South Alabama Basketball Fan Day On Wednesday
Come out and meet Head Basketball Coaches Ronnie Arrow and Rick Pietri and the rest of the Jaguar Basketball teams for Fan Day on Wednesday, October 24th from 5-7 p.m.
The event will take place on the main floor of the Mitchell Center. This event will feature an autograph session with the coaches and players so we encourage all fans to bring memorabilia to be signed and cameras for pictures of your favorite Jaguar players, SouthPaw and the Jaguar Cheerleaders. The USA Dance Team “the Prowlers” will also be performing.
This is a FREE event and open to the public. Parking is also free and available at the Mitchell Center in the south lot off of Old Shell Road. “Select your seats” for the 2012-13 Jaguar Basketball season as the Athletic Ticket Office will be on-site with information on Season Tickets, Flex Plans, Group Outings and Individual Game Tickets.
The 2012-13 Men’s and Women’s basketball teams will be introduced and they will participate in free throw, three point shooting and dunk contests versus our very own USA student organizations.
Immediately following Fan Day the South Alabama Volleyball team will be in action versus Jackson State at 7 p.m. in Jag Gym.
Go Jags!
South Alabama Post First FBS, Sun Belt Victory
The South Alabama Jaguars celebrate their double-overtime win against Florida Atlantic on Saturday. The win was the program’s first against an FBS opponent and also the first against a Sun Belt Conference team.
Lead by defense in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars fight their way back from a 14 point deficit in order to win it’s first ever game against a FBS opponent and also their first ever Sun Belt Conference.
Florida Atlantic would go up by 14 points early in the fourth quarter on a six yard rush on 3rd and goal. On the ensuing possession the Jags would start at their own 15 yard line but would move the ball down to the Owl 41 yards linbe before turning the ball over on downs.
The Jaguar defense would hold strong and force a three and out. The Owl punt would bounce into the end zone for a touchback.
Starting at their own 20, Metheny would come out firing by completing back to back catches to Jereme Jones for 14 and Greg Hollinger for 15 to quickly move the ball out to the Jaguar 49 yard line. After a rush for no gain by Terrance Timmons, a pass interference penalty would move the ball to the FAU 40 yard line. Then Metheny would complete a 27 yard pass to Gabe Loper to the FAU 13 yard line.
After an incomplete pass by Metheny to Jereme Jones, the Owls would be flagged for a personal foul to place the ball at the 5 yard line. Houston would go down for a loss of 3 yards back to the 8 yard line. A couple plays later the Jags are facing 4th down and goal from the FAU 7 yard line. The fourth down pass would fall incomplete but the FAU defender would be flagged for pass interference. Due to the penalty occurring in the end zone, the ball would be placed on the 1 yard line with an automatic first down.
Trey Fetner would run for a loss of one followed by Metheny rushing for no gain. After a time out, Metheny would hand the ball all to Demetre Baker who would plunge into the end zone for the touchdown to cut the Owl lead down to 31-24 with 5:45 left in the game.
The Jaguar defense would only allow four yards as they forced FAU to a three and out. The punt from their own 32 yard line would go 51 yards and T.J. Glover would lose two yards on the return to put the Jaguars first and 10 at their own 15 yard line with 3:54 left in the game.
The drive would start with a Baker rush for 18 yards before being force out of bounds at the Jaguar 33. Baker would run for another three yards on the next first down play. But back to back incomplete passes from Metheny to Jereme Jones and Gabe Loper would have the Jags facing fourth and 7 from their own 36 yard line.
The fourth down play would be another pass from Metheny to Gabe Loper down the left side, but it fell incomplete however FAU would have two flags thrown on them for pass interference. One would be declined and the other accepted to give the Jags 14 yards and an automatic first down at the midfield stripe.
Baker would rush for back-to-back gains of 8 and 4 yards for a first down at the Owls 38 yard line. Then Terrance Timmons would rush for four yards. On second and 6 at the FAU 34 yard line, Ross Metheny would find an opening and scamper 18 yards for a first and 10 at the FAU 16 yard line with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter.
After the time out, Ross Metheny would find Gabe Loper in the end zone for the 16 yard touchdown pass. Michel Chapuseaux would tack on the PAT and the Jags would have a tie game with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter.
