Myles Gibbon encouraging the team as they go to the sideline to start the game.

South Alabama rebounds from turnover fueled, double-overtime loss at Georgia state to force a school record seven turnovers in a 28-3 win over Henderson State. Demetre Baker and Jordan Means combined to account for 22 of the 28 points for the Jags while donning their all blue uniforms for the first time.

Last years game was much closer with the Jags icing the game with a late field goal to win 37-31. But the rematch was never in doubt really. Both teams went three-and-out on their first possessions, but Enrique William’s interception on the Reddies second drive got the offense in gear. They started at the HSU 25 and have first and goal on the two yard line, but three consecutive rushes, two by Houston and one by Baker could not get the ball into the end zone thus they would settle for the field goal.

On the Reddie third possession, Clifton Crews would force a fumble on their first play which would be recovered by Gabe Loper setting up Demetre Baker to rush for 16 and 7 yards respectfully for a touchdown to go up 10-0 in the span of about three minutes.

Then on the fourth Reddie possession, they would line up in the punt formation but would fake it and run but would be stopped short of the one yard they needed for the first down. This gave the Jags the ball at the Reddie 29 yard line. Baker would take it into the end zone again for his second touchdown of the game. What looked like a bad snap would be handled by Taylor Noon and pitched to Jordan Means to run with, but he would be caught failing to convert. This left the Jags leading 16-0 with 1:57 left in the first quarter.

After a HSU punt on another three-and-out, the Jags would start at their own 27 yard line. Jereme Jones would almost get caught for a loss, but would break a 65 yard run down to the Reddie 8 yard line before being tackled out of bounds. Jones would be injured on the play and taken to the sideline and eventually to the locker room.

The Jags would again fail to punch it in with 1st and goal from the Reddie 4 yard line on three consecutive runs by Baker. The Jags would settle for a field goal by Means what was shorter than an extra point to go up 19-0 with 12:52 left in the 2nd quarter.

Henderson State would finally move into Jaguar territory and get as far as the 43 yard line before the drive fizzled out and forcing a punt which was downed at the Jaguar 14 yard line.

The Jags Paul Bennett would catch a good pass from CJ Bennett but would fumble it to the Reddies at the Jaguar 42 yard line. But on 3rd and 6 on the Reddies possession, the Jags would force a fumble and Romelle Jones would recover it at the Jaguar 44 yard line.

The Jags would then march 56 yards in nine plays with CJ Bennett running it in from 9 yards out to cap off the drive. Means’ PAT would be blocked leaving the Jags lead 25-0 with 4:15 left in the 2nd quarter.

Henderson State would start at their own 32 yard line after a short kickoff was fair caught at their 32 yard line. The Reddies would then begin driving into Jaguar territory getting down to the 37 yard line. But the defense would hold on 4th and 11 at the Jaguar 42 to get the ball back.

The Jags would then use their hurry-up offense to try to put points on the board before halftime. Bennett would find Lamontis Gardner for 3 yards on first down. The Jags would call a time out with 41 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Bennett would find Bryant Lavender for 8 yards and a first down at the HSU 47 with the Jags calling their 2nd time out of the half.

Bennett would find Corey Waldon for 13 yards down to the Reddie 34. Bennett would rush the offense up to the line and spike the ball to stop the clock. Bennett would tuck the ball and run for 6 yards before stepping out of bounds at the Reddie 28 yard line. After an incomplete pass on 3rd down, Means would line up for a 45 yard field goal into the wind with 9 seconds left until halftime. His kick would just barely make it over the crossbar giving the Jags a 28-0 halftime lead.

Henderson State would add a field goal with 33 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to break the shutout, however that would be the only score in the second half.

The first part of the second half was really sloppy for the Jags. After playing a penalty free first half, they would lose some composure in the second half.

It did give Coach Jones and the team to go deeper into their depth chart for a second time this season. At one point, there was only one starting player in the lineup on offense. JJ Keels saw plenty of time at running back and Greg Hollinger got more time than he had all season as well.

Romelle Jones continues to play like a beast on the defensive line. The secondary is playing thin without Damond Smith and BJ Scott. Jereme Jones suffered a bit of a hyper extension to his shoulder but is okay. We probably will not know if he is able to go on Thursday until Tuesday’s radio show.

Drew Dearman has been seeing more playing time on the offensive line and the coaches seem to be quite comfortable with his play. He did a great job on Saturday.

Coach Jones had the following to say at his post game press conference. “Those takeaways were big and we had a short field on offense a good bit tonight, and that’s always a good thing. I thought we really played a good game defensively for the entire game. We didn’t give up any big plays, and if we don’t do that then we are going to be very hard to score on. They did that tonight and I was proud of them.”

“We were prepared, the coaches had them prepared and we had a good week of practice,” he continued. “We match up with teams that are in the spread formation pretty well. I think our athletes fit the spread defensively, and we had a good pass rush tonight. That’s one thing we haven’t had in a while. We put pressure on the quarterback, and we were hitting them and trying to knock the ball loose.”

The Jags defense held the Reddies to 155 yards passing and a mere 55 yards rushing for only 210 total yards. While the Jags offense racked up 252 yards rushing and another 123 yards through the air for 375 for the game. The Jags also held a 37:06 to 22:54 time of possession advantage as well.

Demetre Baker had his first 100+ yard rushing game with 113 yards on 20 carries. Jereme Jones ran once for 65 yards, Myles Gibbon ran 7 times for 27 yards. JJ Keels ran 12 times for 27 yards. While Kendall Houston only carried the ball three times on the opening drive for four yards and that was his game.

CJ Bennett went 11-of-18 for 101 yards with one interception for the game. Myles Gibbon went 4-of-8 for 22 yards and no interceptions. Corey Walden and Bryant Lavender both caught three passes each. Waldon had 35 yards and Lavender had 26 yards.

The Jags have a quick turn-around as they host Mississippi Valley State on Thursday night with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags will be dressed out in their white uniform, so the athletic department is asking the fans to wear white to the game.

Coach Jones looks on as Demetre Baker looks to the sideline before blocking for a field goal attempt.

South Alabama went on the road for their third consecutive game this season and came away with a 30-27 double overtime victory over Texas-San Antonio to end their two game losing skid.

The Jags got on the board early after forcing UTSA to punt on their first series. Starting at their own 22 for their first drive, C.J. Bennett and Lamontis Gardner would spark the offense with a 35 yard pass. Then the Jags would methodically continue marching until Kendall Houston would put the ball in the end zone from the one yard line to cap off a 12 play, 78 yard drive that spanned 7:24 on the clock.

The Roadrunners would answer back on their next possession. After driving 25 yards out to mid field as the first quarter ended, they would open the second quarter with a 50 yard pass from Soza to Okotcha to tie the game at 7 each.

Again sparked by big offensive plays, the jaguars would respond on their ensuing possession. Bennett would find Gardner again for 11 yards to start the drive. Then would be forced to burn a time out when the play clock was running down. Coming out of the time out, Bennett would hit Kevin Helms for a 32 yard gain to go from the Jag 33 yard line to the 35 of UTSA. From there, the jags would have to settle for a 48 yard field goal by Jordan Means to retake the lead 10-7.

Not to be outdone, UTSA would mount their own drive  but would stall at the Jaguar 31 yard line and also settle for a 48 yard field goal to tie the game again at 10 apiece.

The Jags next possession would start at their own 20 yard line and would drive out to the 43 before Kendall Houston would be hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball which would be recovered by UTSA at their own 48 yard line. Soza would connect with Kam Jones for 51 yards to the USA 1 yard line. Okotcha would take it in on the next play to take the lead over the Jaguars 17-10 with 2:54 left in the first half.

On the kickoff, Jereme Jones would find a seam and return it 55 yards to the UTSA 26 yard line before being forced out of bounds. However the defender would be flagged for a personal foul for a half-the-distance penalty to start the Jags at the UTSA 13 yard line. However the Jags offense never found forward gear. Houston would lose a yard on first down. Then an incomplete pass to Corey Waldon would bring up third and 11 going into the Roadrunner student section.

Brian Krauskopf would be flagged for a false start putting the Jags facing 3rd and 16 from the UTSA 19 yard line. After a time out, Bennett would float a lob pass towards the end zone which would be intercepted by UTSA ending the Jags hopes of tying the game before half time.

After running a few plays, the Roadrunners allowed the clock to run down and go into halftime with a 17-10 lead.

South Alabama would receive to open the second half and start at their 30 yard line. Houston would rush for no gain and five yards on back-to-back rushes to open the series. Then facing 3rd and 5, the Jags would burn their first time out of the second half with 13:33 left in the 3rd quarter when the play clock was running down again. Following the time out, Krauskopf would be flagged for another false start backing them up to the 30 and face a 3rd and 10. Bennett would find Gardner for six yards and would be forced to punt.

The Jags defense would hold the roadrunners to a three and out and force a punt. USA would be flagged for holding after the punt and would start their possession on their own 24 yard line. After a one yard run by J.J. Keels, Bennett would complete back to back passes. The first to Bryant Lavender for 17 yards then to Gardner for 18 yards to get into UTSA territory.

Keels would rush for no gain, then Bennett would be flagged for intentional grounding even though he was hit as he was trying to deliver the ball. After the 11 yard loss and loss of down, the Jags faced 3rd and 21 at their own 49 yard line. But Bennett would find Jereme Jones for 30 yards to get the first down at the UTSA 21 yard line. Demetre Baker would take it in from there to tie the game at 17 each with 8:09 left in the third quarter.

UTSA would start from their own 20 yard line after the kickoff. They would move down the field fueled by key long plays. The first was on 3rd down for 21 yards and a 16 yard pass on 4th and one at the Jaguar 46 yard line. However the defense would come up big and force a Soza fumble at the Jaguar 10 yard line which was recovered by Charles Harris.

Houston would end the quarter with three consecutive rushes for 6, 8 and 5 yards respectively.

As the drive continued to begin the 4th quarter, the Jags would again have to burn a time out when the play clock was running down with 13:20 left in regulation. Eventually the UTSA defense would hold and force a Scott Garber punt which would be downed at the 1 yard line.

The Roadrunners would move the ball out to the 25 yard line before a mishap on the snap would occur and be recovered by Soza back at the 3 yard line to face a 3rd and 32. A six yard pass would give the punter a little breathing room. Jereme Jones would field the punt at the UTSA 48 yard line.

Bennett would run for 10 yards and a first down to start the drive, but would then stopeed and forced to punt at the UTSA 44 yard line.

