JACKSONVILLE – Zerrick Cooper became the first Jacksonville State player since 2015 to account for five touchdowns in a game as the No. 8 Gamecocks rolled over Austin Peay 48-32 on Saturday.
 
Cooper threw three touchdown passes in the second half to go with two earlier scoring runs to lift Jacksonville State (3-1, 2-0 OVC) to a resounding homecoming victory before a crowd of 19,388 at Burgess-Snow Field.
 
Austin Peay – selected in the preseason to finish second behind JSU in the conference standings – fell to 2-3 and 0-2.
 
The Gamecocks extended the longest active conference winning streak in Division I to 34. It's the second-longest streak in FCS history, trailing only Duquense's 39 in a row in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference from 1996-2006.
 
"We're everybody's Super Bowl," Jacksonville State head coach John Grass said. "We know we're going to get everybody's best shot.
 
"I was proud of our guys, especially the way they played in the second quarter and fourth quarter."
 
The Gamecocks led 14-12 at halftime behind a pair of short Cooper touchdown runs. JSU and the Govs swapped scores throughout the third quarter, with Cooper hitting Josh Pearson for a 20-yard TD and later adding a 31-yard strike that Jamari Hester leaped between two Austin Peay defenders to pull down as he tumbled into the end zone.
 
Austin Peay closed the gap to 28-26 entering the final stanza. The Gamecocks then added touchdowns on their next three possessions to build a 48-26 cushion with 1:10 remaining.
 
Hester's second TD catch, a 31-yarder from Cooper, started Jacksonville State's fourth-quarter outburst. Hester would finish with career highs for receptions (seven) and yards (146).
 
Backup quarterback Zion Webb finished off a time-consuming 12-play, 80-yard drive on the Gamecocks' next series and Leander Burrowes wrapped up Jacksonville State's scoring with a 23-yard run.
 
Cooper's five touchdowns were the most by a Gamecock since Eli Jenkins scored five times in a win over Murray State in 2015.
 
Jacksonville State rolled up 485 scrimmage yards against a Governors' defense that entered the contest ranked second in the OVC and 32nd nationally. Austin Peay tallied 388 yards, the most allowed by the Gamecocks defense this season and nearly double its season average of 191 yards per game.
 
Cooper was 18-for-31 through the air for 268 yards with one interception. Pearson hauled in three passes and now has six touchdown receptions in 2018.
 
Marlon Bridges and Traco Williams each had an interception. Bridges' pickoff was the eighth of his career.
 
Quan Stoudemire was the Gamecocks' leading tackler with nine stops, followed by Bridges with seven.
 
Jacksonville State hits to road to Eastern Kentucky for its first OVC road test next Saturday. Kickoff at Roy Kidd Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m.


Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. Austin Peay
September 29, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: Senior RB Tramel Terry, senior placekicker Cade Stinnett, senior defensive lineman Randy Robinson and senior linebacker Quan Stoudemire.
• Austin Peay won the toss and elected to defer to the second half.
• JSU is now 59-12-2 on Homecoming. The Gamecocks have won their last five Homecoming contests and 13 of their last 17.
• The Gamecocks extend the longest active conference win streak in Division I football to 34-straight Ohio Valley Conference wins. JSU's streak is the longest in school and OVC history and the second-longest in FCS history behind Duquesne's 39-straight Metro Atlantic wins from 1996-2006.
• JSU extended its regular-season home winning streak to 27 games, a stretch that dates back to the Gamecocks' last home loss on Oct. 12, 2013, vs. Tennessee State.
• JSU has now won the last 12 meetings in the series with Austin Peay and leads the all-time series with the Governors 20-6-3, including a 12-3-1 mark in Jacksonville.
• The Gamecocks have now won their last 39 games when scoring at least 30 points. Since 2000, JSU is 95-10 when scoring at least 30 points in a game.
• Randy Robinson blocked Logan Birchfield's PAT attempt in the first quarter. It is the sixth block of Robinson's career, behind only Taurean Rhetta's school-record eight from 2004-07.
• Marlon Bridges' second-quarter interception was his first of the season and the eighth of his career.
• Zerrick Cooper's touchdown run in the second quarter was his second of the season. He becomes the fifth JSU player with multiple rushing touchdowns this season.
• Zerrick Cooper's two rushing touchdowns in the game marked his first career game with multiple rushing scores. He entered the game with one rushing touchdown this season.
• Zerrick Cooper accounted for five touchdowns (three passing/two rushing) in the game, the most since Eli Jenkins accounted for five (three rushing/two passing) vs. Murray State on Nov. 21, 2015.
• Josh Pearson's 20-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was his sixth of the season, tying him for the 14th-most receiving touchdowns in a season in school history. He already has two more receiving touchdowns than the 2017 team leader – four by Krenwick Sanders.
• Zerrick Cooper's 20-yard touchdown pass to Josh Pearson early in the third quarter was his seventh scoring pass of the season, six of which have been thrown to Pearson.
• Jamari Hester hauled in a career-high 146 yards on seven catches – also a career high - in the game. It is the second 100-yard game of Hester's career.
• Hester hauled in two touchdown catches for the second time in his career and the first since his two against Murray State on Nov. 4, 2017.
• Zion Webb's one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter is his third of the season, tying Uriah West and Zerrick Cooper for the team lead.
• Leander Burrowes' 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the first career scoring run for the redshirt senior from Mobile, Ala.

 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – vs. Austin Peay
September 29, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
Head Coach John Grass
Opening statement
"It was a good home win and a good conference win. I think we definitely played better in the second and fourth quarters, since we didn't come out in the third quarter and set the tempo. We're going to enjoy this one tonight, though, and then get ready to play in a tough road game at Eastern Kentucky. We've got things to clean up, but it was a good, solid team win."
 
On Jamari Hester and the offense
"We've really been waiting on him to perform like he did tonight. We have good competition at that position between him, Daniel Byrd, and Shaq Davidson. We can throw the ball so well right now and it is going be a good threat for us."
 
Jamari Hester, wide receiver, redshirt junior
On his performance
"Zerrick Cooper really made it possible for me on his rollouts, making plays with his feet and laying the ball out to give me a chance at making big plays."
 
Zerrick Cooper, quarterback, redshirt sophomore
On Jamari Hester's performance
"They had a great defense and came to play. We had plays specifically made for Jamari to run tonight. I want to give credit to my offensive line and Jamari for making tons of great catches for us."
 
On his game performance
"It felt good. I think my stats were where they were supposed to be. But we got a win and the offense was moving pretty good. We struggled at the beginning, but over the course of the game we gained our confidence and really started moving the ball."
 
Marlon Bridges, safety, redshirt junior
On his return to the field
"I felt like I really stepped up and made a name for myself on the team. I think I definitely stepped up when nobody else was making plays and I really helped to keep the team going."
 
On his interception
"Traco and I rotated, I saw the quarterback from the middle of the field and I saw the ball and got the ball."
 
Randy Robinson, defensive lineman, senior
On his field goal block
"Montrez Lang had a great, excellent push where I could get my hand up and block it. That was a real momentum swing for us though and really helped my team."
 
On his awareness
"Most centers have a tell. Whether they push or squeeze the ball or twitch their fingers, you just have to pick up on little things every week as you watch film."