CHARLESTON, Ill. – A balanced offensive attack proved to be the remedy to No. 17 Jacksonville State's recent struggles on the road.
The Gamecocks, losers of their previous four away from Burgess-Snow Field, rushed for a season-high 185 yards and got two first-half interceptions from
Traco Williams to hang on for a 28-20 Ohio Valley Conference victory at O'Brien Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Jacksonville State (5-2, 2-1 OVC) built a 21-7 lead at halftime behind a couple of
Zerrick Cooper touchdown passes and a 3-yard run from
Michael Matthews. The three successive Gamecock scoring drives in the first half took 12 plays and each covered at least 75 yards.
Cooper became the first player in school history to throw three touchdowns in five straight games with a 39-yard connection to
Josh Pearson in the fourth quarter. Pearson snared two more passes for scores and continues to obliterate the career receiving touchdowns mark with 26.
It was Jacksonville State's sixth consecutive victory over the Panthers.
JSU's 185 rushing yards were its most since a 291-yard effort at Murray State on Oct. 27, 2018.
"We got out of here with a win and look forward to being at home next week and moving forward," said Jacksonville State head coach
John Grass. "We're getting better running the football. We're better up front and we're going to have to continue to do that."
Eastern Illinois (0-7, 0-3) rallied to within 21-20 with a touchdown pass to start the fourth quarter after shutting down JSU's offense in the third. The Gamecocks, however, responded to the threat with a quick 67-yard march capped off by Pearson's second touchdown catch with 12:56 to go.
Bryant Wallace's extra point stretched the lead to 28-20.
The Panthers had one final chance to tie in the waning seconds, but D.J. Coleman sacked EIU quarterback Harry Woodberry for an 8-yard loss and
Zack Woodard came away with an interception on the next play to seal the victory.
Jamari Hester caught a season-high nine passes for 99 yards to lead the Gamecocks. Pearson caught five for 70 yards and moved past Butch Barker (1975-78) for seventh place all-time with 105 career receptions.
KJ Stepherson hauled in three passes for 40 yards, including 19-yard TD from Cooper in the second quarter.
Cooper finished 22-of-34 for 237 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Matthews, a sophomore from Mobile, ran for 93 yards on 15 carries, both career highs.
The Gamecocks host Southeast Missouri for homecoming next Saturday to begin a two-game homestand. Kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN3.
The No. 21 Redhawks stunned Jacksonville State 37-14 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., last year to snap the Gamecocks' 36-game OVC win streak.
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – at Eastern Illinois
October 12, 2019 • O'Brien Field • Charleston, Ill.
- JSU Captains: senior wide receiver Josh Pearson, senior defensive lineman Montrez Lang, senior offensive lineman Darius Anderson, sophomore linebacker Zack Woodard.
- Eastern Illinois won the toss and deferred to the second half.
- Two players made their first career start for the Gamecocks on Saturday: junior wide receiver K.J. Stepherson and sophomore cornerback Bradley Flott.
- JSU is now 11-6 all-time in the series against Eastern Illinois and has won the last six meetings with the Panthers. The Gamecocks are 6-3 all-time in Charleston.
- JSU improves to 40-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play since John Grass took over as head coach in 2014.
- With his three touchdown passes in the game, Zerrick Cooper becomes the first player in school history to throw three or more touchdown passes in five consecutive games.
- With his two touchdown catches in the game, Josh Pearson now has 28 career touchdown catches, extending his career record for TD receptions at JSU. He broke Joey Hamilton's (23 from 1996-99) school record earlier in the season.
- Pearson now has 11 touchdown catches this season, tied for second-most in a season in school history. He holds the record of 17, set in 2018. He is tied with Josh Barge (2015) and Jamari Hester (2018) for second on that list.
- With his three touchdown passes in the game, Cooper now has 51 touchdown passes in his career. He joins Ed Lett (61 from 1979-81) as the only two players in school history with 50 touchdown passes in a career.
- Jamari Hester increased his career receptions total to 138, third on JSU's career receptions list. Josh Pearson now has 105, seventh all-time.
- Josh Pearson's 70 receiving yards in the game gives him 1,718 and moves him past Donald Young (1,650 from 1975-78) into eighth on JSU's career receiving yards list. Jamari Hester is fifth on that list with 1,933.
- The Gamecocks ran for a season-high 185 yards on Saturday, the most since running for 291 at Murray State on Oct. 27, 2018.
- Traco Williams' two interceptions in the second quarter were his second and third of the season and the sixth and seventh of his career. He is the first Gamecock with two picks in a game since Zack Woodard had two at Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 6, 2018.
- Michael Matthews' three-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his fourth of the season and the eighth of his career.
- KJ Stepherson's 19-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was his third of the season and the 13th of his career after hauling in 10 in two seasons at Notre Dame.
- Zerrick Cooper has thrown for at least one touchdown in all 21 games of his JSU career.
