Jags Cross Country Finish Well In Conference Championships
The South Alabama Men’s and Women’s cross country teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday in Kentucky.
Freshman Patrick Rohr received All-Conference honors and placed ninth individually in the 8k. Alex Shields and Ronny Wilson both earned top-30 finishes.
The men finished with 139 points while champion UALR totaled 58 points.
The Women was led by junior Salome Lecoq who also earned All-Conference honors with a fourth place finish in the 5k. Sophomores Shannen Weyer and Kristin Parry both finished in the top-25 individually.
The women had 139 totoal points while Georgia State placed first with 52 points.
Both teams finished in the top half of the conference despite injuries to a number of key athletes. Senior Tori Lawson, who was the Jags top runner and an All-Conference competitor last season has been missing. Sophomore Derek Westbrook has missed all season while Robert Mann has been dealing with injuries over the last few weeks.
But the Jags have a bright future as they return some very good distance runners in the future.
They will next compete in the NCAA South Regionals in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, November 10. The regional meet will be a 10k for the men and 6k for the women.
Jags Fall In Monroe 38-24
Receiver Jereme Jones looks in the pass from CJ Bennett in the first half of the 33-31 loss to Texas-San Antonio.
The South Alabama Jaguars fell 38-24 at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night. Jereme Jones caught two touchdowns in the game to give him a team-leading five touchdowns on the season.
Jones had a career high seven catches for 62 yards. His two touchdown catches in the game tied the school record set by Courtney Smith in 2009. Demetre Baker recorded his first 100-yard rushing game of the season with 115 yards on 14 carries for the Jags.
Ross Metheny was 21-of-41 for 211 yards with a career long 21 yard run as well. Bryant Lavender caught six pass for 33 yards while Gabe Loper had three catches for 48 yards. Baker’s 100-yard effort was the first for him since Henderson State last year.
ULM quarterback Kolton Browning completed 23-of-35 attempts for 250 yards. Brent Leonard had nine catches for 126 yards and four touchdown catches.
“We played pretty good football for three quarters, and we played tough. ULM is a very good football team,” said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones. “I’m proud of the way we played for three quarters, but they took the game under control a little bit in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback and receivers made some great plays. There were some things we could have done better, but I’m proud of where we are and what we accomplished today. We have to be honest with ourselves the negative things that happened, if we fix them, we’re probably in the game even more. But the positive side of it is we’re pretty close to a team that is really good in the conference, and is probably the top team in the league.”
“Overall, I’m proud of the team,” he concluded. “We just have to work on us. We’ll start fixing some things here and there, and we’re going to be there.”
Enrique Williams led the Jaguar defense with 11 tackles which was his third double-digit tacklet game in a row. Jake Johnson added nine tackles with two for a loss. Terrell Brigham had eight solo tackles, an interceptions and another pass break-up. Clifton Crews and B.J. Scott both had six tackles with two for losses.
South Alabama scored first late in the first quarter on a four play 72 yard drive that spanned only 47 seconds. After back-to-back dropped passes had the Jags facing third and 10 at its own 28 yard line when Demetre Baker broke free for a 61 yard run up the middle, the Jags longest play from scrimmage this season. Then Metheny found Jones in the end zone on the next play to take the 7-0 lead.
After ULM tied the game at 7, the Jags took the next possession and covered 86 yards in 10 plays to retake the lead. Facing third and 10 at the ULM 37, Jones would draw a pass interference penalty that would move the ball 15 yards with an automatic first down. Then, facing another third and 10, Metheny would find Loper in the end zone for the touchdown for the 14-7 lead.
ULM would tie the game again with under 2 minutes left until halftime. The Jags next possession would be a three-and-out. The Scott Garber punt would be blocked and ULM would have the ball at the Jaguar 37 yard line with 28 seconds left until halftime. After a 15 yard completion and a six yard run, the Jags would take a time out with 10 seconds left to prepare their defense. But Browning would still find Leonard in the end zone for a touchdown with six seconds left to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The Jags would put together a big 13 play, 93 yard drive to tie the game at 21 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Baker would keep the drive alive with a two yard run on fourth and one on the drive. Trey Fetner would cap it off with a two yard run.
ULM would pull away by scoring the next 17 points. The Jags would add a field goal in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 38-24.
The Jags return home to face Florida International with a 2:30pm kickoff scheduled at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. This weekend will be Hall of Fame weekend with former Jags Juan Pierre, P.J. Walters, Frantisek Babej and Cindy Summers all being inducted into the Jaguar Hall of Fame. They will be honored on the field during halftime.
