JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State had to rely on its defense late to hold off UT Martin and stay tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The 10th-ranked Gamecocks (7-2, 6-1) marched 69 yards in three plays for the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds left to defeat the Skyhawks 21-14 Saturday afternoon at Burgess-Snow Field.

"We were very, very fortunate," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We were a little off offensively, but they had a lot of do with that.

"It was not a good day offensively. We played well defensively and kept ourselves in the game. All that matters is we did something on that last drive; we had to have it and we went and got it."

Jacksonville State committed three turnovers and was held to its lowest offensive output of the season (314 yards) but managed to defeat the Skyhawks (1-8, 1-5) when Zerrick Cooper connected with Jamari Hester for the go-ahead 43-yard touchdown in the game's final minute.

Hester's longest career reception and the ensuing two-point conversion put JSU ahead after UT Martin had taken its first lead with 1:06 on the clock.

The Skyhawks took their first lead when Jaylon Moore caught a swing pass from Joe Hudson on third-and-5 and sprinted 52 yards for the touchdown. After a timeout, UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson elected to try a two-point conversion and Hudson dove in to give his team a 14-13 edge.

Jacksonville State began the game-winning march at its 31 and Cooper immediately connected on a 24-yard completion to tight end Landon Rice into Skyhawks' territory.

The sophomore quarterback then found Hester streaking down the sideline wide-open and the junior receiver hauled in the 43-yard touchdown as JSU regained the lead and kept its hopes for a fifth-straight OVC title alive.

"Hitting Landon down the seam in a vertical route was big," Grass said. "It was a big-time throw and big-time catch. Then they just let Jamari behind them … good for the Gamecocks."

The Gamecocks preserved the victory when UTM's LaDar Galloway fumbled on the final play and Josh Pearson – the national leader in touchdown receptions entering the game – recovered after being inserted in JSU's secondary to knock down any potential Hail Mary pass.

Jacksonville State began the day averaging 43.1 points per game but was held without an offensive touchdown until the final drive.

The Gamecocks got an interception return for a touchdown from linebacker Quan Stoudemire and two field goals by Cade Stinnett to build a 13-3 halftime lead.

Stinnett's two 28-yard field goals and the extra point after Stoudemire's pick-six moved him into eighth place on JSU's career scoring list with 218 points.

Pearson was limited to three catches for 36 yards and held without a touchdown for the first time this season. He caught the two-point conversion pass from Cooper following Hester's touchdown to keep alive a streak of having scored in every game in 2018.

Cooper was 17-of-31 for 178 yards with one interception. The TD pass to Hester was his 20^th, tying him with Ed Lett (1981) for fourth-most in a season.

Stoudemire's 10-yard interception return in the first quarter was the first of his career. The senior linebacker added six tackles and was credited with one pass breakup.

Marlon Bridges and Jalen Choice led Jacksonville State defensively with eight tackles.

The Gamecocks travel to Nashville to play Tennessee State for their final OVC game next Saturday. Kickoff at Hale Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
  Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – vs. UT Martin
November 3, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"You need a game like that every now and then. I've said all week they're definitely good enough to beat us. I thought we played really good defensively when we couldn't get much going offensively. I think UT Martin had a lot to do with that though with how well they covered us. I do think we came out ready to play though. A win is a win and we did what we had to do to get a win."
 
On the go-ahead touchdown
"We decided to run four-verticals again and they pretty much just forgot about Jamari Hester. The corner was in cover-two coverage, but the safety didn't go over the top, and Zerrick Cooper saw him and made a good throw. Hester made a good catch."

On the game's playoff implications
"Our hopes could have vanished today. It would have made winning out a must just to have a chance at them. I think we deserve to get into the playoffs, but the last drive definitely kept us alive"

Zerrick Cooper, quarterback, redshirt sophomore
On the go-ahead touchdown
"It was four-verticals. Before the drive I was told that the goal was just get into field-goal range, and thank goodness we got more than a field goal."

Jamari Hester, wide receiver, redshirt junior
On the go-ahead touchdown
"The defensive back stopped his feet in front of me, I ran past him and Cooper gave me a chance to make a play. I love that he gave me a chance and that we got a game-winner together." 

Quan Stoudemire, linebacker, redshirt senior
On his first interception for a touchdown
"I have to give credit to my defensive line. They forced the quarterback to make a bad throw and I was in the right position to pick it off. I didn't think I was ever going to get to the end zone, but I finally did and I'm glad I was able to help my team to a victory." 

Jalen Choice, linebacker, redshirt junior
On facing a dual-threat quarterback
"We knew he could run but he was a lot faster than what he looked like on film. We did a decent job containing him tough, but we did not do the best that we could against him."

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. UT Martin
November 3, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: Senior PK Cade Stinnett, senior DE E.J. Moss, senior DE Joseph Roberts, senior OL Tyler Scozzaro
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• Attendance: 16,093
• JSU has won six in a row and nine of the last 10 in the series with UT Martin. The Gamecocks have won the last nine meetings in Jacksonville.
• Senior LB Quan Stoudemire recorded his first interception of his career for JSU's first scoring play of the game.
• Stoudemire's 10-yard pick-six was the first touchdown scored by the Gamecock defense this season. The last JSU interception returned for a TD was Marlon Bridges pick-six last year against Eastern Kentucky on October 14, 2017.
• The Gamecocks extended their home winning streak in the regular season to 29 consecutive games.
• Saturday's win over the Skyhawks was head coach John Grass' 50th career win. The fifth-year head coach has a career record of 50-10 and 37-1 against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. 
• Senior PK Cade Stinnett matched a season-high with two field goals. Stinnett connected on a pair of 28-yard field goals.
• Redshirt junior WR Josh Pearson was held without a TD catch for the first time this season, but he did catch the two-point conversion pass following JSU's game-winning TD with 29 seconds left in the game.
• Freshman punter Jason Pierce turned in a season-high seven punts and averaged 42.9 yards per punt, which was aided by two 50-plus punts in the contest.
• With his game-winning TD pass to Jamari Hester, QB Zerrick Cooper moved in to fourth place on the program's single season TD pass list. Cooper tossed his 20th TD pass of the season, matching former Gamecock Ed Lett, who had 20 TD tosses in 1981.
• The JSU defense turned in 12.0 tackles for a loss, accumulating 30 yards, led by redshirt junior Jane Choice's three TFLs. Choice and junior Marlon Bridges led the defensive effort with eight tackles each.  It is the second-most stops behind the line of scrimmage this season.  JSU collected 14 in the September 8 win over Mississippi Valley State.
• The Gamecocks held the Skyhawks to 96 yards rushing and became the sixth club this season that they have held to under 100 yards of rushing offense. JSU has now limited 12 of its last 15 regular-season opponents to 100 yards or less on the ground.