Jacksonville State rallies past Southeast Missouri State football team 22-21

It was a game that either football team would have come away from feeling like it squandered a golden opportunity.

Southeast Missouri State was left with those thoughts following Saturday's 22-21 home loss to Jacksonville State.

Southeast fell to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. JSU (6-4, 5-2) broke a three-game losing streak and moved back into a tie for first place in the OVC.

"Tough loss," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "We had opportunities to win the game. Our kids played extremely hard. ... gave great effort."

An announced crowd of just 1,984 at Houck Stadium saw Southeast senior quarterback Matt Scheible put another notch in the belt of his brilliant career.

Scheible became the first quarterback in program history to rush for at least 200 yards in a single game as he piled up a career-high 209 yards on 27 carries.

Scheible befuddled JSU on the option during a first half that saw him dash for 141 yards on 16 carries and a 38-yard touchdown as Southeast led 21-9 at the break.

"The first half we executed our game plan well. ... Man, the holes were gaping," said Scheible, who completed just 5 of 13 passes for 26 yards and was intercepted twice.

Scheible's 209 yards are the seventh-highest for a single game in school history. It's only the program's ninth 200-yard rushing performance.

"What else do you say about that guy?" Samuel said. "That's a very special individual. He's the most special guy I've been around."

JSU got its own career performance, from a running back, as senior Calvin Middleton piled up 191 yards on 38 carries and scored all three of the Gamecocks' touchdowns.

Middleton only received that much action because junior Washaun Ealey, the OVC's No. 2 rusher with 999 yards, missed the game with a hamstring injury.

JSU's defense came alive in the second half, allowing Southeast just 113 yards after the Redhawks piled up 257 yards in the first half.

"This was a tough, hard fought football game," JSU coach Jack Crowe said. "We challenged the defense at the half, and they responded by shutting them out in the second half."

JSU turned the contest around by dominating the third quarter.

The Gamecocks scored touchdowns on drives of 75 and 91 yards to go ahead for good. They had 23 offensive plays in the period to just six for Southeast.

"I thought the third-quarter possession ... they put together two lengthy drives and our offense was on the sideline. That threw our rhythm off," Samuel said.

Southeast's only second-half drive of substance came early in the third quarter after senior defensive end Steve Hendry recovered a fumble at the Redhawks' 9-yard line, keeping Southeast within a point.

JSU also lost a fumble inside Southeast's 20-yard line during the first half.

The Redhawks marched to JSU's 30-yard line, but Scheible was sacked on first down. The drive stalled, and Samuel said he contemplated trying a field goal of close to 55 yards but decided to punt due to a swirling wind.

Southeast's defense forced a three-and-out and the Redhawks' offense began a drive at their 27-yard line with 5 minutes, 5 seconds remaining.

The Redhawks picked up a first down at the 38 and appeared to have another first down at the 50 but an illegal motion penalty erased the play.

"That was a big play," Samuel said.

Southeast went for it on 4th-and-10 from its 38 but a pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Spencer Davis gained only six yards.

"I said, 'Well, there's two timeouts left. If we punt it back to them, it'll be the same situation [if Southeast held JSU], just further back,'" Samuel said.

That became moot as the Gamecocks picked up a first down and ran out the clock.

"We went up early in the first half. ... I guess we expected the same thing [in the second half]," Hendry said. "They obviously wanted it more than we did."

Davis ripped off a 39-yard touchdown run on a wide-receiver option pitch as the Redhawks drove 70 yards on their first possession.

Redshirt freshman fullback Ron Coleman's 1-yard run late in the opening period made it 14-3.

Scheible's 38-yarder with just 1:58 left before halftime put Southeast up 21-9.

"The way we ran the ball, we tired them down a lot," Davis said of the first half. "The second half they executed well. I give it to their defense. They made a lot of adjustments."

Samuel lamented junior Drew Geldbach's 32-yard field-goal attempt that sailed wide on the final play of the first half.

Geldbach also had a 43-yarder blocked in the opening period. JSU missed two extra points as the wind caused problems all day.

"I wish we could have closed out with some form of points just before halftime," Samuel said. "We needed that cushion."

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Three keys

1. While Southeast quarterback Matt Scheible ran wild with 209 yards, the Redhawks didn't get much done in the passing game. Scheible completed just 5 of 13 for 26 yards and was intercepted twice, although neither pick led to points for the Gamecocks.

2. Jacksonville State turned around the game by dominating the third quarter, scoring twice to erase a 21-9 deficit and keeping the ball away from Southeast. The Gamecocks had 23 offensive plays in the period to just six for Southeast.

3. Southeast put itself in too many third-and-long situations, especially in the second half, which bogged down the Redhawks. They converted just 2 of 10 third downs while Jacksonville State converted 8 of 14.