Know Your Stadiums: Malone Stadium Monroe Louisiana
Aerial view of Malone Stadium in Monroe, Louisiana Home of the University of Louisiana at Monroe Warhawks.
The University of Louisiana at Monroe Warhawks football team plays at Malone Stadium on their campus.
The stadium was named for James L. Malone who won the most games in school history.
The stadium opened on September 16, 1978 with a capacity of 20,000. At the time they were known as Northeast Louisiana Indians and they defeated Arkansas State 21-13. It is located across the street from the main campus.
In 1983 seating on both sides were extended into each end zone and increased the capacity to 23,277. In 1991 the press box was enlarged and decreased the capacity to 22,077.
Then in 1993 they added 8,350 seats which increased capacity to 30,427 which is the current capacity. The record capacity is 31,175 which was set on September 21, 2012 when they hosted the Baylor Bears in the 2012 home opener.
The stadium uses a ProPlay monofiliment fiber “grass” with a shock and drain pad and envirofill clear coated sand infill. Installed in 2007, it looks more like natural grass but has measures in place to help prevent injuries. It can drain water at a rate of 10 inches per hour as well.
Supposedly the clear-coated sand that is used has benefits over it’s predecessory technology, which used ground-up black rubber, by not absorbing as much heat, it does not compact over time and it does not migrate during use or fly up during use to become an eye irritant during play.
View of the home stands at Malone Stadium with the press box from the field level. | Photo credit: Nicholas Fenner
Another aerial view of Malone Stadium from above and behind the press box with the away grandstands in view.
Cross Country Teams Compete For Conference Championships On Saturday
The South Alabama Men’s and Women’s cross country teams will be competing for the Sun Belt Conference Championships in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Saturday.
The Men’s team cracked the top 15 in the NCAA Division I South Region rankings after winning at the Choctaw Open in Mississippi two weeks ago.
Last season the Jaguar men finished sixth while the women finished third.
Good luck and GO JAGS!!
Jags Pick Up Big Offensive Line Committment This Week
The University of South Alabama added a new verbal commitment this week. David Griffin from Mesa Community College, a left tackle on the offensive line, measure up at 6’7″ and 315-pounds.
Griffin is from Tallahassee, Florida and is described as having quick feet and a strong pass blocker. A former teammate, Tyrell Pearson, is a starting corner back for the Jaguars. Griffin heard how much Pearson likes it in Mobile and Griffin likes the coaches so he gave his verbal commitment to the program.
Griffin also had an offer from Florida Atlantic. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Utah and South Florida all had interest in Griffin as well.
Griffin is set to graduate in December and will enroll at South Alabama in January. You can see his highlight film here.
The other verbal commits are:
- Tiquan Lang CB Lowndes GA. 5’8″ 168-lb 73 tackles, 3 int, 1 kick block, 5 KOR for 201yds and 1TD, 6PR for 113yds in 2011.
- Terrell Pinson FS Itawamba CC 6’3″ 200lb As a freshman he played WR and caught 10 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown.
- Xavier Johnson RB Chamberlain, FL. 5’9″ 170lb Rushed for 1,736 yards and 16 TDs in 2011.
- Caleb Hayman WR/TE Gainesville, FL. 6’1″ 193lb
- Dejon Funderburk WR Washington (Pensacola), FL. 6’0″ 175lb Caught 31 passes for 720 yards adn 7TD’s while rushing for 362 yards and 4TDs.
- Taylor Lamb QB Calhoun, GA. 6’1″ 190lb Had a 73% completion rate for 3,635 yards, 40TDs and 9Ints.
- Justin Jones RB Northeast Miss. JC 5’6″ 180lb Rushed for 920 yards and caught 27 passes as a freshman.
- Roman Buchanan S Daleville, AL. 6’2″ 195lb 72 solo tackles, 45 assists, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two recovered, two interceptions, four passes defended and a field goal blocked as a junior.
- Tevaris McCormick WR Biloxi, MS. 5’9″ 170lb 769 yards receiving, 213 yards rushing and 265 yards on returns with 16 total touchdowns.
- Jacob Chaffin DT Spain Park, AL. 6’3″ 260lb 38 solo tackles, 8 tackles for loss and three sacks as a junior.
