Harris Suspended for First Half Against Georgia State
Maleki Harris, a senior from Cordova, Alabama, who forced two fumbles against Mississippi State and earned Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, September 15, 2014, was suspended for the first half of the Georgia State game. | Photo: usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Maleki Harris will have to sit out an extra half of football against Georgia State as punishment for his actions after being ejected for targeting against Appalachian State.
Harris was ejected in the first half of the Jaguars 47-21 win over Appalachian State last weekend and, by rule, he would have been eligible to start against Georgia State on October 18. However, after reviewing the film, head coach Joey Jones made the decision to suspend his for the first half against the Panthers.
“Upon reviewing the film, we do not condone Maleki’s reaction to the crowd after committing a targeting foul in the Appalachian State game,” Jones told AL.com. “He understands that he made a mistake and that what he did doesn’t represent the University of South Alabama in a first-class way. Maleki has been a model student-athlete for the past four years. We are confident that he will learn from this as he moves forward.”
Harris is team’s second-leading tackler with 36 stops this season, 16 solo, four tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, an interception and a quarterback hurry.
“I commend South Alabama head coach Joey Jones and director of athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann for taking institutional action,” Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson said. “This clearly demonstrates that the South Alabama athletics program is committed to the values of sportsmanship and fair play.”
The Jags (3-2 overall, 2-1 SBC) has an open date this weekend and will return to action on Saturday, October 18 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for homecoming against Georgia State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Volleyball: Jags Defeat Troy 3-0 on the Road
The South Alabama volleyball team defeated Troy 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-17) on the road Wednesday evening.
Mechell Daniel led the Jaguars with 15 kills and three blocks with Jessica Lewis adding 10 blocks herself. Emily Hundt chipped in with 23 assists and 11 digs as Emma Anderson added 15 assists. Abby Baker led with 29 digs and Jenna Hassell was in double digits with 10 digs as well.
Troy’s Tineille Waggoner led the Trojans with 29 assists while Ali Dowdall led with 18 digs.
The Jags outhit the Trojans .243 to .130 in the first set, .220 to .163 in the second and .429 to .097 in the last set in the win.
Troy falls to 9-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
South Alabama improves to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They will face Texas-Arlington in Mobile to start a three-match homestand beginning Friday and continuing on Saturday against Georgia Southern and concluding with Arkansas-Little Rock on Sunday, October 19.
South Alabama and ULL Match Ends In Draw
The Women’s soccer team earned a 4-4 draw against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday at The Cage to end the Jaguars eight-match winning streak. But their unbeaten streak sits and nine.
South Alabama took and early 2-0 lead in the match. Steffi Hardy scored on a header on a long free kick by Nikki Shirtcliffe, who got the assist, in the 15th minute of play.
Less than four minutes later, Charde Hannah put one away with an assist by Danielle Henley for the 2-0 lead.
But the Ragin’ Cajuns would tie the match before halftime. Yazmin Montoya would get the first goal on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Then in the 43rd minute Annika Schmidt would score after a loose ball by a Jaguar defender.
After the half, Bailey Scott would give the Cajuns a 3-2 lead in the 45th minute.
Rio Hardy would tie the game again with her eighth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 55th minute. In the 70th minute, Hannah would add her 13th goal of the season after a long run down the right side.
But the Cajuns would not go down, Schmidt scored her second goal of the match after a turnover and long shot to beat the goal keeper in the 86th minute to tie the game a four apiece.
The Jags outshot the Cajuns 5-2 in the two extra periods of play, including one that hit the crossbar and another that grazed the bar, but none could find the back of the net.
Sarah Hay went the distance, allowing four goals with three saves.
“Today was not our best performance,” USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. “I’m proud of the girls’ work ethic; they worked extremely hard, but I’ve got to do much better. We tied 4-4 against a very good and very enthusiastic Louisiana-Lafayette team, so I want to give them a lot of praise, but we’ve got to perform better and I’ve got to do a better job of preparing them to do that.”
