MOBILE, Ala. – Dallas Davis threw for two scores, Xavier Johnson added a pair on the ground and the University of South Alabama defense pitched its first shutout since the 2010 campaign as the Jaguars claimed a 45-0 non-conference football victory over Alabama A&M Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The Jaguars (1-2) posted 413 yards and averaged nearly eight yards per play in picking up their first win of 2017, with Davis completing 9-of-12 attempts for 255 yards to lead the unit.  Johnson was one of four USA running backs to contribute more than 20 yards to the team's total of 158, and three different individuals — Jamarius Way, Sam Harris and Andrew Reinkemeyer — collected two receptions each.

The defense also received a balanced effort as Jeremy Reaves, Tobias Moss and Chason Milner paced South with five stops each as eight other players finished the night with three or more tackles.  The Jags were credited with seven stops behind the line of scrimmage, had Rocel McWilliams recover a fumble in the end zone and saw Gus Nave grab his first career interception.

South Alabama 45, Alabama A&M 0 (final stats)
South Alabama/Alabama A&M photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The shutout was the first recorded by USA since earning a 26-0 win at Lamar on Oct. 16, 2010.
-The margin of victory was the largest ever posted by the Jags against an NCAA Division I opponent, surpassing the previous standard of 32 set in a Nov. 3, 2011, defeat of Mississippi Valley State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
-Gavin Patterson's 19-yard field goal to cap the Jaguars' opening possession of the contest marked the first time that USA has held the lead this season.
-After recording 10 first-half points all season, the Jaguars held a 24-0 advantage at the end of the opening period.
-South finished the contest with a 413-172 edge in total offense.
-The Bulldogs' Kenneth Davis had a game-high 13 stops, the most collected by an individual for either team in a USA game this fall.

NOTES
-The Jaguars scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams in the same game — with all three coming in the opening period — for the first time since a Nov. 7, 2015, home victory over Idaho.
-It marked the seventh time in school history that South's defense has surrendered 200 or fewer total yards, and the first time the unit has accomplished the feat since allowing 118 in a win over Nicholls on Sept. 8, 2012.
-Jag quarterbacks combined to complete 69.2 percent of their pass attempts, which ranks among the top 10 marks on the program's game records list.
-Johnson became the program's all-time leader in all-purpose yards after running back the opening kickoff 45 yards, finishing the night with 3,585 in his career.
-It was the sixth time Johnson's career that he has rushed for multiple scores.
-With the effort, Davis became the third individual in school history to surpass 3,000 yards passing in a career.
-It was the second straight week that Way has led the team in receiving yards, with the total the most for a USA player this season.
-Malcolm Buggs was the lone individual on defense to be credited with multiple tackles for loss, the first of his career.
-Sa'Mory Collier and Jahmmir Taylor each recorded their first career touchdown receptions for the Jags, with the latter's coming on his first-ever catch at the NCAA Division I level.
-Lawrence also had the first stop behind the line of his career, and his forced fumble that led to McWilliams' touchdown was his first since USA played at Arkansas State last season.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Joey Jones
Opening statement: "We challenged our kids all week about how we played rather than what was on the scoreboard; how we played the game, how we were prepared.  We [challenged them] to bring a lot of emotion and not have a letdown.  I thought [our players] did those things and I thought we played fairly good in all [three] phases; our offense, defense and special teams both made big plays.  I was very excited with the way we played.  We were able to go out and get a big win.  We haven't had a big margin of victory in two or three years; it felt pretty good to have some comfort in the fourth quarter being up 45-0."
On building on this win: "We're going to keep working every day in practice and what our kids are understanding is that we can actually get better each week if we work hard in practice to get prepared for a game.  We open up conference play this coming weekend and winning a conference championship is what it's all about; that's our goal."
On last week's practice translating into tonight's game: "It's kind of funny.  We always have music playing in the background at practice and it drives me a little bit crazy, but on Wednesday I decided to pull the music to see how they reacted.  We probably had the best practice of the year [on Wednesday] and that shows me that they motivate themselves internally, rather than externally, and that's what's special about this team."
On the play of Dallas Davis: "When you have an experienced quarterback in the game, you feel comfortable.  I thought he came in tonight and played well.  He seemed in control of the game and didn't make any mistakes.  He was confident out there, so as a head coach it certainly made me feel a lot more comfortable having him out there because you know he's got it.  He has the experience and he's a winner."
On the three quick scores in the first quarter: "Alabama A&M has had a tough schedule so far going to UAB and Vanderbilt and then coming to our place and play; that's tough to play a division up.  We felt like if we were able to hit some plays early in the game, it would definitely help us get some momentum early.  That's what happened and we were able to make some plays; the blocked [field goal] was huge for us."
On the play of the defense: "I thought they played good, but I won't say we played great.  I saw some things out there that we need to clean up, but overall we played good and good enough to win certainly.  There were some times that I didn't think we were filling the right gaps and the film will show that, but we played hard.  We always play hard and hit hard and that makes up for some errors."

Dallas Davis
On the game: "What I was really proud of was the team never held their heads.  We stayed confident, we had a great week of practice this week, and we came out and executed.  We just have to keep doing that and be more consistent."
On the offense's mindset entering the game: "Just to execute — we haven't been able to execute the past two games.  That was really the mindset.  I'm really proud of the offensive line, they really brought it tonight.  The running backs and receivers — it's easy when you can throw it up and let those guys do the work.  The running backs ran hard, and the offensive line really brought it today.  I'm really proud of that."

Nigel Lawrence
On the shutout: "It means a lot.  We would like to put a goose egg on everybody we play.  It means a lot to go out there and put a goose egg on the (score)board, and it's something to look forward to next week."

Jamarius Way
On the mindset entering the game: "The mindset we had all week long was to be great.  It was very important because we lost to two powerhouse teams (the first two weeks), so we just had to come out and make a statement tonight."
On his game: "I had two big plays.  I had a slant-and-go that coach called my number on.  Like I've said before, when my number is called I have to make a play.  Then I had a big post over the top.  Dallas Davis told me before the play started that it was coming to me, I just had to make a play.  I saw the ball in the air, and that's what I do."

Alabama A&M head coach James Spady
On the offense starting out strong but slowing down: "[It was] Self-inflicted wounds.  We talk about it every week.  We talk about it every day.  Trying to avoid the things that are going to beat us that we do to ourselves.  We weren't able to get away from that.  I think we spotted them 14 points early on.  You can't do that to a good football team.  By the way, South Alabama is a quality football program.  We get to mark our progress by playing teams like that. You don't want to spot them 14 points."
On the team's turnovers: "I've said all along, we have to stay away from the self-inflicted wounds.  When you turn the football over, that's a self-inflicted wound.  There's no getting around that, we have to stop that.  We have to fix that."

Up next: The Jags conclude a three-game homestand when they open Sun Belt Conference action Saturday at 1 p.m. against Idaho

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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