Jags Name Permanant Team Captains For 2012 Team
Clifton Crews and Gabe Loper leap in an attempt to block a field goal against Florida Atlantic.
The South Alabama Jaguar football team took a vote of its players and selected the 2012 season’s four permanent captains. The players selected and were announced at the end of Thursday’s practice. The players selected were: Center Trey Clark, linebacker Jake Johnson, defensive back B.J. Scott and defensive end Anthony Taylor.
Each of the four players have contributed heavily to the Jaguars success on the field. Clark has started every single game in the program’s history so far.
Also, each of the players selected are seniors who will be recognized prior to kickoff against Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Saturday’s game is the Jaguars final home game of the 2012 campaign and thus is Senior Day.
“It means a lot, especially coming from my peers,” Mobile native B.J. Scott said. “It means that I have the respect of my teammates and it lets me know that they believe in me and they think highly of me. I’m just going to go out there and lead them and be the guy that they chose.”
“To me, that’ the highest honor you get,” Jags head coach Joey Jones said. “Your stats and leading tackler in conference is big, being able to have tackles and catch passes and whatever you do stat-wise, that’s something you’ll remember. But you’ll always remember being a captain. It’s the biggest honor on the team because thats what everybody else on the team thinks of you. They think you’re the guy to put in front of them.”
“These four guys have been great examples of leadership on our team” Jones continued. “We have others certainly on this team, but those four guys were picked by their teammates.”
Another Good Practice On Thursday Prior To MTSU
Jaguar Head Coach Joey Jones was pleased once again with the Jaguars final practice prior to the game against Middle Tennessee on Thursday.
“It was really good,” Jones said. “I think they understand how good Middle Tennessee is and because of that our preparation has been better. Now we’ve got to carry that to the game. We practiced well, now we’ve got to go out there and play well.
The Jags will have a brief walk-through session on Friday.
Earlier this week Jones noted that the offensive preparation and work for MTSU has been very good. He also mentioned that the team was adding a new wrinkle or two to the offense.
“I feel good about the plan,” Jones said. “They run around and do a lot of different things defensively and we’ll have to make some checks and some good calls during the game. I think we’ve got that planned out. The coaching staff has done a great job of preparing the players for those checks during the game because they do so many multiple things.”
Good news for the Jaguar defense who has suffered several injuries this season. Linebacker Clifton Crews has been given medical clearance to play against MTSU. He suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the Jaguars game against North Texas when he took a knee to his helmet. He practiced with the team on Thursday but his progress will continue to be monitored closely and a final decision will be made on game day.
Lady Jags Basketball To Host Southern Miss Tonight At Mitchell Center
The South Alabama Women’s basketball team will host regional rival and Conference USA foe Southern Miss Friday evening at the Mitchell Center for a 7:05pm tip-off.
The Lady Jags have began the season with a 2-0 start after they picked up a 59-43 win over Tennessee State earlier this week.
Southern Miss enters the game after falling to Hampton back on November 9 in it’s season opener 78-41.
“The thing that we have to be concerned about is this is a team that beat us last year,” Lady Jaguar head coach Rick Pietri said. “Their backcourt basically killed us last year, Tanecka Carey and Jamierra Faulkner. They put up 26 and 20 (points) on us, and they’re back. We’ve got to find a way to manage them without ignoring the other players on their team who are capable as well. They’re coming off what I’m sure to them was a disappointing loss and they’ve had a whole week to stew about it, which as their next opponent, is something I’m not very excited about.”
“Nonetheless, I know that they’ll be ready to play, and, based on their success versus us last year in a very close game, I know that they’re not going to have any fear of us, so we’re going to have to do the best we can to defend and find ways to score to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Southern Miss leads the all-time series between the two schools 15-10 while coach Rick Pietri is 7-2 against USM in his career. Last season the Jags fell in Hattisburg 67-62. When the Jags and the Golden Eagles last met in MObile, the Jags defeated them 95-61 in the 2010-2011 season.
