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The NCAA News -- January 4, 1999

Record offensive outburst gives Massachusetts I-AA football title

Teams that take advantage of their opponents' mistakes often are successful. Case in point: Massachusetts racked up 31 points off of seven Georgia Southern turnovers to cap a remarkable one-season turnaround with a 55-43 victory in the Division I-AA Football Championship game December 19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Massachusetts offensive explosion was a Division I-AA championship-game record and enabled the Minutemen to finish their title season with a 12-3 mark. In 1997, Massachusetts managed just two wins in 11 games.

A 21-point first quarter and quick responses to a pair of Georgia Southern rallies keyed Massachusetts to its first championship. The Minutemen, ranked 11th in the 16-team playoff field, needed just a little more than two minutes of the first quarter to take the lead over the top-ranked Eagles.

Marcel Shipp scored on a 25-yard run at the 12:56 mark of the opening period to cap a seven-play, 67-yard drive. Midway through the first quarter, linebacker Kole Ayi extended Massachusetts' advantage to 14-0 with a nine-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Ayi recovered three of Georgia Southern's championship-game-record six lost fumbles.

The Eagles, who won four of their five previous appearances in championship contests, bounced back with a 40-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Greg Hill only 64
seconds after Ayi's score. But another fumble on their next possession was turned into Massachusetts points when Jamie Holston hit Adrian Zullo with a seven-yard option pass.

Jason Cherry nailed a 22-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, shortly after Georgia Southern lost a fumble, to up the Minutemen lead to 24-7. The Eagles gathered themselves and pulled to within 24-14 when Hill found Corey Joyner from six yards out.

Massachusetts answered with touchdown runs of one yard by quarterback Todd Bankhead and four yards by Shipp to push its margin to 38-14. Georgia Southern fought back again, scoring the next 19 points. Hill's second touchdown, a two-yard run with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter, pulled the Eagles within 38-33.

In less than four minutes, though, the Minutemen regained control. Kevin Quinlan and Shipp each found the end zone on two-yard runs, and Massachusetts led, 52-33, with 11:51 remaining.

Shipp set championship-game records with 244 yards rushing on 35 attempts. Hill scampered for 228 yards and Adrian Peterson 161, with both Eagles scoring two touchdowns, as Georgia Southern rolled up 457 rushing yards and 595 yards of total offense in defeat.

Massachusetts was playing in the championship game for the first time since losing to Florida A&M, 35-28, in the inaugural Division I-AA title contest in 1978. The 98 combined points by the two teams set a record for the most in a Division I-AA championship game, outdistancing the 86-point effort when Georgia Southern rallied past Furman, 44-42, in 1985.

Georgia Southern's loss was its first of the season after 14 straight wins.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Massachusetts -- 21 -- 17 -- 0 -- -- 17 -- 55

Ga. Southern -- 7 -- 14 -- 12 -- -- 10 -- 43

First Quarter

Massachusetts -- Marcel Shipp 25 run (Jason Cherry kick) (12:56)

Massachusetts -- Kole Ayi 9 fumble return (Cherry kick) (8:29)

Ga. Southern -- Greg Hill 40 run (Chris Chambers kick) (7:25)

Massachusetts -- Adrian Zullo 7 pass from Jamie Holston (Cherry kick) (5:04)

Second Quarter

Massachusetts -- Cherry 22 field goal (14:56)

Ga. Southern -- Corey Joyner 6 pass from Hill (Chambers kick) (10:54)

Massachusetts -- Todd Bankhead 1 run (Cherry kick) (7:17)

Massachusetts -- Shipp 4 run (Cherry kick) (4:09)

Ga. Southern -- Adrian Peterson 1 run (Chambers kick) (2:01)

Third Quarter

Ga. Southern -- Peterson 5 run (kick failed) (8:54)

Ga. Southern -- Hill 2 run (run failed) (0:41)

Fourth Quarter

Massachusetts -- Kevin Quinlan 2 run (Cherry kick) (13:42)

Massachusetts -- Shipp 2 run (Cherry kick) (11:51)

Ga. Southern -- Chambers 38 field goal (8:39)

Massachusetts -- Cherry 25 field goal (2:21)

Ga. Southern -- J. R. Revere 29 run (Chambers kick), 1:04

-- Massachusetts -- Ga. Southern

First Downs -- 23 -- 26

Rushing Yardage -- 303 -- 457

Passing Yardage -- 159 -- 138

Return Yardage -- 12 -- 38

Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) -- 18-26-0 -- 10-21-1

Punts (No.-Avg.) -- 4-51.0 -- 1-35.0

Fumbles (No.-Lost) -- 3-2 -- 6-6

Penalties (No.-Yards) -- 6-45 -- 5-51

Attendance: 17,501