The squib kick would be picked up and returned 11 yards to the FAU 39 yard line with 1:05 left in regulation. Graham Wilbert’s first two passing attempts would fall incomplete. But the third down pass would be caught for 19 yards to the Jaguar 42 yard line before stepping out of bounds. On the next play he would find the same receiver for another 16 yard completion to the Jaguar 26 yard line.
After an incomplete pass on first down, Pat Moore would sack Wilbert for a five yard loss back to the Jaguar 31 yard line forcing FAU to take a time out with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. After the time out, the Jags would let FAU line up before calling their final time out of the game to set up a defense for the play. After the Jaguar time out, on 3rd and 15, Wilbert would complete his pass to William Dukes, for the third time on the drive, for 16 yards and a first down at the Jaguar 15 yard line before getting out of bounds with about 15 seconds left in regulation.
Florida Atlantic head coach Carl Pelini sends out his field goal unit with Mitch Anderson, who is playing in his first game, to attempt the game winning field goal. Anderson, who already had one attempt blocked earlier in the game, would kick it low from the hashmarks and Pat Moore would get his hands up and block it with time expiring.
To begin overtime, FAU would win the toss and elect to go on defense first. The Jags, with the ball first, would start at the 25 yard line heading into the north end zone. On first down, Metheny would run for five yards to the 20 yard line. But back to back incompletions to Bryant Lavender and Greg Hollinger would force the Jags to kick a field goal from 37 yards to take a 34-31 lead, their first of the game.
FAU would then start their rebuttal possession with a four yard pass completion to the Jaguar 21 before being forced out of bounds. A run would only net two yards on second down. Then the quarterback keeper would lose one yard to the 20 yard line. Anderson would convert on the 37 yard field goal to force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, FAU would go on offense first again going into the north end zone. A two yard loss on the first down run would put the ball back at the Jaguar 27 yard line. Another rush for no gain on second down would set up third and 12 at the Jaguar 27 yard line. The third down pass would fall incomplete to force another field goal attempt from 44 yards. Kicking from the right hashmark the kick would be low again and Pat Moore would block it for the second time in the game.
South Alabama would then have the ball with the outcome of the game in their hands. Baker would run on first down for no gain. Baker would run again on second down for 7 yards. Then on third down, he would run again for no gain. After allowing the Jags to line up for the field goal attempt, Carl Pelini would call a time out to try to ice Chapuseaux.
After the time out, Chapuseaux’s 35 yard kick would never be in doubt. It flew right between the uprights and the crowd that had stayed went into complete pandemonium. The Jaguar players rushed the team on the field, coach Jones would get doused on the sidelines while FAU were quick to exit the stadium to get out from between the team and the students and band.
It was an amazing sight to behold as the Jaguars realized they broke their four game losing streak, won their first FBS game and also won their first Sun Belt Conference game.
FAU held edges in a couple key categories. They led in total yardage 461-359, passing yardage 303-179 and first downs 25-24. However the Jags did lead in rushing yardage 180-158 and time of possession 30:28 – 29:32. Penalties were down too with the Jags only being flagged four times for 50 yards while FAU was flagged 10 times for 80 yards. Neither side threw an interception. FAU fumbled once but recovered it themselves, while South Alabama fumbled twice but only lost one of them.
But FAU’s Anderson was 2-of-5 in field goals in his first ever game for the Owls, with all three misses being blocked. Michel Chapuseaux was a perfect 3-for-3 in route to the win.
FAU’s J. Wallace rushed 21 times for 101 yards to lead all in rushing. Demetre Baker, back from his suspension, rushed 16 times for 73 yards to lead the Jaguars running game. Timmons carried 11 times for 36 yards, Metheny had 13 carries for 34 yards and Glover carried 6 times for 29 yards. Jereme Jones, Trey Fetner and Kendall Houston also got carries in the game.
FAU’s Graham Wilbert was 27-of-41 for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Ross Metheny was 13-of-27 for 179 yards and one touchdown.
The game was definitely Gabe Loper’s coming out party. Loper caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown while also adding a blocked field goal and drawing a couple pass interference calls at key times for the Jaguars.