Coach Jones Pleased With Wednesday’s Practice
The Jaguar offense looks to the sideline for play adjustments against UTSA.
The Jags hit the practice field for a two-hour practice on Wednesday in what head coach Joey Jones said was a “good day” of work. As the Jags continue to prepare for Middle Tennessee State, coach Jones commended the work that his team produced on Wednesday. He also commended them for their hard work and determination that they approach preparing for each and every game this season.
“It was a good day,” Jones said. “I just want to commend our young men. They just have a great attitude and they’re really working hard through this situation where people are looking at our record and tend to think that things are not going well. But they’re working hard through it.”
“They really have a great attitude, a winning attitude,” Jones continued. “I talked with them today and I said, ‘Guys, y’all are winners in my book’ and I firmly believe that. They’ve had a great attitude about what they’re doing and they’re working hard and getting better.”
Coach Jones felt that the execution of the offense was better during practice on Wednesday. “We put some new wrinkles in and they were executing those new wrinkles pretty well,” he said. “And our offensive line, to me, has really come a long way. They’re becoming cohesive. We’ve had to move some guys from tackle to guard and guard to tackle and making those moves it doesn’t seem like we’ve missed a beat. That means we’re starting to mature as a line to be able to do that.”
“Defensively, I thought we were flying around and doing a good job of understanding that (Middle Tennessee has) some great skill players. They have a couple of great receivers and a great running back. If we don’t contain those guys and get in the right position we won’t stop those guys. I thought today we worked on that and did a very good job.”
South Alabama and Middle Tennessee kick off at 2:30pm on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jaguar Seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony for Senior Day.
Jags Use Strong Second Half To Down William Carey 82-64 In Home Opener
The South Alabama Jaguars Men’s Basketball team used a strong second half to defeat William Carey 82-64 in their home opener for the season. The Jags improve to 2-0 on the season while WCU used this game as an exhibition game.
William Carey led most of the first half but the Jags took the lead back late in the first half, but the Crusaders were able to steal the ball and lay it in before the buzzer to take a 36-36 tie into halftime. However the Jags would use a 12-0 run early in the second half to pull away.
“I kept telling everybody that that team was very athletic and could shoot the ball,” Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “Not to take anything away from them, but we didn’t guard like we wanted to at the beginning of the game. We get a little hard-headed now and then where we have to be proven that they can shoot the ball and I think they proved it that they could shoot it in the first half.”
Sophomore Mychal Ammons earned his third consecutive double-double going back to last season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. “I think last year we played (Mychal) 95 percent outside,” Arrow stated. “He never played outside before but we thought that he could become a 6-foot-6 power ‘3’ man and all that skill work he did last year has helped him this year play the ‘3’ and the ‘4.’ He can put the ball on the floor better. Now he’s taking ‘4s’ off the dribble and when he takes it outside he’s taking ‘3s’ off the dribble so he can dribble penetrate better with all the experience he got from last year.”
Augustine Rubit, a junior, fell one rebound short of a double-double with 20 points, 16 in the first half, and nine rebounds. “I thought Aug was getting back to his form,” Arrow said. “He really isn’t back yet from his dislocated toe, but he was moving a lot better tonight.”
During the 12-0 run that put the Jags up for good, four different Jaguars contributed with scores. Junior Antoine Allen nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, the first for the Jaguars in the game, to cap off the run.
Midway through the second half the Jags had a 7-0 run with Xavier Roberson hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Jags lead to 59-44.
On the other side, William Carey opened the second half shooting 1-of-11 from the floor.
“We won’t face anybody all year that’s got a front line like they’ve got,” William Carey head coach Steve Knight said. “They finally started making some shots in the second half, and that hurt us. If you’re going to try to double the post, then they start making threes, it’s pick your poison. They did a much better job in the second half of mixing it up.”
Roberson scored 15 points, all in the second half. Senior Javier Carter tied a career high with three assists with seven blocks to tie him for fifth place in school history.
