Jags Dominate Second Half, Cruise To 46-17 Win Over ULM
South Alabama needed to find their offensive identity, it may have taken some time, but they found themselves in the second half as the Jags rolled to a 46-17 win.
The Jags (4-4, 3-1 Sun Belt Conference) shut out Louisiana-Monroe (5-2, 3-1 SBC) in the second half while putting up 34 points on the scoreboard. They went into the locker room after giving up a field goal as time expired with a 17-12 deficit. But the Jags that went into the locker room were not the same guys who came out in the second half.
South Alabama came out just dominated the second half from kickoff to final whistle. They outgained the Warhawks 316 to 108 after halftime, almost all of it on the ground. In all they put up 355 yards rushing in the game with four different players with rushing touchdowns.
When asked about what he said to the team at halftime, head coach Major Applewhite said he “didn’t say anything special. I told our guys if we play the hardest the longest, we will win the football game. It’s a possession game and everyone in the locker room knew that it was going to be like this. If we go down and score on offense to start the half we’ll take the lead, if we don’t go down and score it’ll be a two-possession game.”
They scored on all three of their 3rd quarter possessions then demoralized them with an 11-play, 93-yard drive in the fourth quarter.
“It was just our preparation,” running back Kentrel Bullock said. “That’s what we worked on the majority of the week. We prepared to run the ball and we executed pretty well.”
After taking the opening kickoff of the second half, the Jags marched right down the field. Fluff Bothwell carried the ball on the final four snaps and covered the final 39 yards for this first touchdown of the game. It gave the Jags the lead for good and the way the offense did it, they made a resounding statement.
On ULM’s first snap of the second half, Bubba Thomas tipped the pass near the line and Wesley Miller came away with the interception putting the offense back in business at the Warhawk 28.
After a pair of penalties for a false start and an ineligible player downfield, the Jags were facing 1st and goal at the 13. But that was no problem. Kentrel Bullock found a huge hole on the right side of the line and scored. A bad snap led to a failed extra point leaving the Jags up 25-17.
A three and out punt by the defense put the Jaguar offense in business at their own 40-yard line about midway through the third quarter. Eight of the nine snaps were all run plays starting with Braylon McReynolds, then a run by Bothwell, but Gio Lopez would finish out the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 32-17 advantage.
South Alabama’s defense refused to let the Warhawks get into the end zone. On a 4th and goal at the 7, the Jags stayed tight in their coverage and forced the Warhawk quarterback to throw it through the back of the end zone.
Once again, the offense only threw one pass on the next drive. But they didn’t need to throw either. Kentrel Bullock started the drive but it was Full Bothwell who pounded the Warhawk defense into submission with six consecutive runs covering the final 55-yards for his second touchdown of the game and a 37-17 advantage.
The defense got the ball back after a failed 4th down attempt. It only took two plays by Braylon McReynolds to put the Jags on the scoreboard once more, capped off by a 24-yard run into the end zone.
The Warhawks threatened to end the second half shutout but true freshman Ty Goodwill came away with the interception in the end zone to let Lopez kneel it twice for the win.
“I thought he [offensive coordinator Rob Ezell] did a great job of using them [running backs] the right way,” head coach Major Applewhite explained. “Our tailbacks were doing a great job running the ball, along with the offensive line. The tempo was giving them [ULM] problems. They weren’t getting hands on the ground, they weren’t coming off the ball. So we were able to get a little bit more of a push than normal and our backs were finding creases and running hard.”
The first half was a different story.
On the first drive the Jags called a more balanced game with a mix of passes and runs, but it was the run game that found the most traction on the first drive. Kentrel Bullock had runs of 14 and 22 before punching it into the endzone on a hard 4 yard run for a 7-0 lead.
Outside of that, the Jags really didn’t put together another a good drive in the first quarter. They did manage a short drive for a 48-yard Laith Marjan field goal.
Stats
| South Alabama | Louisiana-Monroe | |
| Total Yards | 523 | 387 |
| Passing Yards | 168 | 149 |
| Rushing Yards | 355 | 238 |
| 3rd Downs | 7 of 13 | 3 of 15 |
| 4th Downs | 0 of 0 | 2 of 4 |
| Penalties – Yards | 6 – 70 | 2 – 20 |
| Turnovers (points) | 2 (6) | 1 (0) |
South Alabama
Gio Lopez was 18-of-30 (60%) for 168 yards passing and added 25 yards rushing on 3 carries with a touchdown.
Kentrel Bullock led all rushers with 141 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns. Full Bothwell had 119 yards on 17 carries for two touchdowns as well. Braylon McReynolds, in his first action in several games, had 73 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.
Jamaal Pritchett set a new career mark with 11 catches in a game for 89 yards. Devin Voisin had 36 yards on three catches.
Dalton Hughes and Blayne Myrick both led the team with 7 total stops each, Hughes with two solo and Myrick with three solo. One of Myrick’s stops was a sack. Hughes and Carlos Johnson Jr combined for a sack too.
Louisiana-Monroe
Aidan Armenta went 11 of 23 (47.8%) for 149 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Javon Campbell had 77 yards on two catches. Davon Wells had 60 yards on two catches with a touchdown.
Ahmad Hardy rushed for 104 yards on 20 carries. Hunter Herring, the other quarterback, had 72 yards on 4 carries with a touchdown.
Next
South Alabama will host Georgia Southern on Saturday, November 2nd for a 6:30pm kickoff for Military Appreciation Day and the final Saturday home game this season at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will air on ESPNU.
