JACKSONVILLE – Davidson's second trip to Burgess-Snow Field in 17 months ended just like its first – with a resounding Jacksonville State victory.
Quarterback Zion Webb accounted for all five touchdowns and Jax State's defense forced three turnovers as the Gamecocks improved to 2-0 with a 35-17 win before a Band Day crowd of 18,462 at Burgess-Snow Field. The victory was JSU's 17th straight in a home opener.
Webb, coming off a three-touchdown performance in the season opener vs. Stephen F. Austin, had a hand in all four touchdowns – two rushing and two through the air – as Jax State raced to a 28-10 halftime lead. He scored on runs of three and seven yards and threw touchdown passes to Sterling Galban (31 yards) and Pat Jackson (21 yards).
"As I told the team, I thought we got out-coached in certain areas, I thought we got out-physicaled in certain areas. But I don't want to apologize for a win," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "Our guys did what they had to do.
"You worry about option teams and how many possessions you're going to have and are they going to eat the clock up. But there was no panic. I think we learned a few things today."
The Wildcats (0-1), a Pioneer Football League member, were their own worst enemy during the first half, coughing up three fumbles and giving the Gamecocks excellent field position.
Four of Jax State's first five drives started inside Davidson's 30 as Stevonte Tullis recovered a pair of fumbles and J-Rock Swain also came up with a loose ball. Tullis, a senior linebacker, became the 14th JSU defender in school history with multiple fumble recoveries in a game and the first since Pierre Warren in 2011.
The Gamecocks broke a 7-7 deadlock by scoring three touchdowns in a tick over six minutes during the second quarter.
Michael Pettway's 71-yard kickoff return deep into Davidson territory set up the Gamecocks' go-ahead score. Webb finished the six-play, 19-yard drive with a three-yard run to the end zone and Brenton King added the extra point for a 14-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
Webb's seven-yard TD run capped off an 86-yard scoring drive to extend his team's lead to 21-7. Moments later, JSU's Chuck Taylor forced a fumble and Tullis came up with his second recovery of the afternoon at the Wildcats 26.
Webb hit Jackson with a swing pass for a 21-yard touchdown pass and another PAT from King made it 28-10 with 8:54 left in the half.
Davidson held a 23:16 to 6:44 advantage in time of possession through the first two quarters.
Webb salted away the win in the fourth with a 20-yard touchdown sprint with 9:32 remaining in the game to complete a 75-yard JSU drive that took eight plays.
The Wildcats ran 77 plays and held possession for more than 42 minutes but were limited to only 57 yards passing. Jacksonville State rolled up 316 yards despite only having the football for 18 minutes.
Webb has now rushed for six touchdowns in JSU's first two games.
Tullis finished with a career-high 14 tackles along with his two recoveries. Markail Benton contributed 10 stops.
Jacksonville State travels to face former Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State at Roy Stewart Stadium next Saturday. The Gamecocks own a 16-2 lead in the all-time series and have won the last seven meetings.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN+.
Jacksonville State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez
September 3, 2022
The Davidson Game
Opening Comments:
"I thought we were out-coached in certain areas, I thought we were more physical in certain areas, but I don't want to apologize for a win. Our guys did what they had to do. You worry about option teams, how many possessions you're going to have, they're going to eat the clock up, if you start pressing things too much offensively, and all that kind of stuff. All that did happen, but there was no panic. It was just hard to stand on the sidelines and watch that they kind of controlled it that way. You have to give their staff and their players a lot of credit. They were well prepared, they competed really hard, and our guys, I think, learned a few things today. But we won, so we'll learn from it and move on."
On what the team learned:
"We learned we better come in ready to play physically and mentally as hard as possible against teams we play on every snap. I thought the first game our guys felt they were playing harder and were playing more physical, but in this game, I don't know if you could say that. Now, style of play had something to do with it. That option is a little unique, but we're going to see it again. I didn't think we got off blocks well, I didn't think we sustained blocks well on the offensive side, so those things, we'll watch the film, and try to get them corrected from there. I think our guys are pretty conscientious. We speak the truth when we talk to them, they expect to hear the truth, and I think they'll take it heart."
On Davidson:
"They're going to take it all the way down, they're going to take 40 seconds on every possession. It does put a little more pressure on you and it's hard to get into a rhythm, I think. That sounds like an excuse, so if you play an option team you have to be ready for that. The biggest way to not to have that be an issue is get three-and-outs on defense, I don't know if we got any, we had a couple. We let them get short yardage situations and let them control the clock a little bit. We'll watch the film and see what we have to do to get better with it. It is hard and you know that going into it. The way the game started off, they gifted us the first possession, we didn't do anything with it, they gifted us another and we get the touchdown, so you're thinking this is starting out perfect. The rest of the game they controlled the clock."
Zion Webb, QB, R-SR.
Opening Comments:
"It means a lot to come out and give our fans a show, give our fans something to watch, and just the team playing together as a team getting a team win. It feels very great."
On Davidson's defense:
"I think those guys just wanted to challenge us. I like one-on-one matchups with our guys, I like our guys over anybody, it's just a matter of who's going to compete and who's going to win."
On his season start:
"Coach Rich Rod pushed us all spring, all summer, and all fall camp to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. It's a blessing to be in the position that I am right now. I just keep taking it one day at a time. The guys around me help me a lot, so it's not solely on me but the team as a whole. Without me there wouldn't be any six (rushing) touchdowns or two (passing) touchdowns or whatever may be the case. I think the team has helped me out a lot.
Stevonte Tullis, LB, R-SR.
Opening Comments:
"Today we just had the ball coming our way and we just had to make the play."
On fumble recoveries:
"The first one was a blitz off the edge, he just fumbled the snap, and I fell on it. The second one, Chuck (Taylor) punched the ball out, so I, again, just fell on it."
On defensive performance:
"As a defense we did decent, but I think we could have done a lot better. Coming out with a win and everybody doing their job, that's all you want at the end of the day."
Markail Benton, LB, R-SR.
Opening Comments:
"We're just here to make plays. This team we played today was all about every one of us doing our jobs. No matter how many plays you make, you have to do your job, so that's what we focused on today."
On defensive performance:
"I think we can get better defending the run game because we'll have to face a triple option team again later in the season. I think we have to get better, but we can fix that."
Jax State Postgame Notes – Davidson
September 3, 2022 • Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.
