Jacksonville State University
University of Tennessee at Martin
Gamecocks Dominate UT Martin In 52-7 Trouncing
10/3/2009 4:24:09 PM | Football
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JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State football team controlled every phase of the game on Saturday en route to a 52-7 rout of Tennessee-Martin in the Gamecocks' home and conference openers at Paul Snow Stadium.
Sporting all red uniforms for the first time since 1955, the No. 20 Gamecocks (3-2, 1-0 Ohio Valley Conference) rolled up 445 yards of total offense, 201 on the ground and 244 through the air, to win their third-straight game and improve to 25-6 all-time against the Skyhawks (2-3, 1-1 OVC). It was Jax State's 43rd home opening win in Paul Snow Stadium's 64th year and their eighth in 10 home openers under head coach Jack Crowe.
The Skyhawk offense, under the orchestration of quarterback and OVC Preseason Player of the Year Cade Thompson, struggled to get anything going against a stingy JSU defense. They managed just 224 yards of total offense, 99 fewer than their previous low on the year.
The Gamecocks' quarterback, senior Ryan Perrilloux, enjoyed his afternoon, picking the Skyhawk defense apart for a 14-for-16 effort that resulted in 205 yards and four touchdowns. The LaPlace, La., native entered the day leading the nation in passing efficiency and raised his season total to 199.22 with his performance on Saturday.
Perrilloux has tied his career high with four touchdown passes in each of the last two weeks and has tossed 11 over his past three games. He has guided the Gamecocks to at least 50 points in back-to-back weeks for the first time since the 1992 National Championship team did it in the final three games of the regular season.
He found fellow senior James Wilkerson six times for a career-best 133 yards and two long scoring tosses, both in the second half. Eight other JSU players caught at least one pass on the afternoon, with sophomore James Shaw and senior Greg Smith each hauling in scoring catches.
The Gamecocks intercepted Thompson twice and backup Derek Carr once to end a drought of five games without a pick. Sophomore T.J. Heath hauled in all three interceptions, the most by a JSU player since Darron Edwards had four at Samford in 1995. Heath, a native of Alexandria, Ala., stalled UTM's first two possessions of the day by returning his first two picks 26 and 55 yards, respectively, for touchdowns, making him the first JSU player in its Division I history to score two defensive touchdowns in the same game.
Sophomore Calvin Middleton led the Gamecock ground game with a career-high 121 yards and a score on just 13 carries. The Acworth, Ga., native averaged 9.3 yards per touch en route to the Gamecocks' first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Junior Jamal Young added 56 yards on his 13 carries.
Senior linebacker Alexander Henderson helped led the Gamecocks on the defensive side of the ball with 11 tackles. It was the seventh 10-tackle game for the Mobile, Ala., native and his first in 2009. He had one of the Gamecocks' eight tackles for a loss in the game.
Thompson did complete 17 of his 25 passes for 115 yards, while Brandyn Young ran 15 times for 53 yards and the Skyhawks' lone touchdown.
Heath started the scoring just 90 seconds into the game with his first interception return for a touchdown. Just four minutes and 35 seconds later, he picked up his second interception of the day, marking the first time since Oct. 14, 1995 at Samford that the Gamecock defense turned consecutive drives into defensive scores.
The JSU offense finally got on the field at the 7:16 mark of the first quarter and made it count. After a UT Martin roughing the punter call extended the drive, the Gamecocks took a 21-0 lead on a 43-yard run down the right sideline by Middleton. The run was 16 yards longer than his previous career long and capped an eight-play, 91-yard drive that took just 3:51.
Perrilloux found Smith from five yards out with 7:17 to play in the second quarter to give the Gamecocks a 28-0 advantage, punctuating an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ate 5:01 off of the clock. Sophomore Patrick Tatum, who connected on all seven of his PAT attempts on the day, drilled his only field goal of the afternoon with 29 seconds remaining in the half. It sailed through the uprights from 27 yards out and gave the Gamecocks a 31-0 lead at the half, the largest halftime lead by a JSU team since it moved to Div. I in 1995.
The Jax State offense picked up where it left off to start the third quarter, when Perrilloux found Wilkerson on the right hash for a 51-yard touchdown strike that put the Gamecocks in front, 38-0, just 16 seconds into the half.
UTM managed its lone points on the ensuing possession, when Young forced his way in from the one-yard line to finish a 12-play, 45-yard drive that lasted 5:47. Perrilloux didn't allow the Skyhawks to enjoy it for long, finding Shaw, who made a diving grab from 16-yards out and gave the Gamecocks a 45-7 advantage.
Another one-play drive conducted by Perrilloux and Wilkerson with 14:39 to play in the fourth quarter capped the scoring for the day. Wilkerson made a juggling catch before diving over the goal line for a 51-yard scoring pass to put Jax State up 52-7.
The Gamecocks will travel to Murray, Ky., where they will take on Murray State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Senior WR James Wilkerson, senior DB Josh Cain, junior OL Curt Porter and senior DL Brandt Thomas.
- Jacksonville State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- The Gamecocks improve to 25-6 all-time against the Skyhawks and are 15-3 in the series at home.
