PHOTO GALLERY | FINAL STATS

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's regular season resumé is complete.

The Gamecocks hung on to defeat Southeast Missouri State 42-34 before a crowd of 12,927 on Senior Day at Burgess-Snow Field to solidify their credentials for a spot in the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoff field.

Jacksonville State (9-3, 5-3 in Ohio Valley Conference) will find out its fate Sunday at 10:30 a.m. during the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Selection Show on ESPNU. First-round games will be conducted at eight campus sites on Nov. 30.

"We just told our guys 'Let's just see what happens in the morning,' " said Jacksonville State head coach Bill Clark. "I told the seniors we were so proud of them and they might be stuck with me one more week."

The Gamecocks quickly put the disappointment of last week's loss at No. 2 Eastern Illinois behind them by scoring on their first three possessions. DaMarcus James ran for three touchdowns as Jacksonville State raced to a 28-6 lead at halftime.

James finished with a career-high 206 yards on 35 carries, one of three Gamecock ball carriers with more than 100 yards against the OVC's second-worst rush defense. Quarterback Eli Jenkins added 124 yards and Troymaine Pope had 102 on only six carries.

"What a great game that kid played. He was unbelievable," Clark said about James. "That sucker just keeps fighting and keeps fighting. If there's a better one out there I want to see him. I love that kid because he comes and works every day with the right attitude."

James extended his school record for rushing touchdowns in a season to 23, four more than Oscar Bonds' previous record of 19 set in 2004, and set a new OVC mark, passing Eastern Kentucky's Elroy Harris' record of 21 set in 1988.

Jacksonville State piled up 587 total yards, including 440 on the ground.

The Gamecocks posted 5,244 yards of total offense in the 12 games, eclipsing the school record of 4,882 set in 1991. The 1991 record was set in 14 games.

Clark's ninth win in his first season ties him with Jim Fuller (1977) for the most regular season wins by a first-year head coach in JSU history. Fuller went 9-2 in his first season at the Gamecocks' helm, then won a pair of playoff games to finish 11-3 overall.

Pope finished off a pair of seven-play scoring drives in the second half with TD runs of 21 and 3 yards. The sophomore's 3-yard scoring run gave Jacksonville State its biggest lead, 42-13, with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter.

But the resilient Redhawks (3-9, 2-6) refused to fold in their season finale. SEMO piled up 21 unanswered points in just over seven minutes to start the fourth quarter, closing the deficit to 42-34 with 7:41 to go.

SEMO had one last shot to pull even after Jacksonville State's Griffin Thomas missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with 2:26 remaining.

Starting at their 29, the Redhawks moved downfield to JSU's 15 in 12 plays, but backup quarterback Kyle Snyder's 9-yard pass to Peter Lloyd on fourth down came up a yard short and the Gamecocks ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

"We played really great for a half," Clark said. "It was still a good night and we're glad to get out of here (with a win)."

Jacksonville State registered its most first-quarter points since 2009 as James scored on runs of 1 and 15 yards and Jenkins added a 7-yard TD in the game's first 12 minutes.

James later added his third TD, an 8-yard run, to cap a 74-yard, 10-play JSU drive. Thomas' extra point made it 28-6 with 3:16 left before intermission.

SEMO's offense racked up 463 total yards, with DeMichael Jackson netting 183 of their 410 rushing yards. Lewis Washington added 111 yards on 14 carries.

