MONTGOMERY – Roc Thomas ran for 122 yards and one touchdown and Jonathan Hagler returned an interception 52 yards for another score as No. 5 Jacksonville State defeated No. 12 Chattanooga in the inaugural Guardian Credit Union Kickoff Classic at Cramton Bowl.

Thomas, a senior from Oxford, Ala., accounted for 190 total yards, including a highlight reel 76-yard sprint for a touchdown in the first quarter as the Gamecocks beat the Mocs for the fifth straight time and extended their regular season winning streak against non-FBS opponents to 32.
 

Check out this ridiculous move by Roc Thomas in the second quarter.#FearTheBeak #FCSKickoff pic.twitter.com/cIp70abDGk

— Jax State Athletics (@JSUGamecocks) August 27, 2017

Bryant Horn of Alexander City, Ala., – making his first career start at quarterback – shook off a pair of first-half interceptions and finished with 182 yards, including a 59-yard TD strike to Shaq Davidson with under 10 minutes left in the game.

Cade Stinnett was successful on both of his field goal attempts as Jacksonville State (1-0) opened a season at a neutral site and in front of a national ESPN audience for the first time since 1992.

"We've played some real ugly games against Chattanooga in the past, but this wasn't one of them," said Jacksonville State fourth-year head coach John Grass. "I thought our defense really played excellent.

"Overall, I'm pleased with the effort."

Jacksonville State led 10-6 at halftime. The Gamecocks' defense then limited the Mocs to only 18 yards over a 17-play span, forcing two turnovers and stretching the narrow halftime lead to a comfortable 20-6 cushion entering the fourth quarter.

The game's momentum swung to Jacksonville State's favor for good late in the third quarter when senior linebacker Jonathan Hagler picked off a pass by Mocs quarterback Nick Tiano and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. Stinnett tacked on the extra point as JSU opened a 14-point lead with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

The Mocs managed only 294 yards against the Jacksonville State defense boasting nine returning starters, with 89 of that total coming on a desperation drive in the game's waning minutes.

Reggie Hall also had an interception and All-American candidate Darius Jackson added one tackle for loss to become the Gamecocks' leader in the category with 163 yards.

Horn directed Jacksonville State to its first points of 2017 on the second possession.

Taking over the Mocs' 48 after a short UTC punt and kick catching interference penalty, the Gamecocks moved 34 yards in eight plays, culminating in Stinnett's 31-yard field goal with 8:14 left in the first quarter for a 3-0 lead.

Chattanooga answered with a game-tying field goal, but Thomas electrified the announced crowd of 12,952 at Cramton Bowl with his career-long 76-yard touchdown run on JSU's first play for a 10-3 lead the Gamecocks never surrendered.

Thomas also contributed a game-high 68 receiving yards on three receptions.

Jacksonville State will play in the second annual Guardian Kickoff Classic on Aug. 25, 2018, against an opponent yet to be announced.

The Gamecocks now have two weeks to prepare for their trip to Georgia Tech on Sept. 9. The Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference face Tennessee in their season opener on Labor Day.


Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. Chattanooga
August 26, 2017 • Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Ala.
- Captains for Jacksonville State – Roc Thomas (Sr.), Dalton Campbell (Sr.), Justin Lea (R-Sr.), Dylan Cline (R-Sr.).
.The Gamecocks are now 49-50-8 all-time in season openers and have won the last three openers dating back to JSU's win over Chattanooga to open the 2015 season.
- JSU had nine players make their first career starts with seven on offense and two on the defense.  Earning starts on offense were: Bryant Horn (QB), BJ Autry (LG), Tyler Scozzaro (C), Darius Anderson (RG), Dakota Chapman (TE), Trae Berry (TE), Shaq Davidson (WR).  Connor Christian (DT) and Jonathan Hagler (SLB) were first time starters on defense.
- The Gamecocks have now won five consecutive meetings with the Mocs, dating back to 2012 in Jacksonville.  UTC leads the series between the two schools 26-15.  Jax State has also won 10 of the last 12 meetings with UTC.
- JSU has won 32 consecutive regular season games against non-FBS foes dating back to the 2013 season.
- Jax State now has two wins in front of the ESPN cameras after the win over UTC.  JSU's previous win on ESPN was the 1992 Division II National Championship.
- The JSU defense held eight teams under 100 yards rushing a season ago and picked up right where they left off the 2016 season by limiting UTC to 76 total rushing yards – the fewest allowed by the Gamecocks against the Mocs since JSU held UTC to 72 rushing yards in the 2008 meeting.
- The 14-point margin is the largest winning margin by Jax State against Chattanooga since a 33-3 win over the Mocs on Sept. 20, 2008.
-  The Gamecocks' defense held UTC to 294 total yards of offense in the season opener…dating back to last season's November 12 contest at Murray State, JSU has held the opposition to under 300 yards in two of the last four games. The Racers finished with 178 total yards of offense.
- JSU had 64 of its 76 players on the travel roster see action in the season opener.
- The Jax State offense turned in another 300-plus total yards performance with a balanced attack. JSU finished with 184 net yards on the ground and added 182 yards through the air.  JSU now has 137 300-plus total yard contests since 2003.
- JSU senior running back Roc Thomas' 76 yard touchdown run in the opening period established a new career long scoring run for Thomas… his previous long was a 75-yard touchdown run at Murray State (11/12/16) last year.
- Thomas finished with 190 yards of total offense with 122 yards rushing and 68 receiving yards.  It marks his fifth 100-plus rushing yards game as a Gamecock and was a yard off of matching his career high in receiving yards (69 at Liberty – 9/24/16).
- Jax State senior Darius Jackson established a new program record for career yards for tackles for loss with a two-yard stop behind the line of scrimmage in the second quarter…. Jackson now has 163 collected 163 total yards for a loss. The previous JSU record was 162 yards held by Chris Landrum. Jackson was credited with four QB hurries.
- Dalton Campbell recovered his first career fumble to halt a Chattanooga drive in the second quarter. 
- Redshirt junior Cade Stinnett matched his career high by converting a pair of field goals. Stinnett has five games with two field goals made in his career.  He connected from 31 yards out in the opening half and nailed a 23 yard kick in the third quarter.
- Senior Jonathan Hagler made a great first impression in his first career start with a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. His pick six is the first since Reggie Hall returned the final of three TD interception return at Eastern Kentucky (10/22/16).
- Redshirt Junior Shaq Davidson caught his third career touchdown pass with a 59-yard catch from Bryant Horn in the fourth quarter.
- Making his first start of his career, quarterback Bryant Horn finished 14-of-20 passing for 182 yards and a TD toss. Horn also added 31 rushing yards.
- Reggie Hall recorded JSU's second interception of the contest with a pick with 7:21 left in the game.
- Redshirt junior Quan Stoudemire nearly equaled his career high in tackles with a team-best nine stops in the opener.  He was credited with a stop for a loss and a pass break up.