MOBILE, Ala. — Carter Bradley threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in his first game as South Alabama’s starting quarterback, and the Jaguars opened the 2022 season with a 48-7 win over Nicholls State on Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Jalen Wayne caught two of Bradley’s touchdown passes. Running back La’Damian Webb, also making his South Alabama debut, ran for two scores and finished with 98 yards, and Mobile native Braylon McReynolds scored on a reception in his first college game as a true freshman.
The Jaguars’ defense held the Colonels to 165 total yards and did not allow a point until the fourth quarter, after reserves had entered the game.
Building a 27-0 Halftime Lead
South Alabama scored on its second possession. Facing second-and-1, Bradley hit Caullin Lacy for 35 yards to the Nicholls State 36, and Webb finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run off right tackle.
On the second snap of the Colonels’ next possession, Brock Higdon recovered a fumbled snap at the Nicholls State 24. The Jaguars settled for a 39-yard field goal by Diego Guajardo and a 10-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s unit forced a three-and-out, and the offense needed only three plays from its own 17 to score again. Bradley completed passes of 14 yards to Terrion Avery and 15 yards to DJ Thomas-Jones before connecting with Wayne on a deep touchdown pass, putting South Alabama ahead 17-0 early in the second quarter.
After two more Nicholls State three-and-outs, a mishandled snap on a punt from deep in Colonels territory resulted in a 13-yard loss and gave South Alabama the ball at the 4-yard line. Bradley rolled right and ran in for a touchdown and a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Guajardo added a 48-yard field goal with 1:30 left in the half to make it 27-0.
Pulling Away
A failed fourth-down attempt by Nicholls State gave South Alabama the ball at its 34 in the third quarter, and three plays later Bradley found Wayne for a 37-yard touchdown and a 34-0 lead at the 6:58 mark.
After another three-and-out and a short punt, the Jaguars took over at their 40. McReynolds picked up first downs on runs of 9 and 15 yards, then caught a pass out of the backfield and cut inside for an 18-yard touchdown that made it 41-0 with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
Nicholls State broke the shutout with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:28, capped by Julien Gums’ 10-yard touchdown run. South Alabama answered with Desmond Trotter at quarterback. Trotter hit Lincoln Sefcik for 24 yards on the second snap, and Webb finished the drive with consecutive carries of 7 and 2 yards for the final points.
AJ DeShazor added an interception at the Nicholls State 29 with 6:24 remaining.
By the Numbers
South Alabama gained 508 yards, with 332 passing and 176 rushing. The Jaguars’ rushing total alone exceeded Nicholls State’s total offense. South Alabama had 24 first downs and averaged 6.9 yards per play, while the Colonels had 10 first downs, 106 passing yards and 59 rushing yards and averaged 3 yards per play.
The Jaguars were penalized 10 times for 80 yards, most of them in the second half. Nicholls State was flagged twice for 9 yards.
- Bradley completed 17 of 25 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns and was sacked once. Trotter was 9 of 10 for 72 yards and was also sacked once.
- Webb ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. McReynolds had 25 rushing yards on three carries, and Avery and Omni Wells each had 23 yards on five carries.
- Lacy led the receivers with six catches for 72 yards. Wayne had a game-high 98 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions. McReynolds caught all four passes thrown his way for 39 yards and a touchdown.
- Jack Brooks punted six times, downing four inside the 20, with a long of 58 yards.
For Nicholls State, Kohen Granier completed 15 of 27 passes for 106 yards with an interception. Gums and Collin Guggenheim combined for 45 rushing yards. KJ Franklin was held to three catches for 14 yards, and Neno Lemay led the Colonels with 40 receiving yards on three catches.
Program Milestones
The 48 points were the most for South Alabama since it scored 52 against Idaho in 2015. The 41-point margin was the program’s largest since a 45-0 win over Alabama A&M in 2017, and it was the Jaguars’ highest-scoring season opener since a 56-point game against Pikeville in 2010.
Wommack: ‘The Momentum You Want’
“It was the momentum you want to build the first game of the season with,” head coach Kane Wommack said. “We saw some of the things that we had talked about all offseason long: physicality, being able to establish things in the running game.”
Webb, a former Mr. Football winner, broke a foot in spring practice and a hand during the offseason. “There was talk at one point about him being limited all the way up until the fifth or sixth game of the season, and he was full-go going into our first game,” Wommack said, crediting the training and strength staffs. “I think his best football is ahead of him.”
Wommack said Bradley “did a pretty good job of taking care of the football” and “did a good job seeing what the defense was giving us and taking advantage of that.”
“It took me and Carter a minute to jell and get our chemistry right, but we’ve been working as hard as we could this past summer to make sure we could come out clicking,” Wayne said. “Nowadays, it’s almost like catching a handoff from him.”
On defense, Wommack said, “I thought we did a tremendous job of keeping the main thing the main thing: stopping the run. We established the line of scrimmage.”
South Alabama travels to Mount Pleasant, Mich., next week to face Central Michigan. Kickoff is set for noon Central on ESPN+, with radio coverage on the Jaguar Radio Network.
