AC repair inStatesboro, GA

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - The next head coach of the Georgia Southern football program will be making his way across the country.

Former University of Southern California head coach Clay Helton will be the next head coach of the Eagles.

The 49-year-old Helton led USC to a Rose Bowl title following the 2016 season and won the Pac-12 championship in 2017. He went 46-24 (.657) as the head coach of the Trojans.

“I am very humbled to be named the head football coach at Georgia Southern University,” Helton said in a statement. “Thank you to President Marrero, Athletic Director Jared Benko, the search committee and the entire Georgia Southern family for this amazing opportunity. This football program represents a tradition of excellence spread over the past 40 years but has won six national championships and three bowl games in that short amount of time. The passion and love its alumni and fans have for the University are second to none. Georgia Southern has always prided itself on the highest levels of success, and I welcome those expectations. We will have a staff and a team representing the toughness, discipline and GATA mentality on which this program was founded. I cannot wait to get started to build a football program that is consistently winning championships and is the platinum standard of college football on a national scale.”

Helton will be around the program, observing for the remainder of this season, before fully taking over after the 2021 campaign concludes. Helton named the guy in the Boro about six weeks after being let go as the head coach at USC.

He’s no stranger to demanding fanbases who expect victories and titles, and Helton says that demand is a major part of what drew him to Statesboro.

“There’s high expectations in this game and I’ve always welcomed them. Always. Just like I welcome this great expectation and the standard of excellence that this great university is. championships are demanded at this place. it’s what drives this place. and I welcome those expectations,” Helton said.

For more information on Helton, please click here.

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A movie that was filmed in the Bulloch County area over 45 years ago was lost and forgotten, but has recently been rediscovered. The film was restored and remastered for re-release.

In 1974, one romantic drama graced theaters across the nation to become an instant cult classic. Filmed in and around Statesboro, Georgia and released by Columbia Pictures, Buster and Billie would become a hot topic in cinematic circles everywhere for its controversial content and violent ending. Following suit with the tragedy of the story, the film itself would become lost and presumed destroyed when the original masters went missing for 45 years. After decades of rumors, speculation, and mystery; the original masters were located, and Buster and Billie has been restored and remastered by Michigan-based Zephina Media for re-release on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Featuring young actors Jan-Michael Vincent (Buster), Joan Goodfellow (Billie), Pamela Sue Martin (Margie), Clifton James (Jake), and Robert Englund (Whitey); Buster and Billie’s steamy storyline and tragic ending provided viewers with a unique cinematic experience that was revolutionary for its time. Set in a small town in Georgia in the late 1940s, Buster and Billie follows the classic theme of “boy meets girl”, but with an unprecedented twist. Buster Lane, the popular guy in school is engaged to be married to his high-school sweetheart Margie Hooks. Billie-Jo Truluck is the underprivileged girl in school who catches his eye.

Frustrated at his fiancé, Buster begins to visit Billie, and what started as a physical relationship blossomed into a steamy romance. Billie’s new-found exclusivity enrages Buster’s friends. What happened next shocked viewers and critics alike.

Unphased by the critics, fans of Buster and Billie began to show unwavering support once the film seemed to disappear from history. Bootleg versions began to arise from time to time, but in the 45 years it was missing nothing ever came close to the original film quality. Often the subject of “whatever happened to…” discussions among movie fans, the disappearance of the film became a pop culture mystery, until now.

In late 2019, Zephina Media project manager Seth Doherty set out to solve the mystery of Buster And Billie. After nearly a year of searching without success, Doherty contacted a connection at Sony Pictures who helped locate the original Buster and Billie elements, long forgotten, in Sony’s underground vaults. Eager to restore the picture to its glory, Zephina began a complete restoration using digital scanning to bring the cult classic back to life.

“It’s been quite a treasure hunt, with a lot of twists and turns,” said Doherty. “I’m a bit of a super-fan of the film and I think other fans of Buster And Billie will be pleased with the results.”

The restoration process involves taking a high resolution digital picture of each frame of the original film negative and applying software and other techniques to clean and restore color.

“Sony took very good care of the film reels,” said Doherty. “We held our breath because it’s been nearly 50 years since the reels were put through a projector, or in this case, a scanner. But at the end of the day, the film was in great shape and easy to work with.”

To learn more about Buster and Billie or to grab a copy on Blu-Ray or DVD, please visit: https://www.busterandbillie.com

Source: Zephina Media

Jumping out to a 2-0 record is nothing new for the Georgia Southern men's basketball team. They've done it the last four seasons, but this year they have managed to do it against a couple of teams from well known conferences. The Eagles opened the season with an impressive 82-71 win over Ball State from the MAC and then Saturday they shut down AAC member South Florida with a 53-41 win limiting the Bulls to just 26 percent shooting from the field.

