Fletcher, Eagles rout N.C. State|[9/17/06]
Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 17, 2006
HATTIESBURG – Damion Fletcher is taking Southern Miss by storm.
The lightning-quick freshman tailback from Biloxi ran for 177 yards on 26 carries, scored three touchdowns and spearheaded an unexpected 37-17 blowout victory over Atlantic Coast Conference school North Carolina State in front of 31,748 at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday night.
Fletcher recorded the third-highest single game rushing total for a freshman in Southern Miss history. Derrick Nix recorded the top two freshman rushing performances.
“I had a good game tonight playing against an ACC team,” Fletcher said. “The offensive line did a good job and I ran hard all game. I think I played to my abilities tonight.”
Fletcher earned Gulf Coast Player of the Year honors as chosen by the Sun-Herald as a senior, a season shortened to seven games because of Hurricane Katrina. Fletcher rushed for 950 yards as a high school senior in seven games and spent some time in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., before returning to the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast to complete his prep career.
In the last two games, Fletcher has rushed for 278 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Golden Eagles (2-1) recorded back-to-back blowouts after an opening-game loss to No. 7 Florida.
“He has great acceleration and great balance. But I think most of all, he has great vision,” Bower said of Fletcher, who came in on the second series in the Florida loss and has started ever since. “He is unfazed. Some freshman come in with great athletic ability, but aren’t used to the next level. Damion had no problem.”
Fletcher’s performance highlighted an overall dominating effort by both the Golden Eagles’ offense and defense. Southern Miss racked up 442 yards of total offense – almost twice as much as N.C. State had been allowing. Quarterback Jeremy Young completed 13 of 19 passes for 181 yards and rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
“Poor tackling,” N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said in summing up the Eagles’ offensive outburst. “We couldn’t control the line of scrimmage. They knocked us silly. We were putting young kids in, kids that were a little tired.”
Southern Miss did not have to pun the entire game and only gave the ball over one time on downs – on the last possession of the game when the Eagles were trying to run out the clock.
Southern Miss held a 13-10 lead at halftime on a 7-yard Fletcher TD run and two Darren McCaleb field goals. Fletcher second score, a 1-yard plunge 1 minute, 37 seconds into the third quarter, upped the lead to 20-10. Four minutes later, Jasper Faulk intercepted Marcus Stone and the Eagles tacked on a third McCaleb field goal for a 23-10 lead. The lead increased to 30-10 in the closing minutes of the third quarter on Young’s 1-yard run. Fletcher added his third touchdown midway through the fourth for a 37-10 lead.
“We got waxed,” Amato said. “They hit us pretty good.”
While the offense was racking up yards and points, the defense shut the door. Andre Brown, who torched the Golden Eagles for a N.C. State freshman record 248 yards last season, was held to 48 yards on 13 carries. Stone finished 10-of-24 for 100 yards and a touchdown and the Wolfpack was held to 274 total yards – much of that coming in the closing minutes.
“Brown was the focal point after what he did to us last year,” said Faulk, who added four tackles and three pass breakups to go along with his interception. “We did that and made them one-dimensional. They started throwing the ball and we took over from then.”
Southern Miss defenders intercepted three Wolfpack passes and broke up four more.
“They were going to have to throw the ball on us,” said Southern Miss defensive coordinator Jay Hopson, a former Warren Central football standout. “We were not about to let them run the ball and the kids really stepped up to the challenge.”
After three straight non-conference games, the Golden Eagles will play a Tuesday night game against defending Conference USA champion Central Florida on Sept. 26. Bower said he plans to give his team some time off before beginning preparations for the Golden Knights.
“It was a pretty good win and I think we really played well,” Bower said. “…But I am not pleased. I am never pleased. As long as our guys know that I am never pleased, their will be room for improvement.”