Game StatsPostgame QuotesPhoto GalleryMOBILE, Ala. – Early in the third quarter Friday, the University of South Alabama football team found itself in a one-possession contest with rival Troy with just 55 rushing yards. Two-hundred and forty one yards on the ground and two scores later, the Jaguars earned a 27-13 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Trojans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, extending their winning streak to four in the process.
And the Jags (5-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) did it without the services of their leading rusher, with Jay Jones out for the season. Kendall Houston led the effort with a career-high 178 yards and Xavier Johnson supplied 107, with each scoring in the third quarter to help USA pull away.
"Losing Jay Jones is a kick in the gut, but sometimes life is tough and he has to move on and so do we. I thought our guys really picked it up," said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones. "Kendall Houston is about as dependable of a guy as I have ever coached, when you put him in the game he's going to get the job done. We put Xavier in there and he did a heck of a job, he made some great runs and made people miss. And our offensive line really took over — they knew we had to run it, and I thought the offensive line did one heck of a job in the second half."
"We played really hard tonight. Anytime you put up 300 yards rushing, that's on your offensive line," said center Joseph Scelfo. "Our quarterback did a great job of reading everything. They came out with some new stuff tonight, but after we saw it and talked about it we got our assignments down and just kept driving until the whistle."
Drew Thompson blocked a punt after forcing a three-and-out on the Jags' opening series of the second half, but the Trojans (1-7, 1-3 SBC) would settle for a 38-yard field goal from Ryan Kay to draw within four points, 10-6, with 11-and-a-half minutes left in quarter.
USA responded with a four-play, 72-yard drive, with Houston rushing for gains of 12 and 13 yards and Johnson adding one for six more around a pair of Troy penalties before the latter reached the end zone from 14 yards out — the redshirt freshman's first career score made it a 17-6 contest less than two minutes after Kay's second field goal of the night. On the Jaguars' next possession, Houston spun out of a tackle and broke free for a 41-yard score — the longest run of his career — which not only upped the USA lead to 24-6 but wrapped up a seven-play, 77-yard drive.
It was the first time the senior has rushed for more than 100 yards since USA faced North Carolina State on Sept. 17, 2011, and the seventh 100-yard effort of his career. For Johnson, it marked the first game that the redshirt freshman has surpassed 100 yards, also giving the Jags two 100-yard rushers in the same contest for the first time since Houston and Brandon Ross accomplished the feat in a win over Nicholls State on Sept. 18, 2010.
"I knew I had to play a big role when Jay Jones went down, all the running backs had to do it for him; we wanted to dedicate this game to him," Houston explained. "We just stayed patient and kept running the ball hard, and we were able to bust loose for some big plays later in the game."
Antonio Carter led a Jaguar defense that surrendered 309 total yards — including only 107 in the second half — with a career-best 14 stops, tying for the most by a USA defender this fall. E.J. May also posted a career high after finishing with seven tackles, Terrell Brigham had seven as well and Roman Buchanan was credited with six. Maleki Harris broke up a pair of passes to go along with five stops and Theo Rich recorded 2½ tackles for loss among his five total, with Devon Earl and Desmond LaVelle supplying five each too.
Montres Kitchens led the Trojans with 11 stops and JaQuadrian Lewis had nine, while Billy Dobbs and Tyler Roberts were both credited with eight tackles including one behind the line of scrimmage.
The Jaguars took a 3-0 lead on Aleem Sunanon's 38-yard field goal less than five minutes into play, capping their first drive which covered 44 yards in eight plays an nearly three minutes. After the USA defense forced another punt, the Jags went up 10-0 just over six minutes later when Brandon Bridge scrambled right away from pressure and hit Shavarez Smith for a 45-yard score.
It was Smith's sixth touchdown of the season, matching his 12-game total from a year ago, and he also equaled his own school record of three straight outings with a scoring catch. Smith's 65 yards paced the Jaguars through the air as well, and he and Wes Saxton were the only USA receivers to catch more than one pass. Bridge threw for 106 yards, as the Jags finished with 402 overall while averaging more than six yards per snap.
Kay got the Trojans on the board with a 43-yard field goal, completing a 10-play, 60-yard march with a little less than six minutes remaining in the first half — those were the only points scored by either team in the second period. After USA held a 147-56 advantage in total offense in the opening quarter, collecting seven first downs to Troy's one, the Trojans finished the first half with 202 total yards.
Jordan Chunn and Brandon Burks posted 53 and 50 yards, respectively, as part of the team's 164 yards rushing, but neither Brandon Silvers (9-of-18, 62 yards) or Dontreal Pruitt (4-of-6, 83 yards) were able to throw for more than 100. Teddy Ruben and Bryan Holmes led all players with three catches apiece, with the former recording 65 yards and the latter 57, and Chandler Worthy caught three balls as well.
"They were hurting us with that speed sweep and some different things outside — we made some adjustments at halftime, and we did a great job of boxing it in," observed Jones. "That was big. They didn't throw the ball on us as much tonight, our guys did a great job in coverage as we usually do. It was just a great overall job defensively."
Pruitt completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Chitty with one minute remaining for the final points of the night after Sunanon closed out the scoring for USA with a 33-yard field goal two-and-a-half minutes earlier.
It was the first time in three meetings in the series that USA has defeated Troy. The Jaguars will next face Louisiana-Lafayette — one of two remaining undefeated teams in league play, and winners of three straight — Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. in Lafayette, La., the first of two straight road games against last year's conference co-champions.
"I want to salute [Troy head coach] Larry Blakeney. He is one of my idols as a coach because he stands for what I want to stand for," Jones said. "And I mean that sincerely. He is a great man and great football coach. He deserves any accolades he gets, because he is what college football is all about and he is Troy. Troy was the Sun Belt for a long time because of the job he did that, and my hat's off to him."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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