South Alabama beat Troy 27-13 on Saturday, rushing for 241 yards in the second half to pull away from its in-state Sun Belt Conference rival. Kendall Houston ran for a career-high 178 yards and a touchdown, and Xavier Johnson added 107 yards and a score.
The win was the Jaguars’ fourth in a row and improved South Alabama to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Sun Belt. Troy fell to 1-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
Fast Start
South Alabama scored on its first possession when Aleem Sunanon made a 38-yard field goal. Late in the first quarter, quarterback Brandon Bridge scrambled and found Shavarez Smith for a 45-yard touchdown pass.
The second quarter was scoreless until Troy’s Ryan Kay hit a 43-yard field goal with 5:48 left before halftime. The Trojans then forced a three-and-out, and Brandon McKee’s punt was downed at the Troy 8 with 4:41 remaining.
Troy drove to the South Alabama 37 with 22 seconds left in the half. After a timeout, a Brandon Silvers pass intended for Bryan Holmes fell incomplete in the end zone, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on Davin Hawkins gave the Trojans a first down at the Jaguars’ 22. Following another incompletion, Theo Rich flushed Silvers from the pocket, and Silvers was tackled in the field of play as time expired in the half.
Ground Game Takes Over
South Alabama’s offensive line and running backs controlled the second half, with Houston and Johnson producing a series of long gains.
Troy added a field goal after blocking a McKee punt and taking over at the South Alabama 23, but the Trojans could not reach the red zone on that possession.
On the next drive, Houston ran for consecutive first downs on gains of 14 and 13 yards. Johnson followed with a 6-yard run and, two plays later, went largely untouched on a 14-yard touchdown run.
After the Jaguars’ defense forced another three-and-out, Houston broke several tackles on a 41-yard touchdown run.
Houston Fills In for Jay Jones
Houston made the start after Jay Jones suffered a season-ending ACL tear the previous week. Houston’s 178 yards were a career high, and the game was his first 100-yard performance since Sept. 17, 2011, against NC State and the seventh of his career.
Johnson’s 107 yards included his first touchdown as a Jaguar. He wore No. 8 in honor of Jay Jones, whose South Alabama career ended with the injury.
It was the first time two Jaguars ran for more than 100 yards in the same game since Houston and Brandon Ross did it on Sept. 18, 2010, against Nicholls State.
“Losing Jay Jones is a kick in the gut, but sometimes life is tough and he has to move on and so do we,” head coach Joey Jones said. “I thought our guys really picked it up. Kendall Houston is about as dependable of a guy as I have ever coached, when you put him in the game he’s going to get the job done. We put Xavier in there and he did a heck of a job, he made some great runs and made people miss. And our offensive line really took over, they knew we had to run it, and I thought the offensive line did one heck of a job in the second half.”
“I knew I had to play a big role when Jay Jones went down, all the running backs had to do it for him,” Houston said. “We wanted to dedicate this game to him. We just stayed patient and kept running the ball hard, and we were able to bust loose for some big plays later in the game.”
Passing Game and Injuries
Bridge completed 9 of 11 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. He went down late in the first half and went to the locker room with the training staff, but he returned to start the second half.
Smith led South Alabama receivers with two catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Wes Saxton had two catches for 14 yards before being held out of the second half as a precaution after injuring his ankle late in the first half.
Jereme Jones did not have a catch for the second consecutive game. His school-record streak of 49 straight games with a reception ended the previous week.
Defense Holds Troy to One Touchdown
Antonio Carter led the South Alabama defense with 14 tackles, tying the team’s season high. Rich recorded a sack, his team-leading seventh of the season.
Troy ran for 164 yards, led by Jordan Chunn with 53 and Brandon Burks with 50. Trojan quarterbacks combined to complete 13 of 24 passes for 145 yards. Silvers started and went 9-of-18 for 62 yards, while Dontreal Pruitt entered late and completed 4 of 6 passes for 83 yards and Troy’s only touchdown. Teddy Ruben led three Trojans with three catches each, totaling 65 yards.
“They were hurting us with that speed sweep and some different things outside — we made some adjustments at halftime, and we did a great job of boxing it in,” Joey Jones said. “That was big. They didn’t throw the ball on us as much tonight, our guys did a great job in coverage as we usually do. It was just a great overall job defensively.”
November Schedule
South Alabama’s remaining schedule includes road games at Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State, a home game against Texas State, a trip to South Carolina and a home game against Navy.