With 4:18 left in the game and UTSA in possession of the ball at their own 24 yard line, they began running the ball and the clock to set up a game winning score. Soza would start the drive with a 9 yard pass. Then Okotcha would run for eight yards and a first down. Soza would thrown on first down again, this time for five yards to their won 46 yard line. Then UTSA would rush four consecutive times to move the ball and continue winding the clock. Okotcha would go for five yards. Then Harrison for 18 to the USA 31 yard line but would go out of bounds to stop the clock.

Then Kam Jones for four more yards and again go out of bounds. Okotcha would rush for 6 yards and a first down to the USA 21. Kam Jones would try to throw the ball on first down but Gabe Loper, filling in for suspended Damond Smith, would be flagged for pass interference putting the ball on the USA 6 yard line with 1:12 left in the game.

Soza would be caught for a loss of 6 yards to the 12 yard line by Jake Johnson. Okotcha would rush on the right side for three yards to the 9 yard line. UTSA would take a time out with 3 seconds left on the clock to attempt a game-winning field goal. Coach Jones would take the Jags final time out to try to ice the kicker.

The 26 yard field goal attempt would be blocked by Randon Carnathan sending the game to overtime for the first time in Jaguar history.

USA would get the ball first to start overtime and would keep it on the ground. Baker would rush for 10, 2 and 12 yards to get the ball to the 1 yard line. Ellis Hill would take it in on the next play and Jordan Means would add the PAT to take the 24-17 lead.

UTSA’s ensuing possession would start with a false start. But Soza would hit Kam Jones for a 30 yard touchdown pass and add the PAT to tie the game at 24 and go into the second overtime.

UTSA would have the ball first and Okotcha would be dropped for a loss by Jake Johnson on the first play. Soza would rush for one yard then throw and incomplete pass as he was hurried by Montavious Williams. Ianno would kick a 43 yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead.

Demetre Baker would scamper 25 yards on the first play of the Jaguars possession to score the game winning touchdown for the final score of 30-27.

UTSA would outgain the Jags overall 409-351 and through the air 263-196. But the Jags would outgain them on the ground 175-146.

Demetre Baker would lead all rushers with 88 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Houston would gain 74 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown. Soza would be the leading rusher for UTSA with 70 yards on 15 carries.

C.J. Bennett went 11-of-17 for 176 yards and one interception while Soza was 15-of-22 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. UTSA’s Kam Jones would lead all receivers with 103 yards on five catches with a touchdown. Lamontis Gardner would lead the Jags with 70 yards on four catches.

UTSA held the ball longer, 33:51 to the Jags 26:09.

After the game Coach Jones had this to say. “We have a fighting spirit about us. It looked kind of bleak there for a minute when they had the ball down on the five-yard line. But we rushed through and sacked the quarterback and we block a kick, so they never quit. It was a big win for our program. I’m just so proud of them for fighting. We lost two games on the road, and to have another road game right behind them and to come back and win was real big for us.”

“I want to congratulate UTSA. I thought they came out and played a tremendous game — it was a big game for them,” Coach Jones also stated. “The crowd was into it; it was that typical home atmosphere. They had a great game plan and great coaching, and probably deserved to win the game in some ways. But on the other side of it, we said at halftime we were not going to quit.”

“We came prepared and had a good game plan. Good things happen when you fight your tail off,” said running back Demetre Baker. “Their defense was big and solid. I didn’t think they were very fast sideline-to-sideline, but they were much bigger physically.”

Linebacker Jake Johnson spoke highly of the roadrunners. “For a first-year program, they are a heck of a team. They had some great players and had a good game plan against us. I’m glad we came out on top. We had a few mistakes here and there, but that is all correctable. I’m just glad we got out of Texas with a win.”

South Alabama returns to Mobile for their first home game in five weeks when they host Tennessee-Martin for homecoming. The game will kick off at 2:30pm, earlier than normal, since it will be aired live on UTV44, Comcast Sports Southeast and nationally on ESPN3.com.

Coach Turner working with the offensive line between series.

The Jaguars football team put itself in an almost impossible position at Kent State on Saturday. The Golden Flashes held a 26-0 advantage at halftime and lead 33-0 early in the 3rd quarter before the Jaguars mounted a comeback.

South Alabama’s comeback was valiant and furious but fell 23 yards short of a potential game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion, 33-25 in the first of three meetings between these two schools. The Jaguars fall to 2-2 on the season after losing for the second week in a row to an FBS team. The Golden Flashes improve to 1-3 with their first victory of the season.

The Jags were behind 7-0 in the first quarter, but allowed 19 points in the second quarter to fall behind 26-0 at halftime to end the worst half of football in the programs short history to date. Defensively, South Alabama was being pushed off the ball giving the Kent State quarterback time in the pocket, opening gaps for running backs and throwing lanes for the receivers. Offensively, the Kent State defensive was causing fits for the offensive line, closing gaps when the running back got there and had tight coverage on the receivers.

The first quarter appeared to be a defensive standoff. South Alabama totalled five yards on nine plays. Four rushes netted 2 yards and 2-of-5 passing netted 3 yards. Kent State rushed 16 times for 53 yards and was 2-of-4 passing for 21 yards. The Jags only possessed the ball for 4:21 in that first quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same. The Jags rushed five times for 14 yards and was 3-of-11 passing for 25 yards and two interceptions while only possessing the ball for 5:38 in the quarter.

The halftime stats was demonstrative of how the first half went. Kent State scored 26 points with 13 first downs. Rushed 31 times for 142 yards while going 6-of-11 passing for 56 yards and no interceptions. They were 7-of-11 on third down conversions while only being were flagged twice for 20 yards. They held the ball for 20:01.

South Alabama on the other hand, has only two first downs. They rushed nine times for 16 yards and was 5-of-16 passing for 28 yards and two interceptions. The Jags punted five times for an average of 43.2 yards per punt. They were penalized three times for 36 yards and also went 1-of-7 on third down conversions.

After forcing the Kent State offense to punt on a three and out to start the second half, Kendall Houston would be caught behind the line and fumble the ball. The Golden Flashes would pick it up and return it 27 yards to the Jaguar 11 yard line. Two plays later they would make it 33-0 with 11:36 left in the 3rd quarter.

This is when the Jaguars finally came to life. Demetre Baker would spark the team with a 37 yard kick return to put the Jags at their own 40 yard line. Bennett would find Corey Besteda for 37 yards to the Kent 23 yard line. Bennett would then run the draw for another 18 yards to the Kent 5 yard line. Kendall Houston would gain three on the first down play. Bennett would try to find Kevin Helms in the end zone but it fell incomplete, then facing 3rd and goal at the 2 yard line, Coach Jones calls a time out with 9:48 left in the quarter. Out of the time out, Bennett would give the ball to Baker who would take it in for the first Jags points of the game. Jordan Means would add the PAT to make it 33-7.

After a 17 yard kick return, Kent State would start at their own 18 yard line against a rested and rejuvinated defense after halftime. After a two yard rush and an incomplete pass, Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith would find his receiver for an 18 yard pass but Jake Johnson would force a fumble that would be recovered by Ken Barefield at the Kent State 42 yard line.

Bennett would throw an incomplete pass to begin the series but would run a quarterback keeper for 11 yards and a first down at the Kent State 31 yard line. Baker would lose a yard on first down, but Bennett would find Kevin Helms this time for 21 yards to the Kent State 11 yard line. Back to back rushes by Baker would gain 3 yards and no gain. Kent State would call a time out with 5:28 left facing a third down and 7 and their 8 yard line. Bennett’s pass to Bryant Lavender would fall incompleted and the Jags would settle for a 25 yard field goal by Jordan Means to inch closer, 33-10.

Kent State’s next drive started at their 28 yard line and would manage one first down and span five plays and 17 yards taking 1:54 off the clock. A short is fielded by Jereme Jones at the Jaguar 22 yard line and returned 7 yards to the 29.

Bennett would loft up a big pass to Bryant Lavender spanning 61 yards to the Kent State 10 yard line. Lavender would fumble and the Jags would recover it at the 10. Houston would rush for five yards to the 5 yard line, but would give four of it back on the next play. On 3rd and goal Bennett’s pass to Waldon would go incomplete. A bold but necessary move to put points on the board led to Coach JOnes’ decision to go for it on fourth down. Bennett would find his clutch receiver Jereme Jones in the end zone for the touchdown with 1:05 left in the third quarter. Means would add the PAT to shrink the lead to 33-17.

A 28 yard kick return would put Kent State at their own 37 yard line to start their next possession. A short pass for two yards and a one yard rush
would end the quarter.

Starting the fourth quarter, Kent State faced a third down and 7. Keith’s pass would fall incomplete forcing the Golden Flashes to punt again. Jereme Jones would field the punt at the 13 yard line and return it 15 yards to put the Jags in business at their 28 yard line.

Again the Jaguar offense came out with momentum. Bennett would find Lavender for 7 yards, then Baker would rush for five more yards to the Jaguar 40 yard line and a first down. Then Bennett would find his go to receiver Bryant Lavender for 19 yards to get into Kent territory at their 41 yard line. Bennett would run for six yards, Baker would rush for 13 and a first down at the Kent 22. Houston would rush for six yards and Bennett would run for seven more and another Jaguar first down. Houston would rush for four more yards to the Kent 5 yard line. But two consecutive incomplete passes would force another fourth down decision for Coach Jones. Bennett’s pass to his clutch receiver would fall incomplete and turn the ball over on downs to Kent State.

Kent would go three and out after only gaining 8 yards during the possession. Jereme Jones would field the punt at the Jaguar 45 and return it eight yards to the Kent State 47 yard line.

Another big pass play from Bennett to Waldon would cover 42 yards to the Kent 5 yard line. A substitution infraction would move the ball to the three yard line. Houston would rush for one yard then Baker would punch it in on second down. Playing catch-up with the points, the Jags went for the two-point conversion and Bennett would find Kevin Helms in the left side of the end zone to pull within one score of the Golden Flashes at 33-25.

Kent State would return the kickoff to the 22 yard line and start their drive with 5:59 left in the game. The defense and coaches knew that they were going to give the ball to their big running back Trayion Durham, which they did. On first down the ran for 3 yards however Damond Smith would be flagged for a personal foul giving the Golden Flashes 15 extra yards out to their 40 yard line and a first down. Durham would rush for one yard on first down then on the next play he would rush for nine, but Kent State would be flagged for a personal foul themselves, thus backing them up to their 26 yard line facing second down.

