Sometimes, you’ve just got to throw in the towel and concede defeat. When you’re wrong, you’re wrong.
    I’ve got to admit it. I was sure, after falling to Samford at home, that the Georgia Southern Eagles had absolutely no shot at taking down Appalachian State, the offensive juggernaut that also happened to be ranked No. 1 in the nation entering Saturday’s game.
    I was positive that it would be impossible for the Statesboro Blue Devils to — not once, but twice in the same season — go to Brunswick and win.
    Especially with a region title on the line.
    And I also knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was no hope for Bulloch Academy to move up to GISA Class AAA football, join a 10-team region and make the playoffs in the first year.
    Thanks a lot, guys. You all sure made me feel stupid.
    Appalachian State entered the year at No. 3 in the Football Championship Subdivision, behind only Villanova and Montana, and has been at the top since the second week of the season.
    Georgia Southern cracked the polls and got as high as No. 13 in the country after its win over an obviously-overrated Elon squad earlier in the year, but lost three out of four after that, disappearing from the Top 25.
    The Eagles looked more like sitting ducks than fierce birds of prey when the No. 1 Mountaineers came to town.
    Not so fast my friend.
    Brent Russell, Derek Heyden and crew made life miserable for ASU quarterback DeAndre Presley all day long, the GSU defense pitched a shutout through the final three quarters and overtime, Jaybo Shaw fought and battled to get the offense up and down the field, and the Eagles shut me up in a hurry.
    Then there’s Statesboro, which already shocked Brunswick once earlier this season with a 21-12 win on the road. Heck, before last Friday, Brunswick’s only other loss was on the road at AAAAA powerhouse Valdosta, of all teams, and even that was a 64-62 arena-football-like shootout.
    So there were the Blue Devils, hitting the road to Brunswick again, looking to prove that the first time was no fluke.
    Well, just to put it into perspective, the Pirates average 31 points per game. They’ve now played Statesboro twice, and still haven’t scored that many against the Devils. A 21-14, overtime win on Friday (sound familiar?) and Statesboro left with the region championship and the No. 1 seed.
    And let’s not forget about Bulloch Academy.
    Or Pinewood Christian, for that matter.
    In the unlikeliest of scenarios, Bulloch was Pinewood’s biggest fan when the Patriots played Trinity Christian. The Gators seemed dead in the water two Fridays ago, but Pinewood did the unthinkable, beating Trinity 12-7 in their only win of the season to open the door for a BA playoff push.
    All the Gators had to do was beat — you guessed it — Pinewood.
    A 42-0 win later, and Bulloch Academy joined the rest of the Class AAA elite in the state playoffs.
    So for Georgia Southern, Statesboro and Bulloch Academy — congratulations. Not only for accomplishing the unthinkable, but also for not listening to little old me.

Poll confusion
    Just when things are going well, somebody always has to come out of the woodwork and spoil the all fun.
    Apparently, there are some angry folks around here who, according to our publisher, have called up the Herald to insist that Appalachian State wasn’t really the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday. It’s Oregon.
    Well, Oregon competes for the FBS Bowl championship, and Appalachian State competes for the FCS playoff championship.
    Different subdivision, different poll, folks.
    So unless you think Georgia Southern needs to take down those six national championship flags because somebody else in another division won some other championship during those years, there’s not much else to say.
    Anyway, I was asked to clear that up for all the Johnny Buzzkills out there. So there you go.

    Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.