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JACKSONVILLE – There will not be a return trip to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs for Jacksonville State.
 
Sam Houston State held No. 3 JSU scoreless in the second half Saturday afternoon to claim a 37-26 victory in a second-round FCS playoff game at Burgess-Snow Field. The Gamecocks concluded their first season under head coach John Grass with a 10-2 record.
 
Quarterback Jared Johnson threw three touchdowns and ran for another as the Bearkats (10-4) overcame a 26-24 halftime deficit. The sophomore finished with 246 total yards (161 passing, 85 rushing).
 
"We knew Sam Houston State was a well-coached and very talented football team. We knew it was going to be a war," said Grass. "They just made a few more plays than we did.
 
"Our guys played extremely hard (and) played the game physical. We did not play a bad game. At times we played extremely well today."
 
The win over its former Southland Conference foe propels Sam Houston into the quarterfinals, where it will face the winner of the Liberty-Villanova matchup.
 
The Gamecocks, who had allowed just six touchdowns in 21 previous quarters, gave up 24 points in the first half, but carried a two-point lead to the locker room on Connor Rouleau's 42-yard field goal as time expired.
 
Jacksonville State piled up 351 total yards in the first half against a Bearkat defense that was giving up 406.7 per game. The Gamecocks surpassed that total with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Jacksonville State, however, managed just over 100 yards the rest of the game.
 
"There wasn't a lot of changes going on (at halftime)," said Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler. "We talked about we needed to go tackle and put them on the ground and get them out of bounds.
 
"They made some big plays early in the game and it rattled our guys, but we kept on playing."
 
The host Gamecocks struck quickly, taking the opening kickoff and covering 70 yards in five plays for their first lead.
 
Eli Jenkins connected with Josh Barge for 40 yards on the game's fourth play to the Sam Houston 1. Senior running back DaMarcus James scored on the next play and Rouleau's extra point made it 7-0 with 13:35 left in the first quarter.
 
James' 49th career rushing touchdown eclipsed the school record previously held by David Gulledge (1987-90).
 
Johnson answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Hill to tie it at 7-7.
 
The teams traded scores the rest of the half, with SHSU taking a 24-23 lead on Luc Swimberghe's 29-yard field goal with 3:09 left in the second.
 
Jenkins completed 12-of-24 passes for 253 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Goffigan in the first quarter. He also rushed 18 times for 115 yards, accounting for 368 yards total.
 
DeMarcus James gained 128 yards on 19 carries and finishes his Gamecock career with 3,554 yards, second place all-time behind Boyce Callahan (4,237 yards).




POST-GAME NOTES
• JSU Capitans: Max Holcombe (OL), Devaunte Sigler (DL), DaMarcus James (RB), Ben Endress (LB).
• Sam Houston State won the toss and defers to the second half.
• The loss drops Jax State's all-time record in the NCAA playoffs to 17-14.
• Quarterback Eli Jenkins set a JSU postseason individual record as he finished with 337 yards of total offense. Jenkins threw for 253 yards while rushing for 84 yards. The previous mark was set by Ed Lett with 316 yards against Southwest Texas in the first round of the 1981 playoffs.
• Running back DaMarcus James set a school record by scoring his 49th rushing touchdown of his career. The mark was set on the Gamecocks' first score 1:25 seconds into the game.
• Senior Max Holcombe set a school record by playing in his 49th game for the Gamecocks. The previous mark was 48 by former kicker Griffin Thomas (2010-13). He holds the Ohio Valley Conference and school record with 49 consecutive starts.
• Receiver Josh Barge moved into fourth on the Gamecock career receiving list as he finished with 52 yards and now has 1,804 yards on his young career. He passed James Wilkerson (2006-06) who finished his career with 1,780.
• Following Sam Houston State's touchdown with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter, it marked the first time Jacksonville State has trailed in a game since the first quarter against Tennessee State on Oct. 25.
•  JSU has 33 scoring drives of less than 2:09 this season. In addition, the Gamecocks have 46 scoring drives of 3:00 or less this season.
• Since opening in 1946, Jacksonville State is 257-99-8 at JSU Stadium. The Gamecocks are 32-6 in their last 38 games at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium and 28-6.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
0.59: Sam Houston State was 10-for-17 (59 percent) on third down during the game Saturday afternoon.
4: Jacksonville State faced its fourth ranked opponent when the Gamecocks welcomed Sam Houston State to Jacksonville Saturday afternoon.
11: Redshirt senior Michael Carlisle finished the game by tying his career-high with 11 tackles, three of which were for loss, setting a career-high in that category.
19: By finishing the game with 128 rushing yards, running back DaMarcus James has now rushed for 100-or more yards in a JSU school record 19 games.
42: As the second quarter was expiring, kicker Connor Rouleau tied his career-long by nailing a 42-yard field goal.
73: Midway through the first quarter, Spencer Goffigan hauled in a 2nd down pass and turned it into a 73-yard touchdown reception. It's the longest reception of the redshirt senior's career and second of his career.
108: Linebacker Ben Endress surpassed 100 tackles on the season.  The senior finished the game with a total of 108 for the season.
402: With 402 total yards, Sam Houston State racked up the most yards against a Gamecock defense in a postseason game.