FINAL STATS

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Ronald Murray scored three touchdowns, all in the third quarter, to lead Jacksonville State to a 41-17 win over Tennessee Tech in an Ohio Valley Conference game Saturday afternoon.

The Gamecocks improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the OVC, while Tennessee Tech falls to 3-8 overall and just 1-6 in the conference.

“We came into this game with a focus and I thought we executed as well as we have all season,” said JSU head coach Jack Crowe. “Anytime we can hold an opponent to less than 100 rushing yards and rush for more than 200 yards, that's who we think we are.”

Jax State rolled up 486 yards of total offense, including 221 yards on the ground behind Daniel Jackson's 107 rushing yards. Ryan Perrilloux finished with 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air and added 25 rushing yards for the Gamecocks.

The JSU defense held Tech to just 94 rushing yards, marking the fifth straight year the Gamecocks have held TTU to less than 100 yards on the ground. The Golden Eagles managed just 284 yards of offense.

The Gamecocks scored first after Carnell Clark recovered a Tech fumble at the TTU 39 yard line early in the first quarter. Six plays later, Jackson score on a 24-yard run over right guard and Gavin Hallford kicked the point after as JSU took a 7-0 lead with 6:17 remaining.

Tennessee Tech answered by taking the ensuing kickoff and going 52 yards in eight plays. Josh Lowery tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tim Benford to tie the game with 2:22 left in the first quarter.

Jax State battled back to take the lead midway through the second quarter after marching 83 yards in eight plays. Perrilloux connected with Dupree on an eight-yard touchdown pass with 6:41 left as the Gamecocks took a 13-7 lead.

Tennessee Tech added a 28-yard field goal with just :43 left in the second quarter by Kraemer to cut the lead to 13-10 at the half.

“We talked about coming out in the second half and finishing the game and I thought we did that,” added Crowe. “We have a very high third down conversion percentage and I credit that to the execution of our quarterback and the play calling by Ronnie Letson.”

The Gamecocks put the game out of reach by scoring three straight touchdowns on every possession of the third quarter. Murray scored on runs of six yards, and a pair of two-yard runs as the Gamecocks built a 34-10 lead at the end of the third quarter. It was the first time a JSU player scored three touchdowns in a quarter since Marcus Mitchell in 2001.

Perrilloux connected with Jeffery Cameron on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter for the final margin. Cameron finished the game with five catches for 77 yards to lead the receiving corps for nine different Gamecock receivers. Junior Josh Cain led the Gamecock defense with 11 tackles and one interception.

Lowery finished 19-for-34 for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Tennessee Tech's offense, while Benford was the leading receiver with 67 yards on six catches.

Jacksonville State will host Tennessee State next Saturday in the final regular-season home game of the season, while Tech has the week off.

POST-GAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Keith Gergel, Kenny Walker, Alexander Henderson and Daniel Jackson
- Gamecocks won the toss and deferred to the second half
- Senior Maurice Dupree caught his 10th touchdown pass of the season with 6:41 left in the second quarter. It set JSU's single-season record for for most touchdown receptions in a season, passing Derrick Thomas' record of nine set during the 1985 season.
- Ryan Perrilloux became just the second player in JSU history to have more than 2,500 yards of total offense in a single-season, joining Montressa Kirby (2,954 in 1997 and 2,581 in 1998). The LaPlace, La., native now has 2,517 yards of total offense.
- Daniel Jackson scored on a 24-yard touchdown rush midway through the first quarter. It was the fourth rushing touchdown of 20-yards or more this season for the Gamecocks. It was the third touchdown run for Jackson of longer than 20 yards.
- Daniel Jackson's 24-yard rushing touchdown with 6:17 left in the first quarter was his third of the season and the sixth of his career.
- Gavin Hallford became just the third player in OVC history to score more than 300 career points in today's game and now he has 301 points. He joins Eastern Illinois J.R. Taylor (1999-02) with 310 points and Eastern Kentucky's Markus Thomas (1989-92) OVC record of 322.
- Ryan Perrilloux tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, which was his 18th touchdown pass of the season. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game as a Gamecock. The 18 passing touchdowns ties for the third most in a single-season, tying Ed Lett's 1980 total. Lett also had 20 touchdown passes in 1981 and 22 in 1982.
- Perrilloux's 252 yards passing was his sixth game this year with 200 or more passing yards.
- Ronald Murray's six-yard scoring run marked the third straight game the Gamecocks scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half. It was the sixth time this season that Jax State scored on their opening drive of the second half.
- Ronald Murray's three touchdowns during the third quarter today was the first time a Gamecock had scored three touchdowns in a quarter since Marcus Mitchell rushed for three quarters against Cumberland University on Aug. 30, 1001.
- Daniel Jackson rushed for 107 yards, to mark the fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. It was his fifth career 100-yard rushing game.
- Ryan Perrilloux finished the game with 252 passing yards to top the 2,000-yard mark. He became just the third player in JSU history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a single-season, joining Montressa Kirby and Ed Lett.
- Ronald Murray rushed for three touchdowns in the game, marking a career-high for the senior from Panama City, Fla.
- The 21 points in the third quarter is the most in a quarter since the Gamecocks scored 28 during the second quarter against UT Martin in 2004.
- JSU had 486 yards of total offense, which was the seventh time this year totaled 400-plus yards on offense.
- Jack Crowe improved his career coaching record to 70-72 and 56-42 at JSU.
- The last time the Gamecocks had a 7-3 overall record was in 2003
- JSU is now 47-10 under Jack Crowe when leading at the half.
- The Gamecocks are 13-6 under Crowe in the month of November since 2003.
- Jack Crowe now has a career record of 70-72.