- Devon Earl S Hoover HS, AL 5’10” 180lb 61 tackles, 5 INTs, 10 pass deflections and 3.5 tackles for loss as a Junior
- Noah Armstrong OT Lawrence Co. 6’8″ 300lb Offered by Arkansas State, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss.
- Willie Williams Jr DE Americus, GA. 6’2″ 255lbs Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and UCLA were also recruiting him.
- Brandon King 6’2″ 212lbs 118 tackles last season, 70 sol0, 6TFL, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. Received recruiting interest from a few FBS schools such as Northern Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers and Auburn among other schools.
- Jalen Wells, DE, 6’4″ 230lbs, Dublin GA. Wells is listed at different positions by scouting services, one has him projected as a TE while another at linebacker. He had interest from Florida, Georgia, NC State, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech.
- Caleb Alves WR/S Melbourne, FL 6’3″ 185-pounds. Chose USA over Bowling Green, Florida A&M, FIU, UMass and Memphis.
USA Softball Team Earns All-Academic Team Honors
The South Alabama Softball team earned All-Academic team award from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
They were ranked 37th, up 12 spots from last season, as the Jags earned a 3.32 GPA. Since the program began in 2007, South Alabama’s program has either been ranked in the top-50 or had a handful of individuals named to the All-Academic Scholar Athletes by the NFCA.
“I am extremely proud of our student-athletes and their effort in the classroom,” said Jags head coach Becky Clark. “I think it says a lot about the kind of young ladies we have in our program for them to have had the success they did on the field, but to also have had that same success in the classroom. They are truly student-athletes and they do a tremendous job representing our program and South Alabama.”
Jags Look To See Where They Stand Against Conference Leader
The Jags practiced for the final time in preparation for their trip to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday. The practice lasted over two hours in full pads and was spirited.
“We got better each day,” said head coach Joey Jones. “I thought the first day on Tuesday was pretty day, yesterday was much better and I thought today was even better. We finally got our legs back under and we’re not feeling as bumped and bruised as we were.”
Later in the day they had more position meetings ahead of their scheduled departure Friday morning for the trip to Monroe, Louisiana.
Coach Jones has mentioned a few times this week that this game will truly be measuring stick. It will be an opportunity for the team to compare where they are in year one of Sun Belt play against the top team in the Sun Belt.
“We’re going to find out Saturday where we are,” Jones said. “We’re playing a great team. We’ll find out where we are as far as the top of the conference because there’s no doubt that they’re the top team in the league. Our kids are kind of eager to go see how we match up.”
ULM is 5-2 overall, 3-0 in the Sun Belt, with their only two losses against Auburn and Baylor by total of 8 points.
Jags Practice On Wednesday Was “Much Better”
South Alabama’s practice on Wednesday was more spirited and energetic than on Tuesday. They practiced for over two hours and worked to prepare for Louisiana-Monroe’s tendencies while honing their offensive and defensive gameplans.
Coach Jones said that the practice was “much better” than the one on Tuesday. He compared Wednesday’s practice to Tuesday’s practice. “We didn’t have a great one yesterday and I thought we played good today, practiced good today. We came focused. I’m not making excuses, but we were kind of beat up and banged up and tired (Tuesday). But they came back today and that shows you what they’re all about.”
Coach Jones said he was most concerned with his opponent this week. “The greatest concern about our team is the team that we’re playing,” he said. “We’ve got a real good football team and we’ve got to do a lot of things well to be successful against this ball team.”
“I asked the team today what’s it going to take and there were several ideas from them and you could tell there was a maturity about them and they understand some of the things we’ve got to do to play with Monroe. They’re playing extremely well right now. Our biggest focus is doing what we have to do so we can be successful.”
The Jags and the Warhawks kick off in Monroe, Louisiana at 6pm on Saturday. The game can be heard on 105.5 WNSP.
Ronnie Arrow Speaks In Preseason Media Day Press Conference
South Alabama Men’s Basketball coach Ronnie Arrow spoke at the Sun Belt Conference media day on Wednesday. They also announced the all-conference teams and preseason polls earlier in the morning but they also listed the television schedule for the upcoming season.
The South Alabama – FAU game on February 9 was selected to be shown on the Sun Belt Network and the tip-off was changed to 7:30pm for the broadcast. Also the season opening game against Florida State can be seen on ESPN3.com at 6pm CST.
Below are highlights of the teleconference.
