MOBILE, Ala. - Brandon Ross recorded his third 100-yard game of the season, scoring twice, and Santuan McGee added a career-best three touchdowns to help the University of South Alabama football team cap an undefeated inaugural season with a 35-0 victory over Huntingdon (Ala.) College Thursday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.  The victory came in front of an announced crowd of 23,683 - the second largest crowd this season for the Jags.

"It feels great of course,  and we had that as a goal, but we really concentrate on the little things," Jaguar head coach Joey Jones commented.  "That's what gets you to 7-0 - those little things you do every day in practice that the coaches keep harping to the players, and that's just nothing but a reward for your hard work each day.  I never thought we'd be 7-0."

Ross would post a season-best 144 yards on 18 carries, while McGee ran for 93 on 11 attempts as the Jags (7-0) collected 345 of their 495 yards of total offense on the ground.

Bryson James and Montavious Williams each recorded seven stops, and Alex Phifer intercepted two passes to go along with four tackles to help the Jag defense limit the Hawks (8-2) - who entered play ranked first at the NCAA Division III level with 558 yards of total offense per contest while scoring 41.4 points per game - to a season-low 236 yards.  Actually, it was the first time in 2009 that HC finished with fewer than 400.

"We haven't played anyone like that has frustrated us that much defensively," said Hawk head coach Mike Turk.  "They were able to really shut down the things we were trying to do and make us go places we're not accustomed to going as far as the game plan.

"A lot of credit goes to coach Jones and his staff.  They are doing a fantastic job, and they obviously outcoached us tonight.  It was obvious to me that they had their guys a lot more prepared for us than we were for them."

The Jaguars would break open a contest that was 7-0 at halftime with four touchdowns in a 13-minute span.  Ralph Turner returned the kickoff 42 yards to start the third quarter, setting up a seven-play, 54-yard march that culminated in Ross' second score of the night.  Brennan Sim and Ross gained 13 and 27 yards, respectively, to get USA into the red zone, before Sim ran for seven more yards to set up second-and-goal at the HC-1.  Ross scored one play later with just over 12 minutes to go to double the Jags' lead to 14-0.

Another long drive - one that covered 62 yards in 10 plays and more than four-and-a-half minutes - led to a 21-0 advantage for the Jaguars with one-and-a-half minutes left in the quarter.  After Ross ran for one first down, Sim completed passes for gains of five yards to Turner and 19 yards to Corey Waldon to move the chains two more times.  McGee ran twice for 17 yards to get the ball to the one-yard line, then scored when Sim found him in the right flat for a touchdown pass.

McGee would score a second time - the first occasion this year that he has reached the end zone more than once - with a one-yard run with 11:39 remaining in the contest, capping an eight-play, 85-yard march.  McGee started the fourth quarter with a 19-yard gain, but the big play of the drive was a 55-yard pass from Sim to Courtney Smith.

Sim finished 13-of-20 passing for 150 yards, adding 49 yards on eight carries to record the highest total offense figure for the Jags this season.  Smith closed out the year by leading USA with four receptions for 73 yards.  Waldon added three receptions for another 39.

The Jaguars' final scoring drive of the season was their shortest of the game.  After a 13-yard punt return from Turner gave USA a short field, McGee carried once for 25 yards before going around the right end and diving for the corner of the end zone from 12 yards out on the next play from scrimmage with nine-and-a-half minutes to go.

"In the first half we just weren't clicking, so we got in at halftime, talked to our coordinator and came out in the second half fired up," McGee said.  "Once the offense got rolling, it just continued to roll.  We needed guys to make big plays, and we did that."

The Jag defense would make that stand, recording the team's first shutout since a 56-0 win over Army Prep on Sept. 26.  The Hawks managed to run for only 54 yards on 41 attempts, marking the fifth consecutive outing in which the opposition has failed to reach triple digits in the category.

Both James and Williams finished with season-high tackles totals, with each credited with a sack.  Zach Brownell posted six stops, Jerron Mitchell added five while Phifer - who became the third Jaguar to record multiple turnovers in a game this season - led a group of four players with four tackles.  Justin Dunn, Charlie Higgenbotham and Anthony Taylor were the others.

"Week in and week out, we want to keep each team under 10 points," said Phifer.  "Coach Clark was big on this game, and he wanted a shutout.  So that's what we did, we got him a shutout."

"They were a good offense. They came out and hit us in the mouth," added Brownell.  "Their receivers were physical and they showed us some stuff we didn't see on film."

Justin Ridgeway was 13-of-23 passing for 182 yards, but he was sacked four times.  Cody Pearcy led the Hawks with seven catches for 58 yards, while Alex Baronich finished with 64 yards on 27 carries.

Keith Anthony paced all players with 14 stops - 10 were solo - and he also intercepted a pass in the end zone in the second quarter, while Kirk Johnson added 12 and Quinn Hambrite had eight for HC.

USA was just yards away from trailing for the first time this season prior to the midpoint of the opening quarter when Ridgeway hit Tyler Young on third-and-13 - after catching the ball in front of the HC bench, he ran across the field to the USA-2 before Anton Graphenreed caught him from behind.  But, on second-and-goal, Alex Page forced a fumble by Baronich that he recovered at the two-yard line.

Instead, Ross helped key the Jaguars' longest drive of the season.  On second down, he rushed up the middle for 20 yards to get USA out of the shadow of its own goal line, and two plays later he broke off a 43-yard gain.  Anthony Mostella would then carry twice for nine yards around a 12-yard completion from Sim to Paul Bennett before Ross returned to score on a five-yard run up the middle with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Ross would finish with 104 of the Jags' 178 total yards in the first period.

"It means a lot to the team to finish the season 7-0, to face a little adversity for the first time, and to come out with a really strong second half," Sim observed.  "For me, it was exciting to be able to end the season on a high note."

"We kind of wanted a challenge.  Of course I would've rather scored a few more points, but the bottom line is Huntingdon came out and played great," Jones stated. "Those guys are scrappy, and I knew it.  When I watched them on film I knew they would present a challenge.  Hats off to them for coming out and playing well.

"We needed a game, we needed to be able to come in at halftime and regroup, refocus and make some changes.  We did that, the staff did a great job at halftime, and we came out and played a great second half."

The Hawks would cross midfield just once the rest of the game.  On their opening drive of the second half, after Ross had made it 14-0, a 17-yard pass from Ridgeway to Pearcy put HC at the USA-39.  However, two plays later Phifer intercepted a Ridgeway pass at the 12-yard line, running it back 38 yards.

The Jags held the Hawks to only 83 yards over the final 30 minutes.  After surrendering 344 yards to Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy in its first-ever game Sept. 5, USA did not allow any of its last six opponents to collect more than HC's final total.

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-