Stepping Stone: Pikeville a Minor Distraction For South Alabama, 56-0

The players? They look like even better players this year.

The execution? Once the new-season butterflies went away, it was pretty good … for an opener.

And that really strange man dressed in a toga or those two guys wearing capes and masks, running amok in front of the Eastside stands after every score? Well they, sadly, were in mid-season form.

Yep. The pieces look like they’re all in place for South Alabama as the Jags took a big step Saturday on year two of its trek toward the ultimate prize of Division I play against quality competition next season.

Final score: South Alabama 56, Pikeville 0.

“We did some good things,” said USA Head Coach Joey Jones, in just about the most understated tone as he could get.

“I thought our special teams were really good. We didn’t run the ball very good early on, but we got better as the game went on.”  

Quarterback Myles Gibbon agreed the Jags were sleepwalking through the first quarter and offered a very candid explanation:

“A lot of guys didn’t realize it was a real game right way.”  

No kidding?

The Jags, which outscored opponents 99-0 in the first quarter last year, were up only 7-zip after a period, before blowing up for 20 second quarter points and a 27-0 spread at the half.

And this against a team that was obviously better than many of those USA faced while going 7-0 last year.

So, if Pikeville (0-1) is indicative of better competition this season, what does that say about USA?

“We’re deeper,” said Jones. “We’re more efficient on offense, the quarterback play is better and we’re a more experienced team.”

A rundown of the stats Bears out the Jags’ efficiency on both sides of the ball ...

USA out-rushed Pikeville 275-52, with freshman Ellis Hill gaining 56 of them on just two carries to lead nine Jags rushers who all had double-digit yards.

Gibbon had 112 yards through the air, while his freshman backup C.J. Bennett had 93 … both throwing a TD … as USA rolled up 462 yards of total offense that had Jag Man, South Alabama’s self-anointed spirit mascot, racing up and down in front of the fans stands after every score.

There are no official stats on it yet, but it's believed Jag Man lost 20 pounds during the game.

“They were actually a deeper football team than what we thought,” said Bears Head Coach Joe Johnson.

“We’ve actually got a pretty good defensive line group, but their offensive line was better than we thought. Still, there were times when we had some opportunities to make some plays that we just didn’t make.”

And so the journey continues as USA heads toward its next hurdle … a considerably more significant challenge than it’s faced so far … in two weeks against a Nicholls State program that’s been playing big-time opponents for years.

The Colonels will bring in a team of 63-scholarshiped players who’ll no doubt be looking to put the upstart, undefeated Jags in their place on the college football landscape.

“I promise you, this will be a tough game,” said Jones of the Jags’ opponent on Sept. 18.

We’ll know more about the team than we’ve learned so far then …