TROY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama defense forced a season-high four turnovers — with two of those leading to 10 points — and recorded a safety while holding Troy to less than 300 total yards in helping the Jaguars claim the "Battle For The Belt" with a 19-8 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the Trojans Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Jags (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) built a 9-0 advantage on a Xavier Johnson one-yard touchdown run late in the opening quarter and a safety after Khalil McDonald stopped Jordan Chunn in the end zone before the break, and after limiting Troy (4-2, 1-1 SBC) to just 25 yards in the third period went ahead 16-0 when Dallas Davis connected with Mallik Stanley for a 14-yard touchdown pass.  Gavin Patterson capped the scoring for South with a 47-yard fourth-quarter field goal, with the Trojans able to avoid the shutout when Brandon Silvers crossed the goal line on a one-yard run with just over six minutes to go in the contest.

Nigel Lawrence led the Jaguars with nine stops and a pass broken up and Jeremy Reaves contributed six stops and an interception to help USA hold Troy to only 30 yards on the ground.  Davis was 7-of-10 passing for 120 yards after coming on the Jags' final drive of the opening half.

South Alabama 19, Troy 8
South Alabama/Troy photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-Although South Alabama gained 224 yards on the night, it held the ball for a season-high 35 minutes and 59 seconds.
-The Jaguars had a season-high four takeaways in the contest, with two of Troy's fumbles coming on punt returns.
-The Trojans held a 154-73 advantage in total offense at the intermission as the Jags recorded 46 yards on their first-quarter scoring drive and 27 yards the rest of the half.
-Troy finished with 299 total yards in the contest, with 120 of those coming in the final 15 minutes as the Trojans attempted to rally from a 19-0 deficit.
-Neither team averaged more than 1.5 yards per carry as the Jags finished with 48 yards rushing while Troy managed just 30 yards on the ground.
-USA was 0-of-7 on third-down conversions in the opening half but was successful on 5-of-9 attempts after the intermission.

NOTES
-It marked the third time in as many meetings since the inception of the "Battle For The Belt" in 2014 that the road team has won the game.
-The Jaguars have now won two of the three series matchups in Troy to even the all-time series at 3-3.
-Troy's 30 yards rushing were both the fewest allowed by the Jaguars and the lowest total recorded by the Trojans this fall.
-USA's safety was its first since recording one in a victory at Kent State on Sept. 6 in the 2014 season opener.
-Reaves' interception of Silvers in the second quarter ended a streak of 155 pass attempts without a pick for the Troy quarterback.
-It was the sixth pick of Reaves' career, tying him for first with Tyrell Pearson on South's all-time record list.
-Corliss Waitman punted a career-high eight times in the contest, averaging 47.5 yards per kick with three efforts of more than 50 yards.
-Khalil McDonald posted a career-best five stops including his first-ever tackle for loss while making his first career starter in the USA secondary.
-Rocel McWilliams was credited with the first two sacks of his career while collecting a career-high five total tackles.
-Both Jaguar cornerbacks — Darian Mills and Tobias Moss — recorded five stops as well, with the former setting a new career high and the latter matching his first set in USA's first victory this season over Alabama A&M on Sept. 16.
-Stanley matched a career high with four receptions and set another with 53 yards receiving, with his touchdown catch in the third quarter the first of his career.
-Tra Minter surpassed 100 all-purpose yards for the first time in his career, with 83 of those coming on three catches; it's the first time a Jaguar running back has led the team in receiving yards since T.J. Glover finished with 78 on five receptions in a win over Henderson (Ark.) State on Nov. 6, 2010.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Joey Jones
On the game: "It liked kind of like one of those 1968 games where it was just a defensive struggle where the defenses just dominated both sides of the ball.  We played awesome defense the entire game.  You look at what we did defensively tonight against that offense, which is a very, very good offense that was able to run the ball against LSU, and we played unbelievably well tonight.  Offensively we struggled in the first half, but we made some changes and I thought Dallas [Davis] came in and really put us on the right path.  We ran the ball better in the second half and we're going to continue to get better offensively.  If we play good defensive like we did tonight, we are going to win some ball games.  I'm proud of our team tonight." 
On what this win means in turning the season around: "There's no doubt about that.  I've heard it and the players have heard it, but I know we've got a good football team.  I never doubted them and I love them.  We know we have a bunch of conference games coming up and we are going to get after our preparation for the game next week with ULM, but right now we are going to enjoy this one.  I's a huge win for our program and puts us with one more win in the conference.  That's our goal to win the [Sun Belt] Conference championship and it's still out there for us."
On the spark Dallas Davis provided off the bench: "I thought that was huge for our offense.  Cole [Garvin] struggled a little bit and I felt like we needed to get Dallas in there.  He came in there and led us down the field for a score and played really well."
On win in the series: "It's huge.  That's three out of the last four years we've beaten these guys and two out of the last three for the belt.  It's really more about our players though.  I was so proud of the players out there making the plays.  They fought their guts out and it was a joy to watch."

