PHOTO GALLERY | FINAL STATS
JACKSONVILLE – The renewal of the rivalry between Jacksonville State and North Alabama after a 10-year hiatus didn't feature the offensive fireworks of past meetings.
But the one-time Gulf South Conference rivals still managed another classic in their 45th meeting before a crowd of 20,834 at Burgess-Snow Field Saturday night. Senior Griffin Thomas kicked a school-record five field goals and Division II UNA's upset bid ended when Lions kicker Michael Schuster missed a 37-yarder as Jacksonville State escaped with a 24-21 double-overtime victory.
Thomas booted field goals of 26 and 20 yards in overtime to go with kicks of 50, 44 and 42 yards during regulation. UNA had forced overtime by driving 70 yards in 11 plays late in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 18-18 on Luke Wingo's five-yard pass to Lee Mayhall with 13 seconds remaining.
Schuster's 26-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime gave the Lions (1-1) their only lead. Thomas answered with a 26-yard kick on Jacksonville State's first series to send the game to a second overtime period tied at 21-21.
Thomas set a school record with his fifth field goal in the second OT. UNA advanced to the 20, but Schuster – who had missed from 32 yards as time expired in the second quarter – was wide right, setting off a raucous celebration on the JSU sideline.
"The overtime was pretty nerve-wracking," said Thomas. "We were already down there in field goal position, so you know you're going to get a chance to kick it – you're obviously ready for that."
Jacksonville State has won its last five overtime games and is now 5-4 all-time in OT games.
"I thought the defense played outstanding tonight," said first-year Jacksonville State coach Bill Clark. "Special teams were obviously outstanding with Griffin Thomas doing the things he did. If we would have kept North Alabama out of the end zone at the end of the game, we wouldn't have ended up in overtime."
Jacksonville State ran its record to 3-0 for the first time since 2010. The Gamecocks play Georgia State next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Georgia Dome.
The Gamecocks led 10-0 after the first quarter. Running back Troymaine Pope's first pass as a collegian went for a 53-yard touchdown to Markis Merrill on the JSU's first offensive play and Thomas added a 50-yard field goal five minutes later as the Gamecocks appeared poised to turn the game into a rout.
UNA closed to within 10-2 with a safety on the first play of the second quarter when Eli Jenkins was sacked in the end zone by Shaquille Smith. But Jacksonville State's Thomas capped a short drive set up by a UNA fumble with another field goal for a 13-2 halftime lead.
Jacksonville State's offense, which had 190 yards in the first two quarters, struggled to find its rhythm after halftime.
Schuster's 49-yard field goal capped a 10-play drive late in the third quarter that saw the Lions close the gap to 13-5. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, managed just 23 yards in the third quarter and 44 yards in the fourth, allowing UNA to stay within striking distance.
Wingo engineered a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive to start the fourth quarter and capped it with a 1-yard run with 11:04 remaining. The Lions, trailing 13-11, opted for a two-point conversion attempt, but Wingo's pass fell incomplete.
Hamish MacInnes' punt on the ensuing JSU possession pinned UNA at its 1. A poor snap resulted in a safety for the Gamecocks, making it 15-11 at the 8:25 mark.
Thomas' field goal with just over three minutes remaining pushed JSU's lead to 18-11.
The teams were penalized a combined 30 times, with Jacksonville drawing a school-record 17 flags for 159 yards. The Gamecocks have only been penalized eight times for 60 yards in wins over Alabama State and Jacksonville.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior TE Jerry Slota, senior OLB James Powell and senior LB Rashad Smith.
- UNA won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- JSU won the toss in overtime and elected to start on defense.
- JSU leads the all-time series 24-18-3.
- JSU is now 5-4 in overtime contests and has won five straight.
- Bill Clark becomes just the second head coach in JSU history to win his first three games, joining Jim Fuller, who started his career with five-straight wins in 1977.
- JSU has now recorded 17 wins in the final 2:00 of the game since the 1993 season.
- This was the fifth double-overtime game in JSU history and the first since JSU beat Ole Miss in double-overtime on Sept. 4, 2010.
- JSU is now 2-3 all-time in double-overtime victories.
- Troymaine Pope threw his first career pass when he connected with Markis Merrill for a 53 yard touchdown strike in the first quarter.
- The catch was also the first career touchdown catch for Merrill as well as the longest catch in his career.
- Pope's touchdown pass was the first touchdown pass by a non-quarterback since John Houston Whiddon threw a 37 yard touchdown pass against Chattanooga on Sept. 20, 2008. Raynodd Zeine was the last running back to complete a touchdown pass when he threw a 30 yard touchdown pass against Furman on Sept. 1, 2005.
- Griffin Thomas set a new career best with a 50 yard field goal in the first quarter. That is the fourth longest field goal in school history and the longest since Steven Lee kicked a 51 yard field goal on Nov. 22, 2003.
- JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins was sacked for a safety in the second quarter. It was the first time a JSU opponent scored a safety since Austin Peay recorded a safety on Nov. 10, 2012 after JSU snap a punt out of the endzone.
- Brandon Bender tied a school record for forced fumbles in a game with two against the Lions. They were the first two forced fumbles of his career. He also recovered one of those.
- Brenton Tolson recorded his second interception of the season when he picked off a UNA pass in the third quarter. He entered the season with one career interception and already has two interceptions on the year, bringing his career total to three interceptions.
- Barry Stafford recorded his first career sack when he chased down UNA QB Luke Wingo in the third quarter.
- JSU recorded a safety in the fourth quarter when a UNA snap went out of the endzone, marking the first time the Gamecocks have recorded a safety in a game since Sept. 27, 2008 against #16 Eastern Illinois.
- Griffin Thomas set a career high and a new school record with five field goals made on six attempts, breaking his previous career best of three field goals made on four attempts against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 16, 2012. Gavin Hallford previously made four field goals in a game three times. Hallford and Steven Lee both previously attempted five in a game.
- Hamish MacInnes tied his career high with 8 punts. He previously punted eight times this season against Alabama State on August 31, 2012.
- Anthony Johnson set a new career-high with six catches.
- Troymaine Pope set a new career-high with 22 carries, breaking his previous career best of 16 carries last week against Jacksonville.
- Eli Jenkins set a new career-high with 19 carries, breaking his previous career best of 15 carries last week against Jacksonville.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 - Number of field goals kicked by Griffin Thomas, setting a new school record for field goals made in a game
5 - Straight overtime victories for JSU.
10 - Number of points scored by the Gamecocks in the first quarter, breaking a scoreless streak of four games. JSU had not scored in the first quarter since scoring seven points against UT Martin on Nov. 3, 2012.
16 – Points scored by kicker Griffin Thomas (5 FG, 1 PAT), tying Gavin Hallford's school record for points scored by kicking in a game. Hallford scored 16 at Murray State on Sept. 28, 2007.
17 - Number of penalties committed by JSU, the most in a single game in JSU's school history.
20 – Field goals Griffin Thomas has now made in his career, moving him into the top 10 in school history in that category. He is tied with Lee Sutherland (1993-93) and Brad Hopkins (1998-00) for ninth on the school's career field goals list.
50 – yard on Griffin Thomas' first field goal, making him just the fifth Gamecock to kick a 50-plus yarder. He joins Ray Vollenweider (50 in 1981) and Steven Lee (52, 51 and 51 in 2003).
20,834 - Attendance at tonight's game, the second-largest home crowd in school history.
