HATTIESBURG, Miss. - True freshman Damion Fletcher rushed for 116 yards and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns as Southern Miss scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to pull away from a 7-0 lead and defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 45-0, before an announced crowd of 28,258 Saturday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Southeastern, which was without second-year head coach Dennis Roland who remained in Hammond while being treated for an infection, fell to 0-2 and will host Jacksonville (Fla.) University next Saturday in Strawberry Stadium.
Southern Miss (1-1), which faced Southeastern for the first time since 1969, recorded 402 yards of total offense while holding the Lions to 219 and three turnovers. USM quarterback Jeremy Young completed 5 of 7 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown while Damion Carter caught a pair of passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Southeastern's Brennen Harris forced a fumble on USM's initial possession and Kevin Jackson recovered for the Lions at the SLU 46. The Lions moved the ball effectively against the Golden Eagle defense as Jay Lucas caught a 14-yard pass from Seth Babin and gained 12 yards on the following play to the USM 27.
A 16-yard run by Lucas to the USM 11 was wiped out by a holding penalty and after a false start on the following play moved the ball back to the USM 34, the Lions were forced to attempt a 43-yard field goal two plays later where freshman Jeff Turner missed to the left.
The Golden Eagles then drove 74 yards in four plays as Young found Damion Carter on a 31-yard touchdown with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.
USM took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter as it drove 75 yards in six plays. Fletcher, a true freshman who rushed for 89 yards in his debut last week at No. 7 Florida, capped the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run with 12:34 remaining in the first half.
After Tokumbo Abanikanda picked off a Babin pass at USM 47, the Golden Eagles needed seven plays to score as Larry Thomas finished off the drive with a 1-yard plunge with 4:20 remaining. Young opened the drive with a 19-yard pass to Shawn Nelson the the SLU 34 after fumbling the snap and getting away from the Southeastern pressure.
The Golden Eagle defense then got in the act on the ensuing Southeastern possession as it scored with 2:24 left in the second quarter. On third-and-14 from the SLU 16, Babin fumbled as he was sacked by Brandon Sumrall, and Cornelius McGee scooped up the ball at the 5 and scored for a 28-0 lead.
Darren McCaleb booted a 50-yard field goal on the Golden Eagles' first drive of the second half before Fletcher scored on a 28-yard run with 7:32 left in the third quarter for a 38-0 lead.
USM picked off a Bradd Schlosser pass on the Lions' next possession drove 39 yards in six plays with Thomas finding the end zone on a 5-yard run on fourth-and-2.
Southeastern, which was shut out for the first time since a 28-0 loss at I-A Troy in 2003, reached the USM red zone once in the game, driving to the USM 7 after Donald Frazier recovered a McGee fumble at the USM 27.
Schlosser hit Frazier for a 9-yard pass on first down before Dremell Adams ran three straight times to the USM 7. The Golden Eagle defense stiffened as Schlosser threw an incomplete pass and hit Adams for no gain on third-and-goal. The Lions then tried to reach the end zone on fourth down, but Schlosser's pass to Josh Wilson was broken up by Howard Overby.
Babin, who went 11-for-19 in the first half, finished 11-for-21 and was sacked twice before Schlosser relieved him in the third quarter and finished 7-for-12 with an interception.
Mario Gilbert led the Lions on the ground, gaining 53 yards on 12 carries. Adams added 51 yards rushing for the Lions, who gained 112 yards on the ground.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Southeastern La..... 0 0 0 0 - 0 Record: (0-2)
Southern Miss....... 7 21 17 0 - 45 Record: (1-1)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
USM - Carter 31 yd pass from Young (McCaleb kick) 6:22
2nd Quarter
USM - Fletcher 19 yd run (McCaleb kick) 12:34
USM - Thomas 1 yd run (McCaleb kick), 4:20
USM - McGee 5 yd fumble recovery (McCaleb kick) 2:24
3rd Quarter
USM - McCaleb 50 yd field goal 11:45
USM - Fletcher 28 yd run (McCaleb kick) 7:32
USM - Thomas 5 yd run (McCaleb kick) 1:41
A - 28,258
SLU USM
FIRST DOWNS 15 23
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)....... 34-112 44-256
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 107 192
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 33-18-2 16-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 67-219 60-448
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 1-5
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-8 2-9
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-89 1-12
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 2-20
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-37.8 1-51.0
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-1 3-3
Penalties-Yards............... 8-62 5-19
Possession Time............... 34:00 26:00
RUSHING
SLU - Gilbert 12-53; Adams 8-51; Lucas 7-21 Perry 3-6; Savoy 1-minus 2; Babin 3-minus 17. USM - Fletcher 17-116; Thomas 8-50; Barrows 10-34; Young 3-23; Chanove 3-18; Barton 1-9; Weakley 2-6.
PASSING
SLU - Babin 11-21-1 59; Schlosser 7-12-1 48. USM - Reaves 6-9-0 86; Young 5-7-0 106.
RECEIVING
SLU - Lucas 5-35; Scates 5-23; Kilpatrick 2-12; Muhammad 2-12; Frazier 1-9; Pierce 1-8; Garrett 1-8; Adams 1-0. USM - Carter 3-82; Fletcher 2-22; Barnes 1-30; Perine 1-20; Nelson 1-19; Thomas 1-8; Rhoden 1-7; Gray 1-4.
