Thursday, September 1
Jacksonville
6 p.m.
Jacksonville State University
1-0 , 1-0
24
vs
23
UT Martin
0-1 , 0-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT Martin | 7 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Jacksonville State | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
Calvin Middleton scores the game winner on Thursday.
Gamecocks Rally in Closing Minute for 24-23 Win in OVC Opener
9/1/2011 10:41:00 PM | Football
FINAL STATS | PHOTO GALLERY | ESPN3 REPLAY
JACKSONVILLE – It won't generate the same national headlines or ESPN highlights as Jacksonville State's stunning upset of Ole Miss to kick off the 2010 football season.
It was, however, every bit as dramatic.
Senior Calvin Middleton scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left and James Esco kicked the go-ahead extra point as the Gamecocks rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee-Martin 24-23 at Burgess-Snow Field Thursday night.
“It was left at the end to just make plays,” Jacksonville State head coach Jack Crowe said. “"The only thing you can really say came out of that is we played with a lot of heart. We lost our poise, but we never lost our composure.
"I really thought at the end … it was just a bunch of guys who refused to lose. Because we certainly did everything to lose.”
Jacksonville State (1-0), the preseason OVC favorite, appeared on the verge of suffering its first home loss to UT-Martin in 24 years. The Skyhawks (0-1) had taken a 23-10 lead with 14:11 remaining when Cody Sandlin kicked a 45-yard field goal to give UT-Martin its biggest lead of the night.
But Gabriel Chambers returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to midfield and the Gamecocks didn't wasting any time finding the end zone.
After a 7-yard Washaun Ealey run, backup quarterback Coty Blanchard and the junior transfer from Georgia hooked up on a 43-yard scoring pass with 13:06 to go. Esco's extra point trimmed JSU's deficit to 23-17.
The Gamecocks defense, which surrendered 475 yards, rose to the occasion on UT-Martin's next two possessions. The final scoring drive began at the 50 and JSU covered the distance in 3:53, with Blanchard running for 20 and 8 yards on consecutive plays to move the team deep into Skyhawks territory.
Middleton capped off the nine-play drive with his 4-yard run, setting off a celebration from the crowd of 17,919.
But the high-powered UT-Martin offense wasn't finished.
Starting at their own 15 with 34 seconds left, the Skyhawks moved to the JSU 42 in five plays. Facing a second-and-10 with six seconds remaining, quarterback Derek Carr hooked up with Stephen Shiver on a 27-yard completion, but Shiver was forced out of bounds at the JSU 15 as time expired.
“I was proud that some of the things got better as we played on,” Crowe said. “Not all of them did.
“What does this say about the future? It says we've got a lot to get done. It doesn't say that we can't accomplish anything, it just says we're a LONG way away from it.”
That future isn't likely to include starting quarterback Marques Ivory. The senior from Warner Robins, Ga., sustained a fractured right fibula during the first half and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday.
Blanchard, the hero of last year's win at Ole Miss, completed 9-of-17 passes for a JSU career-high 133 yards and one touchdown. He also ran nine times for 32 yards.
Jacksonville State trailed 17-7 at halftime after surrendering 285 total yards.
The Gamecocks' only first-half points came on Ivory's 22-yard pass to tight end Justin Howard with 9:54 left in the second quarter.
Esco's field goal early in the third quarter drew Jacksonville State to within 17-10. But the visitors got field goals of 25 and 45 yards from Sandlin to stretch their lead to 23-10 early in the fourth.
Ealey ran for 41 yards on 13 carries in his Gamecock debut, while Middleton finished with 28 yards on 10 attempts.
Jacksonville State travels to Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is 5 p.m. CDT.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Jacksonville State vs. UT Martin
Sept. 1, 2011
JSU Head Coach Jack Crowe
“I think it goes without saying, that was as bad of football as we have seen in a long time. I think we got whipped in about every area, but we won the game. The interesting thing to me was seeing how people handled being in new situations. I think our safeties got out of position more than I ever thought they would've and gave up a lot of big plays”
On the Offense…
“Offensively, we did not have any consistency and so you know it was just left to just make plays, I guess you could just say Coty (Blanchard) is just back to where he was last year and he is a guy that knows how to make plays and I think the players rallied around him. We didn't have much of anything in sync and you add to that, that we were missing some players and they only thing you can say about that is we played with a lot of heart we lost out poise but we never lost our composure."
