University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Down Tulane, 59-6
11/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Golden Eagles Down Tulane, 59-6
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? The Southern Miss Golden Eagles tied the highest offensive point total in M.M. Roberts Stadium history in a 59-6 Conference USA route over visiting Tulane in the annual ?Battle for the Bell.?
Quarterback Jeff Kelly set a new school record with 400 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-31 passing, and added another score on the ground to lead the Golden Eagles (5-3, 3-2 in C-USA) to the victory. Running back Dawayne Woods also had a career day, scoring four touchdowns, including three rushing and one receiving.
While the offense lit up the scoreboard, the Southern Miss defense turned another good performance, limiting the high-scoring Tulane offense to a season-low six points.
?It was a good game,? Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower said. ?I was glad to see us play well. It really shows how well you can play if you have a really good week of preparation. We were sharp, and we did a lot of things well offensively.?
The Golden Eagle offense scored touchdowns on its first five possessions of the game, including three scores in the first quarter. Kelly connected with Woods on a 38-yard screen pass to open up the scoring, and Brant Hanna kicked the first of six extra points to put Southern Miss ahead, 7-0. Kelly then scored on a 1-yard plunge in the next drive, and James Walley tacked on a third touchdown with a 1-yard run to give the Golden Eagles the 21-0 after the first quarter.
Tulane (3-9, 1-6) then got on the board quickly, as Mewelde Moore scampered for a 34-yard scoring run, in the Green Wave?s first drive of the second quarter.
But just as quickly, Southern Miss countered as Kelly connected with Rocky Harrison on a 58-yard scoring pass just 20 seconds later. On the Golden Eagles next drive, Woods scored his second touchdown of the day on 3-yard run.
Woods added another score in the final minute of the half, and Southern Miss held a comfortable 42-6 lead heading into the break.
The Golden Eagles scored three more times in the third quarter. Kelly found Orlando Dantzler for a 16-yard score, and Woods soon followed with a 4-yard run. Reserve kicker Curtis Jones added a 28-yard field goal late in the third quarter to round out the scoring.
?We just came out and executed,? Kelly said. ?Our guys up front really did a good job of protecting. We worked hard all week and had a good week of practice. That carried over into the game.?
With the win, Southern Miss continued its win-streak over the Green Wave, tallying its third-straight victory in the series.
Kelly led all players with 415 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, while Woods followed with 89 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. LeRoy Handy led all players with 100 yards receiving on five receptions. James Walley led the team with 49 yards on the ground.
Moore had a game-high 128 yards rushing. Patrick Ramsey led the Green Wave with 170 yards passing on 19-of-33 passing.
While it was the last game for the Green Wave, Southern Miss has three games remaining on its schedule, beginning with a C-USA contest at East Carolina on Friday. The game will be televised on ESPN, at 10 a.m., CT.
