PHOTO GALLERY  |  FINAL STATS

RICHMOND, Ky. – It was all Eastern Kentucky in the Jacksonville State football's team's Ohio Valley Conference opener on Saturday, when the Colonels erupted for a 51-21 win at Roy  Kidd Stadium.

Eastern Kentucky (3-1, 1-0 OVC) took control early, and the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-1 OVC) couldn't bounce back in front of 13,700 fans. Quarterback T.J. Pryor threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns, while Matt Denham ran for 218 yards and two scores to lead the Colonels to 558 yards of total offense on a night that also saw EKU become just the 13th team to score 50 points against the Gamecocks in JSU's program history.

Jacksonville State's offense totaled 366 yards, 181 of those through the air by senior quarterback Marques Ivory. The native of Warner Robins, Ga., bounced back from an 0-for-6 start to complete 14 of his last 20 pass attempts with one score and two interceptions. He also moved up in the JSU record books, running his career passing yards to 3,243 and passing David Gulledge for ninth place in school history. His touchdown pass gives him 28 for his career, passing Ralph Brock in eighth in that category.

EKU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a Pryor pass to Denham and a run from the tailback to take early control of the game. JSU cut it the deficit to one possession early in the second quarter on a Coty Blanchard pass to Denzel Cheeks, which was followed by a two-point conversion by Jerry Slota that made EKU's lead 14-8.

The Colonels ran away, scoring three more times before taking a 34-8 lead into the half and then once more early in the third quarter to make it a 37-8 game.

Ivory found Gavin Ellis for the junior tight end's first touchdown reception as a Gamecock, a 23-yard toss that made it 37-15 late in the third, but EKU answered with two more scores to make it 51-15 just 15 seconds into the fourth quarter. It marked just the second time the Gamecocks have allowed 50 points or 500 yards against an OVC opponent since joining the league in 2003.

Sophomore DaMarcus James got JSU's last score later in the fourth, a three-yard run that posted the final score on the board and capped a 10-carry, 65-yard night for the Demopolis, Ala., native. Senior Washaun Ealey had 12 rushed for 47 yards.

In his first game of the season after missing the first two to a knee injury, senior widereceiver Trey Smith led JSU with three catches for 64 yards. Freshman Luke Smith, who entered the game without a catch in his young career, had three for 45 yards before the final horn blew.

In the return game, sophomore Gabriel Chambers returned six kickoffs for 186 yards, including a 73-yard return in the first quarter.

Sophomore Ben Endress notched a career-high 11 tackles for the JSU defense, while junior Rashad Smith added nine.

The Gamecocks will return home on Saturday to host Southeast Missouri at 3 p.m. at Burgess-Snow Field.

Post Game Notes
- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior QB Marques Ivory, senior LB Brooks Robinson, and senior DE DiMetrio Tyson
- EKU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- Jacksonville State had three players make their first career starts today vs EKU. Darrius Stephens (RB), Taylor Johnstone (LT), and Luke Smith (TE) on offense and Kyle Pope (LB) and Barry Stafford (DT) on defense. Jax State has now had 12 players make their first career start in 2012.
- JSU faced its first ranked FCS opponent of the year on Saturday. JSU entered the game ranked 24th and EKU 20th in the Sports Network Poll. This also marked the first time the two teams have played when EKU has been ranked. Jax State has been ranked the last five years when the two teams played. JSU is now 6-20 all-time against FCS ranked opponents
- JSU now trails the all-time series 6-4.
- JSU is now 10-3 all-time in conference openers under coach Jack Crowe. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Gamecock in conference openers.
- Erick Butler blocked his first career field goal when he got a hand on a 31-yard attempt in the first quarter. It was the first blocked field goal for JSU since Oct, 1 2011 against Murray State when Clarence Jackson blocked a kick in the second quarter.
- Butler's blocked extra point in the second quarter was JSU's first blocked extra point since Rodney Garrott blocked a PAT on Oct. 1, 2011 against Murray State.
- Luke Smith caught his first career pass in the first quarter when he hauled in a 17-yard pass from Coty Blanchard.
- Griffin Thomas had his second field goal of the season blocked when EKU blocked his 37-yard attempt in the first quarter.
- JSU was held scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season and the first time since Kentucky held the Gamecocks scoreless in the opening quarter on October 22, 2011.
- Trey Smith played in his first game of the season and caught his first pass of the season with a 48-yard reception early in the second quarter. He finished the game with three catches for 64 yards.
- Denzel Cheeks caught his first touchdown of the season on an 8-yard pass from Coty Blanchard for the Gamecocks' first score of the game.
- Jerry Slota caught a 2-point conversion pass from Coty Blanchard in the second quarter. It was the Gamecocks' first 2-point conversion since Blanchard connected with Calvin Middleton in double-overtime to give JSU a 49-48 win at Ole Miss on Sept. 4, 2010.
- EKU quarterback T.J. Pryor threw four touchdown passes in the first half against JSU. It was the most TD passes thrown in a half and the most TD passes thrown in a game since Riley Walker of Tennessee State threw four TDs against the Gamecocks on Oct. 16, 2004.
- Marquez Ivory has thrown an interception in back-to-back games for the first time since games against EKU and SEMO in 2010. It is only the second time in his career he has thrown an interception in back-to-back games.
- The 26-point halftime deficit was JSU's largest ever against an OVC opponent and the largest since trailing 27-0 at Georgia Tech on Aug. 28, 2008. It is the largest halftime deficit vs. an FCS foe since Western Kentucky led 28-0 on Nov. 29, 2003.
- Gavin Ellis caught his first career touchdown catch on a 23-yard TD pass from Marques Ivory in the fourth quarter.
- Ivory threw his 28th career touchdown pass tonight, moving him past Ralph Brock into 8th place in JSU history.
- Ivory now has 3,243 career passing yards, moving him past David Gulledge for ninth place on JSU's career passing yards list.
- EKU running back Matt Denham rushed for 219-yards and one touchdown on 24 carries tonight becoming the first player to rush for over 200-yards against JSU since Chad Cool of Murray State rushed for 213 yards on 21 carries on Oct. 8, 2005.
- Denham's 73-yard touchdown run is the longest run by a JSU opponenet this season.
- EKU scored 51 points, the most by a JSU opponent since EKU scored 52 last season against JSU and just the second time the Gamecocks have allowed 50 points to an OVC foe since joining the league in 2003.

By the Numbers
0 – Number of kicks freshman Erick Butler had blocked prior to Saturday's game.

2 - Number of kicks Erick Butler blocked on Saturday. He blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt and an extra point.

28 - Number of touchdown passes Marques Ivory has thrown in his career, 8th most in JSU history.

126 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.

562 - Total yards by EKU's offense, the second-most against the Gamecocks since Kansas gained 641 in 2003. Arkansas gained 564 earlier this year.

3,243 – Career passing yards by Marques Ivory, moving him past David Gulledge for ninth place in school history.