Box Score Hattiesburg, Miss. – In an almost historic comeback win, the Braves fell short of an upset at Southern Mississippi, 26-20.
The Braves came out fired up in the first quarter shutting down the Southern Mississippi offense on the opening drive.
On the Braves first opportunity on offense junior quarterback,
John Gibbs, Jr. scampered for 35 yards to get the Braves inside the Golden Eagles 30 yard line.
A fumble inside the 10 yard line gave the ball back the Golden Eagles with 4:36 left in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles came out the drive with a field goal to take a 3-0 at the 2:54 mark in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Braves allowed the Golden Eagles to score their first touchdown of the game on a seven yard pass from Nick Mullens to James Cox with 7:23 to go in the first quarter making the score 10-0.
On the Braves next drive, Gibbs passed was intercepted on third down by the Golden Eagles Kalan Reed. The Golden Eagles capitalized on the first play on a 38-yard pass from Mullens to Marquise Ricard to increase the lead to 17-0.
Gibbs finally got the Braves offense in the scoring column by rushing for a 33-yard touchdown with 4:17 left on the clock in the second quarter to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 17-7.
A 39-yard field goal by the Golden Eagles made the score 20-7 at the half.
After the half, the Braves managed to keep the Golden Eagles out of the end zone the rest of the way with some great defensive stops
The Braves punted away on their first drive of the third quarter but stopped the Golden Eagles on defense on the ensuing drive. A muffed punt by
Anthony Williams, Jr. gave the Golden Eagles the ball back in good field position. Despite the great field position, the Braves only allowed the Golden Eagles to come out with a field goal making the score 23-7.
In the final quarter, the Braves turned the intensity level up on both sides of the ball. After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to end the third quarter, the Braves found themselves 1
st and 10 on the Golden Eagles 30 yard line.
Darryan Ragsdale picked up 19 yards on back-to-back carries to put the Braves on Golden Eagles 13 yard line. Two plays later,
Zerick Rollins, Jr. hit
Casey Freeman for a four-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 23-13.
Defensively, the Braves were hitting everything moving and forced the Golden Eagles offense to another field goal. The Braves were down 26-13 with 9:10 to play in the game.
Gibbs was at it again with his running ability scrambling for 64 yards to place the Braves on the Golden Eagles five yard line.
Anthony Williams III scored from five yards out to close the lead to 26-20.
The Braves were awarded two opportunities to capture the victory but failed in the process. Ragsdale hit the ground running on the Braves first opportunity for 35 yards before being tackled out of bounds at the Golden Eagles 45 yard line but the Braves turned the ball over on downs.
The defense stopped the Golden Eagles again to give the Braves one more chance for the win but on the first play, Gibbs was intercepted by a Golden Eagles defender which ended the game.
Gibbs and Ragsdale combined for 272 of the Braves 295 rushing yards earning 161 and 111 yards, respectively.
Jarvis Turner led the Braves receiving core with four catches for 94 yards.
Damon Watkins carried the Braves defense with 13 tackles and two tackles for a loss. Watkins also forced a fumble and recorded a sack.
Next Saturday the Braves take on Louisiana College for their final non-conference matchup at Spinks-Casem Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