USA’s record sits at 10-2-1 overall and 2-0-1 in conference play. ULL’s record goes to 5-6-2 overall and 0-3-1 in conference play.
With that match, the Jags completed their five-match homestand. They will travel to Texas State on Friday for a 7pm match against the Bobcats.
Jags Volleyball Break Three Match Losing Streak by Defeating Georgia State 3-1
The Jaguar volleyball team rallied to snap their three match losing streak by defeating Georgia State 3-1 in Atlanta on Saturday.
The Jags lost the first set but rallied back and won the next three to defeat the Panthers 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21).
Mechell Daniel and Jessica Lewis led the Jags offensively as Daniel recorded 16 kills and hit .385, a season best, and had only one attack error in her 39 attempts. Lewis was equally as good with 14 kills while hitting .324.
Nikki Gittens added eight kills while hitting .438 and led the team with four blocks, one solo and three assists. Symone Stephenson added seven kills and hit .308.
The team hitting percentage of .338 was the second highest this season, they hit .368 in their straight set win over the Panthers earlier this season in Mobile.
Emily Hundt led the Jags with four aces as they held a 10-7 advantage in service aces in the match. Jenna Hassell and Savannah Stewart both had two aces each.
Abby Baker led the team with 15 digs whiel Hassell added 11 digs of her own.
The Jags improve to 8-8 overall and 3-3 in Conference play. The Panthers fall to 3-12 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
THe Jags will round out their three-match road swing on Wednesday when they travel to Troy.
Jaguar Soccer Wins 8th Straight by Defeating ULM 7-2 Friday
The South Alabama women’s soccer team won their eighth consecutive match on Friday when they defeated Louisiana-Monroe 7-2 at The Cage. The eight match winning streak is the second longest in school history.
The seven goals scored by the Jaguars are the second-most ever scored against a Sun Belt opponent, nine against UALR is the record, and the most against ULM in the series history between the schools.
The Jags scored their first three goals in a span of five minutes in the first half. After falling behind 1-0 midway through the first half, the Jags would score five unanswered to take control of the match.
The Warhawks could strike first in the 27th minute on their first shot of the match. The Jags had a 10-0 attempt advantage until that point.
Charde Hannah would set up the next two goals to help the Jags take the lead. Sophomore Monique Autmon tied the match at one in the 35th minute. Just 82 seconds later Hannah would set up freshman Sophie Haywood for her seventh goal of the season to put the Jags ahead 2-1. Then at the 39:53 mark, freshman Rio Hardy ended the scoring outburst after gaining control of a ULM goal kick and taking it the rest of the way, putting the Jags up 3-1 in quick fashion.
The Warhawks came out in the second half with the first five shots of the period, four of them on the net. Then the Jags regrouped and outshot ULM 18-1 the remainder of the match.
Freshman Steffi Hardy and junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith would add to the Jaguars lead in the 61st and 69th minutes before ULM netted their only other goal of the match.
Fellow freshman Danielle Henley and Chelsea Followwell ended the scoring with goals in the 77th minute assisted by Meagan O’Loughlin and in the 86th minute assisted by Rio Hardy, respectively.
Sophomore Sarah Hay had five stops on the day.
“I thought we played well,” Jaguar head coach Graham Winkworth said. “I thought we moved the ball well, particularly in the first half; I thought our ball movement was excellent.”
“The girls were being patient,” Winkworth said about the match. “We were in control of the game in the first half. We went a goal down, but I really wasn’t concerned because we were creating a lot of chances. As long as we’re creating chances, I’m not too nervous. We continued to do that, and I was pleased.”
“We changed a few things and I think it took us a few minutes to settle down,” Winkworth said. “We were still strong defensively; Sarah (Hay) made a couple of big saves, but once she did that, I thought the rest of the half, we were solid defensively and continued what we’ve done most of the season. I’m disappointed to have conceded a couple of goals, but at the same time, when we’ve created that many chances and scored that many goals, you can’t really complain.”