Assistant coach Kane Wommack
On the defensive effort tonight: "It's hard to argue with the effort of those guys tonight from beginning to end.  We challenged them at halftime to just do what we've challenged that group to do all season and that's finish the game.  When we play the way we did in the second half and come out and take the momentum from the get-go that was the difference."
On what they were doing defensively to slow down Troy's offense: "The thing that I thought our coaches and players did such a good job of tonight was handling what Troy gave us.  They give you a lot of mess and a lot of motions and different formations, especially early in the game, but they have foundation plays that they stay to.  We knew what those foundation plays were and we knew when they were coming to them.  Our players recognized them and that was the difference in the game; we were able to make plays on those foundation plays."
On Khalil McDonald's play in his first start: "Khalil and Sterling Fisher both had to come in for Malcolm [Buggs].  Both those guys are young guys who you could tell had a lot of talent a year ago and you could tell they were going to come into their own.  For them to make plays tonight in this environment when they had to when their backs were against the wall was pretty phenomenal." 

Dallas Davis
On coming in and getting the win over Troy: "This win is huge for us.  We came in 1-4, which I don't even like saying that record, and Troy is a good team; they beat LSU.  We practiced hard all week and it's a big rivalry game for us, so we knew we had to bring it, and we did both offensively and defensively."
On if the screen game was something they had seen that could be successful on film: "We knew that Troy's defense was going to give us some pressure, especially late in the game when they needed to get the ball back.  Coach [Richard] Owens called the right play at the right time and we executed it well."
On enjoying the win, but getting prepared for the next game: "We have a 24-hour rule, so we are going to enjoy this one, but then we have to focus on next week's game.  You can't live in the past.  We won this one, which is good, but we have to let it go."
On the protection of the offensive line: "I have to give props to the offensive line tonight because I didn't get hit much at all tonight.  They did a heck of a job and the receivers caught the ball and did what they needed to do.  The offense and defense played well tonight."

Dominic Esposito
On the win: "It was huge.  They call it the 'Battle For The Belt' for a reason because that was a pretty tough one.  Ever since last year, just thinking about how they came to our place and took the belt from us was something that stuck with us the whole offseason.  To come here and turn things around and start winning was huge for us, and to get that belt back is something special."
On carrying the belt: "It's one of the best feelings ever just knowing that it's one of your main goals all season and we got it done.  You can't really describe it"
On looking ahead after the win: "We're going to celebrate this for 24 hours but the next thing you know we have ULM up next.  We went 1-0 this week, and we want to go 1-0 next week, that's our main goal and how it's going to be the rest of the season."
On Dallas Davis coming off the bench: "It is huge having anyone come in off the bench like that.  Whoever is in behind me, I just try and get them the ball.  I messed up on that one or two times, but whoever can come off the bench and make a difference for us is huge."
On preparing for the game: "The film we watched this week was key because that's a pretty tricky defense to go against, all week we put in extra hours in there before and after practice so we would know where they were going to go and where they were going to be.  It's a hug credit to [assistant] coach [Chase] Smith who schemed that all out for us, we came very well prepared."

Khalil McDonald
On winning the "Battle for the Belt": "Honestly this is my first Troy vs. South rivalry game so it's just a wonderful feeling right now."
On stepping in for Malcolm Buggs: "I just wanted to make sure that I did my job and make sure there wasn't a drop from his type of performance to mine.  I did my job and played my heart out and wanted to do it for the team."
On his tackle in the end zone of Troy running back Jordan Chunn which gave South a safety: "I saw him running my way and I just knew that I had to make the play."

Tra Minter
On the win: "Coming in here and getting this win was amazing, we came in here and got the job done.  Everything was great, the offense executed andf the defense forced turnovers."
On his play after Xavier Johnson left the game due to injury: "That's what we talk about every week, when a man goes down we step up.  That's what we do at any position."
On the play of Dallas Davis coming off the bench: "Dallas provided a spark, he came in and did what he had to do.  He made his reads and delivered the ball.  He played well at quarterback."
On big gains off screen passes: "The offensive line executed and blocked really well.  I was just patient and after I caught the ball I hit the hole."

Jeremy Reaves
On getting the belt back: "It's something that I've been thinking about since last year's game was over with.  This is my last time playing in the rivalry and it meant a lot to me.  I know a lot of those guys [Troy's players].  We had talked about the game at [Sun Belt] Media Day.  It was a great win tonight for our team."
On being able to force Troy into turnovers and keep them out of the end zone for most of the night: "We knew we had to show our grit and we knew that this game was going to come down to which defense made plays.  We lined up and were able to execute.  I'm so proud of my guys.  We were able to hold Troy to 30 yards rushing and that's huge; they had just come off a 200-yard rushing game against LSU.  I was proud of the way our defensive front executed."
On what this win meant for the seniors: "We had been talking about this game all week.  This win wasn't only for us, but also for recruiting and the years to come for our program.  Getting this win benefits me a lot [personally] because I get to say that I was able to get another win at Troy; I'm 2-0 here.  We've been through so much adversity and we dedicated this season to turning the program around.  To be able to come out on top in this big game is huge."
On the play of Khalil McDonald: "Khalil really grew up tonight; it was a special thing to see him make those plays.  I told him it was time for him and he really stepped up on prime-time TV and that's all you can ask for.  Guys who can really play step up when it matters most.  I'm happy for him and he deserves all the credit."

Up next: USA plays host to Louisiana-Monroe Saturday, Oct. 21 in the program's annual Homecoming game, with kickoff scheduled at 4 p.m. (CDT) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

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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