South Alabama will face Tennessee State on Monday at 3pm in the next round of the Coaches vs Cancer classic. They will play in Atlanta and hosted by Georgia State.
Coach Jones Pleased With Tuesday’s Practice
2012 South Alabama Football Senior class. – Photo from USAJaguars.com
South Alabama returned to the practice field on Tuesday to continue preparation for Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee State.
“We had a pretty good day today,” head coach Joey Jones said. “I think we had a good one from the standpoint that they were paying attention and they had a good inside drill today, running the football on both sides of the ball, offense and defense. I thought we had a goods crisp period where they got after it and on Tuesday’s you’ve got to have a good physical practice because you’ve got to carry it over to the game.”
Similar to last week, the Jags practiced in shells and will most likely do it again on Wednesday as well. As they are in the midst of a long stretch of games with three more to go the staff does not want to over extend the players while still working on keeping them sharp and implementing the game plan for their next opponent.
Coach Jones also said in his weekly radio show that Demetre Baker was doubtful for the Jags game this weekend. This will likely put Kendall Houston as the starter against the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Baker missed the second half against North Texas with an ankle sprain suffered in the second quarter.
Houston has 185 yards on 71 carries this season and has made appearances in all 10 games. Baker is the teams leading rusher with 595 yards on the season.
Clifton Crews, who suffered a concussion in the second quarter against North Texas, is probable for this weekends game. He will still have to pass a battery of tests to make sure there are no lingering affects from the concussion before that decision is finalized.
Prior to this Saturday’s game, the University will honor 15 seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Trey Clark, B.J. Scott and Jake Johnson have started all 10 games this season. Cori Barnett and Brandon Ross have not seen the playing field this season due to injuries.
Ryne Baxter, Jonathan Cameron, Michel Chapuseaux, Andy Dalgleish, Kennedy Helms, Ellis Hill, Gabe Loper, Chris Rivers, Tremain Smith and Anthony Taylor will all join the previously mentioned players to be honored as the 2012 senior class.
“I want to thank our seniors for all they have done and committed to this football program, for what they have meant not only to this university but to our team,” said Coach Jones. “They are great leaders and great young men, they care about this team and have done all the right things to build this program from the ground up. Some of the guys have been here the whole time, some have transferred in, but the bottom line is that they have all contributed in great ways. They will be forever missed because they have done a good job here, they have created an atmosphere of hard work and character. We will be indebted to them forever.”
“I think this is a special day, it really is, because you almost treat it a little differently since it is your last day to play at home,” he continued. “Not that you are going to go out and play any harder, because those guys are going to play hard anyway, but you look at it with a little different perspective because you realize this is your last one. There are not many things in life that you know are going to end, maybe retirement.”
The parking lot at Ladd-Peebles Stadium will open at 8am for tailgating and gates to the stadium will open at 12:30pm. The Jaguar Prowl will take place around 12:10pm in the South parking lot. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30pm.
Jags Basketball Opens Home Opener Tonight At The Mitchell Center
The South Alabama Men’s Basketball team will open their home schedule tonight when they host the William Carey Crusaders. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm at the Mitchell Center. All upper level seats will be on sale for $1 as will hot dogs from 6pm until halftime.
The game will be broadcast on 105.5 WNSP or it can be seen by subscribers to the Jaguars All-Access service.
The Jags enter the game on the heels of a huge win over top-25 ranks Florida State University. Last season the Jags lost to the Seminoles 80-39.
“I think our guys did a heck of a job of doing what they had to do to win,” Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “Everybody that got into the game contributed. Did we do everything right? No, but we did a lot of good things.”
“At the end of the game, we showed the ability to win big games,” he continued. “We hit free throws, we got stops and if we didn’t get a stop, we held them to one shot. We showed maturity in key situations at the end of the game. For this early in the season, I thought that was good against a quality team.”
But the Jags had better treat their opponent with respect because their only loss was to Mississippi State by six points in an exhibition game.
