MOBILE, Ala. — An estimated 8,000 fans turned out Friday for the final day of South Alabama’s first spring football practice, watching the Jaguars’ first-team offense score on all five of its possessions in a scrimmage against the second-team defense.
Richard Ross and quarterback Matt Saucier each scored twice, and the first-team defense held the second-team offense to six total yards without a first down earned by a play from scrimmage.
Jones Thanks the Crowd
Head coach Joey Jones, who began building the program a little more than a year ago, addressed the crowd after the scrimmage.
“When you look back a year ago, we came here in February and started putting this program together. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen how all of our players, managers, trainers and staff have been involved,” Jones said. “To come to a game like this, where I was expecting 1,500 people to be out there, to see 8,000 fans is a great testament to the city of Mobile and how they are going to support this program. I think that this town is ready for football, and they are excited about Sept. 5 coming soon.”
South Alabama will play its first season this fall, opening Sept. 5, with home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Scoring Drives
The first-team offense needed four plays and 1:47 to cover 70 yards on its opening possession. Ralph Turner started the drive with a 36-yard gain on a reverse, and Ross broke two tackles on a 25-yard touchdown run.
With a little more than four minutes left in the first quarter, Ross scored again on a 1-yard run to finish an eight-play, 59-yard drive. Saucier kept that possession alive with a 14-yard completion to Lim Windham on third down and later ran for 12 yards to set up the score.
On the next series, Saucier ran for 14 yards and then 33 yards down the sideline before throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Helms, capping a five-play, 60-yard drive that took 2:13.
The first unit’s longest drive lasted more than eight minutes. Saucier converted two third downs, one on a scramble and another on a pass to Paul Bennett, before Lawson McGlon kicked a 42-yard field goal.
Saucier scored the final points on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 4:08 remaining. He ran four times on the eight-play, 47-yard drive, which also included a 27-yard pass to Anthony Mostella.
Defense Dominates Second Unit
The second-team offense’s only first down came on a pass interference penalty on its first snap. Two plays later, facing third-and-1 at its own 44, the unit was stopped when Justin Dunn dropped Marquis Chapel for a 2-yard loss.
The first-team defense forced five three-and-outs. On the last of them, Eric Dalgleish forced a fumble that Richard Courtney returned 21 yards for a touchdown. Dunn and Dalgleish each finished with four tackles, two of them for losses.
By the Numbers
South Alabama gained 278 yards on 43 plays, an average of 6.5 yards per snap, with the first-team offense accounting for 272 of those yards.
Saucier led all rushers with 76 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and completed 7 of 13 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Santuan McGee ran for 41 yards on three carries, and Ross gained 29 yards on three carries with two touchdowns. Turner had 52 all-purpose yards, 35 rushing and 17 on two catches, and was the only player with more than one reception.
Spring Awards
After the scrimmage, Jones announced the program’s first spring awards, as voted by the coaching staff.
Outstanding Performance: Trey Clark (offensive line), Andy Dalgleish (defensive line), Justin Dunn (linebacker), Tim Harvey (defensive backs), Kevin Helms (tight ends), Santuan McGee (running backs) and Courtney Smith (wide receivers). Michel Chapuseaux, Eric Dalgleish, Jordan Means, Anthony Mostella and Ralph Turner shared the special teams award.
Most Improved: Paul Bennett (tight end), Josh Chestang (linebacker), Chris Cooke (linebacker), Lamontis Gardner (wide receiver), Anton Graphenreed (defensive back), Cory Pittman (offensive line), Richard Ross (running back), Matt Saucier (quarterback), Anthony Taylor (defensive line) and Lim Windham (wide receiver).
Jaguar Leadership Award: Paul Bennett (offense) and Tim Harvey (defense).
Jaguar Strength Award: Justin Dunn, Brian Krauskopf, Jerron Mitchell and Erling Riis.
Outstanding Academic Award: Paul Bennett and Trey Clark.
