JACKSONVILLE – No. 12 Jacksonville State tied a school record with eight rushing touchdowns and allowed the fewest rushing yards in history in its 71-0 rout of Mississippi Valley State Saturday night.

The Gamecocks (1-1) dominated the Southwestern Athletic Conference visitors from the opening series.

Jacksonville State recorded the second-highest total yardage in school history (654) and limited the Delta Devils to minus-8 yards rushing on 24 attempts to establish a new school mark before a Band Day crowd of 21,864 at Burgess-Snow Field.

The 71-point margin of victory was the largest of the school's modern football era; the 1928 Gamecocks defeated Bowdon 75-0.

"I thought we got off to a good start in both the first quarter and the third quarter," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "Both sides of the ball, and the kicking game, played well early. It set the tone for the game.

"We didn't have any turnovers and we cleaned up the penalties. I was very, very pleased."

The Gamecocks' eight rushing TDs equaled the record set in 2001 in a 72-10 win over Cumberland.

Jacksonville State scored touchdowns on 10 of its 14 possessions. Backup running back Uriah West ran for three second-half TDs, quarterback Zerrick Cooper continued his hot start with a pair of long touchdown passes to Josh Pearson, and Michael Matthews added two rushing TDs.

The Gamecocks' 654 total yards came with one of tying the most productive outing in JSU history.

MVSU (0-2) was limited to 133 total yards. The minus-8 yards allowed by Jacksonville State's defense eclipsed the previous mark of minus-3 set in 2017 versus Murray State.

Cooper – one of three JSU quarterbacks to see action – completed 12 of 17 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns while running four times for 27 yards, including a 1-yard quarterback sneak into the end zone just before halftime.

Pearson was on the receiving end of Cooper's two touchdown passes, a 75-yard strike midway through the second quarter and a 38-yard TD reception late in the first quarter.  The junior receiver from Decatur now has three touchdowns and 260 yards through two games.

Backup quarterback Zion Webb saw extensive playing time as well. He completed four of nine throws for 73 yards and added another 59 yards on seven carries. Third-stringer QB Chappelle Wade got in the game in the fourth and attempted two passes, completing one.

Jaelen Greene led the Gamecocks' ground attack with 87 yards on 11 rushes. Eight different players ran it as Jacksonville State rolled up 368 rushing yards on 55 carries (6.7 yards per run).

Linebacker Jalen Choice recorded six tackles to lead Jacksonville State's defense in that category for the second straight game.

Traco Williams had the Gamecocks' only interception, returning it 45 yards to set up JSU's third touchdown.

Jacksonville State has another open date next Saturday and starts its Ohio Valley Conference slate on Sept. 22 at home against Tennessee Tech. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.


Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. Mississippi Valley State
September 8, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: senior wide receiver Shaq Davidson, senior linebacker Quan Stoudemire, senior defensive end Joseph Roberts and senior defensive lineman Connor Christian.
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• Tonight's attendance for the JSU home opener was 21,864
• The Gamecocks have now won 25 consecutive home wins in the regular season, dating back to the 2013 season against Tennessee State.
• Jax State now has an overall record of 52-18-3 in home openers since the Gamecocks moved to Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium in 1946.  The Gamecocks have now won 13 straight home openers since 2003.
• JSU compiled 654 yards of total offense, which was one yard short of matching the school record for total offensive yards… Jax State piled up 655 yard on offense against Austin Peay on November 1, 2014.
• JSU accumulated eight rushing TDs against MVSU, matching the school record for rushing scoring plays in a single game.  The Gamecocks had eight versus Cumberland University on August 30, 2001. Jax State had five different rushers post a TD, led by freshman Uriah West's three rushing TDs.
• JSU accumulated eight rushing TDs against MVSU, matching the school record for rushing scoring plays in a single game.  The Gamecocks had eight versus Cumberland University on August 30, 2001.
• The Gamecock defense held the Delta Devils to negative rushing (minus-8)… the last time JSU held an opponent to zero was minus-3 vs. Murray State in 2017.
• Sophomore Jaelen Greene registered his first career rushing TD with an eight-yard scamper on JSU's first drive of the contest.
• The 36 first-half points by Jax State is the most since it had a 41-0 lead over Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the 2015 FCS Playoffs.
• For the second consecutive game, redshirt junior Josh Pearson caught a TD pass… he hauled in a 38-yard grab in the second quarter.
• Junior cornerback Traco Williams picked off his first interception of his career in the second quarter… he returned it 45 yards.
• Redshirt freshman running back Michael Matthews posted his first rushing TD of his career with JSU's third TD of the opening half on a three-yard run… he added his second rushing TD of the night on JSU's opening drive of the third quarter.
• Jax State produced 36 points in the first half, the most since it tallied 31 first half points last season at Eastern Kentucky.
• The Gamecocks registered 71 points, the second-most in school history behind the school-record 75 points against Bowen in 1928 (75-0).
• Sophomore Jaelen Greene registered his first career rushing TD with an eight-yard scamper on JSU's first drive of the contest.
• Redshirt junior Jerad Washington collected his first catch as a Gamecock.
• Redshirt Sophomore Landon Rice recorded his first catch in a Jax State uniform.

Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – vs. Mississippi Valley State
September 8, 2018 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

Head Football Coach John  Grass
Opening Comments
"It was a good night and good to get back on the field. I thought we corrected a lot of things. We cut down penalties by a third and had only one not-smart play with the celebration. We didn't have any turnovers and I think that's what kept the game moving in a positive direction for us. We played with great energy, effort and physicality. I'm just very well-pleased.'

On the quarterback play
"When someone (Zerrick Cooper) can throw the ball that far, it definitely helps to stretch and attack the whole field vertically. Both quarterbacks are accurate, though, and that's the impressive thing about watching them. They have different styles of how they play, but I am very, very pleased with how both of them played."

On playing time for Zion Webb
"We wanted to make sure there were a couple times in the game where he got to play back-to-back drives, and I think the game flowed to where we were able to do that. The game was such a large margin we didn't want him to play too much, especially in the fourth quarter. I think it was good to get Chappelle Wade some reps as well."

On the punting competition
"We've got great competition in practice to where Cade Stinnett won't have to punt. We'll still use him to punt when we're backed up or to pooch some balls. I'm very, very pleased with that though and that part of the game will get better and better." 

Connor Christian, defensive lineman, redshirt senior
On holding the offense to minus-eight total yards
"I'm not surprised at all. Going back to the North Carolina A&T game we've emphasized and preached stuff like this. Our goal is to always push the offensive line back two yards from the line of scrimmage. It's nothing new to us, though."

Josh Pearson, wide receiver, redshirt junior
On playing in scramble situations
"Coach Grass always tells us to play until the whistle blows. I just stay on my route and he Zerrick sees me to throw it to me."

On catching passes from Zerrick
"Once I see how the ball is thrown, my judgement is what comes into play. If it's underthrown, I've have to slow down, come back and get the ball. But he certainly has an arm for sure."

Zerrick Cooper, quarterback, redshirt sophomore
On scrambling
"Personally, I don't like to run a lot, but if I have to I will. I just take what the defense gives me."

On the JSU defense
"The defense here is similar to Clemson. Coach Andrew Warwick came from Clemson, and I believe our defense is modeled after their defense in some ways. I see some similarities between the two. They play their hearts out every night. I just want to thank them for giving me the ball back on multiple drives and putting up points with my offense."

Traco Williams, safety, junior
On his first career interception
"It was unbelievable. We knew that they were going to keep giving us verticals. I thought my receiver was going to shift down but he kept going straight. When the quarterback threw it, I just went up and grabbed it." 

On holding the offense to minus-eight total yards
"It was just the front seven. They just played great."