Additionally on Tuesday South Alabama’s Antoine Allen was honored with a pair of awards for his play against Florida State. He was honored with the Lou Henson Award which is given to the top mid-major player in the country every week. He was also honored by the Sun Belt Conference as the player of the week for his performance.
Allen scored a career high 21 points to help lead the Jaguars over the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
Come out tonight and support your Jaguars!
Replay Official Reprimanded By Conference Officials For Blown Call In USA – UNT Game
South Alabama received some news on Tuesday from the Sun Belt Conference office concerning the Jaguars game against North Texas last weekend. The Sun Belt Conference issued a formal reprimand of two of the Conference’s replay officials, including the replay official working the South Alabama vs North Texas game.
With the Jags trailing North Texas 24-14, Jaguar defensive back Tyrell Pearson picked off a pass and returned it down the left sideline. He was then knocked out of bounds near the goal line and officials on the field ruled that he had fumbled the ball and it had hit the pylon before going out of bounds. That ruling meant that the ball was a touchback, giving the Mean Green the ball back at their own 20 yard line.
It went to a review and the play was upheld.
However, the video clearly shows the fumble going out of bound around the 1 yard line and that the ball did not the pylon. The correct ruling should have been that it was the Jaguars ball with a first and goal at the 1 yard line.
In the press release the Conference recognized the blown call in announcing the reprimand. Additionally the replay officials involved have been placed on probation and will be removed from consideration to work a post-season bowl game.
Another replay official working the Arkansas State vs Louisiana-Monroe game from last Thursday night were also reprimanded, placed on probation and will not be considered for a postseason bowl game.
“Instant replay was established to ‘get calls right’ that are questionable on the field,” said Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson. “Our coaches, student athletes and fans deserve quality performance in the instant replay booth just like they do from the officials on the field. South Alabama and ULM have received apologies and the two instant replay officials are hereby reprimanded.”
As mentioned above, the Jags were trailing 24-14 with 2:40 left in the third quarter. If the Jags had retained possession they were poised to score a touchdown from the one yard line to cut the Mean Green lead to three points heading into the fourth quarter.
“It is unfortunate, but it definitely had a major impact on the game,” head coach Joey Jones said. “It would have made it a three-point game and it would have changed our whole offense philosophy in the fourth quarter. But I admire the Sun Belt Conference and the commissioner for admitting to (the mistake) and being completely honest about it.”
South Alabama Athletics Director Joel Erdmann told the Press Register that he appreciates what the Conference did in this instance. “I’d like to commend the commissioner and the conference’s actions in our specific instance,” Erdmann said. “It reinforces the stakes that are at play within the game of FBS football. Often times, a game’s outcome hangs in the balance of a hand full of plays. Thus, the increased importance on accuracy.”
“We deeply appreciate the conference and the officials and the coordinator of officials because we know that they work hard every day to prepare themselves to make the best decisions and call the best games that they can.”
Lady Jags Defeat Tennessee State 59-43 Monday Night
Lady Jaguar Head Coach Rick Pietri
The South Alabama Lady Jaguar basketball team defeated Tennessee State Monday night at the Mitchell Center. They used a 16-0 run over a five minute span late in the second half to secure the 59-43 win.
South Alabama’s record improves to 2-0 on the season behind a game-high 16 points by Mary Nixon. She shot 5-of-12 and was 2-of-3 from three point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Camille Reynolds added nine points, all in the first half. Jennifer Johnson had eight points, six of them during the Jaguars late run. Brianna Wright pulled down 11 rebounds, 10 of the defensive.
“I give a lot of a lot of credit to Tennessee State for making this a really ugly game,” South Alabama Lady Jaguar head coach Rick Pietri said. “It’s coach (Joe) Inman’s 29th year as a coach in Division I, his third program. He’s won conference championships and been to the NCAA Tournament. With this team, he’s decided they are a relentless pressure team. Full-court, half-court, it doesn’t matter. They sell out. They completely sell out under pressure and we struggled with it early. We had 16 turnovers at halftime and that’s not characteristic of our teams and how we play. We were very defensive on offense, and it led to some problems.”
