South Alabama Football set new school and Sun Belt Conference records for points scored in a game Thursday night when it dominated Northwestern State, 87-10, at Hancock Whitney Stadium for the first victory of the season.

The Jaguars improved their record to 1-2 for the year by scoring the most points by an FBS team since the 1991 college football season.

It was a total team effort for the Jags Thursday as they scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. Wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett returned the first punt of the game 62 yards for a touchdown while linebacker Chrystyile Caldwell tallied a 30-yard pick six. The offense produced 10 total touchdowns on the night, and kicker Laith Marjan chipped in a field goal from 28 yards out.

"Proud of the way our guys responded coming off a loss," said South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite, who earned his first victory as the leader of the Jags. "In the short week, our staff did an outstanding job. I know people say that a lot and it might be cliche, but they did a great job getting the guys centered after a loss. Sunday night we had a good walk-through. Monday and Tuesday were excellent practices. Wednesday, we worked a little bit harder than we normally would before a game. There was no complaining. I was proud of the way they came out in the second half. When you get up by 42 points human nature sets in and some complacency can be found, but it didn't matter who was in the ball game they were playing hard. We have to continue to create that identity."

South Alabama's defense was dominant on the night, forcing four takeaways while only allowing 237 yards of total offense. Jaden Voisin started the takeaway party with an interception in the first quarter, giving him seven for his career. True freshman Amarion Fortenberry then recorded his first-career interception before Caldwell's pick-six. True freshman Julien Demby finished the night by recovering a fumbled snap. Maurice Strong set a career-high with a game-high seven tackles on the night to pace the Jags' tough front-seven.

Offensively, USA was hot right from the start as quarterback Gio Lopez connected with wide receiver Jeremiah Webb for a 39-yard touchdown strike on South's first play of the game. Lopez would go on to finish the night with 257 yards passing and four touchdowns while completing 15-of-19 attempts. Tight end DJ Thomas-Jones recorded the third multi-touchdown game of his USA career with a pair of touchdown grabs, and Pritchett added an offensive score to his special teams touchdown.

The Jaguars won the game in the trenches Thursday as they rushed for 363 yards and six touchdowns on the night. True freshman Fluff Bothwell recorded the first 100-yard game and first multi-touchdown game of his career with 143 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. He was joined in that feat by fellow running back Kentrel Bullock, who tallied 102 yards and two touchdowns on the night. PJ Martin also pitched in his first score of the year to go with 72 yards while Jarvis Durr found the end zone for the first time in his career.

UP NEXT
South Alabama will now prepare to open conference play when it makes the trip to App State for a second-straight, Thursday-night game on Sept. 19. Kickoff against the Mountaineers will take place at 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.