Durham would rush again for two yards on second down. Rob Hollomon would rush for eight more yards on third and 22 and the Jags would call a time out with 3:22 left before the Kent State punt. Jereme Jones would receive the punt at the Jaguar 19 yard line and return it 10 yards.

On first down, Bennett’s pass would fall incomplete intended for Waldon. The second down pass intended for Lavender would also fall incomplete. Bennett’s third down pass would be intercepted at the Jaguar 47 yard line and returned one yard. However, the Jags didn’t give up.

On first down Durham rushed for three yards and the clock was running since the South Alabama was out of time outs. Durham rushed for two yards on second down. Then Anthony Meray would be stopped for no gain at the Jaguar 43 yard line. Kent State would let the play clock expire before punting.

After a touchback, the Jags started at their own 20 yard line with 29 seconds and 80 yards between them an possibly tying the game. Bennett’s pass intended for Lamontis Gardner fell incomplete on first down. Then his pass intended for Greg Hollinger would also fall incomplete. On third down Bennett would find Jereme Jones open for 23 yards and a first down out to the Jaguar 43 yard line. The offense would rush to the line and spike the ball stopping the clock with 4 seconds showing. Bennett would run around and eventually toss up a ball that would be caught by Corey Besteda but he would be caught trying to get to the left sidelines at the Kent State 23 yard line ending the game.

The final stats was much better than the halftime stats. Jags would have 14 first downs to Kent’s 16. The Jags would gain 93 yards on 27 rushing attempts for a 3.4 yard per rush average. Kent State would rush 49 times for 187 yards for a 3.8 yard per rush average.

Jags quarterbacks would go 14-of-38 for 281 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Kent State would go 10-of-19 for 94 yards and a touchdown. The Jags would outgain the Golden Flashes 374 yards to 281. Kent would win the time of possession 34:59 to the Jags 25:01.

C.J. Bennett would be the leading rusher with five rushes for 40 yards. Demetre Baker would have 10 touches for 28 yards, Kendall Houston had 11 touches for 23 yards and Myles Gibbon ran once for two yards in the first half.

Bennett got the most passing stats going 14-of-36 for 281 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Gibbon threw once and it was incomplete. Bryant Lavender caught five passes for 97 yards, Jereme Jones had three for 31 yards and a touchdown. Besteda has two for 71 yards, Kevin Helms had two for 32 yards and Waldon and Gardner had one catch each for 42 and 8 yards respectively.

The Jaguar defense held Durham to 72 yards on 27 carries and Anthony Meray to 64 yards on 13 carries.

Defensively Jake Johnson totalled 17 tackles, 6 solo and a forced fumble. Ken Barefield totalled 10 tackles, 4 solo and a fumble recovery. No Jag recorded a sack. Kent State only got one sack.

The average field position was interesting. In the first quarter, the Jags average field position was the Jaguar 15 to Kent State’s Jaguar 46 yard line. It improved in the second quarter where the Jags averaged their own 32 while Kent averaged their own 41 yard line. The third quarter, the Jags averaged the Jaguar 42 yard line to Kent State’s own 38 yard line. Then the fourth quarter the Jags averaged their own 32 and Kent’s worst of the game, their own 26 yard line.

Coach Jones commented after the game. “The first half was just a comedy of errors.  We fell behind 26-0 at halftime, but we talked to them and they came out ready to play,” he said.  “I didn’t think we were ready to play early, and I take the blame on that. But the field position was horrible in the first half, and turnovers and all of the things we talk about that we can’t do we had happen. In the second half, we came back and played our football and started moving the ball, scoring and the defense started stopping them. We played a good second half, but came up just a little bit short. I’m real proud of the way they came back. Most teams beat themselves and I keep preaching that, we just have to make sure we avoid doing that.”

Talking about the second half adjustments he and his staff made, Coach Jones said, “We changed a few things in the running game, and made some checks and started running toward the boundary. That helped us, and we started pitching and catching it pretty good. But we just got some momentum; we never got any momentum in the first half.”

South Alabama gets a much needed week off before hitting the road again for their road game against the University of Texas San-Antonio on October 8th. This game is currently scheduled to be aired on the Longhorn Network.

Coach Joey Jones speaks with an NC State coach during team warm-ups.

South Alabama may have lost the game if you looked at the scoreboard, but if you watched the game and look at the stats, you will see it wasn’t a total defeat. In only it’s third year of football, the Jags proved that they have come a very long way in a very short time.

Facing their first FBS (Division I-A) team, the Jags performed well. It’s easy to say that NC State now knows who South Alabama is.

The game by the numbers. NC State outgained the Jags through the air 297 – 182 yards. However the Jags outgained the Wolfpack 104 – 95 on the ground. State held the overall yardage gained 392 to 286 yards.

The Jags gained 18 first downs to State’s 19. The Jags averaged 3.2 yards per rush on their 33 attempts while State rushed 37 times and averaged 2.6 yards per rush. The Jags ran 65 offensive plays to 59 for the Wolfpack.

The Jags punted four times for an average of 41.8 yards per punt. The Jags also held the time-of-possession advantage 32:45 to State’s 27:15. South went 7-of-15 on third down conversions while State was 5-of-9.

Unfortunately the Jags were flagged nine times for 50 yards while State was only flagged once for 15 yards.

Kendall Houston rushed 18 times for 117 yards with a long of 24 and averaged 6.5 yards per touch. Demetre Baker added 18 yards on eight carries with the Jags first touchdown against a FBS opponent. CJ Bennett went 17-of-32 for 182 yards and two interceptions.

Corey Waldon lead the Jaguars receivers with 5 catches for 57 yards. Jereme Jones added five catches for 35 yards. Bryant Lavender caught three passes for 39 yards. Besteda, Houston and Gardner all had receptions as well.

Jordan Means made field goals of 46 and 36 yards but missed an attempt from 44 yards.

The Jags defense played very well most of the time. Jake Johnson paced the team with eight total tackles, five solo and a sack. Charles Harris also added eight total tackles, three solo. Romelle Jones sacked Glennon twice for 17 yards. Alex Page also added a sack for the Jags total of four sacks.

With a cleaner game penalty wise and some better coverage on a few big plays, the Jags would have made this a much closer game that it ended up being. Even with those miscues, the Wolfpack did not have an easy game like they first thought.

The Jags have some things to work on this week in preparation for their trip to Kent State. But they have many things that fans and coaches can be proud of. Being outsized and out manned, the Jaguars played with heart, and when they played smart and disciplined, they outplayed the Wolfpack.

Corey Waldon makes a leaping touchdown grab.

The Jaguars greatly improved from week one to week two when they hosted Lamar University at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday. This was the first time the Jaguars faced an opponent for the second time in the programs history. But the outcome was similar as they won 30-8 and improved their all-time record to 19-0.

In the Jaguars first game, they had to overcome four turnovers to defeat West Alabama 20-10. After an extra two days between games, the Jaguars returned to the field and played brilliantly against the Cardinals.

The Jags outgained the Cards 349-238 in total yards while rushing for over 200 yards for the second straight game this season. Demetre Baker was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, half of his yards came on the opening drive. Kendall Houston added 13 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Myles Gibbon added 45 yards in the second half.

Bennett went 9-for-14 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant Lavender caught three passes for 41 yards. Corey Waldon caught 2 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Helms caught 2 for 36 yards, Lamontis Gardner had one for 10 and Jereme Jones caught one for 10 yards and a touchdown.

Coach Jones summarized the improvement this week by saying, “I thought it was a much better game this week. We played much more soundly and stayed away from the turnover game,” said Coach Jones. “Offensively, we were much more efficient with the football and defensively we played well again. I felt like it was a good game. Lamar is really talented, they are going to win a lot of ballgames. We just played hard tonight and some good things happened by the way we approached the game. Our week of practice was much better, and our backs were against the wall a little. We knew this team could come in here and beat us, and we came out and played really well.”

The Jags will turn their focus towards North Carolina State and their first ever game against a FBS school. Kickoff is scheduled for 5pm Central (6pm Eastern) in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN3.com.

Demetre Baker, Paul Bennett and Kendall Houston line up in the wishbone at the goal line.

The Jaguars get the job done, but it wasn’t pretty. The Jags had to shake off four turnovers in the first half to get the 20-10 victory and extend their all-time record to 18-0.

The Jaguars racked up 205 yards on the ground and another 151 yards in the air in the game. The rushing attack was lead by Kendall Houston who ran for 78 yards on 11 touches for two touchdowns after being suspended for the first half with three other players. Ellis Hill added 40 yards on seven carries in the start. Demetre Baker, another player suspended for the first half, added 39 yards on six carries. C.J. Bennett ran for 31 yards on eight runs with a touchdown. Santuan McGee chipped in 17 yards on four carries.

C.J. Bennett was 12-of-21 for 151 yards and three touchdowns with one sack. Bryant Lavender lead the receivers with three catches for 55 yards. Corey Waldon also had three catches for 21 yards. Jereme Jones added 27 yards with his two catches. Four other receivers had receptions in the game, highlighted by Lamontis Gardner with a 28 yard reception.

South Alabama gained one more first down than West Alabama with 18 to their 17. Both teams gained 10 first downs on the ground. The Jaguars rushed for 205 yards on 36 carries to UWA’s 167 yards on 47 carries. USA averaged 5.7 yards per rush to UWA’s 3.6 yards per rush. Also the Jags only lost 10 yards while running the ball compared to UWA’s 49 yards lost rushing.

USA was 12-for-21 passing with three interceptions for 151 yards while averaging 7.2 yards per attempt and 12.6 yards per completion. UWA went 10-for-22 passing with two interceptions. They averaged 4.6 yards per play and 10.1 yards per completion.

South Alabama gained 356 yards on 57 offensive plays with an average of 6.2 yards per play. USA fumbled three times and lost one, both of the recovered fumbles were by Baker. West Alabama ran 69 plays while gaining 268 yards while averaging 3.9 yards per play. They fumbled twice and recovered both of them.

UWA won the time of possession battle 32:39 to 27:21 and also possessing the ball for 10:18 in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Gary Johnston was the Tigers leading rusher with 72 yards on 22 runs and a touchdown. He also threw for 101 yards while going 10-for-22. His favorite receiver was Gerald Worsham with five receptions for 44 yards. Ken may added 48 yards on three catches. Two other players had receptions as well.

