1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

College football game

This article is about the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game. For the Division I-A (now FBS) champions, see 1989 Miami Hurricanes football team.

College football game

1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship

I-AA National Championship Game
| Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks | Georgia Southern Eagles

|

(12–1–1) | (14–0)
Southland | Independent
34 | 37
Head coach:
Lynn Graves | Head coach:
Erk Russell
| NCAA| Seed

|

3| 3
| NCAA| Seed

|

1| 1
|  | 1| 2| 3| 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Stephen F. Austin | 7| 10| 10| 7 | 34
Georgia Southern | 14| 6| 0| 17 | 37
Date| December 16, 1989
Season| 1989
Stadium| Paulson Stadium
Location| Statesboro, Georgia
Referee| Wally Righton[1]
Attendance| 25,725[1]
United States TV coverage
Network| ESPN
Announcers| Barry Tompkins (play-by-play), Stan White (color)[2]
|  NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship

< 1988 | 1990 >

The 1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. The game was played on December 16, 1989, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 37–34.[3]

## Teams[edit]

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1989 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[4] The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.[5]

### Georgia Southern Eagles[edit]

Main article: 1989 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

Georgia Southern finished their regular season with an 11–0 record.[6] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded first in the tournament, the Eagles defeated Villanova, Middle Tennessee State, and Montana to reach the final. This was the fourth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having two prior wins (1985 and 1986) and one prior loss (1988).

### Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks[edit]

See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football

Stephen F. Austin finished their regular season with a 9–1–1 record (5–0–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game against Boise State.[8] Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Lumberjacks defeated Grambling State, Southwest Missouri State, and second-seed Furman to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Stephen F. Austin in a Division I-AA championship game.

## Game summary[edit]

### Scoring summary[edit]

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

|
|
|
|
|

Plays | Yards  | TOP | SFA  | GSC
1  | 10:41  | 6  | 66  | 2:42  | GSC  | Raymond Gross 34-yard touchdown run, Mike Dowis kick good  | 0  | 7
1  | 7:58  | 6  | 45  | 2:20  | GSC  | Gross fumble into end zone recovered by Terrance Sorrell for a touchdown, Dowis kick good  | 0  | 14
1  | 0:19  | 6  | 20  | 2:51  | SFA  | Todd Hammel 1-yard touchdown run, Chuck Rawlinson kick good  | 7  | 14
2  | 8:50  | 8  | 83  | 2:56  | SFA  | Larry Centers 12-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good  | 14  | 14
2  | 4:27  | 8  | 52  | 4:23  | GSC  | 30-yard field goal by Dowis  | 14  | 17
2  | 0:21  | 6  | 7  | 2:38  | GSC  | 37-yard field goal by Dowis  | 14  | 20
2  | 0:00  | 1  | 29  | 0:21  | SFA  | 53-yard field goal by Rawlinson  | 17  | 20
3  | 11:19  | 5  | 11  | 2:06  | SFA  | 53-yard field goal by Rawlinson  | 20  | 20
3  | 5:27  | 11  | 79  | 4:34  | SFA  | Joe Bradford 7-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good  | 27  | 20
4  | 14:57  | 16  | 86  | 5:30  | GSC  | Joe Ross 2-yard touchdown run, Dowis kick good  | 27  | 27
4  | 12:32  | 5  | 67  | 2:25  | SFA  | Centers 46-yard touchdown reception from Hammel, Rawlinson kick good  | 34  | 27
4  | 5:58  | 6  | 51  | 1::32  | GSC  | Ernest Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, Dowis kick good  | 34  | 34
4  | 1:41  | 9  | 27  | 3:17  | GSC  | 20-yard field goal by Dowis  | 34  | 37
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 34  | 37

[1]

### Game statistics[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Lumberjacks  | 7  | 10  | 10  | 7 | 34
Eagles | 14  | 6  | 0  | 17 | 37
Statistics  | SFA  | GSC

|
|

First downs | 18 | 21
Plays–yards | 73–377 | 81–387
Rushes–yards | 32–74 | 66–274
Passing yards | 303 | 113
Passing: comp–att–int | 15–41–5 | 7–15–0
Time of possession | 26:50 | 33:10
Team | Category | Player | Statistics

|
|
|

Stephen F. Austin  | Passing | Todd Hammel | 15–40, 303 yds, 3 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Larry Centers | 22 car, 63 yds
Receiving | Joe Bradford | 4 rec, 102 yds, 1 TD
Georgia Southern  | Passing | Raymond Gross | 7–15, 113 yds
Rushing | Joe Ross | 31 car, 152 yds, 1 TD
Receiving | Karl Miller | 2 rec, 53 yds

[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 16, 1989. Retrieved April 21, 2019 - via Amazon Web Services.
2. ^ Inman, John (December 15, 1989). "I-AA championship notebook". Longview News-Journal. Longview, Texas. p. 5-B. Retrieved April 21, 2019 - via newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Georgia Southern Gets Its Kicks for I-AA Title". Los Angeles Times. AP. December 17, 1989. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
4. ^ Smith III, Willie T. (November 20, 1989). "Primed for the playoffs". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1D. Retrieved April 21, 2019 - via newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Georgia Southern to host NCAA title". Rocky Mount Telegram. Rocky Mount, North Carolina. AP. February 24, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved April 21, 2019 - via newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Georgia Southern Eagles 1989 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.[permanent dead link]
7. ^ a b "NCAA Division I-AA final poll". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. November 20, 1989. p. 1A. Retrieved April 21, 2019 - via newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 1989 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved April 21, 2019.[permanent dead link]

## Further reading[edit]

* "National Championship Rewind: 1989". gseagles.com. August 7, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2019.

## External links[edit]

* 1989 I-AA National Championship - Stephen F. Austin vs Georgia Southern via YouTube

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