Jereme Jones had three catches for 19 yards and Greg Hollinger caught two passes for 34 yards. Lavender, Desmond Jones, Corey Besteda and Jared Palmer all caught a pass as well.
FAU’s William Dukes caught five passes for 119 yards and a 50 yard touchdown pass. Two other Owls had over 50 yards receiving as well.
Four Jaguars ended the game with double-digit tackles for the game, a first in school history. Terrell Brigham, B.J. Scott and Enrique Williams all recording 11 tackles and Alex Page adding 10 tackles as well. Clifton Crews and Jake Johnson both had eight tackles each as well. Darrius Morrow had four tackles and two passes defended. Pat Moore had three solo tackles all for loss to go with his two field goal blocks he was credited with.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of these young men and my [coaching] staff for what they’ve done — for hanging in there,” head coach Joey Jones said in the post game press conference. “They fought every day at practice, and the main reason we won the football game is because of character. These guys were down 14 points in the fourth quarter, and I didn’t see quit in anybody’s eyes. They kept fighting and all of a sudden we had a play or two go our way, and we were in the ballgame. We got into overtime, and Michel Chapuseaux did a great job kicking field goals at the end. I don’t know how many plays we made in the fourth quarter, but it was a bunch of them. My hat’s off to this team and the coaching staff for what they’ve done.”
Loper spoke after the game about the touchdown pass from Metheny to tie the game and give the Jags a chance to go into overtime. “All credit goes to Ross. He made a perfect pass. I leaned on the defensive back like the coaches taught me to. He had my hand hooked. It was a similar play to Arkansas State last week, and I just remembered that I had to redeem myself. The coaches have been preaching all week that if the officials don’t call it, take it out of their hands and make the play. That’s all I could think about. I was just blessed to have the ball thrown so perfectly.”
Ross Metheny spoke after the game giving praise to Loper. “Talk about a playmaker. We have been trying to get Gabe on the offensive side of the ball since week one, and he definitely has a special talent and the things he can do in the air to go get the ball are special,” Metheny said. “He’s only been working as a receiver for a couple of weeks, and he already has the offense down, knows which way to line up and runs his routes really well. He’s definitely a guy we can count on, and I’m fortunate that he’s my teammate.”
Michel Chapuseaux spoke about the game winning kick after the game. “When the time had come, my heart was pounding and I was nervous. I had to settle in because I’ve practiced so long for this,” he explained. “When I start taking my steps over, I zone out everything and I tell myself to be ready for it. When I kicked it, I made sure it was between the posts and then I just turned around. I didn’t even look at it. I just let the crowd tell me if it went in, and then I had a swarm of teammates just hitting me. We definitely needed this win. We wanted it more. We didn’t give up, and this is definitely going to help us throughout the rest of the season.”
Senior Linebacker Jake Johnson spoke after the game about how the defense played. “The game is never over until it’s over. Anybody can win, anything can happen. We came back and got that touchdown. We had three blocked field goals. Chap had three kicks that he made. We played well in all facets.”
“Defensively we had a good game plan, we just weren’t communicating as well as we should have in the first half,” Johnson continued. “We communicated better and stopped them a lot more in the second half. We just never gave up. That’s one thing you can’t ever do is give up.”
No one could say it better than Ross Metheny though. “All I can say is wow, what a game. Talk about a monkey off your back, getting the first Division I [FBS] win. We needed the signature win to propel us. We’re definitely going to embrace this win and cherish it, but we’re still hungry. We want more and we want to win more, so we’re going to come on Monday ready to work toward our next opponent.”
South Alabama will travel to face Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 6pm according to the ULL website. The game is not scheduled to be broadcast on television, however ULL does have a online video stream available.
South Alabama blocks the overtime field goal attempt by FAU’s Mitch Anderson in the second overtime possession by the Owls.
Chapuseaux’s Winning Kick
(sorry for the video being blurry and shaky. I was so anxious and excited)
Michel Chapuseaux’s winning kick in double overtime against Florida Atlantic. This is the program’s first FBS and Sun Belt win. What a hard fought and well EARNED win. Jaguar Nation is so very proud of this team.
