Nov. 6, 2005

SOUTHERN SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN IN 44-20 VICTORY OVER TEXAS SOUTHERN

James Vernon had a career-high three touchdown catches and Southern quarterback Joseph "JC" Lewis completed 23-of-31 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns, to lead the Southern Jaguars to a 44-20 victory over the Tigers of Texas Southern at the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium. The victory also gave Pete Richardson his 150th (150-55-1) in 18 seasons as a head coach, including 13 seasons at Southern.

The Southern Jaguars erupted for a season high in points (44) and yards (543, easily besting the previous best of 420). Southern scored on their first possession, going on their longest scoring drive of the season, a 10 play 95 yard drive, culminating in a James Vernon 46 yard scoring strike -- their first of three Lewis-to-Vernon scores on the night. After a TSU offensive miscue, Josh Babineaux recovered the fumble, and the Jags offense marched 75 yards in 11 plays as Lewis hooked up with Trent Thomas for Thomas' first career touchdown.

In the second quarter, the Lewis to Vernon combination hooked up for the second time on a 32 yard scoring strike, as the Jags rocked out to a 21-0 lead. SU kept the foot on the gas pedal, as Lewis and Vernon hooked up for a touchdown for the third time of the half, this time a 3 yard slant. That left SU with a 28-0 halftime lead.

The Southern Jaguars were not done, scoring quickly with two strong drives, a 3-yard TD run from Larry Nichols and a 74-yard catch from Lance Gerard. After Gerard's score gave SU a 41-0 lead with 8:36 to play, the Jaguars pulled many of their offensive starters. That made way for playing time for Jags like Boby Rose, who took advantage of SU's game success, and finished the night with 61 yards on 15 carries. Also seeing his first collegiate action, JC Lewis with about 8 minutes to play in the third quarter.

Statistically, Larry Nicholls had 19 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown while C.J. Byrd had 11 rushes for 79 yards. James Vernon caught six passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns. David Brooks led the defense with nine tackles and a sack. Joe Sykes had 1.5 sacks, raising his team--high total to nine for the seaspn.

For Texas Southern, Darnell Lovett completed 12-of-23 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns while Hank Edwards caught five passes for 80 yards and a score. Brent Wilson had 20 carries for 98 yards in the game. Fredricc Brock led the defense with 12 stops including two tackles for loss and a sack while Javonne Murphy had 10 tackles and two pass breakups.