SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 ⢠WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM ⢠SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 | VOLUME 107 | ISSUE 4
NIL RULING
SCHOOL YEAR HOPES
PG 2
PG 4
MSPAINT
PG 7
Rushing attack, new players lift Southern Miss past Grambling State
CHARLIE LUTTRELL SM2 NEWS DIRECTOR
Head Coach Will Hall earned
his ļ¬rst win at Southern Miss as the teamās rushing attack shone and the defense shut out Grambling State for a 37-0 victory. āWe didnāt put our best foot forward last week[,] but we did play really well defensively and we said we are going to get back to building a program that is conducive to developing quarterbacks and playing great defense. Through two weeks, weāve done that,ā Hall said of the win. As a team, the Golden Eagles ran for a total of 290 yards, spearheaded by freshman Frank Gore Jr.ās record setting performance. Gore set a career-high of 162 rushing yards on 21 attempts and one touchdown. His performance earned him his fourth 100-yard game of his career. Dajon Richard also impressed in his ļ¬rst outing at Southern Miss, rushing for 76 yards on ten carries. āThey have a chance to be a really good one-two punch,ā Hall said. āBoth of them are really talented and young.ā On defense, the Golden Eagles earned its ļ¬rst shutout since 2017, as the unit limited Grambling State to a total of 152 yards. āWe really worked hard this week and had to bounce back from last week,ā linebacker Josh Carr Jr. said. āWe already had a goal on our mind that we had to shut them out. Praise to them -- they really fought the whole four quarters. We just had to get in our mind [that] itās time to bring the tradition back.ā Carr was involved in both of the
Sean Smith | Printz
Golden Eaglesā sacks, earning credit for 1.5 sacks. Lakevias Daniel also gave Southern Miss an interception in the fourth quarter. The rushing corps set the tone early on, but carried the oļ¬ense after quarterback Trey Lowe III did not leave the locker room after halftime from a ālower extremityā injury he suļ¬ered in the ļ¬rst half. True freshman Ty Keyes, though surprised about the injury, took over for the remainder of the game. āI had no idea. Trey went down [and] I knew I had to step up big time for the team,ā Keyes said. āThe team believed in me and the coaching staļ¬
believed in me. I had to get out there and execute to get the job done.ā While Keyes threw four completions on eleven passes, he threw for a touchdown at the end of the game and rushed for 67 yards. āTy came in as a true freshman and obviously did what he does. He wakes up and wins -- heās been doing that his whole life,ā Hall said. āHe showed some really good ability to run, and made some big plays with his feet. He made some really good throws [and] he was on point with some reads.ā Hall said he and the coaching staļ¬ will have to assess the severity of Loweās injury to address the quarter-
back situation moving forward. Lowe threw for 10 of 13 for 99 yards and the ļ¬rst touchdown of the game in the ļ¬rst quarter to receiver Jason Brownlee. After jumping to a 10-0 lead in the ļ¬rst half, Keyes fumbled on his ļ¬rst drive in the second half on a run exchange with Gore. Gore recovered shortly, however, exploding past the Tigers and diving into the endzone for a 51-yard touchdown. āIt was a play I had been asking Coach [Hall] to call all day and he ļ¬nally called it,ā Gore said. āThe o-line blocked and I just saw one guy, made him miss and scored a touchdown.ā After Gore earned a 27-yard rush on a drive in the third quarter, Richard ļ¬nished it with another 27-yarder for his ļ¬rst career touchdown at Southern Miss, giving the Golden Eagles a 27-0 lead. Keyes gave Southern Miss its ļ¬nal touchdown with an 11-yard pass to the back of the endzone to receiver Jakarius Caston. Caston led the team in receiving with four receptions and 50 yards. Hall said the teamās number one receiver, Brownlee, has been dealing with an ankle injury, and Caston has stepped up as he recovers. āHe has stepped up [ā¦] heās super talented and is going to be a great player. Brownlee is continuing to get healthier and I think our wideouts are coming on and we have a good group right there,ā Hall said. Southern Miss plays Troy next Sept. 18 at home at 6 p.m.