Homecoming Today Against Florida Atlantic
Last night South Alabama had their homecoming festivities including a pep rally with fireworks (Video below). Head coach Joey Jones spoke to the crowd along with senior center Trey Clark.
Homecoming Festivities Planned For Friday And Saturday
Lots of activities are scheduled for South Alabama today. Beginning around 3:30pm individual colleges will have get togethers of some sort for their alumni. Then at 5:30 p.m. the school will unveil its Wall of Honor mural at Moulton Towers. The mural dedication will be followed by a homecoming parade, pep rally (featuring the USA Jaguar marching band and head coach Joey Jones) and fireworks. The Jag Jam birthday bash will take place at the Mitchell Center.
On Saturday the parking lot will open at 8am for tailgating. Shortly after noon the Jaguar Prowl will take place on the south side of the stadium.
Gates to the stadium will open at 12:30pm and kickoff between South Alabama and FAU is scheduled for 2:30pm.
For a full rundown of all homecoming festivities please visit .
Tickets can be purchased as low as $10.
Parking is limited to those with official South Alabama parking passes. Parking passes are only available for season ticket holders, not for single game ticket holders. There is handicapped parking available at the stadium for those with disabilities.
Parking is available near the stadium but neither the University, Ladd-Peebles Stadium nor the city of Mobile control or patrol these areas. It is recommended that fans park at Bel Air Mall south of Target and J.C. Penny and ride The Wave for $2.50/per person for a round trip. Shuttles will begin service at 10:30am and will run for 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game.
Baker’s Suspension Lifted
Coach Jones looks on as Demetre Baker looks to the sideline before blocking for a field goal attempt.
South Alabama running back Demetre Baker, the teams leading rusher, had his suspension lifted today. Baker was suspended last week by head coach Joey Jones after a violation of team rules. Baker will be available to play on Saturday against Florida Atlantic.
Baker’s 294 yards rushing leads the team in that category. He averages 4.4 yards per carry and has one touchdown on the season. Quarterback C.J. Bennett second on the team in rushing with 134 yards but did not play. Kendall Houston started in Baker’s place and rushed 18 times for 36 yards against Arkansas State to bring up his season total to 130 yards, four yards behind Bennett for second place on the team. Redshirt freshman Terrance Timmons saw action in Jonesboro and was the teams leading rusher with 43 yards.
Jones had said on his radio show that “the ball is in his court” earlier this week when asked if he would be allowed to participate against FAU.
Also the team received the results of Ucambre Williams’ MRI and it did not bear good news. Williams has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Williams was the starting left tackle for the Jaguars. With Williams injury and Shaun Artz ailing back, transfer offensive lineman James Elliot may see playing time against FAU. Elliot was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA and will not have to sit out this season for transferring.
Coach Jones Pleased With Wednesday Practice
Head Coach Joey Jones looking on as the Jaguars warm up for their game at North Carolina State.
The South Alabama Jaguars had another good practice as they continue to prepare for their homecoming match-up against Florida Atlantic. While they continue to implement their game plan for the game, they also continued to work on themselves to limit mistakes.
Both the Jaguars and the Owls are 1-5 on the season and 0-3 in the Sun Belt. The Jags are looking for their first win against an FBS opponent as well as their first win against a Sun Belt team.
While head coach Joey Jones liked what he saw in practice, he admits they still have more work ahead in order to be ready for Saturday.
“I feel like the players have a good look in their eyes and understand the opportunity we’ve got coming this weekend,” Jones said. “This is a very physical football team that we’re going to face this weekend and we’ve got to match that and come out there ready to go.”
Coach Jones points out the Florida Atlantic front seven as a very physical group of players. “They do a good job of alignment and they’re always very sound in their alignment and they’re very physical,” Jones said. “You see some teams doing a lot more blitzing and exotic things defensively, but this is a team that lines up and plays football. They’re well-coached and physical too.”
“I want our guys to go out and eliminate the things that get us beat,” Jones continued. “By that I mean the penalties and turnovers. Like I told them last week, I think if we had done what we were supposed to do, we had a chance to win that football game. Once we learn how to play and not make those type errors in the game we’re going to win some football games.”
