FINAL STATS | PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – Saturday's Jacksonville State-Eastern Kentucky showdown was a de facto playoff play-in game for both teams.

The Gamecocks, one of four teams that began the day with two OVC losses, were in desperate need of a win to have an outside shot at the league title and keep their playoff hopes alive.

With Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Illinois having already beaten EKU, the Colonels arrived at Burgess-Snow Field looking to maintain their grip on second place in the league standings.

The opportunistic Gamecocks (8-2, 4-2 OVC) ran roughshod over Eastern Kentucky to claim a 68-10 victory in front of a crowd of 16,876. The win was JSU's third straight and snapped the Colonels' three-game win streak in the series.

The 68 points were the most ever scored by Jacksonville State against an OVC opponent, eclipsing the previous record of 59 scored against UT-Martin in 2004.

"It was as good a performance as I've ever been involved with," Jacksonville State coach Bill Clark said. "I knew we were ready. We took some chances and it paid off."

Eli Jenkins ran for three touchdowns and DaMarcus James and Troymaine Pope had two each as the Gamecocks piled up 503 yards of total offense.

James now has 19 TDs this year, tying him with Oscar Bonds (2004) for most in JSU history in a single season. The junior from Demopolis has scored 18 touchdowns over his last seven games.

Eastern Kentucky – which came to Jacksonville riding a four-game win streak – fell to 6-4 and 4-2.

Jacksonville State led 40-3 at halftime after holding the OVC's top rushing team to 25 yards on 24 carries. It was the most points in a half by a Gamecocks' squad since scoring 41 in the second half against Cumberland in 2001.

JSU scored on six of its nine offensive possessions in the first half and added a defensive TD when linebacker Michael Carlisle forced an EKU fumble and Ketrick Wolfe recovered in the end zone. Wolfe's score was the Gamecocks' third touchdown in a span of 6 minutes, 12 seconds.

Jacksonville State outgained the Colonels 339-67 in the first half and 503-213 for the game.

Griffin Thomas got the onslaught started with a career-long 52-yard field goal on JSU's second series. Thomas' kick also tied Steven Lee's 10-year-old school mark for longest field goal.

Ben Endress blocked an Eastern Kentucky punt moments later and JSU needed just two plays to get into the end zone.

Pope ran in from the 6 with 7:37 to go in the first quarter to give the Gamecocks a 9-0 lead.

The Colonels got on the scoreboard with a 34-yard field goal by Andrew Lloyd at the 2:53 mark in the first quarter to cut JSU's lead to 9-3.

Jacksonville State's 21 points in just over six minutes turned what had been a close game into a rout.

James scored on an 11-yard run to cap a six-play drive that consumed just 1 minute, 44 seconds. Thomas' extra point made it 16-3, the most points the Gamecocks had scored in a first quarter in four seasons.

Backup quarterback Jenkins sprinted 71 yards up the middle for a score and Thomas tacked on the PAT for a 23-3 lead with 10:55 left in the second. Wolfe's fumble recovery in the end zone 57 seconds later extended JSU's cushion to 30-3 early in the second quarter.

James finished off an eight-play, 62-yard drive with a 9-yard run with 2:20 remaining in the second, moving him into a tie with Bonds atop JSU's single-season touchdown record.

Thomas's 33-yard field goal, his second of the game, on the final play of the first half made it 40-3.

"That's one of the best halves I've ever been part of, and I'm talking about against a good team," Clark said. "The team totally bought in and believed in what we were telling them all week."

Starting quarterback Max Shortell threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to freshman Josh Barge and Jenkins ran five yards as Jacksonville State pushed its lead to 54-10 by the end of the third quarter.

Eastern Kentucky's only touchdown came on its first drive after halftime when the Colonels marched 79 yards in 20 plays, capped by Jared McClain's 2-yard run. The time-consuming drive ate 8 minutes, 21 seconds off the clock.
In the fourth quarter, Pope tacked on a 25-yard run and Jenkins went 21 yards for the Gamecocks' final points with 4:35 remaining.

Jenkins led the Gamecocks with 120 yards rushing on only seven carries. Shortell completed 14-of-20 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown.

The Gamecocks face their biggest challenge of the season when they travel to face No. 2 Eastern Illinois at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill. The Panthers are 9-1, 6-0 in OVC, following their 37-17 win at Murray State on Saturday.

