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MOBILE, Ala. – Needing a victory to become eligible to participate in a postseason bowl game for the second year in a row, the University of South Alabama football team found itself instead trailing by 17 points at the half.

Gerald Everett scored two touchdowns and Aleem Sunanon supplied a pair of field goals to give the Jaguars their only lead of the night with just under 10 minutes to go in regulation, but Appalachian State responded first with a field goal before Jalin Moore's 18-yard touchdown run with 76 seconds remaining lifted Appalachian State to a 34-27 Sun Belt Conference victory Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

With the win, the Mountaineers finished the regular-season with a 10-2 mark while going 7-1 in the Sun Belt.  The Jags conclude the year 5-7 overall, 3-5 in league play.

"I told them at halftime that we were going to go down and score a touchdown and make a game of this," Jaguar head coach Joey Jones said.  "We were playing well, we just had a few mistakes in the first half.  I told them we were going to get right back in the game, and that we were going to have each other's back and fight for each other.  And that's what they did.  Our guys never panicked.  I'm just proud of the way they fought.  That's a really good football team we played.  Our guys never gave up."

The Jaguars put together a 65-yard drive to open the second half, with all but seven of the yards coming on the ground including a 26-yard run by Xavier Johnson, leading to a 22-yard field goal from Sunanon that cut USA's deficit to 24-10.  On the ensuing kickoff, DeMarrion Buford-Hughes recovered a fumble at the APP-21, and five plays later the Jags trailed by just a touchdown after Everett scored from two yards out.

USA would tie the game in the opening minutes of the final period, as Dallas Davis hit Danny Woodson II for a 40-yard completion to set up first-and-goal at the APP-1 with Everett scoring on the next snap.  It capped a 91-yard march that took five-and-a-half minutes off the clock, with the Jaguars running on all but the one play of the possession.

Jeremy Reaves intercepted Taylor Lamb's pass on the Mountaineers' first play of their next drive, and after getting a first down on a five-yard completion from Davis to Everett Sunanon connected on a 41-yard field goal with just under 10 minutes left to play to give USA its first lead, 27-24.

Everett finished with a team-high four receptions for 23 yards, ending the year with 12 total touchdowns, one shy of the school season record.

"It was unfortunate for us to lose tonight, but I think it was a great experience to see the team come together in the second half the way we did," he stated.  "That will be vital for next year's success."

Marcus Cox had a 27-yard carry on ASU's first drive after falling behind to get the Mountaineers to midfield, and after picking up another first down on a pass interference call Zach Matics tied the contest with a little less than seven minutes left to play with a 50-yard field goal.  The ASU defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense ran on seven of its next eight snaps until Jalin Moore crossed the goal line from 18 yards out for the decisive points of the night.  Moore recorded 57 of his 84 yards on the drive.

Terrance Timmons ran back the ensuing kickoff 46 yards, but after Dallas Davis carried for five yards and Johnson added two more a pair of incompletions ended the Jaguars' final possession with 40 seconds to go.

Davis entered in the second half and led the Jags to 210 of their 365 yards of total offense.  He completed 4-of-9 pass attempts for 56 yards and added 10 more on the ground.  "I felt confident when I came into the game in the second half," he explained.  "I got the team together and told them that we could [make the comeback].  I felt like we gave it the best shot we could."

Johnson recorded his fifth 100-yard game of the season — tying a school record — while finishing with 112 yards on 18 carries.  Tyreis Thomas chipped in with 11 rushes for 49 yards, Timmons had 24 to help USA record 214 as a team against a unit allowing a Sun Belt-best 126.3 per outing coming into play.  Woodson II and Marvin Shinn caught three balls each for 69 and 24, yards recpectively, and D.J. Vinson and Josh Magee had a pair or receptions as well.  Cody Clements was 11-of-18 passing for 95 yards in the first half.

The USA defense allowed on 120 yards after the intermission, with Reaves pacing the group with a career-high 11 total stops.  In addition to his fourth-quarter interception the sophomore defensive back forced a fumble.

"We always believe in each other, no matter what deficit we are facing," Reaves observed.  "We can always come back and make plays; we're never out of a game.  That's our motto.  Idaho was a prime example of it, we never thought for a minute that we were out of the game.

"When you can stop an offense like Appalachian State's, that's huge for momentum.  We made the necessary big plays, and we could have had a couple more but that's football."

Margo Reed supplied eight tackles and Donre Chanet seven — career-best totals for both — while Kalen Jackon posted five stops, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.  Bull Barge was also credited with five tackles, while E.J. May had four, including two for loss, and a fumble recovery.

"The one thing I can say is that everybody on our team gave it their all," said May.  "No one quit.  We left everything we had on the field.  We might have come up short, but I still feel we won in our book."

Cox went for 74 yards on the opening play from scrimmage and Moore followed with a three-yard touchdown run as the Mountaineers took their first lead 39 seconds into the contest.  USA was able to answer, however, putting together a 12-play, 75-yard march over the next four minutes before Clements scored on a quarterback keeper with the Jags facing third-and-goal from the APP-3.  The senior was 5-of-6 passing on the drive for 39 yards while Johnson added 31 yards on three rushes.

ASU needed just four plays to regain the lead, though, as Lamb — who was 15-of-22 passing for 163 yards with two touchdowns — connected with Simms McElfresh for a 58-yard score, with the score remaining the same until Lamb found Cox open down the right sideline coming out of the backfield on the opening snap of the second quarter to double the Mountaineer advantage.  On their next possession, Lamb's 23-yard run set up the Mountaineers with first-and-goal at the USA-10, but Jackson kept the margin 21-7 with just over minutes to go before the break when he forced a fumble that May recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Cox had a chance to add to the ASU advantage nearly three minutes later, but following a 31-yard pick up Reaves stripped the ball loose at the USA-3; the Jaguars took over at the 20-yard line following a touchback when the crossed the goal line then went out of bounds.  After moving 46 yards down the field — including a conversion on third down with a seven-yard pass from Clements to Vinson — Eric Boggs intercepted a pass and ran it back 45 yards; a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Jags moved the ball to the USA-19.  But Chanet and Barge combined on a stop behind the line, with Akeem Lewis then sacking Lamb for a loss of 10 more and May adding another behind the line of scriimage to foce the Mountaineers to settle for a 51-yard Matics field goal, making the score 24-7 with a minute-and-a-half remaining in the opening half.

The Mountaineers did finish with 464 total yards, as Cox had 192 on 14 rushing attempts and McElfresh caught six passes for 72 yards to lead all players in both ecategories.

Boggs led the ASU defense with a game-high 15 tackles, while Ronald Blair collected 11 with 2½ behind the line of scrimmage.  Kennan Gilchrist posted nine stops, Devan Stringer recorded eight and A.J. Howard had six, with Latrell Gibbs and Alex Gray intercepting passes in the first half as well for the Mountaineers.

"South Alabama came fighting back, and they made a game of it," said ASU head coach Scott Satterfield.  "The turnovers they caused helped them.  Our kids didn't quit; South Alabama had the momentum in the third quarter, but we made some plays to come back and win. I'm proud of our guys."

"Nobody wants to lose, especially a close game like that," Jones stated.  "We've won some close games this year, and I think that's the first close game that we have lost.  When I look at a team, I watch how they play and approach the game.  Our guys approached the game right tonight, and we kept fighting throughout the whole game.  I was proud of them.  They had a lot of guts and poise out there."

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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