CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The first of three rugged ASUN Conference games to conclude the 2022 season saw Jacksonville State halt Austin Peay's two-game series streak to remain atop the league standings. 

Quarterback Zion Webb passed for a touchdown and caught the first scoring pass of his Jax State career on a version of the "Philly Special" as the Gamecocks routed Austin Peay 40-16 at Fortera Stadium on Saturday. Jax State (7-2, 3-0) broke loose in the second half with 24 unanswered points, including the first blocked field goal return for a touchdown since 2008.

"I thought in the second half in all three phases we played solid, and that was the difference," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez, who earned his 170^th career victory. "Our guys hung in there.

"We wanted to give them a different wrinkle in the second half and we changed up some formations and ran some stuff we just put in a few days ago. We had to reach into our bag of tricks, so to speak, in the second half."

Webb accounted for 261 scrimmage yards (186 passing, 75 rushing) and the Gamecocks, who entered the day ranked 122^nd out of 123 FCS programs in time of possession, held a 31:55 to 28:05 lead in that category against Austin Peay.

Pat Jackson got the second-half onslaught started with a 3-yard run with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Rodriguez' "bag of tricks" featured a double-reverse from Webb to Jackson to Galban, who pulled up as he rolled right and tossed a 5-yard TD pass to the quarterback, who was uncovered in the end zone.

Webb's touchdown catch concluded a 14-play scoring drive, JSU's longest of the year, and extended Jax State's lead to 30-16.

The backbreaker for Austin Peay came with 10½ minutes left and the Gamecocks leading by 17.

Larry Worth broke through the line and blocked a Trujillo field goal try, which was scooped up by Jamari Jemison, who raced 69 yards for a touchdown and a 40-16 lead. It was the Gamecocks' first score via a blocked field goal in 14 years.

A rollercoaster first half featuring five leads changes ended tied at 16 as Austin Peay's Maddux Trujillo kicked a 55-yard field goal into the wind, the third longest in FCS this season, as time expired.

The Gamecocks' first two offensive series ended in three-and-outs and produced only one net yard.

Punt returner Galban gave JSU its best field position with a 19-yard return to its 49. Facing third-and-7 at the Governors' 48, Perry Carter Jr. hauled in a 48-yard touchdown toss from Webb as Jax State got on the scoreboard first at the 3:36 mark in the first quarter.

It was Carter's first career TD reception as Gamecock.

Austin Peay (5-3, 1-2) answered to take its first lead following a 10-play, 75-yard drive. C.J. Evans Jr. finished it with a 4-yard run on the final play and the Govs converted their extra point to ahead 7-6.

The Gamecocks retook the lead when Karajic kicked a 40-yard field goal with 7:35 remaining in the second. The scoring drive was set up by Zion Webb's 30-yard completion to PJ Wells, whose acrobatic catch along the sideline gave JSU possession at Austin Peay's 28.

The lead changed twice in the last 6:13 of the half.

First, the Govs scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass to cap off a 75-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference penalty against the Gamecocks. Trujillo's extra point put his team back in front, 13-9.

Jax State responded with a methodical eight-play, 76-yard march to the end zone. Matt LaRoche took a speed option pitch from Webb and went the last two yards with 25 seconds to go before intermission, his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.

Karajic's PAT gave Jax State the lead again at 16-13.

The Govs received the ensuing kickoff and moved quickly to JSU's 33. Following a false start penalty that moved it back five yards, Trujillo came on to kick a 55-yard field goal into a 15 mph breeze that sent the teams to their respective dressing rooms deadlocked.

Jax State has an open date next Saturday. The Gamecocks will host Eastern Kentucky (5-3, 1-1) on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. for the Marching Southerners Reunion weekend.

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Austin Peay
October 29, 2022 • Fortera Stadium • Clarksville, Tenn.

• JSU Captains: Redshirt senior linebacker Stevonte Tullis, Redshirt senior offensive lineman Ye'Majesty Sanders and redshirt junior wide receiver Ty Lyte III
• Jacksonville State won the toss and opted to defer
• The Gamecocks now lead the all-time series vs. Austin Peay 21-8-3
• JSU's 40-16 win is the fourth time the Gamecocks scored 40 or more this season; the Gamecocks have scored at least 34 in all seven victories this year.
• Perry Carter's score was his first since 2020, and the first of his Gamecock career since transferring to JSU this season. He finished with a career-high 59 yards receiving on two catches.
• Galban likewise threw his first career touchdown and finished 1-for-1 passing to go with three receptions for 21 yards.
• Kicker Alen Karajic finished 2-for-2 on field goal attempts with kicks from 39 and 40 yards. His second field goal of the day moved him past Chris Hobbs (1981-84) for fifth on the school's career field list with his 33rd career make.
• With seven touchbacks on kickoffs, Karajic extended his single-season school record to 48 touchbacks this season
• Larry Worth's fourth-quarter field goal block was Jax State's first blocked field since Umstead Sanders had a third-quarter block against Tennessee Tech during the spring season on Feb. 21, 2021
• Jamari Jemison's 69-yard blocked field goal return was the first time the Gamecocks returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown since Andrew Ridgeway returned T.J. Heath's block 72 yards against Tennessee State on Nov. 15, 2008
• Stevonte Tullis led the defense with nine tackles and collected his first-career interception in the second half which he returned for 19 yards
• Sophomore safety Deco Wilson recorded a career-best eight tackles
• Karajic's missed extra point in the first quarter snapped a streak of 65 straight successful PATs by the sophomore placekicker
• Pat Jackson's 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter marked the first points allowed by Austin Peay's defense in the second half of five home games this season
• The Gamecocks surpassed 100 yards rushing for the 15^th consecutive game (183)
• Austin Peay's 55-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half was the third-longest by an FCS kicker this season and established a new ASUN record