University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
North Carolina State
Football Thumps NC State, 37-17
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss, buoyed by a three-touchdown, 177-yard performance from Damion Fletcher, completed its two-game homestand in impressive fashion Saturday tonight by beating NC State, 37-17, in front of 31,748 in M.M. Roberts Stadium.
With the win, Southern Miss improved to 2-1 on the season, while NC State fell to 1-2. The victory marked the first time in three tries that the Golden Eagles defeated the Wolfpack in Hattiesburg, while evening the all-time series at 5-5.
Southern Miss took the early 3-0 lead, after Darren McCaleb connected on a 30-yard field goal with 5:25 to play in the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles then extended the advantage to 10-0 at the 11:32 mark of the second quarter, when Fletcher scored the first of his three touchdowns with a seven-yard scamper.
NC State got its first scored to cut the gap to 10-7 with 9:37 left before halftime, when Marcus Stone found Donald Bowens for a 46-yard touchdown score. Stone finished the night 10-of-24 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Southern Miss added to its lead right before the intermission, as McCaleb hit a 29-yard field goal, with 3:00 remaining.
The Wolfpack rallied before the end of the half as John Deraney converted a 54-yard field goal with 28 second remaining, marking the longest field goal by an opponent in M.M. Roberts Stadium history.
The Golden Eagles then took control of the game over the first five-plus minutes of the second half as they took the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Fletcher completed a four-play, 77-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run and then McCaleb added a 32-yard field goal - his third of the night - to make the score 23-10 with 9:51 left on the Eagles next possession.
Jeremy Young kept the scoring going for the home squad with 1:32 left in the period on a one-yard run, to give the Eagles a 30-10 advantage after three quarters.
Fletcher then capped his night with his third touchdown from one-yard out with 8:37 to play, as the Eagles added to their cushion while the freshman from Biloxi, Miss, tallied the first three rushing touchdowns in a game since Derrick Nix and Anthony Harris each scored three against Jackson State (8/31/02).
NC State added its final score with 6:30 to play, when reserve quarterback Daniel Evans found John Dunlap for a 21-yard scoring pass.
For the Eagles, Young completed the night 13-of-19 passes for a career-high 181 yards.
Fletcher's 177 rushing yards was the third-most by a Golden Eagle freshman.
Defensively, Jerome Lyons made his first career start and finished as the team's leading tackler, tallying seven stops. Jasper Faulk, Caleb Hendrix and Martavius Prince each posted interceptions for the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss returns to action in the first of back-to-back Tuesday night road games, facing UCF on Sept. 26 in a 6:30 p.m., contest televised nationally on ESPN2.
