JACKSONVILLE –Jacksonville State junior wideout Josh Pearson closed the gap between he and Eastern Illinois' Alexander Hollins for most touchdown catches in the FCS while continuing to rewrite the Gamecocks' record book on Saturday.
 
Pearson caught three touchdown passes as No. 7/8 Jacksonville State (5-1, 4-0 OVC) cruised past Eastern Illinois 49-22 at Burgess-Snow Field. Zerrick Cooper threw three touchdowns for the second time as a Gamecock and ran for another.
 
The Gamecocks' 36th consecutive OVC victory moves them within three of tying the mark of 39 conference wins in a row by Duquesne in the MAAC from 1999-2006. JSU's is the longest current active streak in NCAA Division I.
 
"We got off to a fast start and then it felt like we relaxed," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We didn't play as well after we got up 14-0.
 
"We kicked it into gear in the third and fourth quarters. We knew they were going to throw it every snap and they did (61 times). As the game went on I think our depth took over. We played a lot of folks."
 
Pearson became the first Jacksonville State player since Josh Barge in 2015 (vs. UT Martin) to snag three touchdowns in a game.
 
Pearson also tied Barge atop the single-season touchdown receptions list with his 11th of 2018. He has five regular-season games remaining to eclipse the record.
 
Hollins had one touchdown against JSU's top-ranked defense but was held to 57 yards below his season average of 138.3 per game. EIU (1-6, 1-3) recorded 365 scrimmage yards with just 15 on the ground on 19 carries.
 
It was the second straight week the defense has limited an opponent to less than one yard per carry.
 
The JSU offense, meanwhile, has now scored at least 48 points in all its conference wins. The Gamecocks piled up 579 scrimmage yards against the Panthers.
 
Pearson's touchdowns went for 35 and 31 yards from Cooper and 23 yards from Zion Webb. He finished with eight catches for 137 yards and now has 604 yards for the season.
 
Jacksonville State was more than happy to swap touchdowns for Eastern Illinois field goals during the first half and built a 21-9 lead at intermission.
 
The Gamecocks' first two possessions resulted in touchdowns and neither drive took more than two minutes.
 
JSU first went 72 yards in only five plays with Trae Barry hauling in a 44-yard touchdown from Cooper. The TD reception was the first of the season for the sophomore from Summerdale.
 
The lead increased to 14-0 following another Panthers' punt. Cooper connected with Jamari Hester for 36 yards to the EIU 11 and two plays later Jaelen Greene ran 11 yards to the end zone with 8:44 left in the first.
 
Eastern Illinois' best weapon in the first half was kicker Nick Bruno, who made field goals of 27, 40 and 36 yards to keep his team within striking distance.
 
Cooper directed a five-play, 75-yard drive midway through the second quarter and finished it off with a four-yard run. Cade Stinnett's third PAT extended the Gamecocks' lead to 21-6 with 6:56 to go in the second.
 
Webb had a short touchdown run late in the game and now has a team-high five.
 
Cornerback Yul Gowdy was JSU's defensive leader with nine stops and one pass breakup. Marlon Bridges and Malik Feaster contributed six tackles each.
 
The Gamecocks play three of their next four league games on the road, beginning with a trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to take on Southeast Missouri (4-2, 2-1). Kickoff at SEMO's Houck Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
 
JSU's next game at Burgess-Snow Field will be Nov. 3 vs. UT Martin for Marching Southerners Reunion Day.



Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. Eastern Illinois
October 13, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: redshirt junior safety Marlon Bridges, senior defensive end Denzil Ware, redshirt senior offensive lineman Tyler Scozzaro and redshirt senior wide receiver Lajarret Ford.
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• Attendance: 15,649.
• Jax State extended its regular season home winning streak to 28 games. The Gamecocks have now pushed their OVC winning streak to 36 consecutive games.
• JSU now leads the all-time series with Eastern Illinois 10-6 and has won the last three meetings. The Gamecocks are now 5-3 in home outings versus EIU.
• Sophomore tight end Trae Berry caught his first touchdown of the season on JSU's first drive of the game…The Summerdale, Ala., native hauled in a 44-yard pass from Zerrick Cooper…JSU has now scored on its opening drive in two straight weeks.
• With his three touchdown tosses, redshirt sophomore quarterback Zerrick Cooper has now thrown for a least one touchdown in all six games this season. Cooper now has 14 passing touchdowns on the season.
• Sophomore running back Jaelen Greene tallied his third touchdown of the season with an 11-yard run.
• JSU had three scoring drives took three minutes or less, pushing the seasons mark to 29 scoring drives that took less than three minutes to complete. The first two Gamecock scoring drives took 1:52 and 1:45, respectively. Jax State now has 21 scoring drives of less than two minutes.
• With a four-yard TD run in the second quarter, Zerrick Cooper has now rushed and passed for a TD in a game for the third time this season.
• Redshirt junior Christian Wofford recorded his first career sack against the Panthers.
• For the sixth consecutive game, JSU redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Pearson caught a touchdown pass, hauling in a 35-yard grab in the third quarter and adding his second of the day on the next drive – a 31-yard scoring play…Pearson added his third touchdown of the game with a 23-yard catch from Zion Webb…it's the fourth time this season that he has multiple scoring grabs and the first three-touchdown contest of his career…Pearson has tied the program's all-time single season touchdown mark of 11 set by former Gamecock Josh Barge in 2015.
• Pearson becomes the first Gamecock since Barge to have three TDs in a single game. Barge accumulated three TDs against UT Martin on Sept. 26, 2015.
• Redshirt freshman Darius Joiner thwarted an EIU drive with his first career interception, including a return of 24 yards in the third quarter.
• For the second consecutive week, the Gamecocks made the opposition one-dimensional by allowing EIU to 15 rushing yards in the contest. The JSU defense entered the contest ranked first in total defense and second in rushing defense.  Last week at Eastern Kentucky, the defense limited the Colonels to 20 yards on the ground.
• Zion Webb's fourth quarter touchdown toss was his fifth of the season and third game of his career with a touchdown pass. Webb tacked on a rushing touchdown for the final scoring play of the contest. He now has three games this season in which he has passed and rushed for a TD.

 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – vs. Eastern Illinois
October 13, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Opening statement
"It was a good win. You knew it would be a long game today. We knew there would be a lot of passing today. I think the moral of the story is that our depth really showed and we played a lot of people. It paid off with the pass rush that we needed to have. We got banged around a little bit and we had to play some young guys on the back end. In the first half, I thought it was big to hold them to field goals. You knew that they would move the football and they are going to get their yardage. Once you get in the red zone, you have to hold them to field goals, and we were able to do that. Offensively, we got out of the gates early, and we got some stops defensively. Then we went in to a lull with two interceptions. I think if you don't have those turnovers, you at least get one more score and put the game away at halftime. I thought in the third quarter we played really well and you saw the depth of our team. We are excited about this win and will enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow we will get ready for the next one with a long road trip."

On the play of Josh Pearson
"It is good to have a guy like that. He is a success story. He has paid his dues and it is good to see him playing well. He is an amazing athlete who can stretch the field. He can go up and get the ball." 

Thoughts on the Cooper-Pearson combo
"It was good timing for us and I think our other receivers are playing a lot better, as well. That whole unit is so much better. Probably the best we have been in a long time." 

On the Jacksonville State secondary
"I think they played really well. I think the pass rush helped them. We played a lot of folks up front and got them to rush some throws. I think our corners played every snap and played really well." 

Darius Joiner, safety, redshirt freshman  
On snagging the first interception of his career
"I was thinking about the first one that I dropped in the first half, so I was happy to get that second one."

Marlon Bridges, safety, redshirt junior
Thoughts on Eastern Illinois' offense
"We knew that they wanted to throw the ball around, but we had a great scheme and a package that they had not seen this year. We knew the game would be on us, but we knew that our defensive line and linebackers would put pressure on them."

On the play of Josh Pearson
"He is big, physical and he has great hands. He finds ways to get open. Teams can try to scheme and double team him, but we have others that make plays. There is a lot tress out there with our receivers."

Josh Pearson, wide receiver, redshirt senior
Thoughts on his second touchdown catch
"I was running the route, and the play was to get Jamari Hester open. I saw that I beat the safety over the top. I did not see that Zerrick Cooper got knocked down, so they said he made a great pass and I just ran under it."