Black Team Wins Golden Eagle Spring Game, 14-7

Rod Davis

Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Black team, along with honorary coach Bobby Hamilton, put up first and second quarter touchdowns and made the 14 point lead stand up for a 14-7 win over honorary coach Sammy Winder and the Gold team in the annual Black & Gold Spring Game on Saturday afternoon.

The game highlighted a full weekend of activities that included baseball (against Louisville), the former players golf tournament and the annual M-Club Sports Hall of Fame Reception and Induction Ceremony that saw former Golden Eagle greats Willie Coats, Bobby Collins, Marvin Harvey, L.T. Herrmann, Diana Lyons-Jones, Steve Knight and Chuck Rohe added to the now 234-member hall of fame in Friday night ceremonies at the Lake Terrace Convention Center.

The Black squad, with quarterbacks Micky D'Angelo and Zac White, got a one-yard scoring run from Derrick Nix with 2:24 left in the first period, and James Walley increased that lead to 14-0 with a one-yard run with 8:52 remaining in the second period. Curt Jones added both PATs. The Gold team cut into the lead with a 12-yard Lorenzo Young scoring run at the 1:10 mark of the third period. Don Urquhart added the PAT.

Defense was the other of the day for much of the remainder of the second half, through the Gold Team did drive deep into Black territory late in the game before time ran out.

The final workout of the 2002 spring also left Head Coach Jeff Bower and his staff with a solid starting point when fall practice starts in August. "I think we got a solid look this afternoon at the progress we've made this spring," Bower said. "We had a really good crowd for today's game and their interest and excitement contributed to today's successful game.

"We got a good look at all aspects of our kicking game, we got all three quarterbacks plenty of playing time with the first offense, and I saw a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. As is the case every year, we still have areas that will need attention in the fall, but we're far ahead of where we were at this time last year.
"I thought Derrick Nix ran the ball hard, and having him back in the fall will be a plus for us. James Walley also ran the ball well today, as did Anthony Harris. We've still got to block better downfield, and I'm sure that, after looking at the film from today's game, we'll find other areas where we played well, as well as areas that will need more attention in the fall."

Offensively, all three quarterbacks saw action for both Black and Gold teams, and White completed a total of 14-of-25 passes for 165 yards. D'Angelo was 8-of-10 for 154 yards and Dustin Almond 5-of-15 for 52.

Kenneth Johnson led all receivers with five catches for 67 yards for the Black team. Five other receivers had two or more catches during the game. Anthony Harris led the rushers with 64 yards on 12 carries for the Gold team. Derrick Nix had 49 yards on 16 carries for the Black squad.

Mark Haulman had a solid day punting the football with seven punts for a 46.2 yard average, including three of 50-or-more yards and a long of 57 yards. John Eubanks had two kickoff returns for a 38.5 yard average and Tootie Myers had a pair of punt returns for a 16.5 yard average and also recorded an interception for the Black squad.

Defensively, Alex Ray led the Gold team with 11 total tackles, Rod Davis added eight more. Darrell Bennett led the winning Black team with eight stops and Myers added six more. The Black squad also recorded seven sacks and five tackles for loss, while the Gold team had four sacks and three tackles for loss. DeMarcus Barner had a pair of sacks and a tackle for loss for the Black team and Joe Henley had a sack and tackle for loss for the Gold team.

The Golden Eagles now put the equipment away until fall workouts start in August. Southern Miss opens the 2002 season Aug. 31 at home against Jackson State.
Scoring Summary:
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
Black 7 7 0 0 14
Gold 0 0 7 0 7

Team Qtr Time Play Conversion Score
Black Team 1st 2:24 D. Nix, 1-yd. run C. Jones kick 7-0
Black Team 2nd 8:52 J. Walley, 1-yd. run C. Jones kick 14-0
Gold Team 3rd 1:10 L. Young, 12-yd. run D. Urquhart kick 14-7

Statistical Leaders:
Black Team:
Passing Micky D'Angelo 8-of-10 154 yds.
Zac White 5-of- 7 61 yds.
Dustin Almond 1-of- 4 8 yds.
Receiving Kenneth Johnson 5 catches, 67 yds.
LeRoy Handy 4 catches, 45 yds.
Chris Johnson 3 catches, 45 yds.
Rushing Derrick Nix 16 carries, 49 yds.
James Walley 12 carries, 34 yds.
Punting Mark Haulman 7 punts, 46.2 yd. avg.
KO Return Tootie Myers 1 return, 23 yds
Chris Johnson 1 return, 16 yds.
Punt Return Tootie Myers 2 returns, 16.5 yd. avg.

Gold Team:
Passing Zac White 9-of-18, 104 yds
Dustin Almond 4-of-11, 44 yds.
Micky D'Angelo 0-of-0, 0 yds.
Receiving Rocky Harrison 3 catches, 37 yds.
Marvin Young 3 catches, 31 yds.
Karlin Riley 2 catches, 25 yds.
Rushing Anthony Harris 12 carries, 64 yds.
Ryan Earnest 4 carries, 22 yds.
Punting Luke Johnson 4 punts, 39.8 yd. avg.
KO Return John Eubanks 2 returns, 38.5 yd. avg.
Punt Return Rocky Harrison 1 return, 7 yds.
Defensive Leaders:

Black Team
Player Solos/Assists/Total Tackles
Darrell Bennett 2/6/8
Tootie Myers 4/2/6
Terry Anderson 3/2/5
Pierre Hutchins 2/3/5
DeMarcus Barner 0/5/5
Trevis Coley 3/0/3
Andre White 2/1/3
Sacks (7): DeMarcus Barner (2), Akeem Lockett, Dillon Cleckler, Seante Williams, Terry Anderson, Ronald Jones (1 each)
Tackles for loss (5): Eric Scott, Terry Anderson, DeMarcus Barner, Matt Strickland, Chris Langston (1 each)
Interceptions: Tootie Myers (1)
Fumbles Recovered: DeMarcus Barner (1)

Gold Team
Player Solos/Assists/Total Tackles
Alex Ray 3/8/11
Rod Davis 0/8/8
Chris Vaughn 2/5/7
Etric Pruitt 2/5/7
Joe Eubanks 1/4/5
LeRoy Johnson 3/2/5
Sacks (4): Chad Ruffin, Joe Henley, Chris Vaughn, Rayshun Jones (1 each)
Tackles for loss (3): Joe Henley (2), Alex Ray (1)