MOBILE, Ala. - For the second straight week, the University of South Alabama football team recorded four touchdowns in the opening quarter en route to a double-digit victory over a prep school opponent.
Brandon Ross led the way with two touchdowns in the first 13 minutes, finishing with 82 yards as the Jaguars defeated Milford (N.Y.) Academy 64-12 on Homecoming Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The Jaguars (6-0) will close out their inaugural season of football Thursday, when Huntingdon (Ala.) College visits for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Hawks will come into the contest with an 8-1 mark after earning a 59-28 win over Birmingham-Southern Saturday.
The Falcons fell to 7-4 with their second straight loss.
"It was a big win again. I'm proud of the kids for playing well," stated USA head coach Joey Jones. "It's just a matter of executing well and playing hard. We've got a short week coming up, and we're going to start getting ready early in the morning for the game on Thursday. We're looking forward to it because they're going to be one of the best teams we play. They're leading the nation in offense in Division III, so we've got a great game to look forward to this week."
Ross opened the scoring when he capped the Jags' first possession of the day - a six-play, 73 yard march - with a run up the middle 15 yards for a score. The first period would end with USA ahead 28-0, as Brennan Sim led the Jaguars 94 yards in seven plays - the team's longest drive of the year - leading to Ross' second touchdown of the game, this time on a run of one yard.
Ross would need just six carries to record his game-high rushing total. It was the fourth time in six outings this fall that he has scored multiple touchdowns.
"I just see the hole and go for it," Ross said. "Everybody did their job. We had a couple of injuries, but people stepped in. I thought everything went well."
"The guy's a freak," commented offensive lineman Brian Krauskopf on Ross, who has scored at least once in every game this season. "He makes us look good. We mess up every now and then, but you can't tell with him back there. It's great to have a guy like that."
USA extended the lead to 14-0 in the first half of the opening quarter when Myles Gibbon reached the end zone from 14 yards out with just under 10 minutes to go. On the Jaguars' next snap from scrimmage, Sim hit Courtney Smith on a post pattern for a 73-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the quarter.
Michel Chapuseaux converted a 25-yard field goal with 11-and-a-half minutes left in the opening half, making it a 31-point contest while capping a 10-play, 76-yard possession. Anthony Mostella and Eli Smith sandwiched touchdown runs of one and eight yards, respectively, around a safety as USA gained 456 yards over the first 30 minutes, with 322 of those coming on the ground.
Gibbon finished with 59 yards on three carries, and Mostella ran six times for 57 as well. Santuan McGee chipped in with 46 yards, Smith added 45 and Ellis Hill collected 43 on seven attempts in his collegiate debut, helping USA average 7.8 yards per carry.
Austin Baker caught two touchdown passes from Mark Giubilato, leaving the Jaguars ahead 47-12 at the break. The first, a grab of 30 yards over a USA defensive back, put the Falcons on the scoreboard with 8:23 to go in the opening half, while the second - which came with 40 second left in the quarter - ended an eight-play, 67-yard drive.
Baker finished the game with four receptions for 48 yards.
Chapuseaux supplied the only points of the third quarter with a 39-yard field, his longest this season, at 8:57, and the defense added to the advantage in the first minute of the final period. Enrique Williams pressured Milford quarterback Nicholas Raven, who threw a ball that Clifton Crews intercepted and returned 49 yards for a touchdown to make the score 57-12.
Crews paced the Jaguar defense - which surrendered only 185 yards, including 35 on 28 rushes - with a season-high seven total tackles and he also broke up a pass. The linebacker has scored three touchdowns on the year, with two of those coming in the last two weeks.
"It all goes back to the way we practice," he said. "Every week coach always comes up with a good plan and prepares us on how to stop the offense."
Ryan Scott closed out the scoring with less than seven minutes remaining in the contest when he reached the end zone on a one-yard run. It ended an 11-play drive, matching the Jags' longest of the season first set in their season-opening victory over Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy on Sept. 5.
USA's 538 yards of total offense were the most it has recorded this fall. Gibbon, Nick Owens and Sim each completed two passes for a combined 163 yards, while Courtney Smith was the only Jaguar with multiple receptions after finishing with 76 yards on two catches.
"I think we moved the ball well. We executed, which we need to continue to do," Sim observed. "What we saw on film is what we got. We hit them big on a couple of plays because they played a lot of cover zero, so they didn't even have a safety out there."
"The coaches prepared us well," stated offensive lineman Ryne Baxter, who made his first career start. "We worked hard all week, so I was ready to step up when I was called on. I was a little nervous at first, but after the first play I knew I was going to be alright."
Barefield, Justin Dunn and Williams all recorded four stops apiece including one behind the line of scrimmage. Charlie Higgenbotham added two tackles for loss and Romelle Jones had 1.5 including one of the team's three sacks.
"This was a great experience for my guys to come down here," said Milford head coach Bill Chaplick. "We are normally a blitzing defense and South Alabama was able to take us out of that. We weren't able to get to the quarterback until we were down 28 points and that killed us. Offensively, we just weren't able to do anything either."
Giubilato finished 12-of-28 passing for 135 yards, collecting 158 yards of total offense after carrying the ball seven times as well. Travon Van paced the Falcons with five receptions for 78 yards, and Chris Gatti posted a team-leading 31 yards on eight rushes.
MA's Mark Padilla was credited with a game-best nine stops, with three of those for loss. Dylan Price and Todd Thomas supplied seven stops each. Anthony Holmes recovered two fumbles and Cam Thomas intercepted a pass as the Falcons forced three turnovers.
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).
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