Troy Announces Retirement of Blakeney at End of Season
Larry Blakeney at a press conference in Troy earlier this year. | Photo: wn.com
Longtime Troy head coach Larry Blakeney is set to announce his retirement at the end of the season in a press conference on Monday. He informed his team after their Sunday practice.
Blakeney is the second-longest tenured active coach in the FBS ranks only behind Frank Beamer. He had seven playoff appearances in eight seasons as an FCS coach, including an undefeated regular season in 1995, with three wins over BCS teams. He won eight conference championships including five straight Sun Belt titles from 2006-2010. He has an overall record of 175-109-1.
But after the 2010 season there are different numbers that describe his team. Since 2010 he has not had a winning season and is 14-27 and 0-5 start this year, the first 0-5 start since the 1982 season for Troy, which includes a loss to FCS Abilene Christian, and an FPI ranking of 125th in the country.
Blakeney coached high school teams after graduating from Auburn and spent over a decade on the plains as an assistant. He arrived in 1990 to be the head coach at Troy as they were preparing to move up from Division II to FCS.
In 2001 Troy again moved up, this time to FBS and knocked off Mississippi State that fall to formally announce their arrival.
Three years later was arguably the pinnacle of Blakeney’s career. Troy hosted the #17 ranked Missouri Tigers at Veterans Memoral Stadium for a Thursday night ESPN2 game in 2004. They would knock off the Tigers 24-14 in front of the largest crowd in Troy history.
“We don’t have to beat them 365 days,” he told the Associated Press after the game. “We just have to beat them for one 60-minute segment of history. For that one 60 minutes, Troy was better than Missouri.”
In 2007 they stunned Oklahoma State in Troy. His program produced NFL stars DeMarcus Ware, Osi Umenyiora, Jerrel Jernigan, Leodis McKelvin, Cameron Sheffield, Sherrod Martin, Levi Brown and Jonathan Massaquoi. He was awarded the Sun Belt Conference 10th Anniversary Most Outstanding Head Coach award.
But after the 2010 season things began to fall apart. In 2011 the Trojans wen 3-9 and have not been above .500 since.
South Alabama Wins Big Over App State, 47-21
South Alabama’s offense posted season-high totals for points and yards behind Brandon Bridge’s career night against Appalachian State.
Bridge completed 19-of-28 attempts for 339 yards and three touchdowns as the Jaguar offense gained 582 yards of total offense, the second-most in school history, as they defeated the Mountaineers 47-21 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Bridge’s 339 yards passing ranks as the second-highest individual game total behind Ross Metheny’s 360 yard performance. His 362 yards of total offense also ranks second in the school’s record books, also behind Ross Metheny who holds the record with 365 yards.
Shavarez Smith led the way with six catches for 133 yards, his first 100-yard game since last year’s game against Georgia state, and two touchdowns. Xavier Johnson led the rushing attack with a career best 70 yards on 10 carries. Jay Jones added 67 yards on 12 carries and Terrance Timmons rushed four times for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Terrell Brigham led the defense with eight stops as the Jaguars only allowed 33 yards in the first quarter and 169 yards in the first half. Roman Buchanan, Desmond LaVelle and Demarius Rancifer added seven stops each. Jesse Kelley also had a career day with six stops including a half sack.
The Jags got on the board first when Bridge scored on an eight-yard run. After two Grant McLaurin field goals, Bridge would hit Shavarez Smith for a 67 yard touchdown to take a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Mountaineers would get on the board late in the second quarter on a 20 yard pass to Malachi Jones after earlier on the drive Maleki Harris was ejected for targeting.
The Jaguars would come out in the third quarter determined to put the game away without the third-quarter lull they have had in previous games.
Each Jaguar possession in the third quarter would go for touchdowns, each drive taking only six plays. The first possession started at the Jaguar 25 yard line after the opening kickoff was downed for a touchback and ended with a 43 yard touchdown by Bridge to Danny Woodson to extend their lead to 26-7 after McLaurin’s extra point attempt failed.
