Despite three rushing touchdowns by William Banks, the Georgia Southern Eagles trail the Appalachian State Mountaineers 24-21 at halftime.
The Mountaineers got on the board first with a 28-yard field goal by Sam Martin to cap off a nine-play, 65-yard drive. Georgia Southern responded with consecutive touchdown runs by Banks to close out the first quarter with a 14-3 lead. The first score, a 4-yard run, came after a 12-play, 58-yard drive.
Appalachian State wasted little time cutting the deficit, scoring on a 1-yard run by Steven Miller early in the second quarter.
The Eagles lost a chance to extend their lead to seven points when Alex Hanks missed a 26-yard field goal. However, Banks supplied his third rushing score of the day, a long 36-yarder, to put Georgia Southern up 21-10.
In a little more than a minute later, the Mountaineers received a quick-strike touchdown pass from quarterback Jamal Jackson to Sean Price for 56 yards. Jackson then connected with Malachi Jones for a 9-yard touchdown at the end of the half to give Appalachian State the 24-21 lead.
The Eagles hold a sizable edge in the ground game with 243 rushing yards, compared to the Mountaineers' 46.