“One of the fortunate things for us is that we guarded them,” Pietri continued. “Even while we were struggling to take care of the ball and struggling to score, we were defending well enough that we could muddle through and still, somehow, be up at halftime. In the second half, we did a better job of managing how they were playing us. We started to make them pay in some areas where they got extended and we were able to make some plays under the goal. We were also able to make some plays beyond the arc. In their frenzied rotation, somebody was left open. Jennifer Johnson hit some big shots for us at one point. In the first half, Camille Reynolds was the one who kept us in the game. She stayed composed while everyone else was losing their minds and she made some big plays for us. We won by 16, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. We are 2-0 and we’re moving forward.”
The Lady Jaguars host Southern Miss on Friday night at the Mitchell Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Go Jags!
Jags Looking To Keep Pushing For Wins In Final Three Games Of The Season
Bryant Lavender hauls in the pass from Ross Metheny at the goal line against FIU, but would be called down inside the one yard line.
South Alabama has been so close to chalking up several wins this season. Even the players can see themselves winning. They can feel themselves getting closer to breaking through even though they are currently in a three-game skid coming into this weekends final home game of the season.
But they know that it’s a matter of time before they come. It’s only a matter of getting a couple of offensive or defensive plays to go their way.
“The good teams learn from the losses, watch film, make corrections and move forward,” said Jaguar quarterback Ross Metheny. “That’s what we have to do. We have to put (Saturday’s 24-14 loss at North Texas) behind us. It’s tough. There comes a point where being so close is not enough. We’re so close in so many games, and hopefully we’ll put it all together. We have three more chances to win football games, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
The Jags are now 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the Sun Belt. But they will face the number two team in the conference this weekend when they host Middle Tennessee State. MTSU enters the game 6-3 overall and 4-1 in Conference play.
This is the Jags next chance to win a Sun Belt game. It’s their chance to end the latest losing streak and make another big statement in the conference. But it’s not their last chance. After MTSU, the Jags will visit Louisiana-Lafayette for their final Sun Belt game of the season then they will close out the season with a trip to Hawaii.
Clifton Crews sufferred a concussion in the second quarter against North Texas on Saturday. That was why he did not play any in the second half against the Mean Green. His status is undetermined right now, he will have to clear several medical tests before he will be allowed to return to the playing field.
Demetre Baker also suffered an injury against North Texas. Baker sprained his ankle and is currently considered doubtful for Saturday’s game against MTSU. Baker is Jaguars leading rusher with 595 yards on 118 carries with three touchdowns. He is averaging 5 yards per carry and has a 410 yard advantage over Kendall Houston, the Jaguars second leading rusher.
Head coach Joey Jones mentioned in his Monday press conference that no one was more frustrated than he was after the North Texas loss. “I don’t know that there is anyone more frustrated than I was after the (North Texas) game,” Jones said. “I didn’t talk to my wife, I didn’t talk to anyone on the plane coming back. I’m just that way. The next day I wake up and the sun comes up.”
“It has been difficult,” Jones continued. “One of the things we showed our players today is video of all the plays that had we made we would have won the ballgame the opportunities missed. Not that you are going to make every play every game, but there are certainly 12 to 15 plays in a game that if we make them the game is close and we win. That’s the difficult thing, leaving plays on the field. You’ve got to make those plays. You hear coaches say it all the time, you have three to five plays a game that make the difference.”
The Jags will have an opportunity to make a big statement win this weekend against the number 2 team in the Sun Belt. “I told our players this morning that they are growing up at this point. You’ve got to take the responsibility to look ahead of time and see yourself making those plays. It’s not good enough to just get to the fourth quarter, we have to make those plays in the fourth quarter. We have to coach better, everybody’s unit has to do better.”
South Alabama and Middle Tennessee are scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.