Game StatsPostgame QuotesPhoto GalleryTROY, Ala. – In a game where yards were hard to come by, Kalen Jackson provided not only stops toward that effort but key takeaways that led to 10 points, helping the University of South Alabama to a 24-18 Sun Belt Conference football victory over Troy Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the "Battle For The Belt."
With the Jaguars (3-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) up 14-8 early in the second quarter, the junior linebacker intercepted a pass and ran it back 10 yards to the Troy-9, leading to a touchdown three plays later. USA was still ahead 21-15 in the third quarter when he picked off another pass while falling backward, with the Jags taking the ball down the other end of a field to set up Aleem Sunanon's 35-yard field goal in the final minute of the period for the team's final points.
In addition to becoming the first individual in the program to intercept two passes in a game since Sept. 14, 2013, Jackson supplied six solo stops — including two for loss — as USA limited the Trojans (1-3, 0-1 SBC) to just 265 total yards; that was 10 yards more than they gained against Wisconsin, and the fewest allowed by the Jaguars this fall.
"I just planned to come out here and play hard," Jackson explained. "The coaches emphasized all week to come out here and do your job, play hard, fast and physical, and don't worry about anything else.
"This was big," he continued. "I didn't realize it was that big coming in, but this is a very big game. The crowd was hostile, and when I first got on the field I just got that feeling. I felt like this was a day our team was going to come out here and be successful. I just knew we were going to come out of here with a 'W'. We were pumped all week. The Good Lord gave us another opportunity to come out here and redeem ourselves, and that's what we did."
Blake Dees led the Jags and tied for game-high honors with nine tackles, and Jeremy Reaves chipped in with six stops including one behind the line and a pass defensed. DeMarion Harper and Tre Alford collected five tackles apiece, with Harper posting two of those for loss, Akeem Lewis and Margo Reed were both credited with four stops and E.J. May broke up two passes.
The Jags managed 365 yards in all, holding the ball for a season-high 34 minutes and 39 seconds. Xavier Johnson rushed 20 times for 91 yards and a score, with Tyreis Thomas supplying 69 yards on 15 attempts as well. Two of Gerald Everett's five receptions went for scores, while Josh Magee pulled in three catches for 118 yards including a 44-yard gain on the first play after Jackson's second interception that led to Sunanon's kick. Cody Clements was 11-of-21 passing for 205 yards.
While yards were hard to come by all night, points were not in the first half — all but six were scored before the intermission.
USA went up 7-0 with just over eight-and-a-half minutes to go in the opening quarter, putting together a nine-play drive that covered 80 yards with the Jags rushing eight times around a 26-yard completion from Clements to Magee. Johnson carried four times for 22 yards, including on the last two snaps with an 11-yard run to the one-yard line before going up the middle for the score. After the completion Thomas ran on four straight plays, picking up 32 yards with gains of 11, 10 and nine yards.
With less than four minutes to go, the Trojans took their only lead of the contest aided by a miscue on a Jag punt. With USA facing fourth-and-13 deep in its own territory, the snap hit one of the upbacks in the formation, with Nick McLaughlin recovering for Troy on the 11-yard line. Harper stopped Brandon Burks for one-yard loss on the ensuing snap, but two plays later Brandon Silvers connected with Emanuel Thompson for a 6-yard touchdown pass; after Burks ran in on the two-point conversion, the Trojans were up 8-7.
But the Jags would answer in less than three minutes, going ahead 14-8, before the end of the quarter. The drive started when Johnson ran back the kickoff 29 yards, and was aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties on the Trojans. Facing third-and-seven, Clements scrambled right before finding Everett for a 17-yard scoring pass with just over a minute to go in the period. After Everett's second touchdown — which came following Jackson's first-half interception — the Trojans responded an eight-play, 58-yard march, drawing to within six points with eight-and-a-half minutes left before the intermission on a 20-yard touchdown run from Brandon Flakes.
"Coach Jones emphasizes in practice to just do whatever we can to keep the play alive," Everett said of his scores. "The first one, Cody did a great job keeping his eyes downfield and he found me for an easy score. The second one, [offensive coordinator] Coach [Bryant] Vincent called a great play inside the red zone and it just came down to who wanted it more."
And the Jaguars had an opportunity to add to that in the final minutes after Jackson stopped Burks on four-and-one from the USA-47. Johnson had gains of 10 and 19 yards to help move USA inside the Troy 10-yard line with less than a minute to go before the break, but Justin Lucas was able to intercept a deflected pass intended for Braedon Bowman to end the threat.
The Trojan defense recorded eight stops for loss on the evening, and was credited with five sacks. Montres Kitchens posted nine stops, William Lloyd had eight and Terris Lewis seven. JaQuandrian Lewis, Tyler Roberts and Mitchell Roland collected six tackles each, with Jamal Stadom posting a pair behind the line of scrimmage.
In the second half, Troy's lone points came on a Jed Soloman 33-yard field goal with 10-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Three plays earlier it looked as if the Trojans scored a touchdown on a five-yard pass from Silvers to Jarvis Bentley, but an ineligible receiver downfield on the play forced a field goal that cut the deficit to six points.
Troy took over at its own 17-yard line with three-and-a-half minutes to go, and on the second play of the drive it appeared that Jackson picked up a loose fumble and returned it 20 yards for a score, but a video replay ruled the pass an incompletion. Troy would convert the ensuing third down, but be forced to punt after May broke up a pass on third-and-four from the Troy-32. Later in the quarter, the Trojans faced four-and-one on their own 43-yard line, but Lewis stopped Burks shy of the line to gain. The Jaguars took over with a minute and 44 seconds left, and ran out the clock when Thomas went up the middle for a gain of four on fourth-and-two.
"Our defense came up with a 4th-and-1 stop that was huge," USA head coach Joey Jones said. "Our offense got it and we had 4th-and-2. Do you punt it or go for it? We went for it and we made it, and the game is over. I'm real proud of those two plays. It comes down to plays like that. You have to make them to win big games, and we certainly did tonight.
"My hat's off to all my players and coaching staff. They did a heck of a job preparing for this ballgame."
Burks paced the Trojans with 83 yards, although he carried 26 times, while Silvers was 16-of-35 passing for 146 yards. Teddy Ruben matched Everett with a game-high five catches — finishing with 51 yards — and Burks supplied four catches for 20 more.
"What a great atmosphere tonight, what I call a great Division I atmosphere," Jones observed. "The Troy fans really put on a show. Our fans showed up, and it was just a great atmosphere. Troy is a much-improved team. We played our tails off and happened to come through at the end. It was a really great game tonight to watch, and a really great game to be involved in."
USA will be off until Tuesday, Oct. 13, when it plays host to Arkansas State in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN2; kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
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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