Malone's Defensive Score Seals Football's 28-10 Win at Southern Miss

Saturday, November 23

Hattiesburg, MS

2:30 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

7-4 , 5-2

Southern Miss

7-4 , 5-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

WKU

Southern Miss

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

Malone's Defensive Score Seals Football's 28-10 Win at Southern Miss

11/23/2019 7:35:00 PM | Football

Box Score

GAME AND TEAM NOTES

• WKU's team captains for the game were Gunner Britton, Carson Jordan and Jordan Meredith.
• There was an attendance of 20,369 in M.M. Roberts Stadium for the 2:35 p.m. CT kick off.
• WKU improved to 3-0 all-time against Southern Miss, this being the Hilltoppers' first-ever game in Hattiesburg against the Golden Eagles.
• WKU held Southern Miss to 10 points, the fewest by the Golden Eagles at home since a 41-7 loss vs. Florida Atlantic on Nov. 16, 2013.
• WKU had 14 points off turnovers for the 2nd straight game. For the season, the Hilltoppers are -11 (51-to-62) in the points off turnovers margin.
• WKU had 2 fumble recoveries after having 1 fumble recovery in the first 10 games of the season. The Hilltoppers are 5-1 this season when forcing at least 1 turnover and 2-3 when forcing 0 turnovers.
• The WKU offensive line did not allow a sack for the 2nd straight game. It was the first time Southern Miss was held without a sack since Nov. 13, 2014 at UTSA.
• The WKU defense held Southern Miss to a 3-of-14 mark on third downs and 1-of-4 on fourth downs. For the season, Hilltoppers' opponents are 41-of-142 (28.9%) on third downs and 14-of-30 (46.7%) on fourth downs.
• WKU improved to 3-4 while wearing white jersey tops and black pants, dating back to 2013. The Hilltoppers wore the combo in back-to-back games after defeating Arkansas 45-19 on Nov. 9.
• Junior defensive end DeAngelo Malone scooped a fumble forced by Jeremy Darvin in the fourth quarter and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown. It was the first "fumble six" for the Hilltoppers since Wonderful Terry's 95-yard score at Illinois on Sept. 6, 2014.

PLAYER NOTES

TY STOREY
• Completed 20-of-30 attempts for 225 yards passing, with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His scores were a 64-yard pass to Jahcour Pearson and 21-yard pass to Quin Jernighan in the second quarter.
• Completed 66.7% of his passes, eclipsing the 66% mark for the 7th consecutive game.
• Caught his 2nd career pass, a 6-yarder from Kevaris Thomas in the third quarter. He now has 2 receptions for 14 yards and 1 touchdown this season.

JAHCOUR PEARSON
• Had team-highs of 8 receptions for 88 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown from Ty Storey in the second quarter, his team-leading 6th receiving score of the season.
• Ranks 2nd on WKU with 68 receptions for 720 yards this season, after entering the year with only 20 receptions for 172 yards in his first 2 years on The Hill.

JOSHUA SIMON
• Had 2 receptions for 51 yards, including a 47-yard catch in the second quarter. It was the 3rd catch of 40+ yards this season, but first since a 77-yard touchdown on Sept. 14 vs. Louisville.

QUIN JERNIGHAN
• Had 4 receptions for a season-high 50 yards. Caught a 21-yard touchdown from Ty Storey in the second quarter, which was his first score of the season.

GAEJ WALKER
• Had 20 rushes for 84 yards, which puts him at 996 for the season as he chases the 1,000-yard mark.

DeANGELO MALONE
• Had 6 tackles (3 solo, 3 assisted) to rank 3rd on the team.
• Had 1 sack for 10 yards lost, pushing his season total to 10. Became the 4th Hilltopper defender in program history to reach double-digit sacks in a single season.
• Had 1.5 tackles for loss for 12 yards lost, pushing his season total to 19.5. Surpassed Quanterus Smith's 18.5 tackles for loss in 2012 for the most in a single season by a Hilltopper defender in the program's FBS Era (since 2009).
• With 0.5 more tackles for loss this season, he would become the 11th WKU defender in program history to reach to 20-TFL mark.

KYLE BAILEY
• Had a team-high 11 tackles (4 solo, 7 assisted), reaching the double-digit mark for the 2nd time this season. Added 0.5 sack, the first of his career.
• Tied a season-high with 1.5 tackles for loss, while adding his 7th quarterback hurry and 2nd pass breakup of the season.

DEVON KEY
• Had a team-high 11 tackles (6 solo, 5 assisted), reaching the double-digit mark for the 7th time in his career. Added 1 pass breakup, his 7th of the season.

ANTWON KINCADE
• Had 6 tackles (4 solo, 2 assisted) to rank 3rd on the team.
• Added his 2nd interception in as many games in Southern Miss' first drive of the second half. It was his 3rd career pick.

DIONTÉ RUFFIN
• Had 1 tackle, which was a forced fumble on the goal line to prevent a Southern Miss touchdown in the second quarter that would have tied the score at 14-14. Trae Meadows picked up the loose ball in the Hilltoppers' end zone and returned it 46 yards. WKU scored on that drive to push the lead to 21-7.
• Added a team-high 2 pass breakups, pushing total to a team-high 8 on the season.

JEREMY DARVIN
• Had 3 tackles (2 solo, 1 assisted), including a strip sack in the fourth quarter that led to DeAngelo Malone's 5-yard fumble return for a touchdown. It was his 3rd sack of the season, which ranks 3rd on the team.

JOHN HAGGERTY
• Had career-highs of 6 punts for 271 yards, including a career-long 64 yarder in the fourth quarter.
• Forces 2 fair catches, had 3 punts inside the 20 yard line and boomed 2 punts of 50+ yards.
• Attempted a fake field goal on 4th & 5 in Southern Miss territory, catching the snap as the holder and rushing for 3 yards before being tackled by numerous Golden Eagles' defenders 2 yards shy of the sticks.