JACKSONVILLE – The final regular-season home game in a season that started seven months ago saw No. 7 Jacksonville State's FCS-best win streak come to an abrupt halt at seven in a ragged 13-10 Ohio Valley Conference loss to Austin Peay. 
 
The Gamecocks (7-2, 4-1 OVC) committed six turnovers and were penalized a season-high 18 times for 126 yards as the Governors won at Burgess-Snow Field for the first time since 1979. They last lost back-to-back games to Austin Peay during the 1952-53 seasons.
 
Jacksonville State falls one game behind OVC leader Murray State (5-0) with road trips remaining against Eastern Illinois next week and the Racers on April 11.
It was JSU's lowest scoring total since a 17-7 loss to Kennesaw State in the 2017 FCS playoffs.
 
"We've just got to put this one behind us and move forward," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We're still playing outstanding defense. We've got all our goals still ahead of us if we can beat EIU next week and then go beat Murray State.
 
"You're just not going to win a game with six turnovers. Penalties helped them a lot on their two scoring drives. As poorly as we played, we still had a chance to win the football game."
 
Austin Peay (3-5, 3-2) won despite gaining only 51 total yards and failing to convert on third down in the second half. The Governors were limited to 27 yards on 29 carries, the third straight opponent the Gamecocks' defense held to less than 30 yards on the ground.
 
Jacksonville State quarterback Zion Webb struggled all afternoon, completing just 9-of-26 passes for 111 yards while throwing four interceptions. Josh Samuel accounted for 152 scrimmage yards with 89 yards rushing and two receptions for 63 yards.
 
The Gamecocks outgained Austin Peay 259-238, their fewest total yards in the 2020-21 season. 
 
Four first-half turnovers and 12 penalties resulted in the Gamecocks trailing the 2019 OVC champions 13-7 at intermission.
 
Webb, who had never thrown more than one interception in a game as a collegian, was picked off on three consecutive series during the second quarter, and Pat Jackson lost a fumble in the first as the Gamecocks' offense struggled to find their rhythm.
 
A stop-and-go first quarter saw both teams score touchdowns on lengthy opening drives, then struggle to establish any momentum as the officiating crew whistled 11 penalties (JSU 6, Govs 5) for a combined 85 yards.
 
The Gamecocks received the opening kickoff and immediately covered 65 yards in five plays to the end zone to take the early lead.
 
Samuel was the workhorse on the first series, catching a 48-yard screen from Webb to take Jacksonville State deep into Austin Peay territory. Samuel scored on a three-yard run two plays later – his fourth rushing touchdown to the 2020-21 season – and Alen Karajic tacked on the PAT for a 7-0 JSU lead with 13:28 to go in the first quarter.
 
Austin Peay answered with a five-play touchdown drive of its own, assisted by three penalties against the Gamecocks.
 
Freshman quarterback Draylen Ellis moved the Govs 75 yards with five passing plays, finishing it off with a 38-yard TD strike to DeAngelo Wilson. The two-point conversion try failed, leaving Jacksonville State with a 7-6 edge with 11:18 remaining in the first.
 
Webb's first intercepted pass led to Austin Peay's go-ahead scoring drive.
 
The Govs used up more than seven minutes and ran 20 plays to take a 13-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Ahmaad Tanner finished off the 75-yard drive with a one-yard dive and Cole Deeds kicked the extra point as Austin Peay gained its first lead.
 
Alen Karajic kicked a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter for Jacksonville State's only second-half score.
 
Nicario Harper and Jamias Presley were JSU's top tacklers with seven apiece. Harper's third interception of the season in the first quarter halted a Governors' scoring threat.
 
Jacksonville State faces an abbreviated week of preparation as it gets ready to travel to Eastern Illinois (1-4, 1-4) on Saturday. Kickoff at O'Brien Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT and the game will be available on ESPN+.
 

---

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Austin Peay
March 28, 2021 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Austin Peay won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. 
• Today's attendance: 7,702 
• JSU Captains: Redshirt junior safety Jeremiah Harris, redshirt junior offensive lineman Josh Wegener. 
• Austin Peay claimed its first win in Jacksonville since the 1979 season. The two programs did not meet from 1997-2007 when the Govs returned to the OVC from playing non-scholarship Division I-AA football. JSU is now 20-8-3 all-time against APSU and 12-4-1 on the JSU campus. 
• The Gamecocks' seven-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the FCS entering the day, was snapped with the setback. 
• Redshirt sophomore Nicario Harper's interception extended JSU's streak to nine games with at least one turnover forced. It was Harper's third interception of the season. 
• The defense held the Govs to 27 total rushing yards, making it seven consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have held their opponents to under 100 yards rushing. JSU held Southeast Missouri to 24 yards on the ground last week. 
• JSU had a season-high 18 penalties for 126 yards in the APSU contest. The Gamecocks were penalized 10 times for 129 yards at UT Martin. 
• APSU limited the JSU offense to just 259 yards of total offense on Sunday. It's the lowest offensive output since JSU's home contest against Mercer on October 10, 2020. The Bears held the Gamecocks to 297 total yards. 
• Redshirt junior Josh Samuel recorded his fifth rushing touchdown of the season with a three-yard TD run to cap off JSU's opening drive. He finished with a game-high 89 yards on 20 carries. Samuel also caught a pair of passes for 63 yards, including a 48-yard grab that sparked JSU's scoring drive. 
• JSU's placekicker Alan Karajic is now 13-of-17 on the season in field goals after adding a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter.

 

---

Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Austin Peay
March 28, 2021 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"It was just not a great day for the Gamecocks. I thought we still played very hard, but we just made too many mistakes. Offensively, you're not going to win many games when you turn it over six times. We shut them down on defense in the second half, we just couldn't get it going on offense. I still think we have a good football team though. We just have to put this one behind us, clean up some things and get better."
 
On resolving penalty Issue
"If there is anything to learn from this, we'll definitely learn from it. The biggest thing for me was there were way too many procedural calls. You're going to have some holding calls but you have to eliminate the pre and post snap calls. Some of this stuff though we're just going to have to go back and evaluate."
 
On Zion Webb's performance
"It's not his game right now to be a drop back, two-minute drill type quarterback. I think he can do it but we did not help him a lot with protection and that's something that we have to go back and really get better at. We're more of a blue-collar offense so you can't make mistakes like we did today to win games."
 
Josh Samuel, Running Back, Redshirt Junior
On the strong opening drive
"We had a great start to score on the opening drive. Our goal was to keep our foot on the gas and keep going, but we fell short. We've learned a lot from this loss, so we have to bounce back and keep moving forward."
 
On moving forward following a loss
"We just have to put this game behind us and keep moving forward and maybe get into the playoffs. We're not worried about that right now though. We're just worried about the next game and being able to keep moving on."
 
Nicario Harper, Safety, Redshirt Sophomore
On his interception
"Our offense had just turned the ball over, so our mindset was to get a turnover and give the offense the ball back. I'm pretty happy with getting another turnover to give the offense back the ball. It was a simple play. I did my job running to the ball and came out with the turnover."
 
On penalty struggles
"We could have been more disciplined as a defense. It killed us though because we tried to get off the field or get more turnovers and give the offense more opportunities to score points but we made their drives longer. We have to learn from it as a team, but we'll be alright."