University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Hosts Marshall This Weekend In Final Home Game
11/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss football team looks to capture the Conference USA East Division title when they host Marshall on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 6:30 p.m., at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The game will be televised nationally on CSTV, while fans in the Hattiesburg area can listen to the game on the flagship station, WXRR, 104.5 FM, one of the affiliates around the state, or by logging onto SouthernMiss.com.
Saturday's game will also be Senior Day. The Golden Eagle seniors will be introduced, alongside their parents, before the game.
This will be the second meeting between Southern Miss (7-4 overall, 5-2 C-USA) and Marshall (5-6 overall, 4-3 C-USA), with the Golden Eagles capturing last year's contest, 27-24, in overtime at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. After Marshall missed a field goal attempt in the extra period, Darren McCaleb tallied a 34-yarder to win the contest. Jasper Faulk helped send the game into overtime by blocking a Thundering Herd field goal at the end of regulation.
Southern Miss is coming off a 25-20 victory against UAB last week at "The Rock." With a win this weekend, the Golden Eagles will travel to Houston to compete for the Conference USA Championship.
Junior quarterback Jeremy Young makes his 12th career start for the Golden Eagles, as he has thrown for 1,288 yards this season on 116-of-208 passing, for a 55.8 percentage. His numbers include nine touchdown passes with only five interceptions thrown. On the ground, Young has rushed for 188 yards on 65 carries and two touchdowns. Also making playing time will be redshirt junior quarterback Stephen Reaves, who carried the Golden Eagles to victory against UAB. He has thrown for 488 yards this season on 37-for-72 passing, for a 51.4 percentage. He has thrown for two touchdowns and only one interception.
Freshman Damion Fletcher makes his ninth start of the season as the Golden Eagles' leading running back. Fletcher leads the team in rushing with 1,089 yards on 216 carries, an average of 5.0 yards per rush and has scored eight touchdowns. Against UAB, he became the second Southern Miss freshman to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season with 163 yards on 27 carries. Derrick Nix is the other, rushing for 1,150 yards in 1998. Freshman Tory Harrison is second on the team with 272 yards on 43 carries, an average of 6.0 yards per rush. He had a career performance against Memphis on Nov. 5, when he accumulated 138 yards on 12 carries. Senior Conrad Chanove has 184 yards on 39 carries this season, adding depth in the backfield.
Sophomore tight end Shawn Nelson leads the Golden Eagle receivers with team highs in both catches (28) and yardage (377). Seven different Golden Eagles have caught at least 14 passes in 2006, including 20 by senior Damion Carter, 18 by redshirt junior Chris Johnson, 16 by senior Anthon Perine, 15 each by senior Josh Barnes and freshman Rodney Gray, and 14 from Fletcher.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles have been led by junior Brandon Sumrall and redshirt freshman Gerald McRath. Sumrall has 66 total tackles (46 solos), three forced fumbles, a pair of sacks, and two interceptions. McRath has exploded in the last month, recording 71 stops (40 solos), one forced fumble, one pass breakup, two sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt junior Robert Henderson also has stepped up recently, recording 55 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss, while sophomores Tokumbo Abanikanda and Ladarius Webb each have 47. Webb also has five pass breakups and three tackles for loss. Senior Caleb Hendrix has 41 tackles, five for loss, two sacks, 11 pass breakups and is leading the team with three interceptions. Junior Martavius Prince has 37 stops for the Golden Eagle defense, including 11.5 for loss.
The Thundering Herd, led by second-year Head Coach Mark Snyder, enters the game coming off a 49-21 home victory over to UTEP last Saturday. The team is led by junior quarterback Bernard Morris, who has thrown for 1,272 yards this season on 179-for-112 passing, for a 62.6 percentage, and senior quarterback Jimmy Skinner, who has thrown for 826 yards on 101-for-60, for a 59.4 percentage. Morris' numbers include eight touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while rushing for 302 yards on 79 carries and two touchdowns.
Leading Marshall's receiving unit are freshman tight end Cody Slate and sophomore wide receiver Emmanuel Spann. Slate has recorded 669 yards this season on 42 catches for six touchdowns, while Spann has been accounted for 367 yards on 37 attempts for three touchdowns.
The Herd's backfield is led by junior running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who has rushed for a total of 1413 yards on 228 carries, an average of 6.2 yards per rush and 18 touchdowns. The team as a whole has rushed for a total of 1,855 yards this season for 22 touchdowns.
On defense, Marshall is led by senior defensive back Curtis Keyes and senior linebacker Matt Couch. Keyes has recorded 93 tackles (48 solos), 3.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a blocked kick. Couch has accounted for 88 total tackles (41 solos), 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one interception, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Also standing out this season is sophomore defensive back C.J. Spillman and sophomore defensive end Albert McClellan, who each have 73 total tackles. Spillman has recorded 39 solo tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss two interceptions, four pass breakups and a force fumble. McClellan has 36 solo tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, two pass breakups and four forced fumbles.
Tickets for the game are still available. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK or by logging on to SouthernMiss.com.
-SouthernMiss.com-