- The Gamecocks wore all red for the first time since the 1955 season, when the Gamecocks defeated Rhode Island, 12-10, in the Refrigerator Bowl on Dec. 4.
- The Gamecocks improve to 43-18-3 in home openers since they moved to Paul Snow Stadium in 1946 and have won their last four. They are now 8-2 in home openers under Jack Crowe.
- JSU improves to 8-2 record in conference openers under Jack Crowe, who took over before the 2000 season.
- The Gamecocks have scored at least 50 points in back-to-back games for the first time in their Div. I history and since 1992, when they scored 50 or more in the last three games of the regular season.
- T.J. Heath's 26-yard interception return for a score with 13:30 left in the first quarter was the Gamecocks' first interception of the season, snapping a streak of five games without a pick. His two interception returns for a score was a school record and marks the first time since Sept. 8, 2007 vs. UTC that JSU has recorded two defensive touchdowns in a game.
- Heath's two interception returns for scores were on UT Martin's first two drives of the game, marking the first time the Gamecock defense has scored on consecutive drives since they did it at Samford on Oct. 14, 1995 (1st drives of 3rd quarter: Riley Reynolds 16-yd fumble return and Darron Edwards 85-yd INT return).
- JSU's 31-0 lead at the half is the largest halftime lead for the Gamecocks since they moved to Div. I in 1995.
- Senior Ryan Perrilloux tied his career high with four TD passes. He has now thrown four in a game three times and has done it in his last two games.
- Senior Ryan Perrilloux has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 14 of his 15 games at JSU. He has thrown three or more in a game five times, four at JSU, and in each of his last three outings.
- Sophomore James Shaw's 16-yard TD catch in the third quarter was the first of his career.
- Senior James Wilkerson's 51-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the third quarter was his third scoring catch of teh year and the eighth of his career.
- Sophomore Calvin Middleton's 43-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the longest run of his career by 16 yards. It was also his second score of the year and the fifth of his career.
- Sophomore Calvin Middleton ran for a career-best 121 yards on Saturday, making him JSU's first 100-yard rusher this season. He and Brandon George are the only two current Gamecocks with a 100-yard game in their careers. His previous high was 59 yards in the season opener at Georgia Tech.
- With their 445 yards of total offense, the Gamecocks have totaled at least 300 yards in 41 of their 49 OVC games.
- JSU improves to 39-6 under Jack Crowe when scoring 30 or more points in a game. The Gamecocks are 23-2 at home with at least 30 points and have won 17 in a row.
- With 201 rushing yards and 244 passing, the Gamecocks have now thrown and ran for over 200 yards in each of the last two weeks.
- Perrilloux moves into fourth on the school's career TD passes list with 31, four behind Reggie Stancil in third place.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Interception returns for a score by T.J. Heath, a school record.
3 - Interceptions by T.J. Heath in the game, the most by a JSU player since Darron Edwards picked four at Samford on Oct. 14, 1995.
5 - Consecutive games by the JSU defense without an interception, the longest drought since 1998-99, before T.J. Heath's first pick in teh first quarter.
11 - Touchdown passes by Ryan Perrilloux over the last three games after his xxxfour on Saturday.
11 - Tackles by senior Alexander Henderson, his seventh 10-tackle game in his career.
31 - point lead by the Gamecocks at the half, the largest lead by JSU in its Division I history.
94 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.
133 - Receiving yards on by senior James Wilkerson, a career high.
199.22 - Passing efficiency in 2009 by Ryan Perrilloux after going 14-for-16 for 205 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday. He entered the game leading the nation in passing efficiency.
445 - Yards of total offense by the Gamecocks, the third-straight week where they have gained at least 400 yds.
557 - Games since the Gamecocks last wore all red uniforms (Dec. 4, 1955 vs. Rhode Island in the Refrigerator Bowl) before Saturday.
Head Coach Jack Crowe Post Game Quotes
vs. UT Martin
“We're going to get the most out of every game we've got because they're numbered.”
“I think our team is developing a mentality to go after high standards. It takes one point to win, and that is certainly to be cherished. Everything has standards to it. Quality football teams have a different standard, and we hope to develop the standard of play of a quality football team.”
“I've never seen anything go our way this early in a football game. Calvin (Middleton) knew he was never on the ground, and he just kept running. I don't know how many people lose that. That is so special. There's a real competitive nature developing in this team, and I'm going to do everything I can to feed it. I'm throwing gasoline on every fire I can see.”
“There are a lot of talented players on this team. And at the end of the season, I want every one of them to think they've been given an opportunity to play as good as they can play.”
On the Red Uniforms:
“I'm a traditionalist. I didn't initiate it. The seniors wanted them.”
“We definitely caught up on the interceptions today with T. J. Heath. He's local, everyone knows who he is. He's an outstanding player. If a guy was going to break a record (school record for 3 INTs in a single game), you would hope he wouldn't fall into it. You always hope the record would represent him well, and it represents T. J. very well. I know he's from just down the road, but he's the kind of guy we would go a long way for. He's a good player, good student, great character; he's got the whole thing.”
“Calvin (Middleton) is a power back. He's a 1,000 yard, 1,500 yard kind of back. He is a role player, but you have to get him in the right situation. We haven't been doing a good job of that, but we did today. He could do this every game.”