On the end of the game…
“I think at the end what was defined was a bunch of guys refused to lose because we certainly did everything to lose. I think the seniors are the glue whenever it comes down to the situations. All I said was give it to Calvin (Middleton), he's not going to be tackled. I think as the game went on we took control of the line of scrimmage.”
POST-GAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior RB Calvin Middleton, junior DB Brooks Robinson, senior DE Jamison Wadley.
- Jacksonville State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- Since 1904, JSU has compiled an overall record of 47-47-7 in season openers... The Gamecocks are 6-6 in season openers under Jack Crowe.
- With Jax State's game-winning touchdown with 38 seconds left in the contest, it has now claimed 14 wins in the final 2:00 minutes of the game dating back to the 1993 season...Including tonight's win over UTM, JSU has posted five of those wins over the last two seasons.
- The Gamecocks have won back-to-back season-openers for the first time since the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
- JSU has an overall record of 44-19-3 in home openers since the Gamecocks moved to Burgess-Snow Field in 1946. The Gamecocks are 10-2 in home openers under Jack Crowe.
- Jax State played on Thursday night for the third time in the program's Division I history and the first time since 2005...The last time JSU opened conference play on a Thursday night was against Nicholls to open the 1972 campaign.
- Sophomore QB Coty Blanchard turned in a career-high 133 yards passing, besting his previous mark of 126 in his collegiate debut...his nine completions was also a new career mark.
- Senior MLB Brannon Byrd started in place of penciled in starter Clarence Jackson.
- Senior DB Robert Gray snagged his third interception of his career, halting UT Martin's second possession...his first interception since last season at Eastern Illinois (9/25/10).
- Senior TE Justin Howard hauled in Jax State's first TD of the season in the second quarter...It marks Howard's sixth of his career and second in the last three games (TD at Tennessee Tech).
- Playing in his first game as a Gamecock, sophomore LB Rashad Smith posted a team-best nine tackles.
- Senior long snapper Brandon Rogers recovered his first career fumble after a Jax State punt.
- Freshman WR made a rousing Jax State debut with a 60-yard kick off return to open the second half, which led to a Jax State FG on the half's opening drive....The Centre, Ala.-product finished with 104 return yards on three kick off returns.
- Junior RB Washaun Ealey, who came to JSU from Georgia, recorded his first TD in a Gamecock uniform with a 43-yard catch and run from QB Coty Blanchard in the fourth quarter.
- WR Trey Smith caught a pair of passes for 16 yards in his first game as a Gamecock...Smith, a native of Perry, Ga., came to JSU from Western Michigan.
JSU BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Straight wins to open Ohio Valley Conference play dating back to the 2008 league opener.
5 - Consecutive wins in Jacksonville over the Skyhawks of UTM.
10 - Wins under Jack Crowe in conference-opening games.
15 - Newcomers saw action for the first time in a Gamecock uniform.
26.8 - Average yards per kick off return on six attempts.
49 - OVC wins by Jax State since joining the league.
54 - OVC wins with 300-plus total offense in 64 league games.
112 - Yards of offense in the second half.
113 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.
161 - Total yards on kick off return yards by JSU.
475 - The most total yards given up by Jax State since allowing 479 yards to Ole Miss in last season's opener,
17,919 - Attendance for Jax State's Thursday night season opener.
JACKSONVILLE – It won't generate the same national headlines or ESPN highlights as Jacksonville State's stunning upset of Ole Miss to kick off the 2010 football season.
It was, however, every bit as dramatic.
Senior Calvin Middleton scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left and James Esco kicked the go-ahead extra point as the Gamecocks rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee-Martin 24-23 at Burgess-Snow Field Thursday night.
“It was left at the end to just make plays,” Jacksonville State head coach Jack Crowe said. “"The only thing you can really say came out of that is we played with a lot of heart. We lost our poise, but we never lost our composure.
