JACKSONVILLE – Neither Mother Nature or No. 16 Liberty could put a damper on fifth-ranked Jacksonville State's home opener.
 
The Gamecocks (2-1) shook off a slow start offensively to knock off the Flames 31-10 before a record crowd of 23,944 at Burgess-Snow Field Saturday night. The opening kickoff was delayed for nearly one hour when lightning was detected in the vicinity of the stadium.
 
Roc Thomas ran for two touchdowns and Trae Barry caught an 80-yard touchdown pass – JSU's longest in three years – as Jacksonville State wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a decisive win against a Flames team that stunned FBS member Baylor in the season opener.
 
The Gamecocks extended their regular season winning streak against non-FBS to 33 games.

 

Jacksonville State, coming off its second open date, trailed 3-0 after the first quarter, then reeled off 24 points to take control.
 
"I thought early that you could tell it had been two weeks since we had played," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We were a little rusty on both sides of the ball.
 
"I thought we played tremendous after we shook off the rust. We beat a really good football team handily."
 
Quarterbacks Bryant Horn and backup Kendrick Doss had success at the helm of the Gamecock offense, combining to throw for 245 yards. Horn went 9-for-19 for 181 yards with a touchdown.
 
Doss, who entered the game after JSU's offense had sputtered on its first two series, was 8-for-10 for 64 yards and ran three times for 32 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The TD was Doss' first as a college quarterback.
 
Liberty (3-1) came into the Top 20 clash averaging 536 yards and almost 50 points per game.
 
The Flames finished with just 316 yards against Jax State's stout defense. Liberty managed only 31 yards on 27 rushing attempts.
 
The teams traded punts early with Liberty finally getting a 28-yard field goal after a 12-play, 57-yard drive late in the first quarter.
 
But the Gamecocks answered when Horn connected with Barry for the seventh-longest touchdown pass in JSU history and the longest since Markis Merrill's 88-yard reception in 2014 vs. West Alabama. Cade Stinnett's extra point put the hosts in front 7-3 with 11:02 left in the second.
 
Stinnett kicked a career-long 49-yard field goal at the 1:20 mark to send the Gamecocks to the locker room with a 10-3 cushion.
 
Jacksonville State scored touchdowns on its first two series after halftime to put the game out of reach.
 
Thomas, who finished with 87 yards on 18 carries, capped an 81-yard march by carrying six Liberty defenders into the end zone on an 11-yard TD run just three minutes into the third quarter.
 
Marlon Bridges' interception of Liberty quarterback Stephen "Buckshot" Calvert set up Doss' 15-yard scamper 3½ minutes later.
 
Thomas's second touchdown run, and his third of the season, was a 13-yard dash with 5:04 remaining in the game.
 
Jonathan Hagler recorded a game-high nine tackles to lead the Gamecocks defense.
 
Jacksonville State starts eight consecutive games against Ohio Valley Conference opponents when it travels to Tennessee Tech next Saturday. Kickoff at Tucker Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
 
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Liberty
September 23, 2017 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 

