jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- After searching seven weeks for a complete game, Southern finally came through for Coach Adrian Jones with a 43-6 thrashing of Jordan on Friday night.
"The last few weeks the offense hasn't played up to the way it should be playing," Jones said. "Tonight it did."
The Spartans (7-1, 3-0 PAC-6) scored on their first three possession and also picked up a safety to go up 19-0.
Quarterback Alan Lea, who finished 15 of 27 for 186 yards and two touchdowns, started the game firecracker hot. He completed his first seven passes, including an 8-yard scoring strike to running back Alonzo Hedgepath on Southern's first drive. He hit six difference receivers to start the game.
"I had a really good week of practice," Lea said. "We came extra hard in the game because it was a big game. We always come out hard but tonight we knew they were 2-0 [in the PAC-6] coming in, too."
Southern added to its lead with a 2-yard scoring run by Desmond Lawrence and recorded a safety when Sherman Ragland blocked a Jordan punt out of the end zone. The Spartans' Adelman Martinez booted a 34-yard field goal early in the second quarter for the 19-0 advantage and the rout was on.
Southern's defense also had a dominating performance, holding Jordan (5-3, 2-1) in check for all but one drive by the Falcons in the second quarter.
"We got down 19-0 and we were fighting uphill all night from there," Jordan coach Mike Briggs said. "We've got to be ready to play these big-time games. I don't know that we stepped up to the challenge."
The lone bright spot for the Falcons came when they put together a solid 68-yard scoring drive that consumed over six minutes of the second quarter. Jordan used 11 plays and took advantage of two huge Southern penalties to reach the end zone as Josh Williams plunged in from 1-yard line.
Jordan's defense held Southern on the change of possession and it appeared the Falcons had the momentum, but it quickly dissipated as their offense sputtered after starting at the 33. Southern's Larry Poole sacked J.J. Chambers for an 8-yard loss, and following a delay of game penalty, Quentin Lloyd sacked Chambers for a 9-yard loss. Jordan got 12 yards back on a pass from Chambers to T.J. Thorpe but on the fourth down and in a punt situation, the Falcons' special teams again let them down. A bad snap got away from punter Rex Downey and Poole pounced on it in the end zone for a Southern score which made it 26-6 at halftime.
"The defense just played a great game," Poole said. "We held our own. That's my first touchdown and I'm proud of it."
The second half didn't get much better for Jordan as Southern continued to dominate. Briggs said it was difficult for Jordan to keep up with Southern's speed. The Spartans held the Falcons to 14 rushing yards and 108 passing yards.
"We just weren't able to move the ball," Briggs said. "They've got a lot of speed and it's just not on offense."
Southern 43, Jordan 6
Jordan 0 6 0 0-- 6
Southern 16 10 17 0--43
Scoring summary
S--Alonzo Hedgepath 8 pass from Alan Lean (Adelman Martinez kick)
S--Desmond Lawrence 2 run (Martinez kick)
S--Safety, punt blocked by Sherman Ragland out of end zone
S--34 FG by Martinez
J--Josh Williams 1 run (kick blocked)
S--Larry Poole fumble recovered in end zone (Seth Reavis kick)
S--Jeremy Thompson 3 run (Martinez kick)
S--Reavis 40 FG
S--Tony Creecy 14 pass from Lea (Martinez kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Jordan: Josh Williams 8-17, T.J. Thorpe 4-(-minus-6), Charles Williams 1-1, Afam Nwogalanya 2-8, Jeron Peoples 1-(minus 1), Devin McNeill 1-1, J.J. Chambers 7-(minus-10), Rex Downey 1-(minus-23), Julian Belton 7-27. Southern: Antonio fogg 2-8, Jamal Bullock 2-6, Kwindarius Sapp 1-10, Winston Williams 3-6, Desmond Lawrence 5-25, Alan Lea 2-23, Alonzo Hedgepath 4-21, Jeremy Thompson 4-8, Dorian Belcher 2-12.;
Passing--Jordan: Chambers 12-17-104-2, Sam Selig 1-4-4-0. Southern: Lea 15-27-186-0. Belcher 0-3-0-0.
Receiving--Jordan: Nwogalanya 1-4, Christian Hinton 1-8, Keaton Brown 1-14, Bradley 3-13, Darren Bullock 2-15, Thorpe 5-54. Southern: Sherman Ragland 1-2, Quentin Lloyd 1-23, Fogg 3-21, Sapp 3-40, Hedgepath 1-8, Tony Creecy 4-75, Khamari Everett 1-12, Lawrence 1-5.