"I really thought at the end … it was just a bunch of guys who refused to lose. Because we certainly did everything to lose.”
Jacksonville State (1-0), the preseason OVC favorite, appeared on the verge of suffering its first home loss to UT-Martin in 24 years. The Skyhawks (0-1) had taken a 23-10 lead with 14:11 remaining when Cody Sandlin kicked a 45-yard field goal to give UT-Martin its biggest lead of the night.
But Gabriel Chambers returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to midfield and the Gamecocks didn't wasting any time finding the end zone.
After a 7-yard Washaun Ealey run, backup quarterback Coty Blanchard and the junior transfer from Georgia hooked up on a 43-yard scoring pass with 13:06 to go. Esco's extra point trimmed JSU's deficit to 23-17.
The Gamecocks defense, which surrendered 475 yards, rose to the occasion on UT-Martin's next two possessions. The final scoring drive began at the 50 and JSU covered the distance in 3:53, with Blanchard running for 20 and 8 yards on consecutive plays to move the team deep into Skyhawks territory.
Middleton capped off the nine-play drive with his 4-yard run, setting off a celebration from the crowd of 17,919.
But the high-powered UT-Martin offense wasn't finished.
Starting at their own 15 with 34 seconds left, the Skyhawks moved to the JSU 42 in five plays. Facing a second-and-10 with six seconds remaining, quarterback Derek Carr hooked up with Stephen Shiver on a 27-yard completion, but Shiver was forced out of bounds at the JSU 15 as time expired.
“I was proud that some of the things got better as we played on,” Crowe said. “Not all of them did.
“What does this say about the future? It says we've got a lot to get done. It doesn't say that we can't accomplish anything, it just says we're a LONG way away from it.”
That future isn't likely to include starting quarterback Marques Ivory. The senior from Warner Robins, Ga., sustained a fractured right fibula during the first half and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday.
Blanchard, the hero of last year's win at Ole Miss, completed 9-of-17 passes for a JSU career-high 133 yards and one touchdown. He also ran nine times for 32 yards.
Jacksonville State trailed 17-7 at halftime after surrendering 285 total yards.
The Gamecocks' only first-half points came on Ivory's 22-yard pass to tight end Justin Howard with 9:54 left in the second quarter.
Esco's field goal early in the third quarter drew Jacksonville State to within 17-10. But the visitors got field goals of 25 and 45 yards from Sandlin to stretch their lead to 23-10 early in the fourth.
Ealey ran for 41 yards on 13 carries in his Gamecock debut, while Middleton finished with 28 yards on 10 attempts.
Jacksonville State travels to Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is 5 p.m. CDT.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Jacksonville State vs. UT Martin
Sept. 1, 2011
JSU Head Coach Jack Crowe
“I think it goes without saying, that was as bad of football as we have seen in a long time. I think we got whipped in about every area, but we won the game. The interesting thing to me was seeing how people handled being in new situations. I think our safeties got out of position more than I ever thought they would've and gave up a lot of big plays”
On the Offense…
“Offensively, we did not have any consistency and so you know it was just left to just make plays, I guess you could just say Coty (Blanchard) is just back to where he was last year and he is a guy that knows how to make plays and I think the players rallied around him. We didn't have much of anything in sync and you add to that, that we were missing some players and they only thing you can say about that is we played with a lot of heart we lost out poise but we never lost our composure."
On the end of the game…
“I think at the end what was defined was a bunch of guys refused to lose because we certainly did everything to lose. I think the seniors are the glue whenever it comes down to the situations. All I said was give it to Calvin (Middleton), he's not going to be tackled. I think as the game went on we took control of the line of scrimmage.”
POST-GAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior RB Calvin Middleton, junior DB Brooks Robinson, senior DE Jamison Wadley.
- Jacksonville State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- Since 1904, JSU has compiled an overall record of 47-47-7 in season openers... The Gamecocks are 6-6 in season openers under Jack Crowe.
- With Jax State's game-winning touchdown with 38 seconds left in the contest, it has now claimed 14 wins in the final 2:00 minutes of the game dating back to the 1993 season...Including tonight's win over UTM, JSU has posted five of those wins over the last two seasons.