UWA’s Gabe Poe lead all players with 12 total stops. Enrique Williams lead the Jags with 11 total stops, five solo. B.J. Scott  added 10 more stops, 8 of them solo. Ken Barefield was credited with a sack for 12 yards and Clifton Crews with Enrique Willams both credited with half a sack.

After the game Coach Jones commented on the game. “Not having Kendall and Demetre the first half didn’t help, but they are great running backs,” he said. “Those two guys are probably the core of our offense running the football. We’re a very good football team with those two guys running it.”

“Obviously it wasn’t a great ball game; we didn’t play extremely well though I thought West Alabama played really hard,” Coach Jones continued.  “When you have four turnovers in the first half, it’s not a good thing — we have to learn to protect the football. We had some penalties and untimely things happen, so we have to go back to work and see how we can get better.”

“But I think that was a great second half. We pounded the ball at them and ran it really well, we got Kendall and Demetre in there and controlled the ball,” he continued. “I thought we played better in the second half, but we have to play four quarters to beat good teams and we just didn’t do that tonight; we didn’t play extremely well the whole game.”

West Alabama coach Will Hall commented after the game as well. “I thought they wore us down a little bit. It’s a credit to them and their defense as well. We came out offensively in the second half and went three-and-out, and USA got it and went down and scored. There were some good adjustments by USA at halftime.”

“We spilled our guts out on the field. I expected our kids to do that, but I’m so proud of how they did. Credit to coach Jones and coach [Bill] Clarlk. They do a great job and have a great thing going here at South Alabama. I think these are the two most up-and-coming programs in the state of Alabama. I can’t say enough though about what they do at South Alabama and I can’t say enough about our kids’ effort tonight. I really think we have a chance to have a good D-II football team.”

Tremain Smith went off in the first half with the trainers looking at his hand, plus Melvin Meggs had to come off the field but redshirt Drew Dearmon came in and performed well on the line. Meggs should be back next week and hopefully Smith’s re-aggravated injury isn’t serious.

South Alabama will host Lamar on September 10th with kickoff slated for 4pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

South Alabama took the opening drive 80 yards in nine plays in 4:29 seconds to take an early 7-0 lead. Ellis Hill opened the game with a one yard rush, followed by a three yard scramble by C.J. Bennett. Bennett then found Jereme Jones for 15 yards to get the first down. A hold on Trey Clark would back the Jags to their 29 yard line. Bennett then found Lavender for 22 yards for the second first down of the drive to the UWA 49 yard line. A personal foul by the Tigers would tack on 15 more yards to put the Jags at the UWA 34. After an incomplete pass, Brian Krauskopf was flagged for a five yard false start. Bennett would complete the next two passes to Lavender for 13 then Waldon for six more yards to earn a first down at the Tiger 20. Ellis Hill would run for two yards before C.J. Bennett would take it in from the 18 with a run. Jordan Means would add the PAT.

UWA would start their first drive on their own 28 yard line. On 3rd and 11, Johnston would run for 15 yards and a first down at their 42. However an illegal formation on first down would back them up five yards. A few plays later a third down rush out to the UWA 49 would be negated by a 15 yard personal foul setting up 4th and 18 and a punt.

The Jags next drive would start at their own 27 yard line. After a rush by McGee, Bennett’s pass would be tipped at the line and caught by Justin Hawkins at the 28 yard line.

UWA would open the drive with a one yard rush to the Jaguar 27. A miscommunication caused a snap when quarterback Johnston was looking to the sidelines. The Tigers would recover it at the Jaguar 41 setting up 3rd and 23. Johnston would be penalized for intentional grounding when Ken Barfield leapt over the offensive linemen and was about to sack Johnson. On 4th and 35 at the UWA 47, they would take a five yard delay of game penalty forcing a punt on 4th and 40.

South Alabama would go three-and-out on their next series. Scott Garber’s first punt would be called back on off-setting personal fouls. Garber’s second attempt would be shanked and only netted 24 yards to the USA 46 yard line.

On UWA’s next drive, they would face 3rd and 12 at the Jaguar 48 yard line when T-Ray Mitchell would run for 31 yards to the three yard line. Johnston would take the ball in on the next play to tie the game at 7-7.

USA would start their next possession on their 23 yard line with one minute left in the first quarter. Bennett would complete a pass to Kevin Helms for nine yards out to the 32 yard line. Ellis Hill would end the quarter with an eight yard run for a first down at the 40 yard line.

Ellis Hill would open the second quarter with a second consecutive eight yard run out to near midfield at the 48 yard line. C.J. Bennett would fumble the ball away to UWA at the Jaguar 49 yard line.

UWA would start on the USA 49 before losing a yard on a rush. They would then run Matthew Willis for back to back gains of nine and three yards to get a first down at the USA 38. In a three play span Johnston would lose two yards, throw and incompletion and then lose four more yards. Facing 4th and 16 at the Jaguar 44, UWA would down their punt at the one yard line.

Starting at their own one yard line, Bennett would fall forward for two yards then complete a key pass to Lamontis Gardner for 28 to get a first down at their own 31 yard line. McGee would rush for nine and seven yards on the next two plays get another first down. However Paul Bennett would get flagged for a personal foul to back them up to their own 32 yard line again with first and 10. Bennett would complete a pass to Waldon for seven yards before being sacked for four. On 3rd and seven at the Jaguar 35, Bennett’s pass to Waldon would be intercepted at the UWA 47 and returned to the Jaguar 48.

UWA’s Johnson 2nd and nine pass at the Jaguar 22 would be intercepted by Ken Barefield at the 13 yard line. He would return it 15 yards to give the Jaguar offense the ball at the 28 yard line.

Ellis Hill would open the drive with three consecutive rushes for 5, 12 and 4 yards. After an incomplete pass and facing a 3rd and six at the Jaguar 49, Bennett would run for seven yards and a first down. After another incomplete pass, Bennett would again rush for three yards The Jags would take a timeout to think about the 3rd down and seven at the UWA 41 yard line. After an encroachment call on Waldon for five yard, Bennett would be intercepted by the Tigers at the UWA 7-yard line.

With 1:49 left until halftime, UWA would run three consecutive plays to run out the clock.

UWA would open the second half with a reverse on the opening kickoff to get the ball out to their own 45 yard line. However the offense would go three and out.

USA would start their first drive of the second half at their own 22 yard line. Kendall Houston would open the drive with a seven yard rush. Bennett would find Jeremy Jones open for 12 yards and a first down at the USA 41. Houston would rush for five yards then no gain on the next two plays. Then Bennett would complete a pass to Houston for four yards just shy of the first down. On 4th and 1 at the midfield stripe, Houston would run the draw up the middle for seven yards and the first down.

Demetre Baker would come in for Houston and rush for gains of 11 and 10 yards on his first two plays. At the UWA 22 Baker would fumbled but the ball would be recovered by the Jags at the 22. USA would use a timeout with 8:33 left in the 3rd quarter. Houston would return to the game after the timeout. Bennett complete a pass to Lavender for 20 yards down to the Tiger 2 yard line. Houston would cap off the drive with a two yard run for the touchdown. The PAT snap would go awry leaving the Jags up 13-7.

UWA would take the kickoff out to their own 24 yard line. After driving 6 plays for 35 yards, they would punt from the Jaguar 41 yard line, but it would go into the end zone for a touchback.

South Alabama would take the ball at their own 20 yard line and rush Baker for four yards then Houston for five yards to set up third and one at the Jaguar 29. However Paul Bennett would be flagged for a false start. Bennett would scramble for one yard before Scott Garber would punt the ball 35 yards and returned six to start their drive at their own 46 yard line.

UWA would start driving from near midfield just before the end of the third quarter. On first and 10 from the USA 24, Anton Graphenreed would be flagged for a personal foul putting the ball on the Jaguar 9 yard line with a first down. On first down, UWA would lose one yard on a run. Quarterback Johnston would the rush for four yards to the six yard line and the Jaguars would take a time out on third and goal.

UWA would be flagged on the third and goal play for 10 yards backing the Tigers up to third and goal on the 16 yard line. After some confusion on the defenses part and frantic arm waving on the Jaguar sidelines, South Alabama would use their final time out of the second half with 11:26 left in the game.

Gary Johnston would complete a pass to Ken May for 11 and was pushed out of bounfd at the 5 yard line by B.J. Scott. The Tigers then lined up and kicked a field goal to cut the Jaguar lead to 13-10 with 10:58 left in the game.

The Jags started their drive on the USA 34 yard line. Kendall Houston would take the first hand out 23 yards to the UWA 43 yard line before being forced out of bounds. Demetre Baker would take the next handoff 11 yards to the UWA 32 yard line. Baker would also take the next handoff and fumble the ball but recover it himself for a nine yard gain to the UWA 29. Bennett’s pass would fall incomplete after being rushed by the Tiger defense. His next pass would find his target, Corey Waldon, for eight more yards and a first down at the UWA 21 yard line. Kendall would take the next two handoffs for 11 yards and 10 yards to score the final points of the game. The Jordan Means PAT would give us the final score of 20-10 with 8:13 left in the game.

The next West Alabama possession would start at their own 29 yard line and drive down to the Jaguar 18 yard line before the defense would step up to stop the scoring threat. Charles Harris would intercept the Johnston pass at the goal line and return it out to the Jaguar two yard line. Bryson James would be flagged after the play for unsportsmanlike conduct backing the Jags to the one yard line.

The Jags would get some space for Garber’s punt while running almost two minutes off of the clock.

UWA would have the ball with 2:25 left in the game, all three of their time outs and only down by 10 points. However they seemingly gave up and had no sense of urgency. They continued to run their offense normally without calling any timeouts.

With less than 36 hours until kickoff of the Jaguars third season of football, the excitement is in the air. Coach Jones is excited, the players are excited and the students and fans are excited.

South Alabama is encouraging everyone in attendance to wear their home Red colors. The USA Athletic Marketing Department will be handing out free red shakers at all gates beginning at 4:30pm. The parking lot will open at noon for tailgaters to start their festivities.

Shuttle service will begin at 2:30pm and will be running continuous from the Bel Air Mall parking lot south of Target and J.C. Penny until 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game. The price of a round-trip ticket is a mere $2.50, so if you don’t have a parking pass and still want to come out to the game this is an excellent deal. The Jaguar Prowl is scheduled for 4:10pm with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm. After the game there will be a fireworks show.

The Game will be televised locally on UTV44 and nationally on ESPN3.com.

