April 17, 2012 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    What a weekend.
    Between Relay for Life, Blue/White Weekend and ArtsFest at Georgia Southern, the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmer’s Market and the simple fact that it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend to do anything outdoors, there was no shortage of things to do in Statesboro.
    Let’s start with football. Georgia Southern wrapped up its spring with the annual Blue/White game at Paulson Stadium Saturday afternoon. The day kicked off at 11 a.m. at the Little Eagles Football Camp, but the tailgate lot was busy long before that as Eagle fans were getting their fix of tailgating at Paulson during the offseason. And just before the game, the 2011 football seniors were presented with their Southern Conference championship rings.
    The game began at 1 p.m., and there were both bright spots and areas that still need some work — but that’s why we have spring practice.
    Offensively, Jerick McKinnon probably had the best day of all quarterbacks. He led the Blue team with 83 yards rushing and a touchdown. He also had a 75-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Johnson.
    B-back Seon Jones led the White offense with 95 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Ezayi Youyoute had a pretty solid day himself, as he ran for 63 yards and passed for 41 more as he started at quarterback for the White team.
    Everyone knows the defensive front should be solid. Brent Russell had nine tackles, including two for loss, and forced one fumble. Dion DuBose is back from a 2010 knee injury and looked good, leading the White team with eight tackles and one sack.
    So, the quarterback battle goes undecided into the summer. Personally, I don’t like quarterback controversies; I prefer to have one guy who is the definitive quarterback and leader of the offense. A clear-cut starter still may emerge before the season, but if one doesn’t and both play quarterback, I won’t question it.
    I’m not the coach and am fully aware that the coaching staff is far better at making these decisions than I am. I will let them do their jobs, and I’ll just enjoy watching these two guys do their thing on the field — because it sure will be fun to watch them both light up opposing defenses for a couple years.
    Overall, you expect this team to have work to do as they attempt to replace guys who have graduated. But a scrimmage game like this makes it hard to know if the offense just isn’t clicking or if the defense is just really good. By the way, Blue won 16-6.
    Eagle baseball had a huge weekend as they hosted Appalachian State, the top team in the SoCon. The Mountaineers won Friday’s game 5-1, but Southern bounced back and won Saturday and Sunday to win the series.
    This was a huge series win for the Eagles as they try to climb toward the top of the standings. Not only did they gain ground on a team ahead of them, but they also improved to 10-8 in conference play, which is good for a fifth-place tie with Samford. App also fell from first to third place.
    Next, the Eagles will travel to Florida for a Tuesday night game against the Gators before hitting the road to Indiana for a weekend series against the Hoosiers.
    Georgia Southern softball continues to roll. The Eagles swept the College of Charleston over the weekend to improve to 14-1 in conference play. The Eagles are 7-2 in their last nine games and have won 15 of their last 19. Next up is a Wednesday doubleheader against North Florida before traveling to fifth-place Appalachian State this weekend.
    Baseball and softball seasons are hitting the home stretch, and both Eagle teams are hot right now. Let’s keep that momentum going into tournament time.

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