Oct. 23, 2004

Final Stats

Charleston, SC - Georgia Southern rode the legs of senior quarterback Chaz Williams who rushed 13 times for 133 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to lead the #2 ranked Eagles past The Citadel, 42-7, in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon in Johnson Hagood Stadium.

"It was a game of two different halves. In the first half the guys did a good job and they were all fired-up," Georgia Southern head coach Mike Sewak stated. "In the second, Citadel made some adjustments and stayed within their game plan and got some yards. Our defense then came back to life and forced them to kick a field goal which they missed. I was happy with the shutout in the second half."

With the victory, Georgia Southern (7-1, 6-0 SoCon) clinched a share of the Southern Conference title, its seventh in eight years. The Eagles turned it on late in the first quarter and never looked back as they jumped out to an insurmountable, 28-0 lead.

Williams started the scoring at the 2:58 mark in the first quarter as he plunged two yards for the score. Georgia Southern then connected for touchdowns on their next three possessions. Williams again turned to his feet and sprinted 31-yards for the score to cap off an eight play, 78-yard drive with 9:06 remaining in the second quarter to put the Eagles up 14-0. The senior quarterback again finished a drive on the ground as he rushed 10 yards with 3:55 remaining in the second quarter.

The Eagles then put together a trick play as slotback Kevin Davis took an apparent end-around and completed a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Teddy Craft to push the advantage to 28-0.

The Citadel (1-5, 0-3 SoCon) got on the board with 48 seconds remaining in the half as freshman quarterback Duran Lawson connected with sophomore wide receiver Gary Domanski on a 25-yard scoring strike through the air. The play finished off a seven play, 80-yard drive that took only 1:44 off the clock.

The Eagles added two more scores in the third quarter to seal the victory as Williams sprinted 47 yards for a score and fullback Jermaine Austin bullied nine yards for a score.

Bulldog freshman tailback Montrell Lee put together a solid performance as he posted career-highs in carries (21) and yards (123). The 100-yard rushing performance marked the first time since the 2000 season that a freshman had surpassed the century mark. Lee is only the second runner to pass the mark against GSU this season.

"Georgia Southern is a very good football team with excellent players at their skilled positions," Citadel head coach John Zernhelt stated. "They do a very good job of executing their game plan. They returned 18 starters back from last season and they all really played well."

The Citadel continues its tough schedule as it travels to nationally ranked Wofford on Saturday, October 30th with kickoff slated at 1:30 pm. Georgia Southern returns home to take on South Dakota State at 1:00 pm.

Coach Zernhelt's Quotes after 42-7 loss to #2 Georgia Southern:

On Georgia Southern: "They are a very good football team with excellent players at their skilled positions. They do a very good job of executing their game plan. They returned 18 starters back from last season and they all really played well."

On Montrell Lee: "He had the hot hand, hitting on all cylinders there in the second half. We had a plan for him to get the repetitions behind Nehemiah Broughton. He stepped in and did a really good job running the football."

On Wofford: "This game helped us prepare for next weekend against the Terriers, but they use more pitches than Georgia Southern. It is going to be a tough test in Spartanburg, but hopefully our guys will respond to the challenge."

Georgia Southern head coach Mike Sewak's Quotes:

On the game: "It was a game of two different halves. In the first half the guys did a good job and they were all fired up. In the second, Citadel made some adjustments and stayed within their game plan and got some yards. Our defense then came back to life and forced them to kick a field goal which they missed. I was happy with the shutout in the second half."

On penalties: "We were doing so many good things and our kids got overly aggressive."

"We were up 28-7 in the first half, which is a bench water mark for a team and I'm glad we got it. I'm happy about the shutout in the second half but I don't like how we let The Citadel move down the field. They did a good job getting a lot of yards and they controlled the clock on us."

Quarterback Chaz Williams: "It seems like The Citadel always plays well against us and we wanted to stop the streak. We just got our assignments done."

Coming out of game: "Its always in the back of mind what my stats would be if I played a full game, but I also think about the fact that I could get injured."

On sharing the title: "It feels pretty good but it wasn't our main goal in the beginning of the season. We just have to work hard and hopefully we'll get to Chattanooga."