South Alabama will try to extend their winning streak to 18 games when they host fellow in-state foe West Alabama. Last seasons stats for both teams looks like we could see a shoot-out.

West Alabama averaged just over 449 yards per game while the Jags averaged over 439 yards per game. Though USA’s average points per game was 41.3 to UWA’s 29.7.

C.J. Bennett returns as one of nine returning starters, to guide the offense after starting the final three games of the season totaling 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season. UWA’s will be without Deon Williams who went 223-for-356 for 3,392 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.

Kendall Houston returns to lead the Jaguar rushing attack with transfer Demetre Baker. Houston rushed for 891 yards with five 100+ yard games and 10 touchdowns. He averaged over six yards per carry. UWA returns T-Ray Mitchell who ran for 843 yards and six touchdowns. Gerald Worsham caught 80 passes for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns as their go-to receiver.

Bryant Lavender, Jereme Jones and Corey Waldon will step up to try to fill in for departed wide receiver Courtney Smith. Lavender caught 16 passes last season for 276 yards and two touchdowns, Jones added 15 catches and two touchdowns and Waldon caught 14 passes for 291 yards. Tight Ends Paul Bennett and Kevin Helms both caught nine passes as well.

The Jags return seven starters on the defensive side of the ball. They held opposing teams to an average of just over 81 yards per game and just over 254 yards per game and a mere 13 points per game. They also average 2.5 turnovers per game and only allowing the opposing team to convert third downs 26% of the time.

Enrique Williams lead the team with 48 tackles while also breaking up three passes. Ken Barefield who also had three pass break-ups with 37 tackles and Jake Johnson who had 31 tackles and four sacks both ranked in the top five on the defense in tackles. Romelle Jones lead the group with six tackles for loss.

UWA returns linebacker Gabe Poe, their top tackler, who recorded 97 tackles, eight for a loss. Poe’s number was 33 more than the next closest defensive player. Deon Lacey added 49 tackles and Bryant McGowan added 46 tackles at linebacker. Defensive back D’Eric Jackson lead the team with three interceptions while returning two for touchdowns.

Their defense allowed 375.7 yards and 22.3 points per game.

Both teams return their punter with USA’s Scott Garber averaging 40.4 yards per kick including 16 punts downed inside the 20. UWA’s Brock Sharp averaged 37.9 yards per kick and should also handle placekicking after going 12-of-19 last year.

As for South Alabama’s placekicking duties, it is expected that Jordan Means will handle the duties after showing improvements. Although South Alabama has two other kickers who have experience  and have competed for that role throughout preseason camp. Means was 4-for-4 last season. It is unknown if Means or Chapuseaux will be handling kickoff duties for the Jags.

Jereme Jones averaged 19.4 yards per punt return last season and will share time with transfer B.J. Scott as the Jags will be without the T.J. Glover as he was deemed ineligible this season. UWA’s Wes Mounger averaged 21.9 yards per kick return and 11.9 yards per punt return is expected handle the same duties again this season.

Head coach Joey Jones observing his team as they warm up in Dothan for the Wiregrass Classic last season.

South Alabama completed it’s second week of spring practice and will now have four days off while students are on spring break.

On Monday, the first day of the second week of practice, started at 7:00AM and went for about two hours. The practice was split into two overall periods which focused on individual and team practice. Coach Jones said he is more interested in the individual portion in the spring, rather than the team portion. “I like to see how much better each guy is getting, and to evaluate talent. I think we have some individuals who are, and we’re challenging the ones who aren’t so that by the end of the spring every player will get better, that’s the whole goal.”

The Jags focused on first downs and third down plays in the red-zone on the first day of the week. Jereme Jones made a nice diving catch in the back corner of the end zone to score a touchdown. Also, Kendall Houston caught a screen pass for a score from CJ Bennett. Coach Jones remarked that he thought the final segment was pretty even, but that he would have to watch the game film to determine for certain.

On Tuesday, the Jags hit the field at 7:45AM for another two-hour workout. Coach Gregory, the offensive coordinator, echoed Coach Jones’ words about spring practice being about individual from Monday when he stated, “We’re not anywhere close to where we want to be as an offensive football team, but that’s really not our goal in the spring.  Our goal has been to focus on individuals.”

Coach Gregory then continued along this line of talk when he used a couple Jaguar players as an example, such as returning receiver Corey Besteda and the new player Greg Hollinger. “For instance, are Corey Besteda and Greg Hollinger going to become big-time receivers, or are they just going to look like big-time receivers? Is Tremain Smith going to become a big-time offensive tackle or look like one? I’m using those guys as examples, but how good is each individual player going to be? That’s what it is really all about.”

Another interesting insight from Coach Gregory on Tuesday was when he spoke about scheming in the spring. “As far as scheming, we try to do enough to have a chance to move the ball but we don’t game plan. We’ll come back and do that in the fall. I never want to look at a situation in the spring thinking we have to win this drill, because I don’t want to do something now that we will not do next season.”

Another group of positions that is receiving lots of focus this spring is the offensive line. The offensive staff is working hard on individual fundamentals. Coach Gregory mentioned that he is looking at their ability to block, their footwork and their hand placement.

Offensive line coach John Turner said that they are working to improve everything they do. “We start with our split and stance, then we look at our first step, hat placement and our hands. We go back and try to break down every play to see if we are accomplishing those things. And we try to harp on effort. One thing that we know is that we are going to play hard — I don’t care if they are 190 pounds, we are going to play hard by God. So we go back and grade that every day to make sure that we are challenging ourselves to give a great effort.”

What helps the Jaguars on the line is that they will be returning all five players who started the 2010 season finale against Arkansas-Monticello. Center Trey Clark, guards Jon Griffin and Melvin Meggs and tackles Brian Krauskopf and Levi Slaydon. Additionally, Chris Brunson who started four games for the Jaguars last season before a season ending injury will also return. However, four of the five will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the 2011 season. Meggs is the only underclassman.

However that has allowed several of the Jaguars underclassmen from the second recruiting class to work in and become integral contributors to the unit. Coach Turner named Ucambre Williams, Drew Dearman, Shane Doty and Chris May as some of the integral members of the group.

Coach Turner’s commented on these younger players by saying, “I tell you what, we’re finding some players. We are looking at some younger guys who are getting better. Obviously, they still have a long way to go, we’re not there yet. But I am proud of them, they have improved every day. You can see them compete, you can see them fight. They are not backing down. They are working very hard to try and get their assignments and learn where they are supposed to be.”

Injuries have affected the offense this spring. Brunson and Shaun Artz have been unable to participate in drills. While Brandon Ross is continuing to recover from knee surgery. TJ Glover is being moved from running back to wide receiver.

Coach Gregory mentioned the injuries when he spoke. “T.J.’s absence has hurt us the most. We know Brandon can play, but we’re moving T.J. and there were some things we wanted to do with him at receiver that we wanted to look at in the spring but have junked. I think the big loss is Chris and Shaun. They are two big bodies, and we need to get bigger up front. Shaun is 290 and Chris is almost 300 pounds, we need them in there as starters or top back-ups who are going to play a lot.”

Thursday, the Jags hit the practice field behind the fieldhouse for the eighth time, marking the halfway point of spring practice. In addition to their individual drills, the team period focused on third and goal situations in the red zone. Then both first and second team offensive units had one chance to score during a two-minute drill.

CJ Bennett guiding the first team from their own 40 yard line into the red zone with three consecutive completions to Bryant Lavender, Kevin Helms and Jereme Jones. But the group had to settle for a 28 yard Jordan Means field goal.

The second team offense lead by Myles Gibbon crossed midfield on their second play when Gibbon found Taylor Noon for a gain of 24 yards. Three consecutive incomplete passes forced a 4th and 10. Gibbon found Greg Hollinger in the back corner of the end zone for a 36 yard touchdown on the last play of the team session.

Just like the offense, the defense has been working on the basics at each position. They begin each practice with tackling. As Coach Bill Clark, the defensive coordinator, says they are trying to be expert tacklers because that is what defense is all about. It’s about proper technique and angles.

Another facet that the Jaguars are working on is take-aways. In the course of winning all 17 of the schools games thus far, they have totaled 48 turnovers. They had 23 in the first season and 25 in the second season. Coach Clark wants to increase that number again in order to help give the team an even better chance to win.

Coach Clark comments, “We always say that a turnover is a gift that the offense gives us. We’re not looking for gifts, but we’ll take them. “We know that we have to physically take the ball away, and there’s a science to that — punching it out, stripping it, scooping and scoring.  There are a ton of techniques to it, and we want to create that mentality that we will get the ball back to our offense.”

Another technical aspect that is being worked on this spring is how the defenders pursue the opposition. Coach Clark explains by saying, “Our goal, when you look at our defense, is to have people say they’ve never seen anyone run that fast to the ball. But there’s a way to do that. There’s leverage, which shoulder to keep the ball on. That’s how you keep from having big plays against you. So that’s where we start, putting those three things — pursuit, tackling and takeaways — together. Then you go to individual fundamentals. And so far we’ve been pleased, it’s been a real good spring up to this point.”

Coach Clark looked to shore up the secondary in the offseason. With transfers from four-year schools and junior colleges added to the roster, everything was looking pretty good. However only two players, Spanish Fort’s Ameriol Finley and Damond Smith have been able to participate in drills these first two weeks.

Coach Clark talked about the secondary. “The future is bright, but we’re a little frustrated. There are different reasons why guys aren’t here, and though we see them coming they’re not here yet. A lot of the guys who are out there now people have seen before, and they have improved. They have another year of experience and are another year older, so we’re excited about them. A lot of these guys have been with us and are going into their third season. That in and of itself is exciting. When we add these guys on the way, we feel like it’s going to be a good situation.”

While the Jags continue to run a 3-4 defense, Coach Clark and Coach Jones have created a hybrid position which combines the responsibilities of defensive end and outside linebacker. So far, the individuals who have made the move into this hybrid position have been Anthony Taylor, Logan Bennett, Clifton Crews and Alex Page.

Coach Clark elaborates on this new position. “For us, the position has fit real well. We think it fits our personnel probably a little bit better. “You can see from watching us that it is a little bit different, and I think it’s going to help us for what we’re seeing being done offensively.

He continues, “Defensively, it’s all about stopping what offenses are doing. You look at your schedule and identify who our opponents are, because we have to look ahead to those teams and what they do. We always say that we are reactors on defense, we counter the trends in offensive football. You can see from the national championship game the spread formations used and the speed of the game, and that’s what we have to get ready for.”

