MOBILE, Ala. - For the last few weeks, University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones has been asking for his offensive unit to show improvement in the passing game. Quarterback Myles Gibbon and wide receiver Courtney Smith didn't waste any time giving the Jaguar mentor what he wanted Saturday.
The two hooked up on touchdown passes of 64 and 60 yards on the first two offensive plays of the game, sparking the Jaguars' 64-6 victory over Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
"We came out and executed very well. The protection got better, and that's where it all starts in the passing game," Jones stated. "We had some wide open guys down the field on the first two passes, and Myles did a good job hitting Courtney. We just executed well."
Smith would finish with three receptions for 131 yards while recording his first multi-score game of the season. Actually, all four of his touchdown catches have covered 60 yards or more this fall.
"We practiced it all week and I knew the first play was going to be to me, so I expected the ball and Myles threw a good one," Smith commented. "After the first one they told me they were going to throw it to me again, so I expected it again."
"Coach stressed to us that he wanted to open up the passing game. On the first two plays, I knew they wanted to hit something deep," Gibbon added. "They played the perfect defense for it, and it worked out. It's one of those things where you drop back and everything just slows down. Although it was wide open, those are the passes quarterbacks hate throwing because you don't want to overthrow them."
USA (5-0) would go on to score 30 points in the opening quarter while outgaining the Blue Devils (5-4) 217-8. Brandon Ross extended the advantage to 20-0 with four-and-a-half minutes remaining with a two-yard touchdown run one play after Brennan Sim completed a 40-yard pass to Lamontis Gardner. On the ensuing FUMA possession, Zach Brownell intercepted a pass and ran it back 30 yards to set up a 24-yard Michel Chapuseaux field goal, while two plays after that Montavious Williams picked up a fumble and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.
"I saw the ball pop up and I just grabbed it. All I thought was end zone, just run as fast as you can to get there," Williams observed. "I've never scored a touchdown before so I'm happy I did today."
Santuan McGee and Anthony Mostella would tack on second-quarter scores - the latter on Sim's first career touchdown pass -for a 44-0 lead at the break, and when Ralph Turner returned the opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards for a touchdown the advantage would grow to 51 points. Clifton Crews supplied a second defensive touchdown when he fell on a bad snap in the end zone with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter, while Kelly Vail caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Nick Owens to end the scoring with 13-and-a-half minutes to go in the contest.
"It's been a stressful last four games for me because I haven't really been touching the ball," said Turner, who finished with 108 all-purpose yards. "Once I got the ball the hole was wide open and I just ran."
"I was just in the right spot at the right time," Crews stated. "I think [assistant] coach [Bill] Clark continues to come up with a good scheme each week, he always finds a way to put constant pressure on the quarterback."
Smith's touchdown receptions would end up as Gibbon's only completions of the game, but Sim would finish 9-of-9 passing for 130 yards and Owens was 3-of-4 for another 67 as USA threw for a season-high 321 yards. Gardner added two catches for 73 yards, with Drew Ezell, Mostella and Corey Waldon each adding a pair of receptions too.
McGee paced the rushing attack with 39 yards on five carries, and Ryan Scott chipped in with 22 yards on the ground as the Jags posted 381 yards of total offense.
The Blue Devils didn't cross midfield or record their initial first down until early in the second quarter when T.J. Earley found Deon Miller for a 24-yard gain, but FUMA would finish the first half with just 84 yards of total offense. The shutout bid ended when Myles McKee capped a five-play, 76-yard drive with a 34-yard pass to Tyler McDonald that made the score 51-6.
McKee was 10-of-20 passing for 149 yards, and Earley added 64 yards while completing half of his 16 attempts as well as the Blue Devils recorded 213 yards through the air.
But, they would finish with only 191 yards of total offense as the Jaguars racked up 13 tackles for loss including eight sacks. Logan Bennett and Zack Rone accounted for two each, with the former posting four stops including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage. Ken Barefield, Cori Barnett and Enrique Williams all paced the unit with five total tackles, with Barnett collecting 1.5 for loss. Bryson James and Romelle Jones each added four stops while forcing a fumble as 16 players finished with multiple tackles.
Marquis Spruill led all players with seven stops for the Blue Devils, which included a sack for a loss of seven yards. Jerell McFadden added six and Chris Payne recorded five stops, while Contee Cameron recorded two tackles for loss.
"We had seen in the paper that South Alabama was working on its passing game. As we got here and watched the pregame warm-up, we knew that they would try to take advantage of the long ball early, and they did," stated FUMA head coach John Shuman. "They came back out and did it again. Once you get down 14 points, you become one dimensional - we couldn't run the ball. South Alabama did a great job on the defensive side, they called some great blitzes and used a good scheme against us. On offense, it was obviously men against boys here.
"It just didn't go our way today."
"I'm proud of the guys today. After the last two games, we've really stressed coming to work every day," said Jones. "We're trying to teach these kids a life lesson, and if they'll approach their work the right way then good things happen. We probably out-manned the team we played, and we know that, but we played well - we didn't play sloppy. The other team came in here and had a 15-hour bus ride, which I'm sure was a tough thing to do, so my hat is off to them for that.
"They had some really good athletes and good coaching. I think it was just a matter that our kids played well."
USA will celebrate Homecoming Weekend when Milford (N.Y.) Academy visits for a 4 p.m. contest at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
-USA-
