Kyle Vantrease connected with Derwin Burgess Jr. late in the fourth quarter to put Southern up 45-38.

• After being down 14-0 to start the 2nd quarter, Quarterback Kyle Vantrease found Amare Jones in the endzone for 1 of their 2 scores. Freshman Joshua Thompson blocked a James Madison punt in the 2nd quarter to even up the score 14-14. As Vantrease said, “…A non-offensive touchdown is the best touchdown.” The Eagles closed the 1st half 14-17 down 3.
• James Madison opened the 2nd half with a 10-yard touchdown run, which was answered by Vantrease with a 75-yard pass to Amare Jones for their 2nd connection for a score that game. An Alex Raynor field goal and Vantrease to Jalen White score gave the Eagles their first lead of the game late in the 3rd quarter, with the score being 31-24.
• The Eagles’ opened the 4th quarter with a Raynor field goal before James Madison ended Southern’s 17 unanswered points, with a 28-yard touchdown pass. Another Raynor field goal put Southern up 37-31 with about 3:53 to go in the fourth quarter. James Madison found the endzone one more time from a 25-yard pass to put the Dukes’ up 38-37 with 2:28 left in the 4th quarter. This proved to be no problem for the Eagles’ offense as Vantrease led them down the field, with a clutch 4th down catch and conversion by Khaleb Hood for 14-yards. The ended with an acrobatic catch by Derwin Burgess Jr. to give the Eagles’ the late lead. This was a lead they would hold on to as James Madison Quaterback, Todd Centerio, was intercepted by Anthony Wilson to seal the win for Southern.

Highlights:

• Kyle Vantrease threw for 578 yards setting a new Sun Belt passing record on 38/64, also setting a team record for most amount of attempts. He had 1 interception but found the endzone 4 times enroute to a 45-38 win for the Eagles.
• Receiver Amare Jones had a career high 164 yards on 7 catches for 2 touchdowns. 3 different Eagles receivers each had over 100 yards receiving.
• In addition to Anthony Wilson’s game ending interception, both Tyler Bride and Dillion Springer had an interception.

What’s next: Georgia Southern is now 1-2 in conference play. They will continue conference play on the road at Old Dominion to take on the Monarchs. They are fresh off an upset win against another undefeated in Coastal Carolina so this should be another great game.