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MOBILE, Ala. – Matt Breida ran for 187 yards and two scores Saturday to help lead Georgia Southern to a 28-6 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the University of South Alabama football team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Breida carried 21 times and averaged 8.9 yards per attempt as the Eagles (2-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) posted 335 on the ground and 420 total in their first-ever league game, with Kevin Ellison adding 96 and a score as well.  Defensively, Jay Ellison and Antwione Williams recorded six stops — with at least one behind the line of scrimmage — apiece as GS surrendered 296 yards to the Jaguars (1-2, 0-1 SBC).

"Our offensive line did a good job of knocking them off the line all evening," explained GS head coach Willie Fritz explained.  "This is a big win for our program and for our university.  When one side of the ball isn't playing great, the other side has to pick them up and I thought we did a super job.  We didn't allow any points in the second half on the defensive side of the ball and had a tremendous stand on fourth down.  We can still play a lot better, but we'll take [the win] on the road against a very worthy opponent.  This is a great way to start off Sun Belt Conference play."

The game was scoreless until the final snap of the first quarter, when Breida broke through a hole in the left side of the line and went untouched 64 yards to give the Eagles a 7-0 advantage.  Another big play helped GS double the lead, as a 48-yard Ellison-to-B.J. Johnson completion set up a one-yard score by L.A. Ramsby on the Eagles' next possession, capping a seven-play, 85-yard drive with just over 10 minutes to go before the intermission.

Ellison was also 6-of-11 passing for 85 yards, with Johnson accounting for five receptions and 76 yards.

USA would get on the scoreboard with less than four minutes left in the half, making the score 14-6 when Brandon Bridge connected with Shavarez Smith for a 28-yard touchdown pass with the Jags facing fourth-and-five.  It completed a nine-play, 66-yard march over nearly three minutes, with Bridge also gaining a first down by picking up 21 yards on third-and-10 from the USA-34.

After exchanging three-and-outs to begin the second half, the Eagles took a 14-point advantage again with a drive that took more than four minutes off the clock.  Ellison moved the chains with a nine-yard completion to Kentrellis Showers and one for 18 more yards to Johnson on third-and-10, and with GS facing another third down — needing six yards to keep the possession alive — Ellison kept the ball and broke right for a pick up of 37 yards to the USA-4.  Three plays later Breida scored again, this time from one yard out, to make it a 21-6 game midway through the third period.

On the Jags' ensuing possession, Bridge found Smith and Marvin Shinn for gains of 20 and 13 yards, respectively, around a 12-yard rush that also supplied a first down, while Xavier Johnson moved USA inside the Eagle 10-yard line after picking up 13 yards on two carries.  But on fourth-and-goal from the GS-9, Bernard Dawson was credited with a sack of Bridge after an intentional grounding call.

Maleki Harris intercepted an Ellison pass on the opening play of the fourth quarter and Jesse Kelley forced a fumble that Desmond LaVelle recovered for the Jag defensively later in the period, but the Eagles responded with picks from Robert Brice and Edwin Jackson to limit USA to 42 yards over the final 15 minutes and keep the Jaguars off the scoreboard in the second half.

Ellison capped the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes remaining in the contest.

Harris posted a double-digit tackle total for the second straight week with 10 stops, including a pair for loss, while Terrell Brigham paced the unit with 11.  Davin Hawkins and LaVelle were credited with eight tackles each as well.

Smith caught four passes for a season-high 69 yards for USA, while Kendall Houston rushed for 38 yards with Jay Jones and Johnson supplying 37 apiece on the ground.  The Jags finished with 147 yards rushing, and 149 through the air as Bridge completed 13-of-34 attempts.

The Eagles held the ball for over 18 minutes in the second half, winning the time-of-possession battle after controlling the clock for more than 31 minutes, while USA converted 3-of-14 third-down attempts.

"I want to congratulate Georgia Southern.  They have a very good football team, and came out and played well," said Jaguar head coach Joey Jones.  "They moved the ball on us, although I thought our defense fought hard all night — they created some turnovers, and I thought we played well overall defensively.  And I thought we played well on special teams.

"Offensively we are obviously struggling.  We're just not getting the ball in the end zone and that's something we have to figure out.  Consistency is the key to offense, and we don't have that right now.  We have to figure out what is going on, and it starts with me.  We're not doing things consistently enough to play winning football, and we have to get that fixed if we are going to have a chance at winning this conference."

The Jaguars will face their first conference road contest next week, visiting Idaho Saturday for a 4 p.m. kickoff.

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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