STATESBORO- Robert Brown scored on a 4-yard run to give Georgia Southern a 21-14 overtime win Saturday over Appalachian State, ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The Eagles (5-4, 3-3 Southern Conference) overcame an early 14-0 deficit with a dominant defense and the play of quarterback Jaybo Shaw.
Shaw, hobbled by a hip injury, was nearly flawless in running the triple option offense. The junior ran for 86 yards, including a crucial 16-yard run to convert a third down in the overtime. Brown scored on the next play to give Georgia Southern the advantage.
"Shaw played with a lot of guts," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said. "He's a tough kid. He has a hip pointer, and we hit him hard and often."
On the ensuing possession by the Mountaineers (8-1, 6-1), quarterback DeAndre Pressley fumbled and Josh Rowe recovered the loose ball to seal the win before 20,073, most of whom surged onto the field to celebrate the victory.
Last year Appalachian State defeated Georgia Southern, 52-16, while gaining 712 yards of offense, the most ever allowed by the Eagles. It was a different story Saturday as Georgia Southern limited the Mountaineers to 317 yards and only three first downs in the second half, one of those coming as the result of a penalty.
Georgia Southern fumbled at its own 12-yard line on its first possession with the Mountaineers recovering the ball. Three plays later Pressley ran it in from the 3-yard line. Applachian State scored on its next possession as Pressley directed an 80-yard drive that ended with Devon Moore's one yard run.
Georgia Southern made it 14-7 on Shaw's one yard dive with five seconds left in the first half.
"The touchdown was huge," Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken said. "We knew we were going to get the ball to start the second half. We made a couple of adjustments at the half, but to hold the ball that long and then score was critical."
That momentum carried over to the start of the second half, and the Eagle defense kept Pressley and the powerful Mountaineer offense in check.
Shaw completed 9 of 20 passes for 106 yards, while Pressley hit on 14 of 27 for 211 yards while being intercepted twice.
Pressley added 72 yards rushing to lead the Mountaineers who must now beat Wofford next week to claim their sixth straight SoCon championship, a record they would share with Georgia Southern.
The win by Georgia Southern ended a streak of 27 straight conference wins for the Mountaineers.
Saturday
June 14th, 2025
1:25AM
