MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program will recognize 14 individuals playing in their final collegiate contest when the Jaguars play host to Cal Poly Saturday in the regular-season finale for both schools.
It’s the third straight season that USA will conclude its schedule at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, where the Jags have won their first 19 contests all-time following a 35-3 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 3. And it won’t mark the program’s first Senior Day either, as the Jaguars’ initial graduating class closed out their careers with a 31-14 defeat of Arkansas-Monticello a year ago.
But it will feature a challenge as the senior class attempts to finish their careers undefeated at home — though it enters play 5-5 overall, two of Cal Poly’s losses came against NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision foes early in the season while in their most recent outing the Mustangs dropped a 53-51 triple-overtime decision to Eastern Washington, the defending NCAA Football Championship Subdivision champion.
“We have a very good football team coming in this week, they might be the best team that’s played in Ladd-Peebles Stadium against us in my opinion,” USA head coach Joey Jones stated.
The Jaguar defense — led by Jake Johnson and Charles Harris with 69 and 67 stops this season, respectively — has not allowed a touchdown in the last eight quarters; the unit ranks 20th in the FCS allowing 19.6 points per game, and is also among the top 12 nationally in pass and total defense giving up just 168.9 and 302 yards per contest in those categories.
Harris was credited with a game-high 12 tackles against the Delta Devils last time out, also forcing a fumble that led to a third-quarter touchdown for the Jags. Ben Giles collected a career-best nine stops, Enrique Williams had seven and Ken Barefield posted one-and-a-half tackles for loss among his six stops as well, helping USA hold MVSU to just 44 yards in the second half and 166 overall.
Romelle Jones and Montavious Williams lead the defensive line with six and four-and-a-half tackles behind the line of scrimmage as well, while Harris and Clifton Crews have each forced a team-best three fumbles. USA has also blocked four kicks in the last six games after Alex Page turned back a 39-yard MVSU field-goal attempt midway through the first quarter.
The Jags will be facing a Mustang unit that features the spread triple option, one that averages 257.7 yards rushing — a figure that stands seventh in the country at the FCS level — and 31.5 points per game. Quarterback Andre Broadous has rushed for 617 yards and 17 scores, also completing 92-of-159 pass attempts for another 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns, while Jake Romanelli has collected 966 yards and seven scores on the ground. Mark Rodgers has rushed for 468 yards and Deonte Williams 357 as all three backs are averaging better than four-and-a-half yards per carry.
Lance Casteneda leads the team with 23 receptions for 262 yards, though Rodgers (14-152), Romanelli (14-121) and Willie Tucker (12-240) also have double-digit catch totals.
“They run the football a lot, but they are very diverse in what they do running it, so it will be a big challenge for our defense,” Jones obersved. “Their quarterback runs the ship very well, and he can also throw it which creates problems as well, and Romanelli is a big, imposing fullback. Needless to say, we have a challenge defensively.”
Offensively, the Jags scored a season-best 35 points against the Delta Devils despite picking up 252 yards of total offense, a season-low figure. USA did, however, score on its only three possessions of the opening 30 minutes while building a 21-0 halftime advantage including putting together 80- and 86-yard touchdown drives.
Kendall Houston scored twice from one yard out, the sixth time in nine outings this fall that either he or Demetre Baker has reached the end zone more than once in a contest. The duo has recorded 536 and 491 yards on the ground this season, combining to average over 110 yards per outing, while J.J. Keels has increased his production at the position as well of late; he has carried the ball 20 times in the last two games, leading USA with 48 rushing yards in the MVSU victory.
The freshman also made an impact on special teams against the Delta Devils, running back a punt 45 yards to set up Houston’s first score and returning the second-half kickoff 100 yards for his first career touchdown. Greg Hollinger also crossed the goal line for the first time as a Jaguar in that contest, scoring on a 56-yard pass from Myles Gibbon midway through the third quarter.
USA is averaging 26 points per outing, a figure that is 29.2 per game over the last five contests — the Jags have gone 4-1 during that stretch.
After completing 7-of-9 attempts against MVSU, C.J. Bennett is connecting on 54.9 percent of his passes this year; he’s thrown for 1,424 yards and six scores and also paces the team with 1,503 yards of total offense. Gibbon, who was 2-of-3 passing for 60 yards last time out, has also rushed for 105 yards while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Corey Waldon has led the Jags with three catches in each of the last three games, bringing his season total to 21 receptions for 277 yards. Bryant Lavender has team-high totals with 22 catches for 305 yards, and both Lamontis Gardner and Kevin Helms have both contributed 13 receptions apiece.
Defensively, the Mustangs are surrendering 415 yards and almost 32 points per outing including an average of 279.8 yards per game passing. Linebackers Johnny Millard and Kennith Jackson pace the unit with 77 and 74 tackles, respectively, while Sullivan Grosz has a team-high 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage; both he and Kyle Murphy share the team lead with five-and-a-half sacks. Jackson has defended seven passes and intercepted another, Greg Francis has three picks and Asa Jackson has returned both his interceptions for touchdowns while breaking up six other attempts.
“Offensively we are going up against a very sound football team up and down the line of scrimmage, they are really coached well and have good football players,” said Jones. “In the secondary they’ve got a star in Asa Jackson; a lot of NFL teams are looking hard at him, from what I hear he is going to be a draft pick.”
Jordan Means is among the leaders in the country in both field goals (1.33 per game, tied for 19th) and scoring (6.44 points per game, 65th) after making all five extra-point attempts in the MVSU contest. Scott Garber stands 13th in the national rankings with a 42 yard-per-punt average, and he has recorded two kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line in three of the last four outings. James Langford has converted 13-of-18 field goals and all but one of his 37 extra-point attempts to rank second on the Mustangs with 75 points, and Paul Hundley is averaging 39.1 yards per punt.
With kickoff at Ladd-Peebles Stadium slated for 4 p.m., the parking lot will open at 8 a.m. for tailgating; the Jaguar Prowl is scheduled to take place at 1:40 p.m. when the team arrives at the South end of the facility, and gates will open at 2 p.m.
Shuttles providing continuous loop service to and from the stadium from the Bel Air Mall parking lot south of Target and J.C. Penney are set to begin running at noon. A round-trip ticket costs $2.50 per person, with service provided until 90 minutes following the conclusion of the game.
The stadium ticket office will open at 11 a.m. Saturday, although tickets can be purchased in advance two ways — either by ordering online at www.usajaguars.com or by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872) by noon on Friday. Single-game ticket prices start as low as $10.
USA’s seniors will be recognized 25 minutes prior to kickoff. “The seniors, in my opinion, have been as crucial to the success of this football program as anything that you could think of,” Jones commented. “You can talk about facilities or a lot of different things that we’ve done to get this program going, but these seniors have come in and paid a dear price. They have done things the right way — we always talk about fundamentally building a strong foundation — and their leadership has been tremendous.
“I think we will go on for years and years because of what they have done the last three seasons, so my hat is off to them for what they have done for this program.”
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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