Dominion the ball with 32 seconds left.
The Eagle defense came up with big stops in the Red Zone at the end of the third quarter. Trailing 21-10, Old Dominion drove down to the GS 18 yard line, but the Eagles bowed up and made a tackle for loss before forcing two incompletions. The Monarchs (3-4, 2-1) settled for a 35-yard field goal by Ethan Sanchez.
A miscue doomed the next Eagle drive as Vantrease was hit in the helmet with a snap he was not expecting and had to dive on the ball for a loss of three yards, setting up 3rd and 10. After an incompletion, the Eagles bounced a snap to punter Anthony Beck who could not get the punt off and was tackled at the Eagle 16-yard line. The GS defense forced three straight incompletions, and Old Dominion settled for another Sanchez field goal, this time from 33 yards away, making the score 21-16.
Georgia Southern answered the bell with a 77 -yard drive, and added to its cushion with a 3-yard touchdown run by Green, making the margin 28-16. The Eagles converted two third downs to keep alive the 13-play drive that ate 5:46 off the clock, and Vantrease connected with Jeremy Singleton and Jjay Mcafee for a pair of 16-yard pass plays.
Old Dominion trimmed the margin to 28-23 on a Blake Watson 2-yard touchdown run with 5:19 remaining. The Monarchs converted a 4th-and-2 from the Eagle 40-yard line to keep the drive going with Wolff throwing to Ali Jennings, who finished the game with nine receptions and 130 yards, for an 8-yard gain.
Key Stats and Notes
- It was the third meeting between the Eagles and Monarchs with the other two coming in the FCS Playoffs (2011 and 2012), and GS improved to 3-0 in the series.
- Georgia Southern had season lows in pass attempts (27) and passing yards (192).
- Old Dominion finished the game 3 for 5 in the Red Zone and missed two field goals. The Eagles scored touchdowns on both of its trips into the Red Zone.
- The Monarchs came into the came leading the country in sacks, but the Georgia Southern offensive line did not allow a sack.
Next Up:
The Eagles have a week off before playing host to South Alabama Saturday, Nov. 5, on Salute to Service Day and the Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Allen E. Paulson Stadium, and the contest will air on ESPN+.