Last Saturday the Jags lost in Jonesboro, Arkansas to defending Sun Belt Champion Arkansas State 36-29. In the game, they committed 13 penalties for 81 yards while ASU only committed two penalties for 20 yards. Also the Jags only turned the ball over once with an interception while forcing three fumbles by Arkansas State.
According to the Press-Register, Ucambre Williams had an MRI on his left knee that he injured on the third play of the game agaisnt Arkansas State. The staff fears that it may be a torn ACL but they have not gotten the results of the MRI yet.
Phil Steele’s Midseason All-Sun Belt Team Announced
Defensive coordinator Bill Clark working with Jake Johnson and the linebackers during individual drills during camp.
American sportswriter and analyst Phil Steele who produces an annual preseason magazine that carries his name published his 2012 Midseason All-Sun Belt Team.
There are a couple South Alabama names on the list. There are only two first team selections for the Jaguars which are defensive linemen Alex Page and senior linebacker Jake Johnson.
The lone second-team selection is T.J. Glover for special teams. While Tyrell Pearson is the lone third-team selection at defensive back. No Jaguars were selected for any of the three teams from the offense.
There are a number of selections that the Jaguars have already faced this season.
Fetner, Loper Will Expand Roles In Offense
Quarterbacks Trey Fetner and transfer Ross Metheny participating in position drills.
Head coach Joey Jones said that backup quarterback Trey Fetner’s role in the offense will likely increase as they go forward.
Fetner, the odd man out in the Jaguars quarterback race this season, has found a spot in offensive game plan after all. The redshirt freshman had three carries for 17 yards last weekend in Jonesboro from the wildcat formation.
Fetner also scored the only touchdown against Troy where he had five carries for 21 yards including the three yard score.
“Trey’s a good football player and if there’s a player on our sideline we think can win for us we’re going to try to get him our there the best we can,” head coach Joey Jones said. “He’s really found his niche there (as a Wildcat formation quarterback) and we’re going to expand that package. We talked about that this weekend. He’s going to be a good asset, especially in short yardage. And the thing about it, he can throw it too. It’s not like he’s a Wildcat quarterback who can’t throw, so that’s going to create some diversity in our third-down situations.”
Also you may have seen a new receiver on the field if you happened to watch the Arkansas State game. Gabe Loper, a former defensive back, has transitioned to play in the receiver corps.
During regular season practice one single play stood out to the coaching staff that was looking for a spark on offense. A defensive play he made on a hail mary pass that made them think.
He made the switch during the Jaguars off week which gave him some extra time to get adjusted to the new position. His debut game with an 11 yard reception against Arkansas State, his first reception as a Jaguar and likely not his last. “You never know when coaches are watching and we tell guys that all the time,” receivers coach Jerry Mack said. “Back in fall camp Gabe made an extraordinary catch on a Hail Mary. He jumped over everybody and caught it in the back of the end zone. That’s when he first kind of caught all the coaches’ eyes, especially on offense, that hey, this guy may have a skill set that we can use on offense.”
“As the season went along, we were always looking for that spark, always looking for that guy who could be a playmaker on the offensive side of the ball,” Mack continued. “We decided last week to work him into the receiver rotation a little bit more and it’s been nothing but good news ever since.”
Jags Look To Break Losing Streak Against FAU
As the Jaguars continue to prepare for Florida Atlantic’s visit to Mobile on Saturday, the Jags are also working hard to break their longest losing streak of the program’s history.
The Jags enter the game with a four game losing streak as they have faced four consecutive FBS opponents. Their record on the season is 1-5 (0-2 SBC) after their loss at defending conference champions Arkansas State last weekend.
But FAU is on a losing streak of their own. The Owls have dropped their last five games in a row to make their record this season 1-5 (0-3 SBC). Their last loss was against Louisiana-Monroe by a score of 35-14.
“We are making progress and moving forward, this is not a team that is getting down because we’ve lost a few games,” Head coach Joey Jones said. “The players understand where we are and have taken that challenge every week, and I think that is why we are getting better. And the staff has done a good job of motivating on both sides of the ball and with special teams.”
