Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410060003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
DATELINE: STATESBORO, GA. LENGTH: Medium
It was only the second time the teams had faced each other. The Eagles beat the Keydets 47-0 last year en route to the conference championship in their first year in the league.
Kenny Robinson and Dexter Dawson scored two touchdowns each for Georgia Southern, which rolled up 361 yards rushing.
After on 0-3 start, GSU (2-3 overall, 2-1 conference) won its second straight game and has outscored its past two opponents 106-20. Against VMI (0-4, 0-2), five different Eagles scored and five rushed for 50 or more yards.
GSU capitalized on Keydet miscues to take a quick 14-0 lead. On the first series, an Eagle punt hit VMI linebacker Sam Daniels in the back and was recovered at the Keydet 30 by GSU's Eric Thigpen. Six plays later, Robinson rolled around right tackle for a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
GSU went up 14-0 when Alfonza Harris blocked a 41-yard field-goal attempt by VMI's Geoff Goff and Marco Bradham scooped up the ball and returned it 61 yards for the score.
The Eagles blew the game open with three touchdowns in the second quarter. Chris Wright scored on a 4-yard run on the first play of the period, then Dawson scored twice in impressive fashion.
First, slotback Marlow Warthen fumbled inside the Keydet 15. The ball rolled into the back of the end zone and was recovered by Dawson for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Dawson scored on a 46-yard reverse give GSU a 35-0 lead at halftime.
Robinson, who finished with 74 yards rushing, scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and Roderick Russell added an 18-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to close out the scoring.
VMI managed just 165 yards of total offense to 398 by Georgia Southern. The Keydet attack was highlighted by sophomore tailback Thomas Haskins, who rushed 23 times for 106 yards. It was the fifth time in six games Haskins has eclipsed the 100-yard mark.
``We're working hard to get things better for our football team,'' said Bill Stewart, VMI's first-year coach. ``... I saw a lot of positive things from our younger players.''
The Keydets take on Marshall, the top-ranked team in Division I-AA, at home in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff next Saturday.
by CNB