Then to wrap up the week, the Jaguars moved their Saturday scrimmage to Friday morning at 7:30AM due to weather concerns. The team took part in a full scrimmage when it ran through about 100 snaps.

The Jaguar defense held the offense to less than 300 total yards while giving up two touchdowns and three field goals. The scrimmage lasted almost two hours.

The offense started quick with Myles Gibbon moving the team 70 yards in 14 plays which was capped off by Ellis Hill scoring the touchdown on a 2-yard run. The third and four play back on the offense’s 37 yard line was one of the highlights on the drive. Gibbon connected with Greg Hollinger for 34 yards to move the chains. On another third down play later in the drive. When the offense needed 14 yards, Gibbon found Richard Ross for 15 for another first down.

Gibbon would finish the scrimmage 5-of-6 for 57 yards to lead the stable of quarterbacks.

CJ Bennett lead the offense on it’s ensuing drive. Bennett found Lamontis Gardner for 12 yards then Jereme Jones for nine more yards to move the offense across midfield. Kendall Houston reeled off a 16 yard run on third and one to move the chains and get into field goal range. However, an attempt at a 50 yard field goal would fly wide right. Bennett would complete five passes for 50 yards in the scrimmage.

The defense would strengthen and limited the offense to only two field goals on the next nine possessions. Both field goals came on drives led by Ray Cotton. But the defense also forced two turnovers during that stretch.

Bryson James both forced and recovered a fumble on the defense’s 27 yard line. Jonathan Cameron intercepted a pass at the goal line on the first play of a drive that started on the 30 yard line.

Another drive that started at the defense’s 30 yard line resulted in a touchdown. Demetre Baker ran on the first four plays of the possession for a total of 20 yards. Then Bennett found Ross for an eight yard completion. Then Baker ran again for a one yard gain. Then Kendall Houston capped it off with a one yard run.

James and Justin Harris both recorded four stops tieing for team best. Jake Johnson led a group of four players who made three tackles.

Richard Ross and Greg Hollinger were the lone players to record multiple receptions with Hollinger leading all with four catches for 55 yards. Julien Valentin led the ground game with eight carries for 41 yards. Baker and Santuan McGee each added 24 yards.

Coach Jones spoke after the scrimmage saying, “I think we have some guys who have gotten fundamentally better, especially the freshmen who joined us at the beginning of last season. They have really jumped. Each coach was taking their guys trying to get everyone involved in the scrimmage. I told them not to even worry about trying to group guys together. We ran about 100 plays including the kicking game, which was what we wanted to do. And I don’t think anybody got hurt, which is always a positive.”

Coach Jones continues with comments about both sides of the ball starting with defense. “Defensively we had a good day, they got after it; they played with a lot of effort and intensity.”

Then he commented about the offense by saying, “All three quarterbacks came out and played well today. They were calm in the huddle and did a good job running the team. We also got a little better blocking on the offensive line today. I know I keep saying this, but it’s not about who won the scrimmage. I don’t even care. It’s about who is getting better fundamentally. That’s what we keep looking at and the way we set practices up.”

In addition to the offensive versus defensive plays, the Jaguars also worked on special teams play throughout the scrimmage. One period was devoted to kickoff returns while another was devoted to kickoff coverage. All three kickers on the roster attempted a minimum of three field goals during and after the scrimmage.

The Jags will have four days off with the next practice scheduled for Wednesday at 7:45AM.

Coach John Turner working with the offensive line in the second half of the Jaguars game against the Georgia State Panthers.

South Alabama fended off a second half rally by Georgia State to hold on to a 39-34 victory at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. It was evident that two weeks of travel had taken their toll on the Jaguars. Coach Jones mentioned that it was Wednesday before the Jags recovered from their trip to California. But South Alabama’s play in the second quarter was enough for the Jags to stay ahead late in the game with field goals.

On the opening drive, the Panthers moved the ball methodically with three first downs in the opening four plays of the game to go from their 40 yard line to the Jaguar 19. They would top off their 10 play 60 yard drive with a 2 yard touchdown pass from Drew Little to Sidney Haynes on 4th down.

The Jags would answer as CJ Bennett would lead the offense on a 9 play 72 yard drive themselves. Kendall Houston would score from nine yards out, however Jordan Means would miss the point after attempt leaving the Jags behind 7-6.

After Georgia State got a first down on a clutch 3rd down completion, they would stumble due to a holding penalty and the Jaguar defense would force them to punt.

With 1:50 left in the first quarter, the Jags took over with great field position on their on 45 yard line. Then on second down, Bennett would find a ton of open green grass and would scamper for 26 yards down to the Panther 25 yard line before tripping up. However the Jags would not be able to move the ball any further. Lawson McGlon would miss the 42 yard attempt to leave the score 7-6 in favor of the Panthers.

The Jags defense would force another punt by the Panthers, however TJ Glover would fumble the punt giving the Panthers an easy chance to score at the Jaguar 14 yard line. Little would hit Jordan Giles to inside the Jaguar one yard line and would score two plays later on a quarterback sneak. With the PAT, the Panthers would go up 14-6 with 11:33 left in the second quarter.

South Alabama would answer right back with a 21 yard completion from Bennett to Courtney Smith on 2nd down to move out to the Jaguar 47 yard line. The first of three straight runs by Kendall Houston would move the ball across mid-field. With 2nd and 8 from the Panther 40, Bennett would find Bryant Lavender for a 40 yard touchdown strike. McGlon’s extra point would once again put the Jags within one at 14-13 with over nine minutes left in the second quarter.

After a 15 yard kickoff return to the Georgia State 30 yard line, Tim Harvey would pick off a deflected pass at the Panther 39 yard line. The Jags would open the possession with a completion from Bennett to Ralph Turner for 24 yards down to the Panther 15 yard line. Three plays later Bennett would connect with tight end Kevin Helms for a nine yard touchdown pass to take the lead. McGlon’s extra point would put the Jags up 20-14 with 6:57 left in the second quarter.

The Jaguar defense would hold the Panther offense to a three and out. South Alabama would not have an opportunity to return the punt as it was kicked out of bounds at the 20 yard line.

South Alabama would put together an impressive drive on the ensuing possession. After an incomplete pass and a five yard false start penalty, the Jaguars were facing 2nd and 15 from their own 15 yard line. Then a rush by TJ Glover would go 14 yards to the Jaguar 29 yard line. Then Kendall Houston would add six more yards for the first down and then some extra. Bennett would run for 13 yards down the left side before stepping out of bounds at the South Alabama 48 yard line. A completed pass from Bennett to Lavender would go for 18 yards to the Panther 34 yard line. Bennett would run for seven more yards followed by a Houston rush for 17 more yards to set up the Jags with a 1st and goal from near the 10 yard line. Back to back rushes would gain four yards from Glover and three more from Houston to give the Jags a 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line.

After a Jaguar time out, Bennett would throw to Jereme Jones on the left side of the endzone where he would make an amazing one-handed catch for the touchdown. McGlon kick would put the Jags up 27-14 with 41 seconds left until halftime.

Georgia State would start at their own 45 yard line after Chapuseaux’s kick would dribble out of bounds on what looked like an onsides kick or a surprise squib kick. A 13 yard completion would put the ball at the Jaguar 42 yard line. On the second play, Tim Harvey would pick off his second pass from Drew Little and would return it 47 yards to the Georgia State 18 yard line with 14 seconds left.

Coach Gregory, coming downstairs in preparation for halftime, had to hurry to the sidelines to call a pass play towards the endzone to try for a touchdown without any timeouts left. Courtney Smith just could not hold onto the ball in the endzone so the Jags decided to kick a 35 yard field goal. Lawson McGlon would make it to extend the Jags lead to 30-14 with 3 seconds left until halftime.

The 3rd quarter would be pretty quiet as both teams combined for three 3 and outs in the first four possessions. But the Jags would get in gear after a Panther punt would only go 27 yards out of bounds at their own 49 yard line. Houston would carry twice to open the possession for 8 and 5 yards respectively and a first down at the Panther 36 yard line. A 7 yard completion from Bennett to Lavender would put the ball at the 29 yard line. A rush for no gain by Glover would be followed by a 22 yard completion from Bennett to Lavender at the Panther 7 yard line with a first and goal.

Houston would then run for four yards down to the three yard line before getting dropped for a loss of three back to the six yard line. Bennett would then be hurried and would step up in the pocket and find Ralph Turner for an apparent touchdown, except an ineligible receiver down field would wipe it off the board. After an incomplete pass, the Jags faced 4th and goal at the 11 yard line. Lawson McGlon would make the 28 yard field goal to extend the Jags lead to 33-14 with 3:52 left in the 3rd quarter.

Chapuseaux’s kickoff would be fielded at the 9 yard line and Albert Lewis would return it 50 yards to the Jaguar 41 before being forced out of bounds. A two yard rush would open the drive for the Panthers before calling a timeout. on 2nd and 8, Andy Dalgleish would sack Drew Little for eight yards back to the USA 47 yard line. The next play would make up for it and much more as Little would connect with Danny Williams for a 47 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 33-21 with 2:11 left in the 3rd quarter.

TJ Glover would return the Panther kickoff 46 yards down to the Georgia State 38 yard line to start the next possession. Houston would power for 13 yards to the Panther 25 yard line and a first down. On 2nd and 10, Houston would rush for nine yards just shy of the first down at the Panther 8 yard line and running out the time in the 3rd quarter.

To open up the 4th quarter, Houston would run for six yards to the Georgia State 2 yard line. An pass intended for Lemontis Gardner would go incomplete in the end zone. CJ Bennett’s quarterback sneak would be fumbled and recovered by the Jags at the 1 yard line to bring up 4th down. With some shouts from the crowd, Coach Jones decided to kick the field goal to extend the Jaguar lead to 36-21 with 13:25 left in the game.

Georgia State would open their drive with a 39 yard completion from Little to Sidney Haynes to get down to the Jaguar 25 yard line. A four yard completion to Danny Williams would set up for a 20 yard completion to Travis Evans for first and goal at the Jaguar 1 yard line. The quarterback sneak would net them a touchdown, but Romelle Jones would stand big in the middle and block the extra point attempt leaving the Jags ahead by nine points at 36-27 with 11:24 left in the game.