- The Gamecocks have won back-to-back season-openers for the first time since the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
- JSU has an overall record of 44-19-3 in home openers since the Gamecocks moved to Burgess-Snow Field in 1946. The Gamecocks are 10-2 in home openers under Jack Crowe.
- Jax State played on Thursday night for the third time in the program's Division I history and the first time since 2005...The last time JSU opened conference play on a Thursday night was against Nicholls to open the 1972 campaign.
- Sophomore QB Coty Blanchard turned in a career-high 133 yards passing, besting his previous mark of 126 in his collegiate debut...his nine completions was also a new career mark.
- Senior MLB Brannon Byrd started in place of penciled in starter Clarence Jackson.
- Senior DB Robert Gray snagged his third interception of his career, halting UT Martin's second possession...his first interception since last season at Eastern Illinois (9/25/10).
- Senior TE Justin Howard hauled in Jax State's first TD of the season in the second quarter...It marks Howard's sixth of his career and second in the last three games (TD at Tennessee Tech).
- Playing in his first game as a Gamecock, sophomore LB Rashad Smith posted a team-best nine tackles.
- Senior long snapper Brandon Rogers recovered his first career fumble after a Jax State punt.
- Freshman WR made a rousing Jax State debut with a 60-yard kick off return to open the second half, which led to a Jax State FG on the half's opening drive....The Centre, Ala.-product finished with 104 return yards on three kick off returns.
- Junior RB Washaun Ealey, who came to JSU from Georgia, recorded his first TD in a Gamecock uniform with a 43-yard catch and run from QB Coty Blanchard in the fourth quarter.
- WR Trey Smith caught a pair of passes for 16 yards in his first game as a Gamecock...Smith, a native of Perry, Ga., came to JSU from Western Michigan.
JSU BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Straight wins to open Ohio Valley Conference play dating back to the 2008 league opener.
5 - Consecutive wins in Jacksonville over the Skyhawks of UTM.
10 - Wins under Jack Crowe in conference-opening games.
15 - Newcomers saw action for the first time in a Gamecock uniform.
26.8 - Average yards per kick off return on six attempts.
49 - OVC wins by Jax State since joining the league.
54 - OVC wins with 300-plus total offense in 64 league games.
112 - Yards of offense in the second half.
113 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.
161 - Total yards on kick off return yards by JSU.
475 - The most total yards given up by Jax State since allowing 479 yards to Ole Miss in last season's opener,
17,919 - Attendance for Jax State's Thursday night season opener.
Team Stats
UTM
JSU
Total Yards
475
300
Pass Yards
325
189
Rushing Yards
150
111
Penalty Yards
65
40
1st Downs
23
19
3rd Downs
5
3
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
23:38
32:30
1st Quarter
UTM 7, JSU 0
UTM - BARKSDALE, Tevi 4 yd run (SANDLIN, Cody kick), 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:20
2nd Quarter
UTM 10, JSU 0
UTM - SANDLIN, Cody 43 yd field goal 5 plays, 21 yards, TOP 1:08
UTM 10, JSU 7
JSU - HOWARD,Justin 22 yd pass from IVORY,Marques (ESCO,James kick) 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 4:09
UTM 17, JSU 7
UTM - PERRY, Jarvis 13 yd pass from CARR, Derek (SANDLIN, Cody kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:02
3rd Quarter
UTM 17, JSU 10
JSU - ESCO,James 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 38 yards, TOP 3:36
UTM 20, JSU 10
UTM - SANDLIN, Cody 25 yd field goal 4 plays, -5 yards, TOP 1:25
4th Quarter
UTM 23, JSU 10
UTM - SANDLIN, Cody 45 yd field goal 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 0:00
UTM 23, JSU 17
JSU - EALEY,Washaun 43 yd pass from BLANCHARD,Coty (ESCO,James kick) 2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:50
UTM 23, JSU 24
JSU - MIDDLETON,Calvi 4 yd run (ESCO,James kick), 9 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:49
Game Leaders
CMP
9
TD
1
YDS
133
INT
0
CMP
5
TD
1
YDS
56
INT
0
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