Coach Ronnie Arrow’s opening statement. “We have seven guys back from last year’s team, with Aug, Freddie, Javier Carter and Mychal Ammons, guys that were able to give us a lot of good minutes last year. Xavier Roberson broke a bone in his foot last year but is back full-strength. We’re looking forward to it. We think we have the players in place to be able to make a run at the championship, as long as everybody stays healthy. I think the conference is going to be up. Last year there were four to six teams that had seven or eight new players and now those teams have all those guys back this year with experience.”
Arrow spoke about the race for the Sun Belt title. “When you have Tony Mitchell back… I was telling everybody he could in the pros that I know that he was ready and he needs to go. He chose to come back and he brings instant notoriety to the league with a player of that status. I think Augustine Rubit is right there with him. I think Aug has proven he’s not only one of the top players in the conference, but also in the country. As far as teams being able to come on, we believe that we’re one of those teams. I think it’s going to be very competitive. Middle Tennessee has 10 of their 12 back, North Texas has a lot of their guys back and Arkansas State has a lot of their guys back. I think it’ll be a competitive race and there will be teams in this conference knocking off big-name schools in preseason.”
Arrow then spoke about how the preseason is going for the Jaguars so far. “We had an intrasquad game last game and we had some good things happen in certain areas. We’re playing Mychal Ammons inside and outside. He averaged 10 points and five rebounds as a freshman. If Tony Mitchell wouldn’t have been a freshman last year, Mychal would have been looked at as one of the top two or three freshmen in the league. He’s playing very well. We have a new guy, Viktor Juricek from Slovakia, who has come in and is learning. He’s getting Americanized quickly. He’s used to the European style where he hangs around the 3-point line, he can shoot the ‘3’, but we’re getting him Americanized so that he can go inside and outside. He’ll be a young man to watch this year. Javier Carter was the eighth-best shot blocker in the country last year before he got hurt and he ended up being the 16th-best shot blocker. Antoine Allen and Dre Conner are two guards that we brought in to keep people off of Aug and not be able to double down on him.”
Then Arrow spoke about getting ready for the season. “One of the things that helped us was our trip to Canada. We got to have eight practices and play three games over there. So we got to play against good competition to get us ready. With all the guys back and the new guys, it gave them a chance to know each other on and off the court. Our first regular season game is at Florida State, so we better be ready. So all of that and the strong non-conference schedule will help us.”
South Alabama has an exhibition game agaisnt Spring Hill College on Monday, November 5. They will begin the season against Florida State on Friday, November 9 in Tallahassee, Florida with a 6pm tip-off. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
Three Jaguar Men’s Basketball Players Name To All-SBC Team
The South Alabama Men’s Basketball team had two players voted to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team on Wednesday. They also were picked to finish second in the Eastern Division.
Junior Augustine Rubit and seniors Javier Carter and Freddie Goldstein were chosen for the All-Sun Belt team. The Jags are tied for second most with Arkansas State behind Middle Tennesee State who had four.
Rubit returns as the top scorer in the Sun Belt Conference with an average of 15.2 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and 12 double-doubles last season to be the first Jaguar player named to the First Team All-Sun Belt Conference Team since 2008. His rebounding average led the conference and was 38th in the nation while finishing second in the conference in scoring.
Rubit was the 2010-2011 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and already ranks eighth in South Alabama school history in career rebounds with 576 and third in rebounding average with 10.1 per game.
Javier Carter and Freddie Goldstein were both third team selections. Carter blocked 72 shots with an average of 2.7 blocks per game which ranked 16th in Division I. Those 72 blocks are third in school history and ranks second place in school history with 132 in his career. He also averaged 6.1 points and 5 rebounds per game last season with two double-doubles.
Goldstein is the Sun Belt’s defending 3-point champion. He made 2.5 3-pointers per game last season and was second on the team in scoring with 11.7 per game. He set and tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game with nine and placed 15 in the conference in 3-point percentage (37.1%). He used his 3-point skill to become the first Jaguar to score 30 or more points in a game twice in a single season since the 2007-2008 season.
In the preseason poll of conference coaches the Jags were voted to finish second in the Eastern Division behind Middle Tennessee State. MTSU received all 11 first-place votes and 65 points while the Jags had 51 votes. Behind the Jags were Western Kentucky with 47, FAU with 29, Troy with 22 and FIU with 17.
In the western division North Texas was a unanimous pick with 55 points. Arkansas State had 40, UALR had 33, ULL had 24 and ULM had 13.