JACKSONVILLE – A new offensive wrinkle and the welcome return from injury of All-American tight end Trae Barry sparked No. 8 Jacksonville State to a 21-3 victory over Southeast Missouri on Sunday in the 400^th all-time game played at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium.

SEMO, which entered the game averaging more than 335 yards and 31 points per game, struggled for most of the afternoon offensively against the Gamecocks' stout defense. The Redhawks were held to only nine rushing yards as Jacksonville State (7-1, 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference) built a 14-3 lead at halftime and JSU kept up the pressure in the second half for its seventh consecutive win.

SEMO, which stopped Jacksonville State's 32-game regular-season home winning streak on its last visit to Burgess-Snow Field in 2019 after halting the Gamecocks' 36-game Ohio Valley Conference win streak the previous season, fell to 1-4 and 1-3.

JSU has not lost three in a row to any OVC opponent since Eastern Kentucky (2010-12).

"It was very solid team win and I thought all three phases executed extremely well," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "I'm excited about the way we're playing right now.

"Offensively, I thought we took care of the football. We came up with a really good game plan, executed it and got the two quick scores and then we kind of played conservatively. We gave (SEMO) a little triple-option look and it was just good execution by our guys, especially the guys up front."

The Gamecock offense at times operated from a three-back formation featuring Uriah West, Josh Samuel and Pat Jackson and the new triple-threat look kept the SEMO defense on its heels all day.

West ran for a five-yard touchdown in the second quarter – his fourth straight game with a rushing TD – and led the Gamecocks with 71 yards on a team-high 16 carries. Samuel added 62 yards and also caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Zion Webb in the third quarter.

Webb completed 11-of-19 passes for 190 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown of the 2020-21 season on a nine-yard scamper in the first quarter. He also ran for 53 yards.

Barry, making his first appearance since the spring opener vs. Tennessee Tech on Feb. 28, caught three first-half passes from Webb for 58 yards. Mike Pettway was the leading receiver with 60 yards on four receptions.

Jacksonville State outgained SEMO 374-144. The Redhawks were limited to 24 yards on 25 carries, the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Gamecocks since 2018.

Cornerback Jacquez Payton intercepted Redhawks quarterback Andrew Bunch in the third quarter – his second pickoff in three games – while Jeremiah Harris and Marshall Clark were JSU's leading tacklers with nine and eight stops, respectively.

The Gamecocks sacked SEMO's Bunch four times and were credited with a season-high 11 tackles for loss. It was the fewest points a Jacksonville State defense had allowed since shutting out Mississippi Valley State 71-0 on Sept. 8, 2018. 

SEMO was a combined 2-for-18 on third-down or fourth-down conversions.

JSU improved to 289-103-8 all-time at its home stadium and hosts Austin Peay (2-5, 2-2) next Sunday. Kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN+.

---

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Southeast Missouri
March 21, 2021 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Southeast Missouri won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. 
• Today's attendance: 8,355. 
• JSU Captains: Redshirt sophomore Dave Russell, III and redshirt junior Stevonte Tullis 
• Sunday's game was the 400th game played at Burgess-Snow Field. 
• JSU has now won 16 of the last 19 meetings with SEMO and moved to 19-6 all-time against the Redhawks. The Gamecocks posted their 11th win over SEMO on their home turf. 
• Jax State extended the longest winning streak in the FCS to seven games. 
• The Gamecocks limited the opposition to under 100 yards rushing for the sixth consecutive game and under 50 yards for the second-straight contest. The JSU defense held SEMO to 24 rushing yards after limiting UT Martin to 29 yards on 20 carries last weekend. 
• For the eighth consecutive game, Jax State has forced a turnover. Redshirt junior Jaquez Payton hauled in an interception in the third quarter. It was Payton's second career pick as he recorded an interception two weeks ago at Tennessee State (March 7). 
• The Gamecocks were credited with 11 tackles for a loss (38 yards), including four sacks for 27 yards. 
• Redshirt junior Jeremiah Harris matched his career-high in tackles with nine, including a stop for a loss. Harris turned in nine tackles last week at UT Martin. 
• JSU held SEMO to 144 total yards on offense on Sunday. It marks the second game during the 2020-21 campaign that the Gamecocks have held the opponent to less than 200 yards of total offense. Jax State allowed 156 yards versus Florida International on October 23, 2020. 
• Josh Samuel's 54-yard touchdown pass from Zion Webb sealed the game for JSU. It was Samuel's first career TD reception. 
• Sophomore Uriah West has now scored a rushing touchdown in each of the four games this spring. 
• Redshirt junior quarterback Zion Webb finished 11-for-19 for 190 yards passing, including a 54-yard TD pass to Samuel. Webb now has seven TD passes over the last three games. 
• Webb put the Gamecocks on the scoreboard with a nine-yard scoring run to cap off the opening drive of the game. It was his first rushing TD since the Murray State contest on October 26, 2019.  

---

Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Southeast Missouri
March 21, 2021 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"We were pleased to play at home on a pretty Sunday afternoon in front of a great crowd. It was a very solid win. Our guys really wanted this one and I thought they executed very well on all three units. Our offense executed and our defense continued to play good holding them to 24 rushing yards. We just have to continue to stay on top and be healthy, stay mentally and physically fresh, and get ready to play a really good Austin Peay team next week."

On the defense's continued performance
"I think we just have a lot of young guys who can play. We're very physical and we're flying to the ball. When you take away the run like we did and limit the offense to what they can do, I think that is the biggest part of our defense."

On the offense's second-half performance
"I thought we protected the ball really well today. On the touchdown pass, it was a great athletic move by Zion to make the tackle and find Josh. I thought Josh did a really nice job after he caught the ball to get down the sideline to score. We played kind of conservative the second half but it was a really good win offensively."

Jeremiah Harris, Safety, Redshirt Junior
On today's defensive performance
"I felt like our defense played as a unit today. We held them to very few rushing yards and did a pretty good job against the passing game. I feel like we did a pretty good job today."

On the keys to the defense
"We knew we had to stop the run. Once we stopped the run and put them in a situation where they had to pass the ball, we knew we could take away their biggest strength and put all pressure on the quarterback."

Zion Webb, Quarterback, Redshirt Junior
On his touchdown pass to Josh Samuel
"We were just trying to make a play and get the ball to the guys who were open. I tried to wiggle out of the pass rush and got free. I saw Josh come up and got it to him to make a big play."

On making a big play following an interception
"We tell each other all the time when a play goes bad, you can't dwell and think about it too much. That was my mentality after that. We preach all the time, get through it and get to the next play and we'll be alright."