MOBILE, Ala. – Ray Cotton threw for two touchdowns in the final four-and-a-half minutes Saturday to lead the White team to a 14-10 come-from-behind victory over the Red squad in the University of South Alabama football team’s annual Red & White Game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, which was played in front of an announced crowd of 3,814.
Trailing 10-0, Cotton completed consecutive passes to Ben Whiteside and Taylor Noon, with the second covering 62 yards down the right sideline to draw the team within three points. After getting the ball back by stopping Johnny Lockett for no gain on fourth-and-one at the White-34, Gabe Graham and Cotton combined to guide the team 66 yards in 10 plays before the latter connected with Garry Williams for a 22-yard touchdown on third-and-goal with 30 seconds remaining in the game.
“There was a little spark in the fourth quarter, we had to get it going,” said Cotton, who finished 3-of-4 passing for 92 yards. “It was a competitive game, and we just wanted to win. I feel good about how I played, but I feel good about how the team played too — the offensive line blocked for me, which was what I needed.”
The final possession began with 2:36 left on the clock. Graham hit Corey Waldon for a gain of 15 yards and Williams for six more to cross midfield. He picked up another first down after running for six and 10 yards on back-to-back snaps, but after two incompletions the White faced third-and-10 from the 29-yard line. Graham found Waldon again, this time for a 22-yard pick up.
Cotton appeared to score on the ensuing snap from seven yards out, however offsetting penalties cancelled play. After a false start, Percy Randall and Gabe Ukwouma combined to sack Cotton for a loss of 10 yards, but after a timeout the redshirt freshman gave the White its only lead of the day.
The White entered the final quarter having gained 120 yards on 28 plays, and after adding 150 more over the last 10 minutes ended up with a 270-142 advantage in total offense. C.J. Bennett was 6-of-10 passing for 95 yards, and Graham chipped in with 43 more — he recorded 59 yards of total offense — after completing 3-of-5 attempts.
Waldon led the squad with four receptions for 58 yards, with Bryant Lavender catching three passes for a game-high 65 yards. Ellis Hill was the White’s leading rusher with 23 yards on six carries.
“We kept it pretty vanilla and ran some basic plays. I was lucky I got coach [Ron] Antoine as our coordinator, we got to air it out a little more,” stated Bennett. “The game was fun and competitive.”
Terrell Brigham intercepted a pair of passes, leading a defense that surrendered only 3.2 yards per play. Rodgers Sims recorded six tackles, while the trio of Brett Hancock, Darrius McMullin and Jerry Nettles were each credited with five. Logan Bennett posted three stops including the team’s only sack, and Jake Johnson made three tackles as well.
“I feel like I did pretty good today, it was my best day of the spring,” Brigham, who added three tackles, said. “I was focused before, but I tried something new and it turned out to be good. Hopefully the coaches will raise me on the depth chart, but who knows.”
Ameriol Finley and Desmond Jones matched Sims for game-high honors with six tackles each to pace the Red defense, with Ben Giles and Jesse Kelley chipping in with four stops apiece.
The first score of the contest — and the only one of the opening half — came from the Red defense, as Finley forced a fumble after a completion to Kevin Helms that Ken Barefield picked up and returned 55 yards for a touchdown one-and-a-half minutes before halftime.
“It was a fun day. When I scored that touchdown I had to put the ball out; I got yelled at, but I know the rules now and not to do that next year,” he observed. “In the fourth quarter we had some young players out there, but that’s just what we have to do. We had to throw them in the fire like that, because I’d rather lose to our White squad than a real opponent next year.”
The White outgained the Red 123-46 over the opening 20 minutes, but the Red forced three turnovers in building the 7-0 advantage. C.J Bennett guided the White into the red zone on a 10-play possession to start the game, but Bryson James intercepted a pass at the 11-yard line and returned it 16 yards to end the threat. The Red team returned to the red zone on its next drive, reaching the 15-yard line before Jarred Williams recovered a fumble.
Lawson McGlon added to the Red advantage when he kicked a 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, capping a 16-play, 60-yard march that took more than seven-and-a-half minutes off the clock. Logan Rogers led the drive, running for 32 yards while picking up 26 more through the air with two completions to Austin Powell and another to Greg Hollinger.
But Blake Houston and Nettles recorded stops behind the line of scrimmage before Alonzo Long broke up a pass attempt to force the Red to settle for McGlon’s field goal.
Rogers ended up 5-of-8 passing for 48 yards, and he tied with Lockett for the team lead with 20 rushing yards. Myles Gibbon added 29 yards after completing 3-of-6 attempts, with the two quarterbacks combining to find eight different receivers.
“We were playing with teams that were scattered around, a lot of guys were playing positions they normally don’t,” explained Gibbon. “Both sides started off a little slow, but overall it was a fun day and we all enjoyed it.”
Although the White had the advantage in total yards, the Red won the time-of-possession battle after holding the ball for 23 minutes and 18 seconds. The game included 10- minute quarters and a 10-minute halftime break.
“The bottom line is that when you split into teams, especially offensively, the consistency isn’t that good. But that’s okay because we weren’t worried about that,” Jaguar head coach Joey Jones commented. “The turnovers bothered me a little bit. I don’t care who is in the game, you need to take care of the football. But, other than that, I was pleased with the game.
“I think overall you can see we are a bigger and faster team, and the guys know what they’re doing. I know in a game like this it doesn’t show as much because we split the teams up, and that rules out some of the consistency that we would like to have.”
The Jaguars — who have posted a 17-0 mark in their first two seasons of competition — will begin the 2011 campaign against West Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 1. Start time for the contest at Ladd-Peebles Stadium has yet to be determined.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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Red & White Game boxscore
Red & White Game photo gallery
