Behind a big night from Turner Helton and the defense, Georgia Southern defeated Old Dominion 23-15 on Thursday night at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. The Eagles scored 23 unanswered points across five scoring drives from late in the first quarter through the third.
The Eagles finished with 28 first downs, held the ball for 36:26 and limited the Monarchs to 266 yards. The defense added four sacks and recovered two fumbles in the win.
The Monarchs outgained the Eagles 105-59 in the first quarter, but the Eagles matched the Monarchs on the scoreboard with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Terrance Gibbs finished it with an 11-yard touchdown run, and Tripp Bryant’s PAT tied the score at 7 before the Eagles forced a fumble later in the quarter.
The Eagles outscored the Monarchs 9-0 in the second quarter on three Tripp Bryant field goals, including makes from 33, 43 and 31 yards, to take a 16-7 lead into halftime. The Eagles had seven first downs to the Monarchs’ three, while the defense held the Monarchs to 0-for-2 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down, including Chace Calicut’s breakup on a fourth-down attempt at the Eagles’ 33.
The Eagles had the statistical edge in the third quarter, completing 11 of 13 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, adding 35 rushing yards and holding the Monarchs to 18 passing yards and zero rushing yards. The quarter’s scoring came on an 11-play, 66-yard Eagles drive that used 5:28 and ended with Turner Helton’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Gibbs before Tripp Bryant’s PAT made it 23-7. The Eagles converted 2 of 3 third downs and held the Monarchs to 0 of 3 while possessing the ball for 10:16 of the quarter.
The Eagles held the ball for 9:34 of the fourth quarter and finished the quarter with 78 passing yards and 30 rushing yards, while the Monarchs scored the quarter’s only points on Ryan Huff’s 71-yard touchdown pass to TJ Johnson and a two-point conversion. The defense limited the Monarchs to 7 rushing yards, recorded two sacks and recovered a Ryan Huff fumble after Anthony Bynum’s sack at the Monarchs’ 15 with 1:20 left, helping close out the 23-15 final.
Turner Helton completed 23 of 30 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown off the bench for an injured Max Johnson. Gibbs scored twice, rushing six times for 44 yards and a touchdown and adding two catches for 18 yards and another score. Anthony Bynum recorded eight tackles, including two sacks, and forced a fumble. Bryant converted all three field-goal attempts, with a long of 43 yards, and made both PATs. Tyrese Woodgett added 77 yards rushing in his first collegiate start while the defense contributed nine tackles for loss and four sacks.
Game Notes:
– Team – Set a season high with five red zone scores in the game.
– Team – Recovered two fumbles in the game, surpassing their season average of 0.83…