CSN So South: Exceptional Performances Highlight Last Weekend of September

A lot of defenders spent last Saturday chasing a few running backs from the Southern and Big South conferences. Wofford’s Eric Breitenstein, Furman’s Jerodis Williams, Stony Brook’s Miguel Maysonet, and Appalachian State’s Steven Miller produced awesome numbers Sept. 29 as their teams picked up victories.

By Myron Hosea
CSN So South Columnist
College Sporting News

Breitenstein gashed Elon for 321 yards and three touchdowns on 27 caries in Wofford’s 49-24 win at Elon. He’s averaging about 233 yards a game, and that includes playing only one quarter of Wofford’s second game.

Williams sparked Furman’s 45-24 home victory over Western Carolina by running 18 times for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Oh yeah, he also returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.

Maysonet carried the football 32 times for 220 and two touchdowns to pace Stony Brook in its 23-3 upset win at Army. On a side note, Maysonet leads the Big South Conference in rushing yards by a margin of 519 yards over the player in second.

Miller helped Appalachian State whip Coastal Carolina 55-14 by running for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

In other games last Saturday, Chattanooga chilled The Citadel’s hot conference start with a 28-10 win over the Bulldogs. Georgia Southern did much the same to Samford with a 35-16 decision. Presbyterian College knocked off Davidson 28-13.

This Week – Big South Games Begin

You might call Oct. 6 a second start for at least the majority of the Big South Conference. Stony Brook (4-1) has separated itself from the pack with its September play. The remaining teams, none of whom have winning records at this point, are hoping they can get something going in league play.

The Seawolves open their conference slate at home against Charleston Southern (1-3), which had an extra week to prepare after getting their first win in almost two years. Stony Brook has won three of the four games in this series.

PC (2-3) and VMI (1-3) are both anxious to make a move up the Big South ladder. Such progress begins this weekend for one of them. The Keydets lead the series 3-2.

The most intriguing game of the weekend, to me, is Gardner-Webb at Liberty. Whoever wins this game will notch its first win of the season as both squads enter the game 0-4. Conference play surely represents a second chance for these teams. Liberty has a narrow 9-8-1 advantage in the series, and the Bulldogs have not beaten the Flames since 2006.

All games involving SoCon teams this weekend will be league games.

Early on, The Citadel (3-2, 2-1) and Samford (4-1, 1-1) have been the upstarts in the conference. Their game in Birmingham Saturday is critical to a continued climb up the SoCon charts. The Citadel has a 3-2 narrow advantage in this Bulldog battle.

Furman and Wofford, just up the road from each other, have played a lot – 85 times to be exact. The 2012 edition of the rivalry will be played in Spartanburg. The Terriers can build a little advantage at the top of the league with a win while the Paladins are seeking to continue their in-season turnaround. Furman leads the series 51-27-7.

Elon’s first two conference games? Georgia Southern and Wofford. Now they travel to Boone to play Appalachian State (3-2, 1-1). The Phoenix (2-3, 0-2) trail in this series, 9-30-1.

Western Carolina (1-4, 0-3) has had trouble stopping the run in its last two games. That’s not a good thing with Georgia Southern (3-1, 2-1) coming to Cullowhee. The Eagles have owned the series with the Catamounts, leading 20-2.

Coastal Carolina (2-3) and Chattanooga (2-3, 1-1) have an open date this weekend.