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Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Eagles’ kicking games have been special

STATESBORO — Georgia Southern has had its ups and downs this season, the most recent down being a 52-16 loss at Appalachian State.

The Eagles’ offense has shown flashes of potential, and the defense had been playing well until allowing 712 yards to Appalachian State, the most ever allowed by a Georgia Southern defense.

One constant, however, for head coach Chris Hatcher’s team has been the kicking game. In punter Charlie Edwards and place-kicker Adrian Mora, the Eagles have a duo worthy of all-conference consideration.

While the Eagles’ loss to the Mountaineers effectively ended their playoff hopes, Edwards and Mora had another good day.

Edwards got off a career-high 68-yard punt against the Mountaineers while Mora chipped in with a field goal and an extra point. It was Edwards’ fourth punt exceeding 60 yards this season.

“Nobody ever mentions Carter Jones,” Hatcher said. “He’s an excellent snapper, and Mora and Edwards are doing a great job. Nobody knows those who those guys are unless they mess up. They have a lot of confidence in themselves.”

Mora has now made eight straight field goals, four off the school record of 12 set by Tim Foley in 1985. Mora also has 13 field goals this season, four shy of the school mark of 17 set by Foley in 1987 and equaled by Jesse Hartley in 2007.

Edwards leads the Southern Conference with a 38.5-yard net average while averaging 40 yards per punt.

“I had a 73-yard punt in high school, but it had a generous roll,” Edwards said. “Punting is not that hard. It’s a straight drop of the ball and a straight leg swing. The drop is the key. It sounds simple, but it can make or break you.

“Mora is fantastic. He’s automatic, and so is Carter. He puts the ball right where I want it whether I’m holding or punting.”

After a week off, the Eagles (4-4, 3-2 Southern Conference) return to action today in Birmingham, Ala., when they visit Samford.

It will be Georgia Southern’s final road game of the season as it plays Furman and The Citadel at home in its final two games of the year.

While the Eagles will need to get their offensive and defensive units back on track, the Edwards-Urban duo could have a big impact on the outcome of those three final games.

Their value — along with Jones’ value — as best illustrated in the Eagles’ 34-20 win over Chattanooga two weeks ago.

All three are sophomores. Mora is from Dalton, Edwards played at Tift County and Jones is a Colquitt County product.

Against the Mocs, Mora kicked three field goals and three extra points and those points, along with his four at Appalachian State, give him 113 for his career. He has made all 47 of his extra point attempts and is 23-of-27 on field goal attempts, including 13-of-15 this year.

It was Edwards, however, who wowed the wet and cold crowd with back-to-back punts of 61 and 62 yards in the second half to gain field position for the Eagles. The second kick was especially impressive because it was into the teeth of a howling wind.

“It’s like hitting a home run in baseball,” Edwards. “You know when you hit it, it’s gone. That was the way those kicks were, especially the second one. That was pretty special because it was into the wind which was blowing pretty hard. Everything came together on that one.”