“If the score of a game is 13-11, I’d be ecstatic if we had the 13,” said Eagle coach Brian Burg. “If you want to win games in March you have to defend and we certainly did that down in South Florida. We held a high-major opponent to 26 percent and played really well as a group. I am very proud of our team.”

Burg has seen plenty of growth on the team in the last year, but where he feels the Eagles have taken the biggest strides is just playing as a team.

“Our team is becoming even more unselfish on both ends of the court,” said Burg. “They have bought into the identity of collectively getting stops on defense. They are executing the game plan and you can see the growth in maturity as well especially in the way they approach practice. We understand that it is a long season and we are trying to get better every day.

One of the biggest strengths of this year’s team is also their depth. Through the first two games the Eagles played 10 players in both games and had seven different players hit double digits in scoring.

“We have the ability to play 11 or 12 guys any given night,” said Burg. “These guys understand that they have to be ready whenever their name is called. We have seen different guys step up even though it’s only two games into the season when opportunities present themselves, we are seeing the players answer the call.”

With so many different players getting playing time it’s important to have a few Burg can count on for leadership and he feels there are multiple players that give him that on the court.

“The heart and soul of our team is Kamari Brown,” said Burg. “He is a true representative of what we want in a Georgia Southern player. We have also seen other guys step into leadership positions including Elijah McCadden by his actions as he has made a big jump in his game. Kaden Archie has stepped up in leadership by his actions and the maturity he has shown, and Tre Cobbs is a sixth-year player with a ton of experience and has fit right in.”

The Eagles opened the season last week before a crowd of over 2,600 against Ball State and Burg is hoping for another big Hanner Fieldhouse crowd as the Eagles welcome Bob Jones University Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start.

“Any time we have a chance to play at Hanner Fieldhouse out staff and players are excited,” said Burg. We have the best fans in the Sun Belt Conference in my opinion. We can’t thank them enough for showing up against Ball State and we’d love for them to come out Tuesday against Bob Jones.”

“Whether you are playing the first game of the season or the national championship you have to respect your opponent,” said Burg. “This team scored 79 points against Wofford so we know who we are facing. We have a gameplan and a scouting report and we are planning on executing that Tuesday night,”

Rising in the one poll that matters could be setting BYU up for an at-large spot in a New Year’s Six Bowl. But only if the No. 14 Cougars take care of business the rest of the way.

At 8-2, the Cougars make a rare trek on Saturday to Statesboro, Ga., where they will face Georgia Southern for the first time.

BYU has beaten five Power 5 opponents this season to build the resume of a NY6 bowl candidate if they finish in the Top 10.

BYU can only go one step at a time. This week, that means not tripping up against the Eagles (3-7) who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 38-30 victory over Texas State.

The Cougars are coming off a bye week following a 59-14 victory over Idaho State in their home finale. BYU enters Saturday’s game carrying a three-game winning streak.

“The approach last week was to stay on top of everything,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “We didn’t take a complete week off. We didn’t take total rest, but we are rested.”

BYU is seemingly hitting its stride on offense at the right time.

The Cougars are averaging 647.0 yards and 62.5 points per game over their last two games. They are generated 8.1 yards per play during that stretch.

Related: Top 10 college football quarterbacks – CJ Stroud retakes top spot from Bryce Young through early action

Tyler Allgeier and Jaren Hall have been the catalysts behind that offensive surge. Hall has thrown for 1,995 yards and 16 touchdowns in eight games. Allgeier has rushed for 1,167 yards in 10 games and leads the nation with 17 rushing touchdowns.

Sitake credits mentally tough players enduring a two-game losing streak and finding ways to elevate their performance on both sides of the ball.

“Our players are always looking to get better,” Sitake said. “They can be hard on themselves. I try to help them focus on improvement rather being embarrassed about the loss. We want to improve and get better.”

Georgia Southern got back into the win column behind strong special teams play. The Eagles returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and then blocked a field goal to set up another touchdown – a 25-yard strike from Justin Tomlin to Beau Johnson that put Georgia Southern ahead for good at 31-24.

Tomlin threw for 108 yards and a touchdown in relief of Cam Ransom after Ransom injured his shoulder early in the second half. Ransom totaled 121 passing yards and one touchdown before going down with an AC sprain.

“I thought Cam came in and did exactly what we thought he would do,” Interim coach Kevin Whitley told the Statesboro Herald. “He had a lot of energy and threw the ball extremely well. When he went down, I was holding my breath because I could see on his face he was in pain. I thought Justin came in and did a great job.”