The second possession started at the Jaguars 38 after the Mountaineer punt and would end with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Bridge to Shavarez Smith. Aleem Sunanon’s extra point was good this time to put the Jags up 33-7. The third and final possession of the quarter would start at the Jaguar 43 and ended with Terrance Timmons scampering in for a 30 yard touchdown to put the Jags up 40-7 going into the final quarter of play.
USA started substituting heavily to start the fourth quarter. After being forced to punt, the Mountaineers would muff the punt and Xavier Johnson recovered it at the App State 35 yard line to set up the final Jaguar scoring drive. After three consecutive runs by Timmons, Berron Tyson would take his first carry as a Jaguar into the end zone for a 47-14 lead with 10:10 left in the game.
“The defense comes out ready to play every game,” head coach Joey Jones explained. “[Defensive coordinator] Coach [Travis] Pearson and his staff do a great job with them. They just motivate their players; they just get after it. But when they come out and play that well early, it sets the tone and it lets the offense get rolling.”
“I am very proud of this football team,” Jones continued. “Last week we travelled across the country to play Idaho and played a good game. And we came here this week to Appalachian State where they have a lot of tradition. They have great facilities here. It’s a great venue, and our kids played extremely well. They have that look in their eyes right now, and they are understanding what it takes.”
Appalachian State falls to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play in what was their worst home loss since 1984.
South Alabama heads into their off week with a 3-2 record overall and 2-1 record in Sun Belt Conference play. They return to Mobile on Saturday, October 18 when they host Georgia State (1-4, 0-2 SBC) for homecoming. Kickoff time has not yet been determined.
Know Your Stadiums – Kidd Brewer Stadium
Ariel photo of Kidd Brewer stadium taken in 2009 | photo: wikipedia.org
We like to spotlight the story and history behind any new stadium that the Jaguars are set to visit. This week the Jags travel to Boone, NC to face the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Kidd Brewer Stadium, AKA ‘The Rock’.
Appalachian State plays their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium located in Boone, North Carolina on the campus of Appalachian State University. It is a multipurpose stadium nicknamed “The Rock” and sits at a height of 3,280 feet above sea level. In addition to being home to the NCAA FCS Champion football team for 2005-2007, it serves as the home for the Field Hockey and Track and Field teams. It has undergone several changes in its history.
The stadium officially opened on September 15, 1962 as Conrad Stadium in honor of former University trustee and R.J. Reynolds executive William J. Conrad. It was constructed as a 10,000 permanent seat stadium and would hold the same capacity through 1978.
In 1970 it would be the first stadium in the Carolina’s to install artificial turf when Astroturf was installed. The first game on the new artificial turf was against Elon on October 3, 1970.
Following the 1978 season the stadium saw its first expansion which added 8,000 seats. A year later it would host the second college football game to ever be televised by ESPN when the Mountaineers played the Western Carolina Catamounts for the Old Mountain Jug.
In 1995 an extensive renovation and restoration project was undertaken on the original 10,000 seats which readjusted the seating capacity down to 16,650 from 18,000.
In 1999, they installed the “AppVision” video board and followed that in 2001 with an enlargement of the video board.
In 2003, they were again first to install FieldTurf which is still in use today.
After the 2006 season the press box was removed and replaced by a 100,000 square foot stadium complex which houses strength and conditioning and athletic training facilities for all of the Mountaineers 20 varsity sports. It also houses extensive locker rooms, academic, office and meeting spaces for student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
On the stadium’s west side they also added 18 luxury suites, 500 club seats and the Yosef and Chancellor’s Box areas.
In 2008 an additional 4,400 seats were added to the east side which increased seating to 20,150. The premium seating, which included the suites, club seats in the Yosef club and Chancellor’s area expanded the seating to 21,650.
In 2011 an additional 1,500 seats were brought in to expanded to 23,150 and finally in 2012 the temporary section was expanded to reach the current capacity of 24,050.
