Thursday, October 23
Martin, TN
6:30 p.m.
Jacksonville State University
30
at
31
University of Tennessee at Martin
Gamecock Comeback Falls Point Short At UT Martin
10/23/2008 10:59:21 PM | Football
FINAL STATS PHOTO GALLERY
MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State football team's attempt at a dramatic comeback fell one point short on Thursday night, when the Gamecocks dropped a heartbreaking 31-30 conference game at Tennessee-Martin in front of a national television audience.
MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State football team's attempt at a dramatic comeback fell one point short on Thursday night, when the Gamecocks dropped a heartbreaking 31-30 conference game at Tennessee-Martin in front of a national television audience.
Trailing 31-24 with less than five minutes to play, junior Ryan Perrilloux connected with junior James Wilkerson on a 66-yard touchdown pass that cut the deficit to one, but senior placekicker Gavin Hallford's point after attempt sailed wide right. The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-2 Ohio Valley Conference) got the ball back with 23 seconds to play, but couldn't get in position for a shot at a game winning field goal.
The Skyhawks (7-2, 5-1 OVC) gained 493 yards behind Miguel Barnes' 117 rushing yards and Cade Thompson's 275 yards through the air en route to their third-straight win and their second in a row over Jax State in Martin. Roren Thomas added a career-best 84 yards and a score on the ground, thanks to an 85-yard touchdown scamper on the game's first possession.
Earlier in the game, Hallford etched his name in the Gamecocks record book when his 31-yard first-quarter field goal moved him ahead of former quarterback David Gulledge atop the school's career scoring list. The Phenix City, Ala., native finished the night with six points, giving him 293 for his career, three ahead of Gulledge. He needs just 29 points to tie Eastern Kentucky's Markus Thomas for the OVC's career record.
Junior linebacker Alexander Henderson, who became just the second player in JSU's Division I history to record 20 or more tackles in a game with 21 last week vs. Murray State, equaled that mark for the second-straight week on Thursday. The Mobile, Ala., native led all players, totaling eight more stops than anyone else in the game.
Perrilloux recorded his fifth multi-touchdown game with a pair of scoring passes on a night that saw the LaPlace, La., native complete 14 of his 29 tosses for 261 yards and ran for 53 to account for most of the Gamecocks' 440 yards of total offense. He found senior Maurice Dupree four times for a total of 96 yards, and he connected with Wilkerson and junior Eric Johns for his two scores.
Senior tailback Daniel Jackson led the Gamecocks' ground attack with 98 yards on 13 carries, leaving the Florence, Ala., native just two yards shy of what would have been his fifth career 100-yard rushing game.
The Skyhawks' Roren Thomas lit the scoreboard early in the game, running the second play from scrimmage 85 yards for a touchdown. The longest play the JSU defense had allowed this season and the longest run against the Gamecocks since Nov. 8, 1997, gave UTM a 7-0 lead with just 53 seconds ticked off of the clock.
The Gamecocks took the ensuing possession and used it to tie the score on a nine-play drive that spanned 59 yards and took just over five minutes to complete. Senior fullback Ronald Murray finished the drive by punching it in from two yards out with 8:56 on the first quarter clock.
Hallford put the Gamecocks ahead just over six minutes later with his record-setting kick, a boot that was the finishing touches on a six-play, 58-yard drive. After the Gamecocks' special teams gave them a 10-7 advantage, they allowed the Skyhawks to pull to within a point, when freshman Brandon Rogers' snap on a punt attempt with 13:26 to play in the half sailed over punter Zach Walden's head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The Gamecocks wasted little time in reclaiming the lead in the second half using a three-yard drive that was highlighted by 59 yards on two carries from Daniel Jackson to start the third quarter. Sophomore fullback Alphonso Freeney's four-yard touchdown run between the tackles finished off a three-play, 63-yard drive that lasted just 73 seconds.
After forcing a UTM punt, the JSU offense needed just four plays to score again on a 12-yard pass from Perrilloux to junior tight end Eric Johns. The drive took 1:44, spanned 61 yards and was sparked by a 43-yard pass from Perrilloux to junior Jeffrey Cameron that set the Gamecocks up in the UTM red zone.
The Skyhawks tied it on the ensuing possession, thanks to a one-yard run by Miguel Barnes and a two-point pass from Thompson to Thomas that ended a seven-play, 61-yard scoring drive. They reclaimed the lead with 11:44 to play in the game, when Thompson's four-yard touchdown pass to Mike Hicks capped a six-play drive that covered 73 yards, took 2:28 off of the clock and gave UTM a 31-24 advantage.
A missed 30-yard field goal by UTM's Tom Hansen with 5:47 to play set up a 66-yard strike from Perrilloux to junior James Wilkerson that cut the Skyhawks' lead to 31-30, but Hallford's point after attempt missed wide left. The miss snapped a streak of 39 straight successful extra points for Hallford.
The Gamecocks will return home next week, when they host Austin Peay on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Paul Snow Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on what will be Preview Day on the JSU campus.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Keith Gergel and Kenny Walker
- UT Martin won the toss and elected to receive to open the game.
- Gavin Hallford became JSU's all-time career scoring leader after kicking a 31-yard field goal with 2:09 left in the first quarter. He passed David Gulledge's career total of 290 points from 1987-90. The Phenix City, Ala., native already holds the OVC career record for most points by kicking and is chasing the all-time record of 322 career points by Markus Thomas (Eastern Kentucky, 1989-92).
- Jacksonville State scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the third straight game. It was the fourth time this year the Gamecocks scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game. JSU also scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, marking the first time this season the Gamecocks scored a touchdown on both drives to open the half.
- Senior Ronald Murray scored his first touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run on the Gamecocks' opening possession. It was his third career touchdown.
- Ronald Murray became the 12th different Gamecock to score a touchdown this season when he scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter.
- Ryan Perrilloux had a 29-yard run during the Gamecocks opening possession and it marked the second longest rush of the season. He scored on a 35-yard run vs Chattanooga.
- The safety allowed by the Gamecocks was the first since Sept. 14, 2002, at Mississippi State.
- Daniel Jackson recorded a 55-yard rush top open the third quarter, which was the longest rush of the season for the Florence, Ala., native. It was the team's second longest rush of the season for the Gamecocks.
- Jeffrey Cameron caught a 43-yard pass from Ryan Perrilloux with 11:12 left in the third quarter, which marked the longest reception of his career.
- Ryan Perrilloux tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Eric Johns with 9:57 left in the third quarter. It was the fourth touchdown reception of the season by Johns and the fifth of the year by a Gamecock tight end.
- Ryan Perrilloux has now thrown a touchdown pass in all eight games at Jax State. He now has 15 passing touchdowns on the season.
- JSU lost for the second straight time in Martin, Tenn., and it marks the first time the Gamecocks have dropped back-to-back games in the City of Martin.
- The last time the Gamecocks had a 5-3 overall record was last season.
- The Gamecocks are 4-32 when trailing at the half under Jack Crowe.
- Jax State is now 4-2 when entering the fourth quarter tied.
Friday, April 17
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