MOBILE, Ala. - Not even a heavy rain storm could stop the University of South Alabama football team's offense Saturday.

Coming off a three-week layoff, the Jaguars recorded 500 yards of total offense in earning a 56-0 victory over Army Prep at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The Jag defense allowed less than half that total as well, surrendering just 225, in helping USA improve to 2-0 on the season.  The Black Knights dropped to 1-3 with their second loss in a row.

"It was obviously a great effort.  I thought we'd play well, but I didn't know we'd play that well," Jaguar head coach Joey Jones commented.  "We had a lot of time to prepare, and that really made the difference today.  That's why we played as well as we did."

"We played what is going to be a very good team in South Alabama today," Army Prep coach Tom Simi stated.  "USA is a program that is just starting, but they have some good players on their team already and I'm sure they are going to rise quickly.  Obviously, today was extremely challenging for our kids."

While 309 of USA's yards came on the ground - the Jaguars were coming off a performance in which they had gained 265 rushing yards in a 17-point win over Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy - it would build an early lead on the strength of quarterback Myles Gibbon's arm.  Facing third-and-five on its third play from scrimmage, he hit Courtney Smith with a screen pass that the wide receiver took 63 yards down the left sideline for a score as the Jags needed barely more than a minute to get on the board.  He doubled that lead with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter, hitting Corey Besteda on a slant from 18 yards out on second-and-goal, capping a six-play, 37-yard possession.

Gibbon would finish the contest 6-of-7 passing for 122 yards.  Smith was one of two Jag receivers to record multiple receptions, leading the team for the second straight game with 59 yards.

"Paul Bennett gave me a good block, and that sprung me up the sideline for the score," Smith said.  "But it wouldn't have happened without my offensive line."

"Everybody knows Courtney is a big player, it's not hard to see," Gibbon added.  "We were able to hit a lot of receivers today.  He made some huge plays for us, and he always does.  But if you looked around, we were able to spread the ball around too, and we showed people we have a lot more athletes on the team than people might have thought."

A trio of players - Logan Bennett, Justin Dunn and Brett Hancock - would finish with a team-best five stops to pace the defense, which recorded its first-ever shutout.  Seven other Jaguars were credited with a total of three tackles and 29 defenders collected at least one stop as the unit limited AP to just 3.1 yards per carry and five completions in 13 pass attempts.  The Black Knights were only 3-of-10 on third-down conversions and failed to move the chains twice on fourth down.

The defensive contributed to the scoring as well, as Jerron Mitchell intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter and ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown to give the Jaguars a 35-0 edge.  In the second half he recovered a Black Knight fumble at the AP 15-yard line, which would lead to a Ryan Scott 11-yard touchdown run that made the score 42-0.

Scott would score again, this time from five yards out with less than seven minutes to go in the period, for a 49-0 advantage, while the Jaguars closed out the scoring when Nick Owens hit Nick Brunson for an 18-yard scoring pass with just over three minutes to go in the third.

Scott would finish with 83 yards on eight carries, though it would be Eli Smith who would pace the team's ground attack.  He ran nine times for 94 yards, with his biggest gain covering 31 yards.  Anthony Mostella and Jeremy Pacillo chipped in with 40 yards apiece as USA gained seven yards per rushing play.

"I feel like the offensive line was really physical today; they played four quarters," stated Smith.  "The coaches have been preaching for three weeks now about not letting off, and I feel like we did that and executed every time we got out there."

Army Prep threatened to score on two occasions but came away empty.  In the first quarter, Cody Jackson completed a 66-yard pass to Justin Trimble, but on the very next play Dunn forced a fumble that Charlie Higgenbotham recovered at the USA-10.  The Black Knights would reach the red zone again at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Randon Carnathan and Clifton Crews sacked Jackson on back-to-back plays to end the possession.

"A big goal of ours, no matter what the situation is, is that we bow up," Higgenbotham commented.  "I think that shows our toughness.  We allowed them to have some plays they shouldn't have had, so we still have a lot to work on."

Jackson threw for 113 yards and ran for another 29 to pace AP.  Raymond Maples led the Black Knights with 45 yards on 13 carries, while Casey Hughes caught three passes for 34 yards.

"That triple option was a tough offense to tackle," observed Dunn.  "We just came out and played assignment football today, and fortunately that's why we got the goose egg."

Brandon Ross made it 21-0 with just over two minutes left in the opening period with a two-yard touchdown run over left tackle, which was one of his only two carries in the contest - he recorded 139 yards in the season-opening victory.  Gibbon found Paul Bennett for 17 yards across the middle to move the Jags into the red zone, as the drive covered 36 yards in four plays.

After taking over following a punt on the first play of the second quarter, Brennan Sim led the Jags 58 yards in four snaps before Mostella scored from nine yards out to make the score 28-0.  Sim hit Ralph Turner for a gain of 40 yards to start the possession, moving the ball to the AP-18.

"The biggest thing I talked to the team about today was the way we prepared," Jones observed.  "It would've been easy for our kids to let up in practice, and easy for our coaches to let up in practice.  The kids didn't lose their focus, they knew that we had an opportunity to be extremely prepared and that's what happened today.  What I learned about them is that they're listening to what we're saying, and they're buying in.

"Just to see the looks in their eyes in the locker room after the game, you can see that things are starting to turn.  You start to see the evolution of a team.  We've certainly got a long way to go, but I think they're starting to turn into a team and we're only going to get better from there."

Marcus McInerney led all players with 10 total tackles, while Casey Brewer had six stops and Jordan Crockett added five for the Black Knights.

USA will have a week off before facing Georgia Military Junior College on Saturday, Oct. 10.  Kick off for that contest is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

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-