Matt LaRoche led an overwhelming rushing attack with 154 yards on just nine carries to power Georgia Southern to a convincing 26-18 win over Maine on Saturday night in Statesboro, Georgia.
LaRoche was one of the three rushers with more than 100 yards – Logan Wright added 114 on 15 carries, and backup quarterback Justin Tomlin filled in to add 132 yards on 11 carries. Overall the Eagles, a Football Bowl Subdivision team, rushed for 395 yards.
The Black Bears (1-1) are now 3-18 all time against FBS schools. They will play another FBS team, Liberty, on Oct. 19.
Maine’s offense was shut down, scoring just three points through three quarters. The Black Bears, who were 4 of 16 on third-down attempts, were down 23-3 early in the fourth quarter when LaRoche scored on an 11-yard run.
Maine went ahead 3-0 in the first quarter on a Kenny Doak 26-yard field goal, and scored with 11:47 left in the game when receiver Earnest Edwards threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Devin Young. Chris Ferguson’s 46-yard TD pass to Jaquan Blair and a 2-point conversion closed the scoring.
Ferguson completed 23 of 47 passes for 286 yards with the touchdown pass and one interception. Emmaunel Reed was the only Maine running back to get any traction, rushing for 53 yards on 14 carries. As a team, Maine had 52 yards rushing (Ferguson had minus-4 yards on four carries).
Next Saturday, the Black Bears, ranked No. 6 in the Football Championship Subdivision polls, face No. 9 Towson in a Colonial Athletic Association showdown at Orono.
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