Eastern Illinois currently has a streak of scoring in 122 consecutive games, the longest streak of any OVC school. EIU senior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the Football Championship Subdivision in total passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing yards/game and was second ranked in total offense and points responsible/game prior to his team's game against Murray State.

Kickoff is at noon.

POST-GAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Senior OL Taylor Johnstone, senior LB Brenton Tolson, and senior K Griffin Thomas
- EKU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- EKU leads the all-time series 6-5
- JSU is now 60-10 since 2000 when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
- JSU improves to 96-57-3 all-time in the month of November
- Griffin Thomas kicked a 52-yard field to give JSU an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter, which was a career-high for Thomas and also tied the school record set by Steven Lee at Murray State on Oct. 4, 2003.
- Ben Endress blocked his second punt of the season when he got his hands on the Colonels punt attempt in the first quarter. It was the Gamecocks' first block since Endress blocked a punt against Georgia State on Sept. 21, 2013. He is now tied with seven players for fourth place in JSU history with two blocked kicks in one season and the first player to block multiple kicks since current Gamecock Erick Butler blocked three kicks in 2012.
- Thomas now has 32 career field goals, tying him for the third-most made field goals in a carrer at JSU with Chris Hobbs (1981-84).
- Thomas has now kicked two or more field goals in eight games this season.
- Troymaine Pope scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on his six-yard run in the first quarter, marking the first time he has scored a rushing touchdown this season since scoring three rushing touchdowns against Jacksonville on Sept. 7. 2013.
- Pope's 25 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the longest rushing touchdown in his career. His two rushing touchdowns also marked the second time in his career he has scored multiple touchdowns in a game.
- JSU scored 16 points in the first quarter, the most points the Gamecocks have scored in the opening quarter of a game since scoring 21 points in the 24-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 7, 2009.
- Eli Jenkins' 71-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the longest run of his career and also the longest rush by a Gamecock player this season. It is also now the 8th longest run in school history and the longest since Rondy Rogers 74 yard run against Southwest Texas on Oct. 20, 2001.
- Ketrick Wolfe's fumble recovery in the endzone marked the first time a JSU player returned a fumble for a touchdown since Pierre Warren's 75-yard return again Chattanooga on Sept. 8, 2012.
- Piere Warren intercepted his second pass of the season, tying him with Brenton Tolson for the team lead.
- The Gamecocks have now forced multiple turnovers in seven games this season after Wolfe's fumble recovery and Warren's interception.
- Martez House recovered his first career fumble when he jumped on an EKU fumble in the second quarter.
- JSU scored 40 points in the first half, the most points a JSU team has scored in a half since scoring 41 in the second half against Cumberland (TN) in 2001.
- JSU has now recorded 300 or more yards in eight games this season, giving the Gamecocks 74 games with over 300 yards of total offense in 85 OVC games.
- Josh Barge scored his first career touchdown with his nine-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. He also registered his fourth career 100-yard receiving game with five receptions for 106 yards.
- The Gamecocks finished with seven rushing touchdowns in the game, the most by a JSU team since scoring eight rushing touchdowns against Cumberland University on Aug. 30, 2001.
- Eli Jenkins scored three rushing touchdowns on the day, marking the first time in his career that he has scored multiple rushing touchdowns in a game. He is now the second player this season to score three or more touchdowns in one game, joining DaMarcus James, who has run for three three times and five once.
- Jenkins finished with a team-high 120 yards rushing, marking his second career 100-yard game.
- The Gamecocks' 68 points against EKU is tied for the second most points scored in a game in school history. JSU previously scored 68 points against Union College in 1999. It is the most points JSU has scored in an OVC game.
- JSU outscored EKU by 58 points, the sixth-largest margin of victory in school history and the largest since beating Cumberland 72-10 in 2001.
- Griffin Thomas finished the day connecting on 8-of-9 extra points, tying the school records for extra points made and attempted in a single game. Thomas finished with 14 points in the game. James Esco previously made eight extra points on Oct. 23, 2010 against Austin Peay while Gavin Hallford attempted nine extra points on Sept. 18 2004 against Chattanooga. Hallford also converted eight extra points two times in his career.
- The Gamecocks held EKU to 213 total yards for the game, marking the third-straight game that JSU has held an opponent to under 300 yards of total offense. It is the longest such streak since JSU held six-straight opponents to under 300 yards of total offense in 2009.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 - Consecutive games the Gamecocks have held an opponent to under 300 yards after limiting EKU to 213 yards of total offense.