Georgia Southern is the fourth Sun Belt opponent BYU has played in the last two seasons. The Cougars went 2-1 against Sun Belt teams in 2020, beating Texas State and Troy at home and losing to Coastal Carolina on the road.

–Field Level Media

STATESBORO, Ga. -- — Jaren Hall had 211 of his 312 yards passing in the first half, Jakob Robinson picked off two passes in the second half and No. 14 BYU beat Georgia Southern 34-17 on Saturday night.

Tyler Allgeier, the nation’s seventh-leading rusher, finished with 136 yards on 25 carries to help the Cougars (9-2) win their fourth straight game.

Before a near capacity crowd at 25,000-seat Paulson Stadium, Georgia Southern (3-8) fell short in its attempt to beat the highest-ranked team to visit Statesboro. The Eagles had played eight previous games against ranked opponents, beating Appalachian State in 2018 and 2019.

In the first meeting between the two schools, BYU coach Kalani Sitake said Georgia Southern fans were throwing food at his team in the first half.

“We were getting hit by burritos on the sideline," Sitake said. “It was pretty hostile, so I’m really proud of how the guys bounced back and made some adjustments. We talked about it at halftime. Playing our style of football, and I thought we did that in the second half."

Robinson picked off Amare Jones' pass with a diving catch late in the third and intercepted Connor Cigelske, taking his first snaps as Georgia Southern’s quarterback, early in the fourth. Robinson’s second pick was a sensational over-the-shoulder catch at the sideline, setting up Puka Nacua’s 29-yard reception in the left corner of the end zone and a 34-17 lead.

“I just saw that he ran a corner route," Robinson said. “We were in cover-2. I just jumped it. It was not (easy), but somehow I caught it."

Hall has passed for at least 300 yards in four of his last five games.

The Cougars went up 27-17 early in the third thanks to several missed tackles by the Eagles and a 1-yard run by Allgeier. That gave Allgeier 18 rushing touchdowns. He began the game tied for the national lead.

Jake Oldroyd kicked a pair of field goals midway through the second and in the closing seconds before halftime to make it 20-17 BYU at intermission.

The Eagles pulled within four early in the second. Logan Wright caught a 19-yard pass and a 10-yarder before running in from three yards out.

After BYU failed on a fourth-down try from the Georgia Southern 43, the Eagles went ahead 17-14 on Wright’s 11-yard run off right guard.

BYU took a 7-3 lead on its opening drive. Hall completed his first pass of the game, covering 14 yards, and the Cougars converted a fourth down before Lopini Katoa ran in from 5 yards out.

Nacua caught a 42-yard pass on a deep post route over the middle and Allgeier broke off a 14-yard run to spark BYU’s second drive, which ended with Nacua’s 5-yard touchdown catch and a 14-3 lead in the first seconds of the second quarter.

“When they came out of the locker room, I didn’t know if it was the Buffalo Bills or BYU," Georgia Southern interim coach Kevin Whitley said. “My god, these guys are big. Very big, very physical. They lived up to everything I thought they’d be. They’re a national program. So I knew a lot about the staff, those guys, before this week.

“Very talented team, very hard-nosed team. They give us a lot of lessons that we’ll take forward, not only at the end of this year but moving into next year.”

The Cougars lost linebacker Max Tooley, their leading tackler at the time with four solo stops, to an ejection for targeting midway through the second. Nacua went down with an injury a few snaps later but he returned in the third. Nacua’s temporary loss was further exacerbated by the injury last week to standout receiver Neal Pau’u, who will miss next week’s game, too.

“I was a little banged up but good enough to go," Nacua said. “I never want to miss any games so I wanted to get back out there for my boys. I just got hit kind of in an awkward area."

THE TAKEAWAY

BYU: The Cougars are bowl eligible for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons and fifth in six seasons under Sitake. BYU, an independent, played a Sun Belt Conference team for the fourth time. Last season the Cougars beat Troy and Texas State but lost to Coastal Carolina.

Georgia Southern: Starting quarterback Justin Tomlin did not play because of a concussion sustained in last week’s win at Texas State. The second-string QB, Cam Ransom, was out with a shoulder injury. That left Cigelske and Jones taking turns under center early in the game before Cigelske took the bulk of the snaps.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The victory likely won’t mean a rise in the Top 25. BYU was a 19 ½-point favorite and was expected to manhandle the Eagles.

SCHEDULING

The schools agreed to a home-and-home format in 2017. Georgia Southern is slated to visit to Provo in 2024, but that game could be in limbo with BYU headed to the Big 12 in 2023.

UP NEXT

BYU: At Southern California on Saturday as the Cougars try to improve to 5-0 against the Pac-12.

Georgia Southern: At Appalachian State on Saturday.

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