POSTGAME NOTES
- On Senior Day, captains for the Gamecocks were all 14 seniors: LB Ketrick Wolfe, DB Jamill Lott, LB Harris Gaston, LB Robert Gray, TE Jerry Slota, SAF Arias Lockheart, LB Brenton Tolson, LB James Powell, LB Rashad Smith, OL Taylor Johnstone, TE Gavin Ellis, WR Mike Bradford, PK Griffin Thomas, DL Barry Stafford.
- SEMO won the toss and deferred to the 2nd half.
- JSU's 21 first-quarter points are the most in a first quarter by the Gamecocks since scoring 21 on Nov. 7, 2009, also against SEMO.
- The Gamecocks finish the regular season with 5,244 yards of total offense, breaking the school record of 4,882 set in 1991. The 1991 record was set in 14 games.
- DaMarcus James broke the OVC's single season rushing touchdown record with his three TDS in today's game. He now has 23 this season, passing Eastern Kentucky's Elroy Harris, who scored 21 in 1988.
- DaMarcus James ran for a career-high 206 yards in today's game, his first career 200-yard rushing game and just the fourth in the school's Division I history. His 206 yards ranks seventh in scool history for rushing yards in a game.
- With his three rushing touchdowns, junior DaMarcus James added to his school record for rushing TDS in a single season. He now has 23 in 2013, four more than Oscar Bonds' previous record of 19 set in 2004.
- With his 206 rushing yards, DaMarcus James became just the second Gamecock to run for 1,000 yards in a season since 2006 (Washaun Ealey in 2011). He finishes the regular season with 1,180 yards on the year.
- With his 1,180 rushing yards on the year, DaMarcus James climbs to sixth in school history for most rushing yards in a season, passing Boyce Callahan's 1,087 yards in 1972.
- James' has now scored 180 points in his career, moving him into a tie for 10th most in school history in career points. He broke the school's single-season scoring record last week.
- James' 206 yards marks the sixth time he's surpassed 100 yards this season and the 11th time in his career.
- Freshman Joshua Barge finishes the regular season with 751 receiving yards on 49 catches, both JSU freshman records. His 49 catches are tied for the seventh most in a season in school history, while his 751 yards ranks ninth in the school record books.
- Griffin Thomas finishes the regular season with 108 points scored, the school record for points by kicking (Gavin Hallford 99 in 2007).
- Thomas' has now scored 183 points in his career, sixth most in a career in school history by a kicker.
- Troymaine Pope's two rushing touchdowns give him his third multi-TD game of the year. He ran for three vs. Jacksonville on 9/7 and two vs. EKU on 11/9.
- Bill Clark's 9-3 record gives hime the second-most wins by a first-year coach in JSU history (11 by Jim Fuller in 1977). His .750 winning percentage is the fourth-highest by a first-year coach at JSU (.883 by J.W. Stephenson in 1920, .786 by Fuller in 1977, .778 by Jim Blevins in 1965).
- Clark's nine wins ties Fuller in 1977 for the most regular-season wins by a first-year coach in JSU history.
- Sophomore Hamish MacInnes finishes the regular season with a 42.3 average yards per punt, the seventh-highest average in school history.
- Senior Linebacker Rashad Smith now has 288 tackles in his JSU career, fourth-most in school history.
- Pierre Warren's interception in the second quarter is the third of the season for the junior from Marbury, Ala., native and the sixth of his career.
- Jenkins finished with 147 yards passing, breaking his previous career best of 99 yards set earlier this season against Tennessee State.

BY THE NUMBERS
14 - Seniors that played their final regular season game for JSU this afternoon.
21 - 1st quarter points by JSU, most since 21 also against SEMO on 11/7/09.
23 - Rushing TDs by DaMarcus James this season, breaking Elroy Harris' (EKU) previous record of 21 in 1988.
23 - Rushing touchdowns by DaMarcus James on the year, adding to his school record and a new OVC single-season record.
206 - Rushing yards by DaMarcus James, just the fourth 200-yard rushing game in JSU's Division I history.
288 - Career tackles by senior LB Rashad Smith, fourth-most in a career in JSU history.
418 - Points scored by JSU this season, second most in a season in school history (record is 421 by 1991).
440 - Number of rushing yards the Gamecocks finished with on the game, the 5th most rushing yards in a game in school history.
5,244 - Yards of Total Offense by the Gamecocks this season, breaking the school record of 4,882 set in 1991.Coach Bill Clark:



BILL CLARK QUOTES

Opening Statement:
"I think options are a great start for us, especially offensively. This was Eli's (Jenkins) week. We had Max a little banged up and never could get him well throughout the week, so it was Eli's turn. We thought it was a good fit and felt like we could run the ball against them, and we did. Our offensive line did a great job and obviously DaMarcus (James) had a heck of a night. It was a good offensively. Defensively, we played really well. I was worried to death about them, because they are a big running team. When the fullback is a little bit bigger than your D-line, you get a little bit worried. They started rolling, and we had a difficult time stopping them."

