MOBILE, Ala. – Jalen Tolbert set a school game record with four touchdown catches, with the last of those coming in the final two minutes of regulation to lift the University of South Alabama football team to a 34-30 Sun Belt Conference victory Friday over Arkansas State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Tolbert finished with 144 yards on five receptions — his scores covered 21, 30, 31 and 26 yards — while Tra Minter rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars finished the season 2-10, 1-7 in the league.  Desmond Trotter posted 337 yards of total offense, which included completing 20-of-31 attempts for 279 yards, with Kawaan Baker catching five passes as well.  DJ Daniels and A.J. DeShazor each recorded eight tackles to pace the Jag defense, with senior defensive linemen Jeffery Whatley and Rocel McWilliams credited with two and 1½ tackles for loss, respectively.

Layne Hatcher connected on 23-of-38 pass attempts for 342 yards and two touchdowns for the Red Wolves (7-5, 5-3 Sun Belt), finding Kirk Merritt nine times for 121 yards.  Logan Wescott led all players with 10 total stops for the A-State defense, and he also broke up two passes and blocked an extra-point attempt.

South Alabama 34, Arkansas State 30 (final stats)
South Alabama/Arkansas State photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-The Jags put together a pair of 76-yard touchdown drives on their final two possessions of the opening quarter to build a 14-7 lead after 15 minutes.
-Neither team scored in the second quarter — A-State's Jarius Reimonenq forced and recovered a fumble inside the five-yard line to end a threat from South — as the Jaguars held a 281-133 edge in total offense in the first half.
-The Red Wolves scored on both of their third-quarter possessions, but USA was still ahead at the end of three quarters 20-17 on a one-yard Minter run midway through the period.
-The two teams would combine to score on five straight possessions, with the Red Wolves then forcing punts and driving for field goals on back-to-back drives in the final quarter to go ahead 30-27 with just under four minutes to go.
-The Jags outgained the Red Wolves 495-437, recorded 26 first downs and held the ball for over 31 minutes.
-South was also 4-of-4 on fourth down highlighted by an 11-yard completion from Trotter to Minter to keep the game-winning drive alive.

NOTES
-A group of 13 seniors — which included Roy Albritton, Jordan Beaton, Sean Brown, DJ Daniels, William Elliott, Tre'veon Hamilton, McWilliams, Minter, Travis Reed, Troy Thingstad, Jalen Thompson, David Webb and Whatley — was recognized on the field prior to kick.
-This was the Jaguars' last scheduled home game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
-The Jaguars are now 7-4 on Senior Day after beating A-State in their home finale for the second time in the last three years.
-It was the Jags' second win the in the all-time series with the Red Wolves.
-South's total offense and first down figures were the highest recorded this fall against an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
-It was the third time this season USA's defense allowed less than 100 yards on the ground after A-State managed to gain 95 on 39 carries.
-Minter broke the school's season rushing record in the opening quarter as he would go on to became the first 1,000-yard rusher in the 11-year history of the program after recording his fourth 100-yard effort of the year.
-With a total of 212 all-purpose yards in the contest, he also broke his own season standard in the category set a season ago in finishing with 1,943 this fall.
-Tolbert broke the school game record for touchdown receptions first set by Jamarius Way in a victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2018 season finale as well as the mark for total touchdowns in a contest as five individuals had scored three times in a game on seven occasions.
-It was the first time the sophomore has posted a 100-yard receiving game as well as the most receiving yards by a Jag this season, with the total ranking eighth on the school's game record list.
-Whatley ended his Jaguar career with at least one tackle for loss in each of his last seven contests, while it was the fifth occasion this fall that he has been credited multiple stops behind the line.
-Trotter became the first Jaguar to record over 300 yards of total offense in a game since Cole Garvin had 304 at Louisiana on Nov. 17 last season.
-It marked the third time in the last four outings that freshman P Jack Brooks averaged better than 45 yards per punt after he posted a 46.0 mark on six kicks.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell
Opening statement: "I'm very proud of the way our guys played tonight, I think we played complimentary football tonight; all three phases played about as well as we've played all year. We would've loved to have done that earlier in the year, but for the guys to have gone through as challenging a season as they've gone through and play their best football at the end of the season is a testament to our senior class. At some point this season, those guys could've not given us the same effort that it took tonight to beat really good team like Arkansas State. It took all three — offense, defense and special teams — and we didn't play perfect in any one of those phases, but they played tremendously hard and with a lot of passion and heart; that was evident tonight. They really laid it out there and we played with an edge. This was a good way to send out our seniors, a good way to go into the offseason and a good way to play the last one at Ladd. We have a one-game win streak, so let's build on that and keep rolling."
On the senior defensive line's play tonight: "They allowed us to play some coverage in the secondary. Coming into tonight, [Arkansas State wide receiver] Omar Bayless had 1,300 yards receiving, which led the nation at all levels. [Kirk] Merritt was their guy a year ago and No. 9 [Johnathan Abrams, Jr.] is another bigtime receiver. They had three great players at the position and we had to play coverage and get some guys out underneath so we could keep someone underneath and over the top of them. We took some people out of the box and our defensive line held up well against the run."
On if he had seen something on film up the middle of Arkansas State's defense: "Desmond did a god job getting the ball out there, some of those were on RPOs and some were on play action. I thought [offensive coordinator Kenny] Edenfield did a great job of throwing the deep ball on play-action early and often. We knew we were going to have score points in order to beat Arkansas State, they've been scoring a lot of points as of late. They are too explosive of a team. We threw off the play-action early and it did well for us. Most of the second half, they started playing their safeties deep and playing a lot of cover-two and cover-three with a safety in the deep middle to try to take away the deep post."
On the game-winning drive: "We hadn't been in our spread stuff much of the game and Desmond hadn't been in it a lot this season other than practice, but on the last drive we talked and Desmond said he wanted to spread it out. We were able to produce a game-winning drive and eat up some clock against a bowl-eligible team with a freshman at quarterback. He was able to lead the team and win the last game at Ladd with a lot of pressure on him. He was able to make a bunch of plays and I'm really proud of the way he came through and the way that the receivers caught the ball." 
On what it means to get this win: "It means a lot, because you want to get the win for the players. You want them to know what you're telling them is right and that they believe that. We tell them to keep chopping wood and sooner or later it's going to turn, and we're going to make that one play. We were close to making plays early in the game and then we got the fumble late and I felt that things had finally turned for us. We then were able to convert the fourth down [to seal the win]. Our players have been through a lot this season and they haven't blinked. That's the stuff I'm proud of tonight and the stuff that you can build off of going into next year."

