July 28, 2007

Former Southern Miss lineman, Ronald Jones, has helped the San Jose SaberCats advance to ArenaBowl XXI New Orleans. The Columbus Destroyers (7-9, 3-0) and SaberCats (13-3, 2-0) will meet in ArenaBowl XXI in New Orleans for the Arena Football League championship on Sunday, July 29. The game will be televised live on ESPN on ABC (HD) at 2 p.m. CT.

Jones, a second-team All-Arena selection, is in his second AFL season. This season, he registered 24 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and leads his team with nine sacks. He was eighth in the AFL in sacks during the regular season.

Jones was a two-year starter at defensive end for Southern Miss in 2002 and 2003, helping lead the Golden Eagles to the Conference USA Championship in 2003 and two bowl appearances. He finished with 106 tackles, including 63 solo stops, 13 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He signed a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004.

The 2007 preseason No. 24 ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles finished 9-5 last season and won the Conference USA East Division Championship. Southern Miss defeated Ohio University, 28-7, in the GMAC Bowl, marking its ninth bowl appearance in the past 10 years. The Golden Eagles return 40 letterwinners, including 17 starters, from last year's team and open their season on Sept. 1 against Tennessee-Martin at 6 p.m., at "The Rock".

For ticket information, call the Southern Miss Ticket Office, 1-800-844-TICK or 601-266-5418.