SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 34, Mercer 28
JACKSONVILLE STATE 34, MERCER 28
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Neither the remnants of Hurricane Delta nor a 100-yard Mercer kickoff return to begin the game could spoil Jacksonville State's only appearance at Burgess-Snow Field during this abbreviated fall season.
Zerrick Cooper rushed for two touchdowns and the defense forced two key fourth-quarter turnovers as the Gamecocks (1-1) overcame inclement weather to defeat Mercer 34-28 in the first matchup between the programs. Jacksonville State has now won 15 consecutive home openers.
Safety Nicario Harper returned a Bears' fumble 64 yards for a touchdown with 5:03 remaining for what proved to be the decisive points. Kolbi Fuqua hit Mercer's Andrew May after a completed pass and knocked the ball loose, with Harper, a transfer from Southern Miss, scooping it up and running untouched down the sideline to give Jacksonville State a 34-21 lead.
Mercer (0-1) made it interesting by driving 74 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-28 with 51 seconds left. The Bears then attempted an onside kick, which JSU's Logan McVay fell on to preserve the win.
Cooper completed 12-of-18 passes for 139 yards to move past Ed Lett (1979-82) for second place in Jacksonville State's career passing yardage record book. He now has 7,191 career passing yards, trailing only Eli Jenkins (7,652).
"To get a win in a driving rainstorm, you'll take it any way you can get it," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We could have played a lot better, but I thought we did what we had to do to win the game."
Cooper needs 146 scrimmage yards next week at North Alabama to move past former Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo (1999-202) for 10th place on the Ohio Valley Conference's career total offense list. He now has accumulated 7,914 career scrimmage yards.
Jacksonville State found itself in an early hole when Deondre Johnson returned the opening kickoff 100 yards to quiet the homecoming crowd at Burgess-Snow.
The Bears extended their lead to 14-3 midway through the first quarter with a 13-play drive capped off by Tyray Devezin's 3-yard TD run.
The Gamecock offense responded by scoring 24 points in the second quarter, their most in a quarter since the 2015 FCS semifinals against Sam Houston State.
Alen Karajic kicked his second field goal, this time from 43 yards after making a 38-yard kick earlier, on the first snap of the quarter to cut Mercer's lead to 14-6.
Pat Jackson's first career touchdown run and Karajic's extra point made it 14-13 with 8:27 left before halftime. Jackson ended the game as JSU's leading rusher with 62 yards on 11 carries.
Cooper had touchdown runs of one and nine yards in a span of 63 seconds as Jacksonville State built a 27-14 halftime lead. His second touchdown was set up when Markail Benton recovered a fumble at the Bears 27 and Jacksonville State needed just four plays to find the end zone.
Trae Barry caught four passes for 84 yards and moved past Butch Barker into second place in the record book for most career receiving yards by a JSU tight end.
Darius Joiner had a career-best 12 tackles to lead the defensive effort that limited Mercer to 287 yards. Fuqua contributed 10 tackles in addition to forcing a fumble.