Senior RB Tra Minter
On the win: "It's a bittersweet moment for me, my senior year and going out on top with the win."
On the fourth-down conversion to seal the win: "I told coach to just give me the ball. The game was in my hands and I needed to take over. It was fourth-and-two and I knew I could get it. I knew my offensive line would push them back, and that I could break a tackle to convert and that's what we did to cap the season off with a win."
On his career: "It has meant a lot to me. It's not over yet; I feel like I'm going to get an opportunity at the next level. But for my collegiate career, it has been amazing. I broke a lot of records, and I am very happy but my work is not done."

Sophomore WR Jalen Tolbert
On his four-touchdown performance: "I was just making plays, and it is a blessing to be able to be out there and do that. We had great balls from the quarterback, great blocking from the offensive line and a great atmosphere on the sideline. Everything was just playing its part tonight. We knew we had it in us, we just had to finish and we were able to do that tonight."
On how big the win is going into the offseason: "We have something to lead off of; we had a great last game, and now we go into the offseason with great workouts and team bonding. It can carry over to next season and we can come in with a hot start. We should be able to have a much better season next year."

Redshirt freshman QB Desmond Trotter
On what he saw on film that suggested Jalen Tolbert would be open so much: "They play a lot like Texas State, and we hit Texas State with the same play. I knew we had it when they went two-high [safeties]; I just had to look off the field safety. I knew once he ran the snag-and-go, all I had to do was fake it and Jalen would be wide open down the middle of the field because no one was going to be there."
On the offense: "We knew that we weren't going to have another game where we leave the defense out to dry. We knew we had to execute and make big plays, just like Coach Campbell always says, and we made them tonight."
On how big the win is going into the offseason: "It is huge, but I am just happy for the seniors. We went out there and made plays, and it is huge with that new stadium being built; it just builds excitement for the first home game."

Senior defensive lineman Jeffery Whatley
On going out with a win as a senior: "It has been a long journey, but going out in that fashion against that team — there's nothing else that could have happened tonight to make it any better. Getting that stop and having us just clicking on all cylinders, that was pretty special to me — just for everything that I have put into the program, and just being able to stick it out and go out a winner."
On the fourth-quarter defensive stop: "They obviously have a good offense, but when you need a stop you have to put your playmakers in and just buckle down. They wanted to do a lot of things in the pass game that we were ready for, but they were still converting. At the end, it's just who wants it more and I think we wanted it more tonight."

Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson
Opening statement: "I'm clearly disappointed with how that turned out. I talked all week — to the media and the players — about the expectations of South playing their best game, and I thought that's what they did. They had nothing to lose. Guys played like their life depended on it. I just think it took us too long to respond. We finally found a way back in it and went ahead, only to lose it. We're capable of playing better than we did tonight; I'm frustrated that we didn't. I think the big keys were red zone offense, third-and-short, and the explosive throw defensively. We made enough mistakes to put ourselves in a really tough position and South made plays when they had to to win it. It's one of those things you don't like to learn, but we have to learn from it. I don't like the way this feels at all."
On playing down to the competition: "I don't know, those guys outplayed us, so it's hard to say that. I know their record was 1-10, but we talked about how they'd been in games, had a chance to beat Georgia Southern —should've beaten them — and had a chance to beat [Louisiana] Lafayette. These guys have been in a lot of close games. They owned the line of scrimmage most of the night, and except for the end of the game, defensively. I respect the job they did and they played better than we did tonight."
On the breakdown on defense on the last touchdown: "They did a good job. It was a middle-of-the-field beater. They were holding the ball for a while and we didn't get there. They held it long enough and it's hard to cover that long. We shouldn't have been in that situation; we have a chance to get them off the field on fourth down and we missed a tackle. We missed a couple of tackles out on the perimeter. All of those would have gotten them off the field and given the ball back to us. It shouldn't have come down to that last play."

Up next: The Jags are now off until the start of spring practice next semester.

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