On September 3, 1998 the stadium was renamed in honor of Kidd Brewer, one of the most successful head coaches in Mountaineer football history. He served as head coach from 1935-1938 and had a 30-5-3 record in four years. His 1937 team was unbeaten and did not allow a score in the regular season.
From 2003 through October 20, 2007 the Mountaineers held a 30 game winning stream, the longest in Division I at the time, before losing to Georgia Southern. Their last home loss prior was to Maine on November 20, 2002.
The largest crowd to take in a game at the stadium was recorded on October 9, 2010 when 31,531 came for the Mountaineers win over Elon 34-31.
South Alabama and Appalachian State will kickoff at 5pm CDT on Saturday in Boone. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
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- Panoramic view of the stadium. | Photo: panoramio.com
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- A snowy Kidd-Brewer Stadium played host to a NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff game between Appalachian State and Western Illinois on December 4, 2010. | Photo: wikipedia.org
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- A view of the east seats from 2011. | Photo: wikipedia.org
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- A view of Howard’s Knob and the Appalachian State University campus as seen from the West End Seats. | Photo: wikipedia.org
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- A promotional image showing Conrad Stadium in 1962 leading up to the 50th Anniversary of the stadium. Photo: hcpress.com
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- Ariel photo of Kidd Brewer stadium taken in 2009 | photo: wikipedia.org
South Alabama at Appalachian State: Preview
South Alabama showed improvement on offense last week against Idaho but will they play that good against a better opponent this week in Appalachian State? That is the question that most people what to see answered this week.
The offense entered the game last week after only scoring nine points in their previous two games and only 16 points in the previous 10 quarters of play. They came out and score 13 points on offense in the first half against Idaho, the defense had a pick-six to account for the other touchdown in the first half.
In the second half the offense came out of the locker room strong with an early touchdown but about midway through the third quarter until the beginning of the fourth quarter, the offense struggled. Two turnovers on back-to-back possessions could have been more costly than they were. The first turnover was an interception at the USA 30 yard line which the Vandals converted into seven points. The second turnover was a fumble at the USA 44 yard line which resulted in a missed field goal attempt after the Vandals drove into the red zone, but shot themselves in the foot with a penalty and a sack.
Next up are the Mountaineers.
Appalachian State joined the Sun Belt Conference over the summer along with Georgia Southern from the FCS ranks. While the latter has enjoyed some very good success, the Mountaineers have struggled to a 1-3 record overall and dropped their first conference game against rival Georgia Southern. But that record does not show how well they have played overall.
The Mountaineers lost to Michigan in Ann Arbor but they kept the game very close for most of the first half, but the game ended in a blow out for the Wolverines who relished it for revenge for what many consider the biggest upset in recent history.
The turned around and blew out an unknown team then traveled to Southern Miss and lost on a blocked extra point. Then they had to turn around and put the Southern Miss loss behind them and prepare for Georgia Southern on a short week for a Thursday night game.
Statistically their offense ranks well in the conference. They are in the top 5 in six categories, much better than the Jaguar offense ranks currently.
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Monday Press Conference
Head football coach Joey Jones, sporting his freshly grown goatee, and the South Alabama Football team held their weekly press conference ahead of this weeks Sun Belt Conference game against another conference newcomer in Appalachian State. Jones was joined by cornerback Qudarius Ford and wide receiver Shavarez Smith to review the Jags win over Idaho and preview the game versus Appalachian State.
“I’m real proud of our young men and how we played Saturday,” Jones said about his team’s win over Idaho. “It was a total team effort. We played better offensively. We were more consistent, and we have to continue to improve there. Defensively, we played with great tenacity – just getting after the quarterback and guys covering downfield. It was a pretty impressive showing. We were backed up a couple of times where they had the ball inside our 20-yard line and came away with three points in two or three times. I was real proud of our guys. Special teams is an animal I have been real proud of. Our punter (Brandon McKee) is kicking the ball well and we are covering well. We almost busted another kickoff return, so we’re playing sound special-teams wise.”
