Black Team Scores 30 In Second Half To Top Gold Team In USM's Annual Spring Game

Dustin Almond

The Southern Miss football team held its annual Black and Gold Spring Game on Saturday, and in the end, it was the Black Team that erupted for 30 second-half points en route to the 30-20 victory at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

Down 7-0 at the half, the Black team scored three offensive touchdowns and scored another on special teams to make up the difference and pick up the win in front of an estimated crowd of 4,500. The game marked the final practice of the spring season for the Golden Eagles, the defending Conference USA champions.

Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower was pleased with what he saw in the spring game, especially from an offense that scored a combined five touchdowns on the day.

"I really liked what we did today," Bower said. "We are going to get a chance and evaluate everybody after this game. I thought we got a lot out of it."

Sophomore quarterback Damion Carter had perhaps the most productive day, accounting for three touchdowns as a member of both squads. Playing for the Gold team in the first half, Carter was 2-for-2 for nine yards and a touchdown, while also grabbing three catches for 48 yards. He then took over the offense for the Black team in the second half, passing for 96 yards and a touchdown on 3-of-8 with one interception. Carter also finished with a combined 44 yards on the ground, galloping for a 33-yard score in the second half.

Redshirt-junior quarterback Dustin Almond had a game-high 137 yards passing on 9-of-20 for one touchdown and no interceptions. Jeremy Young played quarterback for both teams as well, finishing 5-of-9 for 57 yards on the day.

"The quarterbacks played real well today," Bower said. "I thought they all did well. Damion (Carter) did a good job at both quarterback and wideout. We were a little inconsistent at times, but for the most part, all three of our quarterbacks made plays."

Tim Blackwell led all rushers with 85 yards on 16 carries as a member of the Black team, while Larry Thomas led the Gold team with 30 yards on nine carries. Anthony Harris finished with 28 yards rushing on eight attempts, also for the Gold team. Thomas Jackson and Carter had the lone rushing touchdowns -- both for the Black team.

DaRon Lawrence led all players with 77 yards on three catches and a touchdown for the Gold, while Anthony Perine had two catches for 51 yards to lead the Black. Adam Hurst grabbed a 62-yard touchdown for the Black team, while Josh Carwile had a 4-yard touchdown grab for the Gold.

Defensively for the Gold Team, Dillon Cleckler led all players with 13 total tackles and a sack, while James Nelson grabbed the lone interception. Nate Young added 10 total tackles and John Archie tacked on nine total tackles for the Gold. Kevis Coley led the Black team with seven total tackles, while Terrance Ford added six stops, including one for a safety.

Punter Luke Johnson finished the day with eights punts for a 44.3-yard average. Kicker Darren McCaleb connected on two field goals, kicks of 47 and 27 yards, respectively, while also making good on six extra-points.


John Eubanks led all players with two kickoff returns for 74 yards and also had a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Caleb Hendrix added a 66-yard kickoff return and Marvin Young also had a 43-yard punt return.

The annual spring game also featured a halftime presentation to honor the accomplishments of the 2003 season and the spring season. Former Southern Miss standouts Jeff Posey and Patrick Surtain also were honored as honorary coaches.

The 2003 football awards included: Etric Pruitt -- Big Hit Champion; Seth Cumbie -- Big Block; Seth Cumbie and Marvin Young -- Big Play; Rod Davis -- Heart of an Eagle Award; Terrell Browden, Rod Davis, Jeremy Parquet, Terrell Paul and Etric Pruitt -- Team Captain Awards; and Michael Boley and Rod Davis -- Derrick Nix Fan's Choice Award.

The spring awards included: Otho Graves -- Most Improved Offense; Chad Ruffin -- Most Improved Defense; John Archie, Pedi Causey, Dillon Cleckler, Anthony Harris, Chad Ruffin and Chris White -- Strength and Conditioning Awards; and Terrance Ford -- 2004 Derrick Nix Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Award.


Final Statistics


Scoring Summary


Black 30, Gold 20


2nd quarter

8:09 Gold -- Josh Carwile 4 pass from Damion Carter, Darren McCaleb kick -- 7-0


3rd quarter

11:38 Black -- Adam Hurst 62 pass from Carter, McCaleb kick -- 7-7

9:53 Gold -- McCaleb 47 field goal -- 10-7

7:00 Black -- Thomas Jackson 1 run, McCaleb kick -- 10-14

4:15 Gold -- DaRon Lawrence 16 pass from Dustin Almond, McCaleb kick -- 17-14

1:21 Gold -- McCaleb 27 field goal -- 20-14


4th quarter

9:13 Black -- Safety (Terrance Ford) -- 20-16

7:56 Black -- Carter 33 run, McCaleb kick -- 20-23

3:21 Black -- John Eubanks 49 punt return, McCaleb kick -- 20-30


Individual Statistics

Rushing --

Gold -- Harris, 8-28; Almond 4-1; Thomas, 9-30; Garvis, 1-7; Gunter, 2-1; Hardy, 1-16; Pusha, 1-0; Young, 1-minus-13.

Black -- Blackwell, 16-85; Young, 5-minus-15; Jackson, 2-2 and 1TD; Hull, 5-13; Moore, 8-34; Carter, 3-37 and 1TD.


Passing --

Gold -- Almond, 20-9-0 for 137 yds and 1TD; Carter, 2-2-0 for 9 yds and 1TD; Young, 1-1-0 for minus-3 yds.

Black -- Young, 8-4-0, 60 yds; Carter, 8-3-1 for 96 yds and 1TD.


Receiving --

Gold -- Carter, 3-48; Lawrence, 3-77 and 1TD; Gunter 1-5; Carwile, 1-4 and 1TD; Young, 1-minus-2; Harris, 1-3; Hardy, 1-13; Pusha, 1-minus-3.

Black -- Perine, 2-51; Jackson, 1-8; Blackwell, 1-1; Hurst, 1-62 and 1TD; Causey, 1-28; Corbett, 1-6.