State college football roundup

By Staff

For the AJC

Jordan Sorrells threw for 244 yards and Furman led 24-0 at halftime in a 30-22 win over Georgia Southern in Statesboro.

The Paladins (5-5, 4-3 Southern Conference), who snapped a three-game losing streak, took a 7-0 lead on Tersoo Uhaa’s 16-yard run with 9:17 left in the first quarter. Ryan Steed’s 44-yard interception return for a score gave Furman a 14-0 advantage midway through the first quarter.

The defeat assured the Eagles (4-6, 3-4) of a losing season for only the third time since football resumed in 1982. Sorrells was 17-of-23 passing for one touchdown and Mike Brown had 53 yards rushing.

The Paladins, who entered the game with the worst defense in the conference, limited the Eagles to 367 yards, nearly 100 yards below their average.

Kyle Collins was 13-for-22 for 123 yards and a touchdown for Georgia Southern.

Bethel 21, Shorter 14: Shorter lost four fumbles inside Bethel territory in a season-ending loss at home.

One of the fumbles by the Hawks (6-5) was recovered in the end zone for a Bethel touchdown. Two others led to touchdown runs by Bethel’s Cordarius Mann, who scored the game-winner on a 25-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Shorter lost fumbles at the Bethel 37, 3 and 29, and had a last-ditch drive end on downs at the Bethel 20.

A.J. Cooley rushed for 116 yards for Shorter. Quarterback Ben Williams had 98 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Greenville, Ill., 28, LaGrange 21: LaGrange (5-5) committed seven turnovers, including interceptions on its final four possessions of the game, to conclude the regular season with a loss in Greenville, Ill.

Greenville’s Anthony Ambers scored on a 10-yard run for the game-winner with 3:39 left in the game.

LaGrange quarterback Drew Carter threw two touchdown passes – eight yards to Nick Langley and 17 yards to Devin Billings – but was intercepted five times on 17-of-25 passing. Dustin Canon added a 1-yard run.

West Alabama 24, Albany State 22: Juan Bongarra missed a 36-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining as Albany State lost in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, falling to visiting West Alabama. The Golden Rams end the season 8-3.

West Alabama (8-4), which lost to one-win West Georgia earlier in the season, faces Carson-Newman in the second round.

Webber International 35, Savannah State 20: Webber International, an NAIA school from Babson Park, Fla., held off the Tigers in Savannah to win for the fourth time in five games. The loss dropped Savannah State to 2-7; Webber improved to 4-6.