SAN ANTONIO – Demetre Baker scored on the University of South Alabama’s first play of the second overtime Saturday, clinching a 30-27 football victory over Texas-San Antonio at the Alamadome.
The Jaguars improved to 3-2 on the season after winning their first-ever overtime game, while the Roadrunners — who had a chance to win the contest at the end of regulation — dropped to 2-4.
“We have a fighting spirit about us,” Jag head coach Joey Jones commented. “It looked kind of bleak there for a minute when they had the ball down on the five-yard line. But we rushed through and sacked the quarterback and we block a kick, so they [the team] never quit. It was a big win for our program. I’m just so proud of them for fighting.
“We lost two games on the road, and to have another road game right behind them and to come back and win was real big for us.”
The Jaguars forced overtime by blocking a 26-yard field-goal attempt by Sean Ianno as time expired. The Roadrunners moved the ball 67 yards in the final four-plus minutes to set up the try to end the contest in regulation. After Ianno converted on a 43-yard field goal to open the second extra period, Baker raced around the left side of the line untouched to help USA snap a two-game losing streak.
“We came prepared and had a good game plan. Good things happen when you fight your tail off,” said Baker. “Their defense was big and solid. I didn’t think they were very fast sideline-to-sideline, but they were much bigger physically.”
USA had the ball first in the opening overtime period, with Baker rushing for 10 and 12 yards to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Ellis Hill. UTSA forced a second overtime on its first snap, with Eric Soza finding Kam Jones for a 30-yard scoring pass after a penalty for a false start.
Baker finished with a game-high 87 yards on 11 carries and his second straight outing with multiple touchdowns — he’s scored at least once in each of the last four contests. Kendall Houston added 72 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts as USA finished with 175 yards rushing and 176 through the air.
The Jags trailed by a touchdown at the break, but C.J. Bennett hit two key completions on the second drive of the second half with the Jaguars facing second-and-19 — one for 17 yards to Lamontis Gardner and another to Bryant Lavender for 18 yards — to move USA across midfield. After an intentional grounding call left the Jags with third-and-21, Bennett found Jeremé Jones for a 30-yard gain and another first down; Baker would score on the next play from scrimmage with a 21-yard rush to even the score, 17-17.
The Roadrunners drove into the red zone late in the third quarter — converting two third downs plus a fourth-and-one from the Jag 46-yard line — but on second-and-goal from the USA-5 Andy Dalgleish forced a fumble by Soza that Charles Harris recovered.
Jake Johnson led the Jaguar defense with 12 total stops, which included three for loss, while B.J. Scott chipped in with a career-high 11. Ken Barefield and Enrique Williams were credited with eight tackles apiece, while Clifton Crews became the first player in school history to force two fumbles in a game.
“For a first-year program, they are a heck of a team. They had some great players and had a good game plan against us,” Johnson observed. “I’m glad we came out on top. We had a few mistakes here and there, but that is all correctable. I’m just glad we got out of Texas with a win.”
The Roadrunners got a stop on fourth-and-one late in the second quarter, and on the first play of the resulting drive Soza hit Jones — who would lead all players with five receptions for 103 yards — for a 51-yard gain down to the one-yard line. Evans Okotcha dove over the top on the next snap to put UTSA in front for the first time, 17-10, with a little less than three minutes remaining before the break. Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards down the right side line, and with a personal foul call tacked on the next Jag drive started at the UTSA-13. Mark Waters intercepted a pass on third-and-16, though, to prevent the Jaguars from scoring.
The Roadrunners scored all 17 of their points in regulation in the second quarter. On the final play of the first period UTSA gained two yards on fourth-and-one from the USA-48, then Soza found Okotcha open down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown pass. After the Jags had taken a 10-7 lead, Ianno tied the score again with just over six minutes to go with a 48-yard field goal.
Soza accounted for 311 yards of total offense, completing 15-of-22 attempts for 263 yards while pacing UTSA on the ground with 48 yards on 15 attempts. Okotcha posted 25 yards rushing and caught three passes for 70 yards, and Kenny Harrison added 105 all-purpose yards for the Roadrunners with 36 on the ground, 29 on three catches and a pair of kick returns for 40 more.
For the game, the Roadrunners would finish with 409 total yards.
The Jaguars would take a 7-0 lead on their opening drive — the first time they have scored on their first possession since the opener against West Alabama — bleeding nearly seven-and-a-half minutes off the clock before Houston scored on a one-yard run with 3:58 remaining in the first quarter. Bennett completed passes for 35 yards to Gardner —his longest reception of the year — and Jake Howton for four to move the chains, adding another first down with a seven-yard scramble on third-and-five to put the ball at the UTSA-14. After another first-down pass to Lavender, this time for a pick up of six yards, Houston reached the end zone on second-and-goal.
It was the longest scoring drive, in time of possession, recorded by the USA offense in two-plus seasons.
And keyed by a 32-yard pass from Bennett to Kevin Helms, USA ended its second drive with a 48-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead with just under 12 minutes left in the first half. It was the longest field goal in school history, surpassing the mark Means set at North Carolina State in the first of three straight road games by two yards.
Gardner paced the Jags with a career-best four receptions for 70 yards, his highest total of the year. Jones and Lavender each made two catches, with the former ending up with a career-high 113 all-purpose yards. Bennett was 11-of-17 passing for 176 yards.
Steven Kurfehs matched Johnson with 12 tackles overall to lead UTSA, with two of those for loss including a sack. Waters made nine stops, Brandon Reeves had six, and Lekenwic Haynes and Richard Burge each credited with five.
“I want to congratulate UTSA. I thought they came out and played a tremendous game — it was a big game for them,” Jones stated. “The crowd was into it; it was that typical home atmosphere. They had a great game plan and great coaching, and probably deserved to win the game in some ways. But on the other side of it, we said at halftime we were not going to quit.”
The Jaguars will return to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the first time in five weeks when they play host to Tennessee-Martin Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The contest can be seen live on Comcast Sports Southeast as well as UTV 44, and will also be available on the Internet at ESPN3.com.
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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