MOBILE, Ala. – Caleb Evans accounted for four touchdowns and 421 yards of total offense to lead ULM past the University of South Alabama, 38-10, in a Sun Belt Conference football contest Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

He was 27-of-32 passing for 367 yards and two scores, adding a pair of touchdowns and 54 yards on 12 rushes as the Warhawks (6-4, 4-2 Sun Belt) held a 551-218 advantage in total yards over the Jaguars (2-8, 1-5 Sun Belt).  D'Marius Gillespie caught seven passes for 159 yards and a touchdown to lead all players in both categories as well.

Bull Barge was credited with a game-high 12 stops for the Jags, who were celebrating Homecoming weekend.

ULM 38, South Alabama 10 (final stats)
South Alabama/ULM photo gallery
South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony highlights
South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The Jaguars scored first when Cephus Johnson hit Jordan McCray one play after recovering a muffed punt, but the Warhawks replied with points on their final two drives of the quarter for a 10-7 lead after 15 minutes.
-ULM scored on each of its final four possessions of the opening half — outgaining the Jags 304-154 — to take a 24-10 advantage to the locker room at the half.
-The Warhawks had two scoring drives of nearly 80 yards in the third quarter to extend their lead to 38-10.
-ULM recorded 26 first downs while averaging 7.8 yards per play.
-The Warhawks held the ball for seven minutes more than the Jaguars, finishing the night with just over 33 minutes of possession.
-South was held below 100 yards rushing for the first time in five games after gaining 89 yards on 31 carries.

NOTES
-Earlier in the day University of South Alabama Board of Trustees voted today to authorize Phase II — includes the shell of the press tower, the shell of the athletics administration building, the lower-bowl cast-in-place concrete for seating, and the installation of the primary underground utilities to the stadium — of the construction of an on-campus football stadium.
-The four inductees into the South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame earlier in the day — Nic Chisholm (men's tennis 1995-98), David Freese (baseball 2005-06), Ernie Rosseau (baseball 1972-73) and Lindsay Schwartz (women's track & field 2009-12) — were honored on the field throughout the first half.
-It's the first time in 10 years the Jaguars have fallen in their annual Homecoming game.
-It was also the first time in the series that the visiting team has come away with the victory.
-McCray is now tied for team lead with four touchdown catches this season, which also ranks among the top 10 on USA's career list.
-Barge has made 10 or more tackles in three straight outings, as he has led the team in the category in two of the last three contests.
-Tyree Turner matched a season high with seven stops, which included posting one of the team's two sacks.
-It was the fourth game this year that Corliss Waitman has averaged 45 yards or better.
-With Evan Orth sidelined due to injury, Johnson started for the first time in his career while Garvin made his first appearance since the fourth quarter of the Jags' game at Oklahoma State on Sept. 8.
-Tra Minter surpassed 800 yards rushing in his career after leading South with 61 yards on 12 attempts, moving into a tie for seventh-place on the school's all-time list with the performance.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
On the game: "I'm disappointed in the outcome of the game.  I thought the kids fought hard and that we did some good things in the first half.  We had talked about starting faster and I thought we did that.  I hated that we gave up the touchdown right before the half with 22 seconds left, which really hurt.  We didn't start the third quarter the way we wanted to, we got the ball and wanted to take it down the field and make it a seven-point game; obviously, we didn't do that.  I was proud of our guys for fighting back and keeping [ULM] off the scoreboard for most of the fourth quarter.  It was a disappointing loss.  We have to be able to make a few more plays; we made some early, I thought we had a chance in the first quarter.  We also had some more chances throughout the game to make some more plays and couldn't quite get those plays made."
On his biggest coaching concern with the way the season's gone and only two games remaining: "The things that you would be concerned about have already happened.  Getting beat by ULM by 28 on Homecoming is what I would be concerned about, but that has passed.  What you have to do now is make sure you prepare hard and put together a good plan.  We have to be able to go out and execute it against Louisiana-Lafayette and then finish strong against Coastal Carolina." 
On younger players gaining experience in the game: "We played a lot of young guys in the second half, so there were some positives.  Taj Bickham got some good playing time.  Tyrone Legette got some significant playing time.  Maurice Strong got his first playing time tonight, and a lot of that was in the fourth quarter and we kept them off the scoreboard.  There were some good things that I was glad to see from some of those young guys who stepped up and made some plays.  Right now, it's about getting better and finishing strong."
On the play of the two quarterbacks: "I thought Cole did some good things. He gave us a chance to move the ball with his throwing and his ability to spread the football around.  I thought the way the game was shaping up that we were moving the ball better through the air than we were on the ground.  I thought we had some favorable matchups.  We had a field goal blocked and we needed to match ULM with touchdowns, and we weren't able to do that.  When you go back and look at it, Cephus led us on our first touchdown, and I thought he did some good things.  His time out there today will make him better the next time he goes out on the field."
On ULM quarterback Caleb Evans: "He was very good. He has the ability to run and throw. He was as good as we've seen [this season]."

Senior LB Bull Barge
On the ULM offense: "We practiced against the RPO [Run-Pass Optioin] all week.  We knew they were going to try to run the ball a lot in the beginning then get into that RPO game, because that's what they did to Georgia Southern a good bit.  But we felt like our scheme was really perfect for it, but for it to work well you have to have disciplined eyes.  They did a lot of things to make us think they were going to run the ball — the quarterback would ride it out a pretty good while just to make our cornerbacks take that one wrong step, and he delivered the pass." 

Senior QB Cole Garvin
On moving forward: "We just have to keep fighting for each other and try to have fun, especially the seniors."
On the ULM defense: "They played some one high, cover three and man.  We were moving it pretty good in the first half, we just couldn't do anything with it in the second half."

Junior DL Tyree Turner
On ULM quarterback Caleb Evans: "He can make all the throws and make plays with his legs; when you can do all of that, that's a good quarterback."
On moving forward: "You can't let anybody take your pride.  Right now, we have to keep our pride, keep playing out there and going strong.  Nobody ever wants to just get run over and quit; you can't let any man take your soul.  We have to play for each other and our pride."

Senior WR Jamarius Way
On moving forward: "We made a commitment in the spring that we were going to always have each other's back.  We still have to go out and fight for each other these last two games.  We just have to fight and keep competing."

ULM head coach Matt Viator
On his thoughts on the game: "It was a great win.  I give our guys a lot of credit.  I thought we played good defensively all night and at times we played really good on offense. To come out and have a turnover and have them score the first touchdown, we kind of got in a hole quick and had to battle out of it.  It's a really good team win."
On his team's maturity and methodical play in the face of adversity: "We've seen a lot mature in the last few years.  I just like the way we're playing right now.  The kids are having fun.  We're flying around and playing with a lot of energy.  It says a lot about them to lose four games in a row and come back and win four in a row.  Hopefully, we can keep going."
On making a run at a conference championship: "That was one of the first we talked about.  When we listed the goals this year, the first was to become bowl eligible.  The second was to try to win the west.  We kind of accomplished one of the goals tonight.  It will be tough to go up to Jonesboro and play, but we'll try to accomplish the second one.  I think they're excited because it took us three years, but we at least accomplished goal number one."

Up next: The Jaguars will visit Louisiana at 4 p.m. (CST) Saturday in the final road game of the 2018 season.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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