“He won the job last week”, Jones said about placekicker Grant McLaurin. “We talk about it all the time – your job is on the line every week. He came out and kicked a 44-yard field goal right before the half; he kicked extremely well. I was real pleased with him. He had a cool nature out there and didn’t go out there with any panic. I was real proud of how he kicked on Saturday.”
“Our defensive line is playing really well,” Jones said about the defense. “Those guys are tough; they can rush the passer and play against the run. It starts there. Our linebackers are playing well right now, and our secondary is covering. Our defense is pretty good. We are starting to create some depth behind the starters, and the defensive staff is doing a great job coaching them. They are playing hard and believe in what they’re doing.”
“Our guys look forward to performing on the field,” said Jones about his teams performance on the road, where both of their wins on the season have come. “The goal we had at the beginning of the year was to play well on the road, and we’re starting to get that done. We have to continue to do that this week against a really good Appalachian State team.”
Jones then gave a brief glimpse at Appalachian State. “They are very athletic defensively. They have guys who fly around to the football. Offensively they run a system similar to us. Their quarterback, Taylor Lamb, is a good, young quarterback who really places the ball well. They have some good receivers and an experienced offensive line. They are a good quality football team for sure.”
Senior cornerback Qudarius Ford spoke about both the Jaguars win over Idaho and their upcoming test, Appalachian State.
“It was a big win for us because it gives us confidence going into these next conference games,” Ford said. “We needed that boost in confidence, and just needed to get things rolling. Defensively, we need to play physical and just eliminate the mental errors.”
“They (defensive front) made it real easy for the defensive backs,” Ford continued talking about the defensive front’s play against the Vandals. “They got so much pressure on the quarterback that he didn’t have a lot of time to look for a receiver to throw the ball to. They did a great job, and I know they will continue to do so.”
The Jaguar defense came away with seven sacks and a pick 6 against Lineham and the Vandals.
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Travis) Pearson does a good job of just simplifying the game for us and letting us play faster,” Ford observed about the defensive teams play this season. “The thing is we just have to stop the mental errors. That’s really what has been hurting us this season. If we just capitalize on the big plays and be consistent then we’ll be alright.”
“We just have to eliminate the big plays and play physical with them,” Ford said about this weekends matchup against the Mountaineers this weekend. “We are going to prepare for them like any other team.”
Senior wide receiver Shavarez Smith helped the Jaguar offense record 429 yards of total offense, 100 yards more than their average entering the game.
“A win is always a positive thing for a football team,” Smith said about the teams win over Idaho. “It gives us confidence. We play to win, so getting a win is always rewarding because we work so hard during the week. Our goal is to win this conference, and winning that game last weekend was a big stepping stone toward that. We don’t want to lose any more games, period. And we definitely don’t want to lose any more conference games because our goals are well within reach. We are going to try to make sure we keep making stride toward those.”
“Every game as an offense you gain some experience, knowledge and a little more wisdom as far as the game is concerned itself,” he said about the offensive unit. “We also gain a little more chemistry. You can tell by watching our past game that we looked a little better out there from a chemistry standpoint. We are just going to try and build off of what we accomplished last game.”
“We have guys who can make plays. It’s good to see people stepping up and doing that,” he said concerning the depth and wide receiver play of the Jaguars. “We’re trying to give (quarterback) Brandon (Bridge) targets and make him more comfortable throwing the ball. Anytime you can have an offense with multiple weapons, it obviously makes you more dangerous.”
The Jags had a rash of dropped passes in their losses to Mississippi State and Georgia Southern. The receiver corps played much better against Idaho as Bridge went 15-of-25 with few outright drops compared to the previous two games.
“They pursue pretty well defensively; they do a good job of running to the play,” Smith said about Appalachian State. “We are going to have to make sure we protect the ball and finish off our runs with physicality. It’s our job to execute offensively.”
The Jaguars and the Mountaineers kickoff at 5pm on Saturday in Boone, NC. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and, as with every Jaguar football game, play-by-play and color commentary on the radio on 99.9FM and streaming online via iHeartRadio.