ORLANDO, Fla.  – Mid-American Conference champion Ohio clamped down on Jax State's high-powered rushing attack and held off a ferocious Gamecocks' rally for a 30-27 victory in the 10^th annual StaffDNA Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium on Friday.
 
Tre Stewart and Tyler Huff added to career rushing touchdown totals in their final games in a Jax State uniform. Stewart's two fourth-quarter scores were his 24^th and 25^th of 2024, the second-most ever by a Gamecock back.
 
Jax State finishes 9-5. Ohio ended on a seven-game win streak.
 
The No. 2 rushing offense among all FBS programs was limited to 48 yards on 33 attempts by Ohio's defense. Huff turned to the air in the second half, throwing for a career-high and Cure Bowl record 349 yards, including a 75-yard strike to Cam Vaughn for the Gamecocks' first points.
 
Huff was limited to two yards on 12 carries and sacked four times. His 1,345 yards on the ground places him sixth on Jax State's single-season rushing list.
 
Stewart, meanwhile, had 27 yards on 15 carries. His season total of 1,631 yards trails only Troymaine Pope's 1,788 yards in the 2013 season.
 
The Bobcats outgained Jax State 487-397.
 
The Bobcats took an early 7-0 lead with a 55-yard, seven-play drive to the end zone on their third series.
 
Cure Bowl MVP Parker Navarro ran 13 yards to the end zone and Ohio tacked on the extra point with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter. Navarro and the Bobcats' offense found the end zone again on their next drive, covering 64 yards in six plays with their quarterback scrambling for the final eight-yard TD.
 
Gianni Spetic's second extra point gave Ohio a 14-0 lead with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter. It was the most Jax State had trailed by since the Louisville game on Sept. 7.
 
The Gamecocks needed just 10 seconds to cut the deficit in half.
 
Huff unleashed a toss to Vaughn, who raced past the Ohio secondary and hauled in the 75-yard touchdown pass. Garrison Rippa's PAT trimmed the Bobcats lead to 14-7 with 1:12 remaining in the first.
 
Navarro accounted for two more touchdowns – one on the ground and one via the air – by halftime as Ohio established a 20-point lead.
 
Following a missed Jax State field goal attempt, the Bobcats moved 80 yards in eight plays with Navarro capping the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the day. He later tossed a short shovel pass to Anthony Tyus III with 41 seconds left for a 20-point halftime advantage.
 
Jax State took advantage of a 14-yard Ohio punt for the first points of the second half. Huff ran seven yards to the end zone for his 15^th rushing touchdown and Rippa added the extra point to pull the Gamecocks to within 27-14 with 9:36 to go in the third.
 
Stewart scored on runs of three and one yards in the fourth quarter as the Gamecocks began their comeback from a 16-point deficit after an Ohio field goal.
 
Curley Young Jr. and Fred Perry were each credited with 12 tackles, coming within two of the Cure Bowl record. Young recorded a game-high 2½ sacks and 3½ tackles for loss.
 
Jax State is slated to kick off the 2025 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, when it returns to Orlando to play UCF at its on-campus FBC Mortgage Stadium, also known as "The Bounce House."

Jax State Postgame Notes – Ohio University
December 20, 2024 • Camping World Stadium • Orlando, Fla.

• Jax State Captains: Senior defensive end J-Rock Swain, redshirt senior wide receiver PJ Wells, senior punter Jack Dawson
• Jax State won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half – the eighth time in 13 games the Gamecocks won the toss.
• The 2024 Gamecocks became the fourth team in the program's history to play 14 games in a season, joining the 1997, 1989 and 1992 squads. Jax State's 2015 team played 15 games while advancing to the FCS Championship Game.
• Jax State saw its streak of outrushing opponents in 10 straight games snapped.
• The Cure Bowl was the only postseason game this year (pending the College Football Playoffs) featuring a match-up of two conference champions – Conference USA vs. Mid-American.
• Redshirt freshman wide receiver Cam Vaughn's 75-yard TD reception in the first quarter was the longest of his five touchdowns this season. It was also the longest offensive play in Cure Bowl history.
• Huff's 75-yard TD to Vaughn was his sixth scoring pass of the year covering 50 yards or more.
• Junior safety Fred Perry had his fifth game with 10 or more tackles and also recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
• Redshirt junior Jarod Bowie had a 60-yard reception from Huff, the longest catch of his career. In his first extensive action of the year, he caught four passes for 105 yards.
• Tre Stewart's 25 touchdowns trail only DeMarcus James (29 TDs in 2013) on the school's all-time rushing touchdown list.
• Vaughn finished with a career-high 169 receiving yards on nine catches and Bowie ended with 105 yards. It marked the first time Jax State had two 100-yard receivers since Dec. 1, 2018, vs. Maine in the FCS playoffs.