• Captains: Gerald Sterling, Jonathan Hagler, Roc Thomas, Tyler Scozzaro
• Jacksonville State won the toss for the second time this season and second-straight game. It's also the second-straight game the Gamecocks have deferred to the second half.
• JSU set an all-time record at Burgess-Snow Field with 23,944 in attendance in the home opener.  The previous record for a single-game crowd was set in the FCS Semifinals in 2015 against Sam Houston State when 23,692 fans witnessed the Gamecocks in action.
• JSU pushed its consecutive wins over non-FBS foes to 33 straight games, dating back to the 2013 season.
• Hunter Sosebee, an Old Dominion transfer, made his first career start for JSU at left tackle.
• Jonathan Hagler finished with a career-high nine tackles. His previous high was five tackles, which came at Georgia Tech on Sept. 9.
• Early in the second quarter, true freshman tight end Trae Barry recorded the first touchdown reception of his career when he and quarterback Bryant Horn connected for an 80-yard score. It was the longest reception and scoring reception in Barry's career. 
• Trae Barry's 80-yard touchdown reception during the second quarter tied 80-yard Lorenzo Banks' 80-yarder at Troy in Nov. 20, 1999 for the seventh longest in school history. The scoring reception was the longest since Markis Merrill hauled in an 88-yarder against West Alabama on Sept. 20, 2014.
• Cade Stinnett's 49-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the second quarter was the longest kick of the redshirt-junior's career. The field goal is tied for the seventh-longest in JSU history and was the longest since Griffin Thomas' school-record 52-yard on Nov. 9, 2013.
• Landon Smith, a redshirt sophomore receiver, recorded his first career reception when he hauled in a pass from Bryant Horn for eight yards. The play preceded Roc Thomas' 11-yard rushing touchdown. 
• Kendrick Doss' 15-yard touchdown run with 8:31 left in the third quarter was the first career touchdown at JSU for the Florence, Ala., native. The run is the longest of the redshirt-junior's JSU career.
• Liberty's 65-yard touchdown pass during the third quarter was the longest pass play allowed by the Gamecocks on defense all season. The previous long was a 33-yard gain by Georgia Tech. 
• Kendrick Doss finished the game with a career-high 64 passing yards on 8-of-10 passing and career-high 32 rushing yards, including a 16-yard score, on only three attempts. 
• Liberty's 31 total rushing yards was the seventh-fewest allowed by a Jacksonville State defense since moving to Division I in 1995. It's the second time this season — 76 against Chattanooga.
• The Gamecocks have now held 20 teams under 100 yards rushing in the 42 games that John Grass has been the head coach since 2014.
• With the win, Jacksonville State is now 51-18-3 all-time in home-opening games since 1946. The Gamecocks have won their last 11 home-opening games. JSU is 13-2 in home-opening games since joining the OVC in 2003. 

 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Liberty
September 23, 2017 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Opening statement
"It was an awesome atmosphere. What a great night for Jacksonville State. I take my hat off to our players and coaches. I thought we had a good plan coming into the game. Liberty is a really good team. Their quarterback can really play and the receivers are really good. They made it tough on us to run the ball. Early, I thought you could tell that we hadn't played a game in a couple weeks. I thought we looked a little rusty with those three-and-outs and a play or two that would've kept a drive alive. The hardest thing about open weeks is game speed and I thought it took us awhile to get back to game speed. We beat a good football team tonight. Coach Gill does a great job with his guys and I take my hat off to them." 
 
 On Cade Stinnett's performance 
"I think, any time we are inside the 35, he's got a shot. His problem in the past has been getting enough lift on the ball to not have it blocked. He's kicking the ball really well right now. I originally thought the distance on fourth down was a little longer than that, but then I called the timeout and noticed it wasn't and I decided to let him kick it. To make that field goal is huge. Cade is kicking the ball really well." 
 
 Thoughts on Kendrick Doss
 "We decided we were going to play Kendrick Doss during the third series. We probably should've played him more. He's a talented guy who can play. He just needs to play in a game. We felt good about both of those guys playing. It's probably my fault that we haven't played Kendrick more. It wasn't anything to do with Bryant, we just wanted to play Kendrick on the third series. We've done it in the past with Eli Jenkins and Max Shortell. A lot of people don't like rotating quarterbacks, but I'm all about developing the No. 2 guy." 
 
 On the play of the defense
"You can't just say we are good up front and we are good on the backend. We are a fast, big defense. It's hard to run the ball on us and I think we have good coverage on the backend. It's a complete defense. I think Georgia Tech ran the ball for over 400 yards against Pittsburgh. That tells you how good we are against the run. I thought tonight, with them throwing it as much as they did, it shows you we can play someone who can throw the football. I think this game will help us, because there are some teams in our league which will try to throw the ball 50-plus times, as well. This game does us a lot of good in a lot of ways." 
 
Darius Jackson, defensive end, R-Sr.
On preparing against Liberty's quarterback
"Our main job is to get to the quarterback, that is what this defense is all about.  This defense has a motor and we are focused in on doing things right."
 
Kendrick Doss, quarterback, R-Jr.
On getting his first college touchdown
"It felt very good to get that first one and I have been waiting a long time for it."
 
Jonathan Hagler, line backer, Sr.
On the defense
"We can be as good as we want to be.  We have all-conference players all around the defense, so I feel that I have to elevate my game."