The Jaguars enter the game with the #2 ranked defense in the Sun Belt Conference with 344.5 yards per game, only trailing Western Kentucky who has an average of 304.7 yards per game. The Jaguar defense held Arkansas State to 316 total yards, 155 yards below their season average coming into the game. The Jaguar rushing defense is ranked #4 in the conference with an average of 135.8 yards per game and #3 in pass defense with an average of 208.7 yards per game.
FAU ranks #8 in the conference as their defense has given up an average of 429 yards per game of total yards. They are only ahead of Florida International and Middle Tennesse in total defense. FAU ranks last in the conference at #10 in rushing defense by allowing an average of 211.7 yards per game while ranking #5 in pass defense allowing an average of 217.3 yards per game through the air.
Shifting the focus to offenses, South Alabama comes in just ahead of FAU in #9 with an average of 312.2 yards per game while FAU only averages 288.2 yards per game of total offense. Similarly the Jaguar rushing attack edges out FAU for the #9 spot with an average of 122.5 yards rushing per game while FAU averages 114.3 yards per game.
Again the passing offense has South Alabama #9 while FAU is ranked #10. The Jags average 189.7 yards per game while FAU averages only 173.8 yards per game.
Based on the numbers, you would tend to give a slight edge to South Alabama due to their defensive numbers. But what will make the difference is turnovers, penalties and depth.
South Alabama has been plagued with penalties in rescent weeks as they were flagged 28 times for 223 yards in the last two games alone. Turnovers have been turned into points for the opponents as well, but the Jaguar offense only turned the ball over once against Arkansas State while the defense forced three turnovers.
But depth could be an issue on the offensive line as Coach Jones indicated in his weekly radio show that Ucambre Williams will most likely miss the game with a knee injury and Shaun Artz has an ailing back.
Jake Johnson leads the defense with 60 tackles while Enrique Williams is close behind with 53 tackles on the season. Both are in the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in tackles. Johnson is second in the Sun Belt with an average of 1.33 tackles for loss per game.
South Alabama also ranks second in the conference with 14 sacks, which is one short of last years total for the entire season.
But in the one game since South Alabama has abandoned the two-quarterback system, they posted their best offensive game of the season with 373 yards, 24 first downs and 35:39 time of possession. While the 29 points is the second highest total of the season after the 30 points they posted against Texas-San Antonio to open the season.
“Let’s face it, offensively we have been struggling and we played better that day so that certainly encourages our team. Not that the offense is there yet or we are not going to work anymore,” Jones explained. “But we moved the ball and did some good things offensively, and when you have that it encourages the rest of the team that this thing can get rolling if we get going. We have played pretty well in the other two phases of the game, we just need to get going offensively.”
“I kept waiting for us to break out and have a good game, which we did the other night,” Jones continued. “Of course, we have to do that week to week, but we did some good things that we can hang our hat on.”
Redshirt freshman Terrance Timmons led the Jaguar rushing game with 43 yards on 13 carries while Kendall Houston added 36 yards on 18 carries in his first start of the season.
Senior placekicker Michel Chapuseaux was selected at the Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week by the Sun Belt Conference for going 3-of-4 in field goals and 2-of-2 in PAT’s.
But Coach Jones understands that even though the Jags may be slightly favored on paper, they can’t overlook their competition. “FAU is a very physical football team, I’ve watched them on film where they have faced Alabama and Georgia and they banged with those teams,” Jones observed. “Defensively, their front seven are very physical guys. They have great athletes and a fifth-year senior quarterback, we understand going into this game that this is another good football team we are facing.”
“Both of our records are alike, but they have been fighting against some very tough teams as well,” Jones continued. “They are used to winning too, they won the Sun Belt a few years back, so they understand how to do it.”
South Alabama and Florida Atlantic kickoff at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $10. The parking lot will open at 8am for tailgating with the Jaguar Prowl scheduled to begin shortly after 12:00 noon and will cross around the southern edge of the stadium.
Parking is limited at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and parking outside of the stadium is not overseen by the Unversity, Ladd-Peebles Stadium or the Mobile PD. If you do not have a parking pass, it is encouraged that you consider parking at Bel Air Mall south of Target and J.C. Penny and taking the shuttle for $2.50 for a round trip. The shuttle service will begin at 10:30am and will run until 90 minutes after the games conclusion.