Jamie Escalante, the real-life teacher portrayed in the movie "Stand and Deliver" once said, “Life is not about how many times you fall down. It's about how many times you get back up.” So far this season, the Georgia Southern football team has proven they can get back up after falling down.
The one thing the Georgia Southern football team has been consistent about this year is after being knocked down, they have been able to climb up off the mat and put up a fight the next week. Last Saturday, they showed it for the third time this year, rebounding from their loss to Troy to beat Coastal Carolina 26-6.
“I thought we did a great job responding once again,” said Eagle coach Clay Helton. “We got a necessary win in order to keep us in contention in the East. I thought our four takeaways on defense were the key to the game. We made plays on offense and defense on third down, and we really finished the game strong.”
Helton admits in hindsight the team and coaches were a little stiff two weeks ago against Troy and said he and the coaches implemented a new strategy last week at Coastal.
“You may laugh at this, but we said ‘f’ it,” Helton said. “For us that means play fast, play free, have fun and play for each other. I felt the kids walked in there with great energy and a chip on their shoulder and they had fun. You saw it in the game whether it was Marcus Sanders catching a touchdown, or the fourth pick of the game with the kids rolling around in the sand. They played like teenagers again and found a way to be themselves.”
The Eagles haven’t been able to string a pair of wins together since October 19. Any chance of a Sun Belt title would mean bucking that trend this Saturday as the Eagles host their rivals from Boone, N.C. as the 5-5 (3-4) Appalachian State Mountaineers pay a visit to Paulson Stadium.
The Mountaineers have had an inconsistent season this year, but some of that can be attributed to the destruction in the Boone area caused by Hurricane Helene. Coach Helton has sympathy for what they have had to deal with this year.
“I can’t even imagine what that community and those families have gone through,” Helton said. “This is a Shawn Clark football team and his teams are always tough and physical. Go watch two of their last three games and you can see what this team has. When they have played clean football, they can beat anybody in the conference. Last week they had no turnovers and zero penalty yards and beat one of the better teams in our conference with a 34-20 win over JMU."
While Helton may have some sympathy for the Mountaineers, he also knows they are a dangerous team who are fighting to be bowl eligible. Led by the Sun Belt’s leading passer Joey Aguilar, the Mountaineers are capable of scoring with anyone. A similar scenario took place back in 2022 when the Eagles beat App. St. in the regular season finale to become bowl eligible themselves.
“Each year it seems like this game is so huge and monumental,” Helton said. “It can be who wins the east or who gets bowl eligible, and here it comes again. We have a must-win game if we are to stay in contention and they are fighting like heck to get their sixth win and be bowl eligible. It not only means something for the season but it is of course a rivalry game too.”
Saturday will also mark the final regular season home game for the Eagles' 30 seniors. Helton admits this is a special bunch of guys who he hopes still have a chance at playing one more time at Paulson if the Eagles are fortunate enough to host the Sun Belt Championship game.
“Any time you come into a program and ask kids to trust you and they do it, it is special,” Helton said. “They are the reason we are here in this position. I wish I could say it’s the coaching, but it is the players. They are men of character who have represented this University on and off the field. It will be hard hugging their necks because these guys came in with us. I hope I still get two more games with them after this one though.”
The Eagles and Mountaineers are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start Saturday night at Paulson Stadium in a game that can be seen on ESPN+.
