MOBILE, Ala. - On a historic day of firsts for the University of South Alabama football team, at the end of the day the Jaguars came away with the most important one - the school's first-ever win.

Brandon Ross rushed for a game-high 139 yards and two scores, and Courtney Smith added 104 yards on five receptions - including scoring the program's first touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the opening quarter - to help lead USA to a 30-13 victory over Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy Saturday in front of a crowd of 26,783 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Ross averaged 7.3 yards per carry as well, helping the Jag offense collect 265 yards on the ground and 429 total while picking up 27 first downs.  His first touchdown run, which came with 12 minutes remaining in the opening half, capped a a five-play, 24-yard drive as he scored from one yard out to make the score 13-0.  Then, with the Tigers (1-1) within 10 points in the final period, Ross reached the end zone from 22 yards out to cap the scoring.

Smith would account for nearly half the Jaguars' reception total, catching five balls including a 60-yard pass from Myles Gibbon as he went untouched down the left sideline for the first points in Jaguar history.

"We challenged the kids this morning about making this a day to remember, and they did that," said USA head coach Joey Jones.  "Our kids played extremely hard, our staff coached extremely hard, and we would not have had that success today had the staff not done what they did and the players bought into the program.  It's as simple as that.  The players did a great job today, and I'm really proud of them.  We certainly have some things we can work on, but we can go back and correct those things.

"I'm very proud of them coming out - a bunch of new guys and a new team - and doing what they did today."

The USA defense set the tone early for a scoreless first half, forcing turnovers on each of the Tigers' first two possessions as Zach Brownell intercepted an Evan Ingram pass and Alex Phifer recovered a fumble on the HMA-36.  Justin Dunn would lead the the Jaguars with eight total stops, including four for loss, while Charlie Higgenbotham and Brownell collected seven stops apiece as the unit would force four turnovers.

The Jags would allow just 106 yards on the ground while recording five sacks of Tiger quarterbacks overall.

"We were tickled to death in the first half.  It was one of those deals where you come in at halftime and you're almost scared that the other shoe is going to drop because you know they're going to make adjustments," defensive coordinator Bill Clark stated.  "To come out and really not know what they were going to do - we had a base idea that they had a lot of two-back runs in the first game - our guys really hounded them, and we had a bunch of takeaways.  We came in at halftime really excited, and we told our guys it was zero to zero. We were disappointed in the second half because our goal is a shutout, and we know that's a big goal.

"We know we've got some things to work on because we want to be really stingy, but there were a lot of good things tonight."

After the Jaguars had outgained HMA, 256-112, while not allowing Tigers to convert any of their seven third downs in the opening half, USA would need less than three minutes to add to its advantage following the intermission.  The Jags took the opening possession 66 yards in seven plays before Gibbon scored on a quarterback keeper from eight yards out for a 20-0 advantage.  Ross ran for two first downs on the drive, Santuan McGee added another on the ground while Gibbon connected with Paul Bennett to move the chains as well.

Bennett was the only other USA player with multiple catches, posting two receptions for 21 yards.

Hargrave answered, however, by marching 80 yards in five minutes and 11 seconds, ending the shutout bid when Tahron Goods - who would pace the team with 44 yards on seven carries - ran around left end for a 16-yard touchdown.  The score was 20-6 after the Jaguars blocked the extra-point attempt.  The Tigers later responded to a 25-yard Michel Chapuseaux field goal - USA led 23-6 after he capped an 11-play drive that lasted almost four minutes - with a 35-yard scoring pass from Ingram to Sean Farr that drew to Tigers to within 10 points, but Ross would put the game out of reach with his second score.

"They [Hargrave's players] came and visited our fieldhouse the other day, and coach Clark and some of the coaches called me up and said 'Coach, you might want to come back here and see these guys, you might not want to play them.' They looked so good, and they're very good athletes," Jones stated.  "The advantage we had was that we practiced a little bit longer and we practiced two weeks before they did.  The fact that we had that many more practices allowed us to tone things up.

"Coach [Robert] Prunty does a heck of a job.  He had those guys for two weeks, they did a good job and were able to make some good adjustments at halftime."

Farr paced all players with nine catches for 107 yards, with Deon Long adding 54 yards on five receptions for the Tigers.  Ingram finished 17-of-27 passing for 202 yards.

Gibbon would finish 7-of-13 passing for 126 yards and Nick Owens would complete all four of his attempts for 38 yards to help USA average almost 15 yards per completion.  Erling Riis set up Ross' score with a 39-yard punt return, while Scott Garber's only punt covered 47 yards.

Ego Ferguson led HMA with seven stops.  Jules Forney, Calvin Tiggle and Josh Watson added six tackles each, with the latter accounted for four of the team's six stops behind the line of scrimmage.

"I'm not surprised (at how well South Alabama played) - they've been here a year," commented Prunty.  "They've been lifting weights and practicing since Aug. 4. Coach Jones is doing a great job, he got his guys ready.

"The thing with our kids is that they enjoyed it and South Alabama is a class act.  You can tell by how they're putting their facilities in order - we were impressed with it.  Coach Jones has this program in the right direction. We've played against other JV programs and you can tell that what coach Jones has going on here is a good thing.  Their kids played hard and you can tell they've been in the weight room.

"It was a great performance by South Alabama."

The Jags came close to scoring midway through the opening quarter when McGee - who would finish with 55 yards on nine carries - ran for 22 yards before Theron Norman forced and recovered a fumble at the Tiger two-yard line, while Ishmael Banks intercepted a pass at the goalline to keep the score 13-0 with less  five minutes to go in the second period.

Jones was pleased with the overall experience of USA's first-ever contest.  "The Jag Prowl was a great experience.  When we walked in it was 10 deep on each side and they were yelling and screaming," he observed.  "One thing I liked about the crowd is that every play they seemed to be into the game, whether it was good or bad.  You could tell that it was electric when someone would run for seven or eight yards and they were cheering.  They were very into the game and it was a great atmosphere for our players."

The Jaguars return to Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, when they take on Army Prep.

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-