On 4th down stop to seal the victory, despite allowing SEMO back in the game
"It's not the boy that cried wolf. We've been there before. I don't want to say we were over there partying, because guys were still in the game. We had a few guys get injured, and that slowed us down. We had that fumble, but they get us for having the extra guy on the field because we had an injury. That really bothered me because I knew we had them. Griffin (Thomas) never misses field goals, but he missed two tonight. I think it says a lot about our defense, that they could bow their neck at the end."

On DaMarcus James' performance
"DaMarcus James is such a fun guy to be around. He literally works like that every day. He doesn't say a lot, and he doesn't complain. He made some runs when people were there. He was just something to see tonight."

On DaMarcus James breaking records
"This is a guy who earns it. It's not just on talent. He comes and works like that in practice. Everyday he'll make his run, and throw the ball back. He does everything with a great attitude, and works hard in the weight room. When I go out there and say we have to have this first down, I feel pretty good he's going to get it. It's great to see a guy like that break these records. It's also great that I have him back for another year."

On setting school record for total offense
"This is how smart I am, I come in and take the job with no quarterbacks, and 100th on defense. So I'm not real smart. The quarterback that played today was at safety, we bring in another guy, and we have a walk-on. So we've taken an offense from that to set the record. That speaks for John (Gross) and the job the offensive staff and all the offensive players have done. I may have messed them up trying to run some clock. We've played three quarterbacks. How many people can win with three quarterbacks? I'm really proud of them, and excited about the future."



PLAYER QUOTES
DaMarcus James, Jr., DB
Asked about the OVC rushing touchdown record
"I feel good about it. I just feel like it's a blessing to have the opportunity to come out and play the game."

When asked about the type of year he had
"I feel it's been great. You never know when it's going to stop. You just keep going every day. You never know what you're going to get until it's over."

Eli Jenkins, R-Fr., QB
When asked what sparked the offensive outburst early in the game
"The whole week we've been saying we were going to play for our seniors. I'm not saying this is our last game, but it was our last regular season game. It was our seniors' last regular season game. We kept saying that we were going to play for them. We just always talked about getting out fast. I think we did pretty good today."

When asked about the playoffs
"I feel like if we get in we'll be hard to beat. If we get in, we'll keep playing. If we don't, it's been a good season. I feel like if we do get in we'll be hard to beat."

When asked about setting a new school record for offensive yards
"Coach Grass has done a really good job getting us ready for games. We go into the week with a game plan and he sticks with it. He asks us if we don't like something and he'll throw it out. We practice fast. We expected a big year. I think we got it."

Taylor Johnstone, R-Sr., OL
When asked about the possibility of this being his final game. What was the experience?
"It was great. The main goal of the day was just to get a win. A win puts us in contention for the playoffs still. The seniors overall, win ore lose, we just wanted to go out on a win. We accomplished it."

When asked about blocking for Eli Jenkins and DaMarcus James
"It's been one of the most fun things in my life—blocking for these two (Jenkins and James). I wouldn't want it any other way for my senior year."

When asked about the playoffs
"The first day coach Clark was here we broke it down on national champs so of course we wan to strive for that goal. It'd be great if we got in. We've got a pretty solid record. It'd be a lot better at 10-2 but it is what it is.

Rashad Smith, Sr., LB
When asked about the defensive stand the end of the game. Was the defense nervous or dicey?
"I feel like it's nervousness more for the fans just watching. When you're down there it's like you have confidence and you know you're going to get the job done."

"They made adjustments and it (the score) kind of bust open a little bit. But, we made quick adjustments right afterwards once we found out what they were trying to do. That's what it was. It was like a game of chess right there in the fourth quarter."