Football
Southern Miss scores late to win Hawai'i Bowl, 24-17


Wes Nakama
December 24, 2011, 7:30am

   


Sat, Dec 24, 2011 @ Aloha Stadium [ 3:00 pm ]

Southern Miss

24

Nevada

17

Final 1 2 3 4 T
Southern Miss (--) 0 17 0 724
Nevada (--) 0 14 3 017
Cody Fajardo 60 yd
Austin Davis 165 yd 2 TD
Lampford Mark 184 yd 2 TD
Desmond Johnson 77 yd

Austin Davis threw two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead 4-yard scoring pass to Kelvin Bolden with 5:48 remaining, to lift No. 22-ranked Southern Mississippi to a 24-17 victory over Nevada today in the 10th Annual Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

A crowd of 19.411 and national ESPN audience watched the Conference USA champion Golden Eagles finish the season at 12-2 and send outgoing coach Larry Fedora to his new job at North Carolina with an extended school record for single-season victories.

The Wolf Pack, in their last game representing the Western Athletic Conference, finished the season at 7-6.

"I'm proud to be the coach of likely the greatest team in Southern Mississippi history," Fedora said.

Southen Miss led, 17-14, at halftime after Davis threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tracey Lampley with 12 seconds left.

Nevada tied the score at 17-17 on Allen Hardison's 37-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Davis set up the winning TD with passes of 43 yards to Dominique Sullivan and 19 yards to William Spight.

After a scoreless first quarter, Southern Miss broke through when Tray Becton-Martin recovered Tim Green's blocked punt in the end zone and Danny Hrapmann's extra point put the Golden Eagles up 7-0 just 54 seconds into the second quarter.

Nevada running back Lampford Mark then capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive with a 5-yard TD run and Hardison's PAT even the score at 7-7. Mark then added a 45-yard scoring scamper to help give the Wolf Pack a 14-7 lead with 4:54 left in the half.

Hrapmann's 48-yard field goal cut the lead to 14-10 with 1:21 remaining, then Emmanuel Johnson recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, setting up Davis' touchdown pass to Lampley six plays later.

Mark, who was named the game Most Valuable Player for Nevada, finished with 183 yards and two TDs on 29 carries. Golden Eagles defensive lineman Cordarro Law, who finished with seven tackles including two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, was named Southern Mississippi's game MVP.

Mark gained all but 21 of his yards in the first half, and he was stopped�by defensive lineman Khyri Thornton�for a 1-yard loss at midfield on fourth-and-1 with just under four minutes left, and the Golden Eagles were able to run out the clock after that.

"Defensively, we played well enough to win," Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault said. "(But) in the second half, our offensive line couldn't get off the ball."

Davis completed 18 of 43 passes for 165 yards.

"It wasn't his best game ... in fact, I don't know of anyone who had a best game," Fedora said. "But he led the team to a victory."



Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY


MORE STORIES

Kapolei dethrones Campbell to set up OIA D1 title tilt with Mililani

The Hurricanes pulled away from the Sabers in the final frame while the Trojans held off a late charge...

Surfriders cash in on Na Alii miscues to claim 15th league crown, ninth under Ishigo

Kailua sent eight batters to the plate and scored five runs in a tide-turning bottom of the third inning,...

Waianae rolls past Radford to claim first OIA championship since 2017

Shysten Nagasako did work on both the mound and at the plate in the Seariders' mercy-rule shortened win...

No. 1 seeds Aiea, Kailua to face off for OIA Division I baseball crown

Na Alii posted a 3-1 win over Roosevelt behind Aidan Yoshida's complete game, while two pitchers combined...

Sabers, Na Menehune to meet in OIA semifinal round Monday

Campbell defeated Roosevelt in four sets Thursday, while Moanalua topped Waipahu in the nightcap as both...

Late surge propels Kapolei to mercy-rule win over Kalani

The Hurricanes found their offensive groove in the late stages, scoring 14 runs down the stretch to back...