Eagles Tame Lions in Home Opening Slaughter

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our Southern Miss Correspondent Cory Gunkel recaps the Southern Miss win in their home opener over SE Louisiana.

Damion Fletcher ran. He ran, and ran, and ran some more, often with two or three defenders in tow. Fletcher's starting debut performance of 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns helped propel the Golden Eagles to a 45-0 romp of SE Louisiana in front of an announced M.M. Roberts Stadium crowd of 28,258, though it felt like more.

Southern Miss began the game slow, but picked up speed when Jeremy Young hit Damion Carter for a 31-yard touchdown strike with 6:22 remaining in the quarter, capping a four play drive which sparked a offensive fireworks show from the Golden Eagles.

USM struck again when Damion Fletcher scored on his first of many collegiate touchdowns with a 19-yard run in which he dragged three Lion defenders into the endzone with him.

"I saw the yellow (of the endzone)," said Fletch after the game. "Nothing was going to stop me. I was going to get in the zone."

After a Tokumbo Abinikanda interception near midfield, Southern Miss needed just seven plays and a little over fifty yards to punch the ball into the endzone with a 1-yard run by senior tailback Larry Thomas that would make it 21-0 in favor of the Eagles.

After a booming kickoff by Britt Barefoot (just one of many), Cornelius Magee further drove the dagger into the heart of SE Louisiana by recovering a fumble by Lion quarterback Seth Babin to score from five yards out. McCaleb hit a career long 50-yard field goal on Southern Miss' first dive in the second half, and USM was able to reach the endzone twice more to trounce Southeastern 45-0. The win marked the first shutout since Southern Miss inched past UAB in a 3-0 defensive battle at The Rock.

"Probably the best thing about it was getting the opportunity to play everybody," Bower said. "We got after them." Indeed almost everyone played, from the starters to the water boys, as 71 of USM's 81 dressed out players  was able to see action in the matchup.

"They are a heck of a football team," said SE Louisiana interim head coach Tony Hatmaker, filling in for Dennis Roland, who was unable to make the trip due to viral infection caused by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Southern Miss will now focus their attention on N.C. State, who was able to get the best of the Eagles in a 21-17 win in Raleigh last season. The Wolfpack is coming off a surprising 20-17 defeat at home to the Akron Zips on Saturday.

"They (N.C. State) will be angry and ready to go coming in here. It's an important game for us." Coach Bower said. If Damion Fletcher continues to run hard, and the Nasty Bunch continues to put pressure on opposing offenses, it could be a long day for Chuck Amato and the Wolfpack. After a loss to Akron on Saturday, Amato better be ready to face a rampant Southern Miss football club, which begs me to ask Chucky that all-too famous question... "Wanna play?"