MOBILE, Ala. – Having held off Georgia State in the final minutes last weekend, the University of South Alabama football team will turn around and open November with a contest against Gulf South Conference title contender Henderson (Ark.) State as the Jaguars celebrate Homecoming for the second time.

“Reddie Or Not: Here We Come!” is this fall’s theme, with weekend festivities beginning with a Homecoming parade at 6:30 p.m. Friday that will be followed by a pep rally at Moulton Tower and Alumni Plaza.  Former Jaguar and Major League Baseball pitcher Jon Lieber will serve as the grand marshall of the parade.

The Jaguars (8-0) and Reddies (6-3) will face off at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday.  Tickets can be purchased throughout the week at the Mitchell Center ticket office on campus between the hours of 10 a.m.-5 p.m., by calling the USA Athletic Ticket Office at (251) 461-1USA (1872) prior to noon on Friday or visiting www.usagameday.com online.

The Ladd-Peebles Stadium parking lot will open for tailgating at 8 a.m., and tickets can be bought at the stadium beginning at 10 a.m.  The Jag Prowl will march through the parking lot at 1:40 p.m. as the team heads to its locker room, with all gates set to open 20 minutes later.

Shuttles providing continuous service from the south parking lot of the Bel Air Mall behind Target and JC Penney to the stadium will begin running at noon.  They will be in service until 90 minutes after the end of the game, and cost only $2.50 for a round-trip ticket.

“I think everyone is looking forward to it.  Our fans and alumni come back in town, and it’s going to be a great weekend,” Jag head coach Joey Jones said.  “Last year, the pep rally and parade were firsts for us.  I know everyone enjoyed the parade last year, and I think it’s going to be even bigger this year.  There’s a lot more talk about it this year, it seems, compared to last year because people know what we did last year and we’re building on that to have a great Homecoming weekend for our alumni.”

The defense of both teams will be tested Saturday afternoon, as the Jags racked up 474 yards of total offense in a 39-34 victory over GSU while the Reddies recorded 460 in defeating rival Ouachita Baptist, 35-26, for their fourth win in the last five outings.  With one contest remaining in the GSC, HSU is a half-game behind No. 10 Valdosta State in the league standings with a 5-2 mark.

USA did most of its damage on the ground, with Kendall Houston rushing for 175 yards and a score on 31 carries, and C.J. Bennett adding 10 attempts for another 80 yards.  The Jaguars finished with 293 yards and an average of 6.0 yards per rush against the Panthers.

Houston enters the final month of the season pacing the Jags with 657 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, and he has recorded more than 100 yards in two of the last three outings.

In his first collegiate start, Bennett added 181 yards passing after completing 12-of-24 attempts.  That included three touchdowns in an eight-minute and 22-second span of the second quarter as USA posted 24 unanswered points to take control of the contest.  The first was a 40-yarder to Bryant Lavender, who would end up leading all players with 87 yards on a career-high-tying four receptions.  Kevin Helms and Jeremé Jones also caught scoring passes to help the Jaguars take a 30-14 edge to the locker room, while Courtney Smith matched Lavender for team-high honors with four catches for 52 yards.

Smith is the team’s leading receiver on the year with 26 receptions for 412 yards and five scores, and Bennett is 50-of-85 passing for 687 yards and seven touchdowns.  Brennan Sim (41-of-61, 534 yds, 6 TDs) and Myles Gibbon (16-of-24, 305 yds, 2 TDs) could also see action behind center against the Reddies.

Two-time Gulf South Player of the Week Nick Hardesty will guide HSU, as he enters the contest completing 64.2 percent (274-of-427) of his attempts for 3,362 yards and 25 scores.  He was 37-of-56 for 420 yards and five touchdowns in the win over OBU, becoming the school’s season and career passing leader in the process.

Four Reddie wideouts have caught at least 40 passes this fall, paced by Chris Evering with 57 for 812 yards and seven touchdowns — two of those came last time out.  Jazz Scott had a game-high 11 catches last weekend and now has 51 for 499 on the year.  Sean McGrath has added 43 receptions for 478 yards and Josh Sipho has 41 for 698 and five scores.

While HSU is averaging more than 465 yards of total offense, only 87 is supplied by the rush; Elliot Hebert has a team-leading 179 yards on the season.

“They are very talented and can certainly throw the ball, so we will focus on that,” stated Jones.  “They run the ball probably 20 percent of the time and throw it 80 percent.  They throw it efficiently and throw a lot of underneath routes, which hurt us the other day.  They present some problems for us, so we’re going to have to be ready to go.”

The Jaguars allowed 60 yards as the Panthers took a 7-0 lead after their opening drive last weekend, but only 69 the rest of the first half and 280 in the contest.  Ken Barefield posted a career-high seven stops, with one for loss, to lead the unit, with Charlie Higgenbotham and Jerron Mitchell chipping in with six apiece.

Four inside linebackers are among the top five on the squad in tackles this season, with Enrique Williams (33) and Justin Dunn (28) first and second, respectively.  Higgenbotham and Jake Johnson both have been credited with 25 stops, while both Barefield (27) and Mitchell (24) are also among the team leaders in the category.

Tim Harvey helped turn the tide with a pair of interceptions in the second quarter in the GSU win, but was lost for the season due to an injury suffered later in the contest.  His effort helped push the Jags’ advantage to plus-12 in turnover margin for the season, while they will enter play allowing an average of 221.6 yards per outing including only 62.5 per game on the ground.

The Reddies have allowed 382.7 yards per contest this season after OBU registered 497 over the weekend.  Mike Wightman paces the unit with 66 total tackles, while Jamalus Varnado has recorded a team-high 6½ stops behind the line of scrimmage and three sacks.  Kenny Evans’ three interceptions lead the unit, which has forced 20 turnovers in nine games.

T.J. Glover continues to find multiple ways to contribute for the Jaguars, as he ran back four kickoffs for 92 yards and finished with 116 all-purpose yards against GSU.  Lawson McGlon kicked four field goals for the second time in three weeks — he supplied the final 12 points of the contest for the Jags — while Scott Garber is averaging 39.7 yards per punt and has had half of his 28 kicks end inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.

Eric Torres leads HSU in scoring with 69 points, having connected on 10-of-15 field goals and all but one of his 40 extra-point attempts.  The Reddies are averaging only 31.5 yards per punt, though, and have averages below 20 yards per kick return and 10 yards per punt return.

The Jaguars won their first-ever Homecoming contest 64-12 over Milford (N.Y.) Academy last fall, and hope to be “Reddie” to duplicate the feat Saturday.

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—