Georgia Southern 59, Morgan State 7
Associated Press
STATESBORO, Ga. - Kyle Vantrease threw four touchdowns passes and Georgia Southern gave new coach Clay Helton a 59-7 victory over Morgan State.
Helton was Southern California's head coach from 2015-2021 before being fired last September after a 1-1 start. Seven weeks later, Georgia State hired Helton for the 2022 season.
Vantrease put the ball up 46 times, completing 29 for 367 yards for a Georgia Southern program that has traditionally emphasized the run. He was intercepted once. Ten receivers made catches with Sam Kennerson grabbing seven passes for 99 yards and Khaleb Hood nabbing six for 88 and a touchdown. OJ Arnold and Jalen White had two scores each.
It was 17-7 at halftime and 31-7 after three quarters before the Eagles added 28 points in the fourth.
Alfonzo Graham rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries and Jordan Toles had a 50-yard pick-6 for the Bears, who have a new head coach in Damon Wilson. The Bears had four turnovers.
Georgia Southern has won all 11 of its matchups against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams.
| Scoring Summary |
| Second Quarter |
MorgSt | GaSo |
| GaSo |
TD |
12:20 |
OJ Arnold 4 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
0 |
7 |
| MorgSt |
TD |
9:42 |
Jordan Toles 50 yd interception return (Beckett Leary kick) |
7 |
7 |
| GaSo |
FG |
5:33 |
Alex Raynor 20 yd FG |
7 |
10 |
| GaSo |
TD |
1:28 |
Derwin Burgess Jr. 12 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
17 |
| Third Quarter |
MorgSt | GaSo |
| GaSo |
TD |
10:11 |
Khaleb Hood 46 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
24 |
| GaSo |
TD |
4:52 |
Jalen White 5 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
31 |
| Fourth Quarter |
MorgSt | GaSo |
| GaSo |
TD |
13:41 |
Jalen White 8 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
38 |
| GaSo |
TD |
12:47 |
Jeremy Singleton 8 yd pass from Kyle Vantrease (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
45 |
| GaSo |
TD |
9:06 |
Gerald Green 8 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
52 |
| GaSo |
TD |
6:43 |
OJ Arnold 23 yd run (Alex Raynor kick) |
7 |
59 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Morgan State |
Georgia Southern |
| First downs |
12 |
26 |
| Rushing |
7 |
10 |
| Passing |
4 |
14 |
| Penalty |
1 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
2-13, 15% |
11-17, 65% |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-1, 0% |
0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards |
32-172 |
32-137 |
| Passing Yards |
78 |
367 |
| Return Yards |
177 |
70 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
10-27-3 |
29-46-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
1--6 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
8 |
5 |
| Punts-Average |
36.8 |
40.2 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1-1 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
7-59 |
3-34 |
| Time of Possession |
30:15 |
29:45 |
| Morgan State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| C. Baker |
10 |
21 |
78 |
0 |
1 |
| D. Taylor |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Georgia Southern Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| K. Vantrease |
29 |
46 |
367 |
4 |
1 |
| Morgan State Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| A. Graham |
14 |
106 |
7.6 |
0 |
| J. Johnson |
8 |
36 |
4.5 |
0 |
| D. Harvin |
7 |
31 |
4.4 |
0 |
| D. Taylor |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| C. Baker |
2 |
-5 |
-2.5 |
0 |
| Georgia Southern Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| O. Arnold |
6 |
45 |
7.5 |
1 |
| G. Green |
12 |
44 |
3.7 |
1 |
| J. White |
10 |
35 |
3.5 |
2 |
| T. Dixon II |
2 |
6 |
3.0 |
0 |
| K. Vantrease |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| C. Cigelske |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| Morgan State Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| A. Graham |
3 |
29 |
9.7 |
0 |
| T. Wilkins |
2 |
23 |
11.5 |
0 |
| J. Owumi |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
| M. Wright |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| J. Johnson |
2 |
4 |
2.0 |
0 |
| A. Jones |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| Georgia Southern Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| S. Kenerson |
7 |
99 |
14.1 |
0 |
| K. Hood |
6 |
88 |
14.7 |
1 |
| J. Singleton |
5 |
60 |
12.0 |
1 |
| D. Burgess Jr. |
4 |
33 |
8.3 |
1 |
| J. Mcafee |
2 |
32 |
16.0 |
0 |
| B. Johnson |
1 |
20 |
20.0 |
0 |
| A. Jones |
1 |
14 |
14.0 |
0 |
| D. Lewis |
1 |
9 |
9.0 |
0 |
| M. Sanders Jr. |
1 |
8 |
8.0 |
0 |
| O. Arnold |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
1 |
| Morgan State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| J. Toles |
1 |
50 |
| Georgia Southern Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| I. Walker |
1 |
16 |
| J. Denton |
1 |
3 |
| T. Bride |
1 |
0 |
| Morgan State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| J. Amadi |
7 |
260 |
37.1 |
| B. Leary |
1 |
34 |
34.0 |
| Georgia Southern Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| A. Beck II |
4 |
171 |
42.8 |
| W. Bradberry |
1 |
30 |
30.0 |
| Morgan State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Hamler |
2 |
5 |
2.5 |
| Georgia Southern Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| K. Hood |
2 |
29 |
14.5 |
| A. Jones |
2 |
10 |
5.0 |
| Morgan State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Hamler |
4 |
61 |
15.3 |
| A. Graham |
2 |
42 |
21.0 |
| A. Crawley |
1 |
19 |
19.0 |
| Georgia Southern Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Lewis |
1 |
12 |
12.0 |
| Morgan State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Georgia Southern Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