7 - Number of consecutive games DaMarcus James has scored a rushing touchdown, adding to his school-record.

16 - Number of points scored by JSU in the first quarter, the most points the Gamecocks have scored in the opening quarter of a game since scoring 21 points in the 24-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 7, 2009.

19 - Number of touchdowns DaMarcus James has scored this, tying Oscar Bonds (2004) for the most all-time in a single season.

20 - Number of made field goals this season for Griffin Thomas, the second-most in a single season at JSU. He trails Gavin Hallford's total of 22 set in 2007.

25 - Number of straight trips inside the "Red Zone" that the Gamecocks scored before Telvin Brown's fumble at the one yard line in the second quarter.

28- Number of scoring drives under 2:00 this season after having eight scoring drives under two minutes in today's game.

58 - Margin of victory of tonight's game, the sixth-largest margin of victory in school history.

68 - The second most points scored in a game in school history. JSU previously scored 68 points against Union College in 1999.

250 - Number of wins the Gamecocks have at JSU Stadium since the stadium opened in 1946.



BILL CLARK QUOTES

Opening Comments:
"I don't think in your wildest dreams as a coach - you could ever fathom that your guys, against a really good team, could put every piece of the game together. From the intensity to the physicality, we executed the game plan in every phase. First you have to start with coaches that got these guys prepared, and how proud I am of them, and the players for believing in the game plan. I saw the hunger early in the week, and we said we were leaving no stone unturned. It was as good a win as I've been a part of, and I've been part of a few."

On postseason chances:
"I think it puts us in it. I think if we weren't in it, then we are now. We feel like we can compete with anybody. I think we have to be in the conversation now. The sad part was, the overtime loss to Murray State still haunts me. We said we had to win today to be in it. That's been our dream since we got here, but we still have two more and I think in this league a lot of things can happen."

On offensive outburst against EKU's defense:
"We said we can't do what is expected. If you broke down every formation we ran, and every personnel grouping, it was different. I may have been the one that said this is what we are going to do, but they are the ones that did it. They went and made this game plan. They stayed here in all hours of the night. I didn't think you could work many more hours than we already worked, but we found a way this week. They were able to change up there tendencies, and we executed."

On the two quarterbacks:
"It was great. What was cool about it was that we interchanged them in series. I can just see someone coming in here and saying you went out and changed them during the series, and nobody does that, but we did it. We felt good about it. We said this guy does these things well, and that guy does those things well, so why not let them do it. What's so neat about it is it keeps them in the game. I think there is a problem when you say you have the first two series, and you have the second two series."




PLAYER QUOTES

Junior QB Max Shortell
"We just came out with a lot of energy tonight. Both the offense and defense really dominated. Offensively, we just felt like we had a good gameplan going in and we just executed it."

About returning from injury
"It felt good to be back. I was a little shaky at first but once I got in rhythm with our receivers it felt awesome to be back on the field. It's tough to be on the sidelines, that's for sure."

Freshman QB Eli Jenkins
"We always knew we could put up points. I can't say we knew we were going to score that many points against Eastern Kentucky because they've got a pretty good defense. The whole week we were preparing to put up big numbers and we came out and did it."

If anything was said to motivate the offense for EKU
"We just put it all on the line. We just kept saying, 'it's nothing to lose. We're just going to go out there and give it all we got.' That's what we did."

Junior LB Ben Endress
About his blocked punt
"Our coaches specify to us every week that special teams can change a game, turn the game around. I feel like that was a pretty big shift in momentum. We got the ball right there on the goal line and scored a couple of plays later. I definitely think that turned the game around a little bit."

Senior LB Rashad Smith
"It's been a long time coming, three years, stress. It was a little revenge right there.
Before the game, we already knew there was nothing to say. There was no need for speeches or anything like that. We could see it in our eyes. Honestly, I teared up twice before the game."

About the 2011 EKU game being in their minds at halftime
"We were talking about that at halftime. We were making sure because that was the most sickening moment in my life. I've never felt this passionate against a team in my life."

Freshman WR Josh Barge
About his first career touchdown
"It was a touchdown. Coming from high school, I'm used to scoring. It's been stressful, but finally getting the first touchdown out the way is a big deal. Max (Shortell) made the throw. I made the catch. Nothing amazing. I just felt like it was right."