JACKSONVILLE – No. 14 Jacksonville State's 32-game regular-season home win streak ended on a rainy Saturday afternoon as Southeast Missouri claimed a 24-21 victory at Burgess-Snow Field.
Southeast Missouri is the first Ohio Valley Conference team to beat Jacksonville State in successive seasons since Eastern Illinois knocked off the Gamecocks in 2012 and 2013.
The Gamecocks fall to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in OVC play. It was Southeast Missouri's first win in Jacksonville since 1964.
Jacksonville State dominated the game statistically (471 total yards to 280) but committed four turnovers, including three fumbles. Quarterback
Zerrick Cooper passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 53 for his career and moving within eight of the school mark of 61 set by
Ed Lett (1979-82).
Cooper was sacked four times by the Redhawks. He completed 23 of 52 passes, hitting
Jamari Hester and Ahmad Evans with short touchdown passes in the last 2:15 of the game as JSU tried to mount a rally.
Jacksonville State's defense had its best overall effort of 2019 in limiting SEMO to 280 total yards. The Redhawks (4-3, 2-1), however, struck for touchdown passes from Daniel Santacaterina of 80 and 38 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
"That was probably the best defense we've played in a year-and-a-half," said Jacksonville State head coach
John Grass. "We played tremendous defensively.
"We missed a lot of opportunities. They caught their deep balls and we didn't catch ours. They made plays when they needed to."
Cooper's 2-yard quarterback sneak on the final play of the first half sent the teams to their respective locker rooms deadlocked at 7-7.
The entire first half was played in a steady rain and featured nine punts (six by SEMO, three by JSU). The Gamecocks outgained the Redhawks 220-112 in the game's first 30 minutes, with Cooper completing nine of 18 passes for 180 yards despite the wet conditions.
Neither team seriously threatened to score in the first quarter.
Jacksonville State drove to SEMO's 27 on its initial possession but turned it over on downs. Another Gamecocks drive – this one midway through the second quarter – ended when Cooper's pass was intercepted by SEMO safety Bydarrius Knighten near the end zone.
The Redhawks struck first, covering 47 yards in six plays for a touchdown late in the second quarter. Santacaterina threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kristian Wilkerson and Kendrick Tiller tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 1:07 left in the second quarter.
Cooper quickly marched the Gamecocks 72 yards in seven plays for the game-tying score as the first half wound down.
Backup receiver
Jerad Washington hauled in a 24-yard pass at the 4 with eight seconds left on the clock. After a defensive pass interference penalty and two Redhawks timeouts, Cooper lined up in shotgun formation at the SEMO 2, then ran up under center and snuck into end zone as time expired.
Bryant Wallace's PAT tied it at 7-7.
Hester caught five passes for 87 yards and moved past Derrick Thomas and Alan Bonner into third place in career receiving yardage at 2,020. His 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was the 20th of his JSU career, tying him for third all-time with Bonner (2009-12).
Jalen Choice led the Gamecocks with nine tackles.
Jacksonville State hosts Murray State (4-4, 2-2) next Saturday. Kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field is set for 3 p.m. for Hall of Fame Weekend and the game will be available on ESPN3.
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Southeast Missouri
October 19, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
- JSU Captains: Redshirt senior safety Marlon Bridges, senior defensive end Tre' Threat, junior quarterback Zerrick Cooper and redshirt sophomore Michael Matthews.
- Jax State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half.
- Attendance: 13,643
- The Gamecocks' 32-game home winning streak in the regular season came to a halt. It is the first loss for JSU since October 12, 2013 against Tennessee State.
- JSU suffered its second loss to Southeast Missouri on its home field between the two clubs and the first since 1964. SEMO snapped a nine-game losing skid to the Gamecocks in games played in Jacksonville. The Redhawks have claimed the last two meetings between the two programs.
- With senior wide receiver Jamari Hester's touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, he moved into a tie for third place on JSU's career TDs caught list. Hester matched former Gamecock Alan Bonner with 20 career TD catches. Hester finished with five catches for 87 yards and now has 143 receptions in his career, ranking him third on JSU's career all-time receptions list.
- Hester now has 12 touchdowns on the season, one ahead of Josh Pearson's 11 TDs this season. Pearson holds JSU's single season record of 17 TDs, set last season.
- Junior quarterback Zerrick Cooper threw multiple TDs for the 12th consecutive game, dating back to the Tennessee State game on Nov. 10, 2018. Cooper finished 23-of-52 for 347 yards passing. He put JSU on the scoreboard late in the second half with a two-yard TD run.
- Cooper moved into the top-10 on the Ohio Valley Conference's career TDs tossed. He matched UT Martin's Jarod Neal (2012-15) with 53 career TDs thrown.
- Cooper surpassed former Gamecock Reggie Stancil (1999-02) for fourth on JSU's career total offensive leaders list with 6,434.
- Redshirt freshman Ahmad Edwards collected his first career TD pass in the final moments of the contest.
- Sophomore punter Jason Pierce matched a career high in punts with seven. Pierce averaged 41 yards per punt and pinned SEMO inside the 20-yard line on two occasions.
- Sophomore defensive end DJ Coleman registered a sack for the fourth consecutive game.
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Southeast Missouri
October 19, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"It was a disappointing loss. We should have scored more than we did, but the difference was they caught all of their deep passes and we only caught two 'gimme' touchdowns in the second half. We left too many points on the field from deep balls. A lot of things certainly could have been different, but I am still proud of our guys."
On playoff implications following the loss
"I think our goals are all still in check. We just have to be as good as we can be at the end of the year to get into the playoffs. If we win out and go 9-3, there is no way we don't get in. I think even if we had won tonight and went 10-2, I think we would still would have played in the first round. We just have to take it one week at a time."
On confidence in kicking game
"I think it played a huge role in tonight's game. The first fourth-down punt would have been a long try in the rain, but the one we went for towards the end of the game we should have kicked it. I thought our defense responded well, though, getting us the ball back, but we have to get better at kicking field goals inside the 25-yard line."
Jamari Hester, wide receiver, redshirt senior
On offensive struggles
"There were too many turnovers that really killed our drives. They had a scheme for us when we got into the red zone, but we just have to find a way to make more plays and score more touchdowns. We had over 500 yards of offense and still weren't able to score much. We have to change that."
Jalen Choice, linebacker, redshirt senior
On responding following a loss
"I feel like this game made us a lot better. It showed us who had heart and who was willing to lay it all on the line when we needed it the most. I just really thought it made us better."
Zack Woodard, linebacker, redshirt sophomore
On playing the best defensive game of the year despite the loss
"It was definitely our best game, but it left a bitter taste in our mouth because we put our hearts out there and still lost. We just have to regroup and just keep playing together."