A short kickoff would be fielded by Kevin Helms and returned 14 yards to the Jaguar 44 yard line. Three consecutive runs by Houston would go for 7, 7 and 10 yards respectively to net the Jags two first downs. TJ Glover would follow up with a 17 yard rush down to the Panther 15 yard line. Then the Georgia State defense would snuff out any further Houston Rushes, holding him to one yard on two plays. A 3rd and 9 pass attempt would fall incomplete off of Kendall Houston’s fingertips to bring up 4th down. McGlon would make a 31 yard attempt to put the Jags up 39-27 with 7:34 left to play.

A 26 yard kickoff return would put the Panthers at their own 44 yard line to start their next possession. The Jaguar defense would hold strong to begin the possession, but a 10 yard completion would add 15 more yards when Anton Graphenreed would be flagged for a facemask placing the ball at the Jaguar 20 yard line. An eight yard pass would put the Panthers at the Jaguar 11, but a delay of game penalty on 4th and 1 would put them back at the 16 yard line. An 11 yard completion on 4th down would give the Panthers a first down on the 5 yard line. On the next play Kelton Hill would run up the middle for the touchdown, cutting the Jaguar lead down to five points, 39-34 with 3:57 left in the game.

Starting at their own 26 yard line, faced a similar situation as the week earlier. They only needed two first downs to finish out a close game. Houston would run on the first two plays, going for 4 and 2 yards to bring up a 3rd and 4 at the Jaguars 32 yard line. Georgia State would call a timeout with 2:58 left to preserve time and prepare a defense. Bennett would find Courtney Smith for 5 yards and the first down. Houston would then run for 2 yards out to the USA 39 yard line. Another timeout by Georgia State would exhaust their allotment for the second half with 2:15 left in the game.

Houston would drive forward for six yards to bring up a 3rd and 2 from the Jaguar 45 yard line. Coach Jones would let the time run all the way down before calling a timeout with 1:28 left. Houston would find a hole and go for nine more yards and the crucial first down. With no timeouts left for Georgia State the Jags would kneel the ball twice and end the game.

South Alabama would go for 474 total yards, 293 on the ground and another 181 through the air. While Georgia State would gain the most through the air with 234 yard passing and only 46 yards rushing for 280 total yards.

South Alabama was 8 of 14 on third down conversions while Georgia State was 3 of 10. USA did not go for it on 4th down while the Panthers was 2 for 2 on 4th down conversions.

Kendall Houston would carry the ball 31 times for 175 yards and a touchdown. CJ Bennett would run 10 times for 80 yards and TJ Glover would add 35 yards on five carries.

CJ Bennett would play the entire game, going 12-of-24 for 181 yards for three touchdowns and no interceptions. Bryant Lavender would lead the receivers with four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Courtney Smith would add four more catches and 52 yards. Three other Jaguars caught passes.

Georgia State’s leading running back was Kelton Hill with three rushes for 25 yards and a touchdown. Travis Evans added 6 carries for 14 yards.

Drew Little would go 20-of-34 for 214 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Danny Williams would catch 5 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. Sidney Haynes would catch 4 for 50 yards and the other touchdown. Six other receivers caught passes for the Panthers as well.

Lawson McGlon went 4-of-5 kicking field goals. Making kicks of 35, 28, 18 and 31 yards and missing one from 42 yards. Jordan Means would miss one PAT attempt and McGlon would make his three attempts.

Coach Jones remarked after the game, “We got ahead at halftime by playing really well offensively in the first half, and the defense made adjustments and played well after the first drive. We’ve been ahead a lot at halftime and the other team would fold, but this team didn’t fold. They came back out and got rolling on offense, and just played much better in the second half. My hat’s off to the Georgia State team for coming back and making a really good game out of it.”

Georgia State head coach Bill Curry remarked on the South Alabama program after the game. “I’m very much an admirer of coach Jones and the South Alabama program. I have been since the beginning,” explained Curry. “The way they do things, their emphasis on academics, integrity, the way they win, the way they dominated the turnover margin in their games and the way they had dominated the fourth quarter coming into our game. We hope to become a more consistent team and do a better job, so we can match up with them the next time we play, and we will get that done.”

South Alabama will host Henderson State for homecoming on Saturday, November 6 with kickoff scheduled for 4pm.

South Alabama Head Coach Joey Jones talks with Courtney Smith during a stoppage in play against Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

South Alabama’s game against UC-Davis really lived up to its billing. It had excitement, adversity, tough play, heart and a little luck. This recipe came out in favor of the Jaguars, 24-21. But most of all it answered some lingering questions that Coach Jones wanted answers to. The Jags were behind against Nicholls State early in the game, but pulled away in the second half. However, the Jags needed some fourth quarter heroics and a little luck to pull out the win in California.

The Jags had to overcome four turnovers, two interceptions thrown by Brennan Sim and two fumbles, one from Sim and another by Bennett late in the game and frankly nearly disastrous, for the win. However, the defense continued to step up and make plays when necessary. Anthony Taylor made two crucial sacks on the final Aggie drive to set up the attempted field goal to send the game into overtime.

Coach Jones wanted to see what his team could do if they were down in the fourth quarter. He wanted to see how his kids would respond having to play a full four quarters of football. Well, he got his answer alright.

“We came through at the end, the defense did a great job,” said head Coach Joey Jones. “We fumbled the ball on the 30, but we sacked them and made them kick a field goal that was fortunately wide right.”

“I have to tell you, UC-Davis is a great, first-class football team,” Jones continued. “We came out to California and beat an extremely good football team tonight. They have great players and are very well-coached team. We had so many setbacks during the game, whether it was penalties or turnovers, but never had the feeling we were out of the game. Our kids kept playing hard. It’s just a great statement for our program. People have been asking me all year long, and I know where we are now; we beat a great I-AA program that won its conference last year, is probably going to win it this year, and beat San Jose State this season. We’re up there. Are we Division I-A yet? No, but we’re probably close.”

The Jags will return to Ladd-Peebles stadium to round out their season with three consecutive home games. The first of which will have Georgia State, in their first season of football, coming to Mobile coached by former University of Alabama head coach Bill Curry on Saturday, October 30th. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00pm.

Continue for a more detailed breakdown of the game.

South Alabama took the opening kickoff on 26 yard line after Freshman TJ Glover returned the kick 22 yards. Brennan Sim opened the game with a six yard completion to Courtney Smith. Back to back runs by Kendall Houston went for nine and six yards. Then the Jags had to burn their first time out with 13:18 left in the first quarter.

After the time out, Sim connected with Kevin Helms for 13 more yards to the Aggie 40 yard line and a Jaguar first down. Houston rushed for two yards, followed by Santuan McGee’s two yard run for 3rd and 6 at the Aggie 36. Corey Waldon would come us just short of the first down after gaining five yards on a Sim completion. On 4th and 1 from the Aggie 31, Coach Jones opted to go for the first down. Houston would take the handoff and gain a crucial two yards to keep the Jags drive alive.

After an incomplete pass by Sim, he would scramble for four yards to the Aggie 25. Sim’s next pass to Jeremy Jones would go for 8 yards down to the 17. Another complete pass from Sim to TJ Glover would put the Jags at the Davis 10 yard line. Kendall Houston would cap off the drive with a 10 yard touchdown run. A false start on the point after wouldn’t matter to McGlon. The 13 play drive covering 74 yards in six minutes for a touchdown is the Jags longest scoring drive of the season.

UC-Davis would start at their own 7 yard line after an error on the return. The Jags defense would come out strong, forcing a three and out on the first series. The Aggie punt would go 34 yards but Glover would get it all back on the return.

Sim would run for a yard on first down but would find Courtney Smith in the back of the end zone on the next play for a 13 yard touchdown pass. A false start on Kevin Helms on the PAT would back the attempt try to the 8 yard line. McGlon would miss the attempt, however a personal foul on the Aggies would give McGlon another try at the four yard line. This attempt would be good and the Jags would lead the Aggies 14-0 with 6:32 left in the first quarter.

The ensuing UC-Davis possession would start with a 27 yard kickoff return to the 35 yard line. On 3rd and 8 from their own 37, Aggie quarterback Randy Wright would complete a 14 yard strike to just across the midfield stripe. After a three yard rush, Wright would complete another pass for 10 more yards, down to the Jaguar 36. A seven yard rush to would lead to a 26 yard pass from Wright to Sean Creadick down to the three yard line before being forced out of bounds. Then a three yard run by running back Corbin Cutshaw would put the Aggies on the board, 14-7 with 2:49 left in the first quarter.

Glover would return the Aggie kickoff 28 yards to the USA 37 to start their next possession. The drive would begin with a seven yard run by Sim, then a 17 yard pass completion to Courtney Smith would put the Jags at the Davis 39 yard line. But a holding call on center Trey Clark would back the Jags up 10 yard for a 1st and 20 from the 49 yard line. Sim would fumble the ball after a two yard run and the Aggies would recover, ending the Jags drive.

After a short completion and a short run, Wright would connect with Creadick for 19 yards to the Jaguar 31 as time expired in the first quarter. An incomplete pass followed by a rush for no gain would have the Aggies facing 3rd and 10. An 8 yard completion to Josh Reese would spot the ball at the Jaguar 23 facing a 4th and 2. The Sean Kelley field goal attempt would sail wide right and give the Jags the football.

The first play would see Houston rush for five yards. Then Brennan Sim would find Corey Waldon for 19 yards out to the Jaguar 47 yard line. The Jags would cross mid-field with a pass completion to Glover for four yards. Then Glover would rush for three more yards to set up a 3rd and 3 at the Aggie 46. Then Brennan Sim would throw the first interception by a Jaguar quarterback this season at the UC-Davis 38 yard line.

The Jag defense would step up again. Holding the next two run plays to 2 and 1 yard respectively before Logan Bennett would sack Randy Wright for seven yards forcing a punt on 4th and 14 at the Davis 34 yard line.

After back-to-back turnovers by Sim, it was CJ Bennett’s turn to run the offense starting at the Jaguar 36 yard line. Houston would open the series with a two yard rush. Then back to back completions for Bennett, first to Lemontis Gardner for six yard followed by Bryant Lavender for seven to cross mid-field to the Aggie 49. After another two yard run by Houston, Bennett would get sacked for a nine yard loss back to the USA 44. The Jags would have to use their second time out of the half with 6:15 left in the second quarter. After the timeout Bennett would get sacked again, this time for only one yard. Scott Garber’s punt would be downed at the Aggie 10 yard line with 5:25 left until halftime.

Wright’s first pass would go for 12 yards and a first down, but the would only gain one yard in the next three plays before punting it away again.

