Box Score CHARLESTON, Ill. – Much like its previous visit to O'Brien Field, it took a while before Jacksonville State managed to pull away from upset-minded Eastern Illinois.
 
The Gamecocks overcame a five-point halftime deficit to claim a 30-14 victory and take sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference. Jacksonville State (6-1, 4-0) won its fifth in a row and extended the record conference winning streak to 28 straight.
 
The win did not come easily. The Panthers (5-3, 4-1) led 14-9 at halftime, the first time Jacksonville State had trailed at intermission of an OVC game since its last conference loss to Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2013.
 
Bryant Horn threw two touchdown passes to Krenwick Sanders in the third quarter as the Gamecocks shook off a sluggish start to post their 37^th straight regular-season win against non-FBS opponents.
 
JSU's defense did its part as well, limiting the Panthers to only 83 scrimmage yards over the final 30 minutes.
 
"We knew we were going to have to come out and change the momentum after halftime," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We came out with a different mindset against a good team, a playoff-caliber team. I thought we were smart with the football, and overall, pleased with the win."
 
Horn was an efficient 15-of-27 for 164 yards and contributed 66 rushing yards on 12 carries.
 
Tramel Terry led the Gamecocks on the ground with 84 yards. JSU finished with 417 total yards.
 
Reggie Hall – who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury – started the second-half rally with an interception of EIU quarterback Bud Martin, his second pickoff this season.
 
The offense then marched 69 yards in seven plays as Horn tossed a 34-yard touchdown to Sanders to give the Gamecocks their first lead, 16-14, with 11:04 left in the third.
 
"It was good to see Reggie running around out there and making that play," Grass said. "That was a really big play in the game."
 
EIU struck first late in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead, but Jacksonville State came back with a five-yard touchdown run from Terry to cut the deficit. A two-point conversion attempt failed, however, leaving the Gamecocks trailing 7-6.
 
The Panthers stretched it to 14-6 midway through the second quarter with a 51-yard touchdown drive. Cade Stinnett drew JSU to within 14-9 with a career-long 50-yard field goal with 23 seconds to go in the first half.
 
Stinnett had earlier missed a 49-yard kick that hit the upright and bounced away. He attempted a 52-yarder in the third that had plenty of distance with the 15 mph wind at his back, but missed wide left.
 
Horn's 11-yard TD pass to Sanders with 2:22 remaining in the third pushed Jacksonville State ahead 23-14.
 
De'Marcus Flowers added the final points with a 20-yard touchdown run for the final 16-point margin of victory.
 
Marlon Bridges led the Gamecocks defensively with nine tackles.
 
The Gamecocks host Southeast Missouri for homecoming next Saturday to start a two-game homestand. Kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field is set for 3 p.m. 
 
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Eastern Illinois
October 21, 2017 • O'Brien Field • Charleston, Ill.
 

• JSU Captains: junior quarterback Bryant Horn, junior defensive end Darius Jackson, senior cornerback Siran Neal and junior wide receiver Krenwick Sanders.
• Eastern Illinois won the toss and deferred to the second half.
• One Gamecock made his first career start on Saturday: junior defensive end Monty Young.
• The Gamecocks are now 9-6 all-time against Eastern Illinois and are now 5-3 in Charleston. JSU has now won the last four meetings, the first four-game win streak by either team in the series. JSU has won the last two meetings in Charleston.
• The Gamecocks extend their winning streak in OVC games to 28 games, extending their OVC record and the longest conference win streak in Division I football. It is the second-longest conference win streak in FCS history, behind 39 straight Metro Atlantic Conference wins by Duquesne from 1999-2006.
• John Grass is now 39-7 in his career at JSU and is 36-0 against non-FBS opponents in the regular season. He has four regular-season losses in four years, all to FBS schools (Michigan State, Auburn, LSU and Ga. Tech).
• JSU is 90-10 in its last 100 games in which it has scored 30 or more points. The Gamecocks have won their last 34 games in which they put at least 30 points on the scoreboard.
• JSU's 227 rushing yards in the game extends its streak of consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards to 45 games. JSU's last game with less than 100 yards on the ground was at Michigan State in the 2014 season opener.
• JSU has now run for at least 100 yards in 51-straight games vs. FCS foes, with the last time it failed to do so coming against Tennessee State on Oct. 12, 2013.
• Eastern Illinois' first quarter touchdown that gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 4:37 to play in the quarter marked the first time that JSU has trailed an FCS opponent this season. It was JSU's first OVC deficit since trailing 3-0 at Murray State on Nov. 12, 2016.
• JSU's 14-9 halftime deficit marked the first time it has trailed at the half in an OVC game since Eastern Illinois held a 38-7 lead at the intermission on Nov. 16, 2013, also at O'Brien Field.
• Tramel Terry's five-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter was his second this season and his second as a Gamecock.
• Tramel Terry set new career highs on Saturday in rushing attempts (21) and rushing yards (84).
• De'Marcus Flowers' 20-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was his first career rushing touchdown.
• The Gamecocks' unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt in the second quarter was JSU's first two-point try since Sept. 19, 2015, when Miles Jones was successful on his rush attempt in the third quarter against Tennessee State.
• Cade Stinnett's 50-yard field goal late in the second quarter was the longest of his career and tied for the sixth-longest in JSU history. It was just the seventh kick of 50 yards or longer in school history and the longest by a Gamecock since Griffin Thomas' 52-yarder vs. Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 9, 2013.
• Reggie Hall's interception on the first drive of the third quarter was his second of the season and the fourth of his career.
• Krenwick Sanders' 34-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was his team-high third of the season and the fourth of his career, while his five-yard TD catch in the third quarter gave him his first career multi-touchdown game.
• Krenwick Sanders became the first Gamecock this season to record multiple touchdown receptions in a game.
• Bryant Horn's two touchdown passes marked the first time in his career that he has thrown multiple TD passes in a game.
• Junior wide receiver Shaq Davidson set a new career high in receptions with five in the game, passing his previous high of four against Liberty on Sept. 23.
• Junior wide receiver Krenwick Sanders set a new career high in receptions with five, passing his previous high of four vs. Liberty on Sept. 23.