SATURDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 24, @North Alabama 17
@Troy 31,
Eastern Kentucky 29
JACKSONVILLE STATE 24, NORTH ALABAMA 17
FLORENCE, Ala. - Braly Stadium, the University of North Alabama's football home, has been the scene of many memorable Jacksonville State victories, most famously the Gamecocks' 1992 NCAA Division II national championship.
Playing without head coach John Grass, who watched from his home after testing positive for COVID-19 two days earlier, Jacksonville State overcame a halftime deficit to defeat UNA 24-17 before a socially distanced crowd of 4,632 Saturday afternoon.
Zerrick Cooper ran for two scores and tied the school record with his 61st career touchdown pass as the Gamecocks (2-1) beat their longtime rival for the fourth straight time. Senior tight end Trae Barry caught five passes for 104 yards - his fourth career 100-yard receiving effort - and Cooper accounted for 290 scrimmage yards in the 48th meeting between the schools.
The outcome was not decided until safety Nicario Harper intercepted a desperation UNA heave at the JSU one-yard line on the game's final play.
"I'm really proud of our staff and our players for pulling out the win," Grass said on a postgame media teleconference. "I was just really proud of the way we played in the second half. I thought all three phases of the game played well after halftime."
Cooper had a pair of one-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter as the Gamecocks rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit. Both of his TD runs finished off lengthy JSU drives - a 14-play, 80-yard march at the 5:24 mark and a five-play, 82-yard drive on the final play of the quarter to put the Gamecocks ahead for good.
Cooper now has five rushing touchdowns in three games and 17 for his career. He ran nine times vs. the Lions (0-2) for a season-high 46 yards.
Alen Karajic remained perfect on the season with a 36-yard field goal that extended UNA's advantage to 24-17 with 10:23 remaining.
UNA took the opening kickoff and strung together a 19-play drive that consumed almost 10 minutes. The Lions, however, were forced to settle for a 19-yard Sam Contorno field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Jacksonville State finally responded midway through the second quarter as Cooper tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quan Charleston. Karajic's extra point made it 7-3 at the 5:39 mark.
Cooper's 61st career TD pass ties Ed Lett (1979-82) atop the school record book. He completed 15-of-25 passes for a season-high 244 yards Saturday afternoon.
The Lions regained the lead when Parker Driggers scored on a one-yard run with 19 seconds to go before halftime. UNA controlled the football for 22:26 to Jacksonville State's 7:34 in the first half.
The Gamecocks' defense limited UNA to 63 yards on 30 attempts and 276 yards total. The Lions had only one play of more than 20 yards. D.J. Coleman had a game-high nine tackles and Harper was credited with seven stops in addition to his game-clinching interception as time expired.
TROY 31, EASTERN KENTUCKY 29
TROY, Ala. - Eastern Kentucky University’s football team took a 29-28 lead at Troy University with 21 seconds left in the game, but the Trojans drove 30 yards and then made a 47-yard field goal as time expired to pull out a 31-29 win on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Down by five, the Eastern Kentucky defense forced a punt from midfield with 2:54 to go, giving the offense one more chance. On 4th-and-9, Parker McKinney found Keyion Dixon for 37 yards to the Troy 30 yard line with 1:11 on the clock. Jackson Beerman’s 26-yard catch over the middle moved the ball to the four with less than a minute to go. Two plays later McKinney found Dixon in the back of the end zone for six points and a 29-28 lead.
Troy (3-1) used three plays to drive 30 yards before Evan Legassey converted a 47-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
EKU (1-4) tied the score midway through the first quarter at 7-7 after McKinney found an open Dixon down the right sideline for a 90-yard touchdown. It was the longest touchdown pass in program history, beating the previous record of 86 yards set by Matt Guice to Andre Ralston against Southeast Missouri in 2004.
Alexander Woznick’s 19-yard field goal drew Eastern within four, 14-10 early in the second quarter.
The Colonels took their first lead of the game when Alonzo Booth capped a 14-play, 85-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. The drive chewed up 6:45 off the clock and put the visitors in front 17-14 with 4:49 on the clock in the second quarter.
Eastern converted four third downs on the drive. McKinney found Jacquez Jones for 14 yards on 3rd-and-9. On a 3rd-and-11, McKinney connected with Dixon for 15 yards. Facing a 3rd-and-5, McKinney completed a pass to Ethan Bednarczyk for eight yards. On 3rd-and-4 from the Troy 37 yard line, McKinney hooked up with Dixon for 20. Two plays later Booth finished off the drive.
The Trojans scored on a 1-yard rush by Kimani Vidal with 2:26 remaining in the second quarter to go back on top. A 22-yard pass to Reggie Todd from Gunnar Watson with 9:35 to go in the third quarter extended the home team’s lead to 28-17.
Eastern got within eight on a 22-yard field goal by Woznick with 14:41 left in the game. On the ensuing Troy possession, Nic Cheeley forced a fumble and Elijah Taylor recovered for the Colonels but the visitors were ultimately forced to punt.
Taylor tipped up a pass and came down with an interception with 7:33 remaining in the game. Woznick converted the turnover into a 25-yard field goal to cut the margin to five, 28-23.
McKinney finished the day 30-for-47 for a career-best 370 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and had one interception. Dixon caught eight of those throws for 196 yards and two scores. Jones had eight catches for 75 yards. Beerman caught six for 57 yards.
Kaleb Lundy led the defense with 11 tackles. The Eastern defense had three take aways.
Watson was 26-for-38 with three touchdowns, two interceptions and 333 yards for Troy. Vidal finished with 143 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored once.