Glover would fair catch the punt at the USA 45, giving the Jags great field position to start their next drive. Back to back incomplete passes would have the Jaguars facing 3rd and 10. Bennett would find Jereme Jones, but he would come up two yards short. Garber’s punt would go 41 yards to be downed at the Aggie 6 this time.

Randy Wright would go deep for Sean Creadick, but would be intercepted by Jonathan Cameron at the Aggie 41 yard line. Houston would run for four yards to the Davis 37, but back-to-back incomplete passes by Bennett would bring up 4th down. The Jags would then use their final timeout of the half as some indecision occurred as to whether the Jags were going to attempt a long field goal or punt the ball. Garber would come out and punt the ball. Davis would return the punt seven yards to the Davis 15 yard line.

With 1:53 the Aggies went into a hurry-up offense, completing pass after pass. The first two were to Creadick for 22 yard and five yards respectively. Then a completion to Josh Reese for six yard would put the Aggies at their own 49 yard line. A substitution infraction against the Jags would be declined.

Wright would then complete a pass to Creadick again for a loss of one yard. Then the Aggies would find forward gear again with completions of five yards to Tom Hemmingsen, 10 to Creadick and Troy Yudin for 22 yards put the Aggies at the Jaguar 15 yard line. Then quarterback Wright would run for eight yards before going out of bounds at the Jaguar 7 yard line. Wright would cap off the drive with a touchdown pass to Creadick with 15 seconds left until halftime, tying the game at 14. Davis’ drive would cover 84 yards in nine plays using only 1:38 seconds off the clock.

McGlon would kick off to begin the second half. The kickoff was fielded at the 21 yard line then returned 17 to the Davis 38 yard line. The Aggies could only muster one first down going 12 yards in six plays before punting the ball out of bounds at the Jaguar 15 yard line.

Sim would complete his first pass of the second half to Houston for three yards. Then Houston would rush for four more out to the Jaguar 22 yard line. Sim would then complete a five yard pass to Jereme Jones for a first down on 3rd and 3. Houston would then get stopped for a one yard loss on his next rushing attempt. Sim would try to hit Courtney Smith, but the Aggies would get flagged for pass interference giving the Jags another 1st and 10 at their own 41 yard line. Houston would then run for four yards out to the 45 yard line. Sim’s next throw towards Courtney Smith would be complete for 11 yards to the Aggie 44 yard line. However, Sim would throw his second pick of the game at the Davis 34 yard line and stalling another prospective South Alabama drive.

The Jaguar defense stepped up again, forcing a three and out by the Aggie offense. The Davis punt went out of bounds at the South Alabama 29 as they tried to keep the ball out of Glover’s hands.

Sim would return to the game with an incomplete pass on first down. Sim would hit Ralph Turner for five yards on second down but would throw another incomplete pass to bring up 4th down. A false start on Michael Wilson would back the Jags up five extra yards to the Jaguar 29 yard line. Garber’s punt would go 46 yards then fumbled but recovered by the Aggies at their own 21 yard line.

Two consecutive rushes by the Aggies would go for six yards by Josh Reese and 10 yards by Nick Aprile. On the first down play, the Jags would be caught on another substitution infraction as they tried to get player onto and off of the field. On 1st and 5 from the Aggie 42, Cutshaw would run for no gain, but Charlie Higgenbotham would be flagged for a face mask, moving the ball across mid-field to the Jaguar 43. After an incomplete pass, two consecutive Aggie rushes would go for 7 yards and 19 yards respectively putting the Aggies at the Jaguar 17 yard line. Coach Jones would be forced to call a time out with 4:17 left in the third quarter. Coming off of the time out, Randy Wright would complete a strike to Tom Hemmingsen for a 17 yard touchdown to give the Aggies the first lead of the game at 21-14.

TJ Glover would give the offense a spark when he returned the kickoff 43 yards to the mid-field stripe to start their next possession. Trying to spark some life in the offense, South Alabama put Myles Gibbon into the game. Gibbon’s first pass went to Waldon for eight yards to the Davis 42 yard line. Santuan McGee would then rush for 13 yards, but it would come back when Kevin Helms was flagged for a hold. The ten yard penalty would put the Jags back at their own 48 yard line.

Gibbon’s next attempt was incomplete to Waldon again, but UC-Davis would be flagged for pass interference to put the ball at the Davis 37 yard line. Gibbon would be sacked on the next play for a loss of three, but he would make up for it by running for 13 yards and a Jaguar first down at the Aggies 27. Kevin Helms would be flagged for a falst start, backing the Jags up five more yards for a 1st and 15.

Gibbon would hit McGee for nine yards to the Davis 23 yard line. Then McGee would rush for two more yards setting up a 3rd and 4 at the Aggie 21. Coach Jones would call a time out with 37 seconds left in quarter. Houston would get the carry after the time out, but the Aggie defense sniffed it out and dropped him for a one yard loss. Coach Jones sent in Jordan Mean for the field goal attempt, which was good from 39 yards to cut the Aggie lead to four points at 21-17.

Jordan Means kickoff would sail to the one yard line, but Corbin Cutshaw would return it 40 yards to the Aggie 41 as he was forced out of bounds by Means. Cutshaw’s spark would dwindle as the South Alabama defense would step up, with a little help by a false start on 3rd and 1, to force a three and out.

The Aggie punt would go out of bounds at the Jaguar 13 yard line with Bennett returning under center to lead the offense. His first pass would be complete to Lemontis Gardner for 12 yards. This would be followed up with consecutive rushes by Santuan McGee for six and 21 yards respectively. With 1st and 10 at the Davis 48 yard line, Bennett would find Courtney Smith open for 13 yards to the Davis 35 yard line. A run by Bennett would pick up eight more yards to get to the Davis 27 yard line.

The Aggie defense would stiffen on the Jags by stopping McGee for no gain then dropping Houston for a one yard loss. Then on 4th and 3 at the Aggie 28, the Jags rolled the dice and went for it. However Bennett’s pass would fall incomplete turning the ball over on downs.

Nick Aprile would open the Aggie drive with a 17 yard run out to the 45 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Wright would complete his pass to Creadick for nine yards to the USA 46 yard line. Higgenbotham would stop Aprile for no gain bringing up 4th down. After a delay of game penalty the Aggies would punt. TJ Glover would field the punt at the 16 yard line and return it nine yards to the Jaguar 25 yard line.

Starting the drive with 6:55 left in the game, it was gut check time for the Jags. Bennett would open the drive with a completion to Jereme Jones for 14 yards. Then Santaun McGee would rush for 16 more yards to cross mid-field to the Davis 45 yard line. McGee’s next run would be stopped for no gain. Then CJ Bennett would find Courtney Smith open down the sideline for a 45 yard touchdown pass as the Jags retake the lead at 24-21 with 5:29 left in the game.

After an 11 yard return on the kickoff, the Aggies started at their own 15 yard line. Wright would run for seven yards on first down, then he would connect with Aprile for five more and a first down. Wright would then hit Creadick for 11 more yards and another first down at the Davis 43 yard line.

The Jags would then force three consecutive incomplete passes to bring up a 4th and 10 at the Davis 43 yard line. Randy Wright would scamper for the first down, gaining 11 yards to keep the Aggie drive alive at the Jaguar 46 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Wright was sacked for eight yards by Jake Johnson to bring up a 3rd and 18 at the Aggie 46 yard line. South Alabama would call its final time out of the game with just 2:21 remaining.

Wright’s passing attempt would fall incomplete bringing up 4th and 18. The UC-Davis coaches decided that they would trust their defense to get a stop and sent on the punting unit. The 31 yard punt was downed at the Jaguar 23 yard line with 2:06 left in the game.

The Jaguars, needing only a first down or two, send CJ Bennett back into the game. On first down he would run for three yards with the Aggies using a time out to stop the clock with 2:01 left to play. Santuan McGee would run for six more yards on second down, coming up just a half-yard shy of the first down. The Aggies would call their second time out of the half with 1:53 left to play. Then with 3rd and 1 at the USA 32 yard line and going on a hard count, a mix-up between the center, Trey Clark, and Bennett resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Aggies at the South Alabama 33 yard line with 1:52 left in the game.

On first down the Jaguars Anthony Taylor sacked Wright for a six yard loss back at the USA 39 yard line with the clock still running. Wright would then find Creadick open for a 22 yard gain down to the jaguar 17 yard line, still with the clock running. Then on 1st and 10 at the 17 yard line, the Aggies stop the clock on an incomplete pass. Anthony Taylor would get a huge sack on the quarterback for a loss of eight yards back to the Jaguar 25 yard line. Then a Davis fumble at the 27 was recovered at the 22 by Josh Reese and advanced five yards back to the Jaguar 17 yard line. The Aggies let the clock run down to 3 seconds before using their third and final time out of the game to set up a potential game-tying field goal.

As time ran out Davis’ kicker, Sean Kelley, sailed the 34 yard kick wide right right preserving the win for the Jaguars, 24-21.

On the ground the Jags were led by Santuan McGee on the ground with 53 yards on eight carries. Kendall Houston had 14 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Courtney Smith caught six passes for 105 yard, including the game winning 45 yard touchdown score in the 4th quarter. Jereme Jones added four catches for 35 yards, Corey Waldon had three catches for 32 yards and Gardner and Glover both added two catches for 18 and 11 yards respectively. Five other Jags caught passes as well.

Brennan Sim went 13-for-18 for 116 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. CJ Bennett was 7-for-13 for 105 yard with a touchdown and two sacks. Myles Gibbon completed both passing attempts for 17 yards and a sack.

TJ Glover ended the game with 150 all-purpose yards, 11 receiving, 93 on kick returns and 43 more on punt returns.

Scott Garber punted four times for an average of 40 yards with three kicks being downed inside the 20.

For UC-Davis, Nick Aprile lead their rushers with 44 yards on seven carries. Josh Reese had eight carries for 26 yards. While Sean Creadick had a game high 12 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown. Tom Himmingsen added three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Coulton Schmidt punted eight times for an average of just over 34 yards per punt with only two of them being downed inside the 20 yard line. Sean Kelley attempted two field goals, missing both from 41 and 34 yards.

The Jags committed four turnovers, two interceptions and two fumbles. UC-Davis threw one interceptions and fumbled twice, losing none. The Jags would run for 131 yards for the game while passing for 238 for a total of 369 offensive yards. The defense would allow 109 yards on the ground and 238 through the air for a total of 347 yards against the Aggies.

South Alabama would be flagged nine times for 65 yards while Davis was flagged only five times for 43 yards.