JACKSONVILLE – Josh Pearson continued his rapid ascent in No. 10 Jacksonville State's record book as the Gamecocks won their final non-conference game of 2019.

The speedy senior receiver hauled in touchdown passes of 12, 67 and 53 yards from Zerrick Cooper as Jacksonville State knocked off UNA 30-12 before a crowd of 21,976 at Burgess-Snow Field. It was the first in a four-game series between the former Gulf South Conference rivals that will see JSU visit Braly Stadium in Florence in 2020.

Pearson caught seven passes for a career-best 149 yards as the Gamecocks (3-1) won their third straight. The Lions, a member of the Big South Conference, fell to 1-3.

Pearson's third career three-touchdown performance moved him into second place on JSU's all-time TD receptions list with 22. With one more score through the air, Pearson will tie Joey Hamilton (1996-99) for most touchdown catches in school history.

"We knew it was going to be a good football game because it always is with them," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "That's a good program with a good history of success.

"A lot of times you come off a big, emotional win like last week, you risk getting upset. But we had a good week of practice, and I told our guys after the game that's what kept us from getting beat."

The Gamecocks started fast and kept up the pressure throughout the game, a complete reversal from the previous week's win over then-No. 4 Eastern Washington.

Jacksonville State moved 75 yards in 15 plays on the game's opening possession after UNA won the toss and deferred. Cooper completed seven passes on the time-consuming drive, his final completion a 12-yard strike to Pearson with 7:41 to go in the first quarter. Bryant Wallace's extra point gave JSU a 7-0 lead.

UNA answered with a touchdown early in the second quarter, driving 55 yards in eight plays. Terence Humphrey ran in from the 1, but the PAT failed, leaving JSU ahead 7-6 with 14:19 left in the second.

Jaelen Greene scored on a 19-yard run, Wallace kicked a 27-yard field goal and Pearson snagged a 67-yard touchdown toss from Cooper as the Gamecocks struck for 16 points in less than six minutes to extend their lead to 23-6 by halftime.

Pearson later caught a short pass over the middle from Cooper and out-ran UNA's secondary for a 53-yard touchdown with 9:56 left in the game.

Cooper was 19-of-31 for 266 yards. His counterpart, UNA's Christian Lopez, was 21-of-40 for 252 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Gamecocks outgained UNA 373-347.

Zack Woodard was credited with eight tackles to lead the Gamecocks' defensive effort. Traco Williams ad Jeremiah Harris had six each, with Williams also coming up with his fifth career interception.

The Gamecocks travel to Clarksville, Tenn., to face Austin Peay (2-2) next Saturday in the OVC opener for both teams. Kickoff at Fortera Stadium is at 2 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN+.

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Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – North Alabama
September 21, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: R-Jr. QB Zerrick Cooper, R-Sr. LB Christian Wafford, Sr. LB Jalen Choice, Sr. WR Jamari Hester
•  North Alabama won the toss and deferred to the second half.
• Attendance: 21,976
• The Gamecocks have now won 31 consecutive regular season home games, dating back to October 2013. Head coach John Grass is now 29-0 at home during the regular season since taking over as head coach in 2014.
• JSU now leads the series with UNA 26-28-3 and notched its 17th win over the Lions in games at home.
• Redshirt junior QB Zerrick Cooper tossed three touchdown passes against the Lions, which is the 15th time he has thrown for multiple TDs in a game and the eighth consecutive game in which Cooper has thrown multiple TDs, dating back to the Tennessee State game on Nov. 10, 2018. Cooper now has 39 career passing TDs, ranking him sixth on the program's career TD passes chart.
• Cooper moved into fifth place on the program's career TD passes, surpassing Marques Ivory (2008-12). He now has 42 career TD passes in 17 games as a Gamecock. Cooper finished with 266 yards passing on 19-of-31 passing against UNA.
• Redshirt senior WR Josh Pearson moved into second place on the program's career TDs caught chart with three TD grabs against UNA. Pearson has 22 career TD catches and is one shy of the matching JSU's career TD catches record of 23, held by Joey Hamilton (1996-99).
• Cooper matched his career high with three TD catches. It is the third time he has hauled in three TD passes in a game with the previous time being last season against Murray State. He also finished with a career high 149 yards in seven catches.
• Junior WR Trae Barry moved passed the 1,000 career receiving yards mark with 67 yards on six catches.
• Junior RB Jaelen Greene registered his fifth rushing TD of his career and first of the season with a 19-yard run in the second quarter.
• Redshirt sophomore Bryant Wallace kicked JSU's first field goal of the season with a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter.
• After collecting 14 tackles for a loss against Eastern Washington, the Jax State defense continued to compile more stops for a loss with seven against UNA.
• Senior safety Traco Williams posted his fifth career interception, halting a UNA drive.

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Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – North Alabama
September 21, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"This was a good win. Give credit to UNA for having a good program, as they always have, going back to our old rivalry game. This was a solid win for our guys. We could have played better but, after a big win last week and a solid week at practice, we did a good job getting our feet back on the ground. We've got some things to correct moving into conference play with a tough road game next week."
 
On the returned connection between Zerrick Cooper and Josh Pearson
"It was good to see. The defense knew where Josh Pearson was and tried to take him away. It's harder to do that when Jamari Hester and Trae Barry are playing so well, too, and when you're spreading the ball around with these receivers it's so much better."
 
On responding following a big win
"I thought we handled it well. I didn't think we practiced like we were hungover from the win. I don't think we played like that. We came out with good energy and got off to a good start."
 
On being ready for conference play
"I think we're ready. I think these past four games have really helped us. We've grown, and we continue to grow, with all the pressure that we face up front. We've just got to keep growing and stay healthy as we have a tough road trip ahead at Austin Peay. They'll be ready to play."
 
Zerrick Cooper, quarterback, redshirt junior
On his returned connection with Josh Pearson
"It was good. Every week we're working on certain throws, like tonight, going into game week. He just has to keep moving, so hopefully we can connect some more."
 
Josh Pearson, wide receiver, redshirt senior
On responding to being more-heavily covered
"Teams have definitely been covering me more this year. In order to be the best, you have to play like you're the best. I try to get better each week regardless of who else is out there defending me. The way I see it, too, if they put two people on me, that gives me a chance to get one of our other guys open."
 
Zach Woodard, linebacker, redshirt sophomore
On being ready for conference play
"We're ready. We take it week-by-week, and we're trying to start next week 1-0. We try to take everyone the same and just play our game, but I definitely think we're ready."