OVC champion Jacksonville State defeats Southeast Missouri State in finale

Nobody in the Ohio Valley Conference had been able to beat the Jacksonville State Gamecocks yet this season, and that didn't change when the No. 3 team in the country came to Houck Stadium to face Southeast Missouri State on Saturday.

The Redhawks had knocked off a team that was No. 3 in the country once already this season, but the Ohio Valley Conference champion Gamecocks weren't about to let the first undefeated conference season in school history slip out of their grasp.

The Redhawks (5-7, 3-5 OVC) remained within striking distance after facing a large first-quarter deficit but ultimately finished their season with a 49-30 loss to the Gamecocks (10-1, 8-0 OVC).

"I thought our kids played hard. We could've played smarter, but a little bit of it was physical science," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said. "They were just bigger, stronger at the point of attack, all of the things that you knew going in."

JSU scored a touchdown on its first four drives of the game.

The Gamecocks needed just 2 minutes, 54 seconds to take a lead that they'd never relinquish on a 14-yard run by running back DaMarcus James.

After Southeast went three-and-out, JSU needed just three plays to score again. Quarterback Eli Jenkins found a wide-open Bo Brummel near the Redhawks' 30-yard line and Brummel ran it in for a 58-yard touchdown that made it 14-0 with 10:10 remaining in the first.

Southeast quarterback Kyle Snyder threw an interception on the second play of the following drive to set the Gamecocks up in Redhawks' territory.

A JSU holding penalty slowed down the drive, and the Gamecocks faced fourth-and-9 from Southeast's 30-yard line following a timeout, but Jenkins hit receiver Ruben Gonzalez for a 30-yard score that brought the Redhawks deficit to 21-0 with 7:28 to go in the opening period.

Southeast responded with a 12-play drive, nine of which were rushing attempts, that ended with a 14-yard strike to receiver Paul McRoberts in the end zone that made it 21-7 at the end of the first.

"You've just got to keep your head right, and I thought we did a good job with that," Snyder said of facing a deficit nearly the entire game. "We were edging into the game. We were right there through the third and fourth quarters."

JSU finished an 88-yard scoring drive 3:21 into the second quarter. The Redhawks held the Gamecocks at the 1-yard line on third-and-goal before James took a direct snap in for the touchdown on fourth down to extend the lead to 28-7.

Southeast Missouri State's Ryan McCrum watches his PAT scored after his team's first touchdown against Jacksonville State during the first quarter Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 at Houck Stadium. (Fred Lynch)

Southeast moved the ball inside the Gamecocks' 10-yard line before stalling and settling for a 25-yard field goal attempt by Ryan McCrum with 7:55 remaining in the half. McCrum broke Southeast's single-season field goal record when he made his 18th of the season then. The score remained 28-10 at the break.

"Basically they said you've got one half of the season to play and then you're done," Snyder said of the halftime message. "You know, 'Seniors, this is it.' That really hit home to a lot of guys like, 'OK, this is our last half of football for the seniors.'"

The Redhawks gained just two yards on the opening drive of the second half before punting, but senior cornerback Tim Hamm-Bey intercepted a Jenkins' pass on the Gamecocks' first play that set Southeast up on its own 43.

A JSU personal foul moved the Redhawks to the visitor's 42 and then Snyder completed three passes for 23 yards before he found freshman receiver Adrian Davis in the end zone from 19 yards out and cut the deficit to 11 points at 28-17.

"Everybody was being more aggressive," McRoberts said. "We knew they were going to be very physical and they have a great team, so we knew we had to be physical on the perimeter and on inside. I felt like being aggressive took their eyes off the run or off the pass and they'd just start thinking a little bit."

The teams traded scores, with the Gamecocks scoring on an 18-yard run by Troymaine Pope and Southeast answering two and a half minutes later with a 2-yard run by DeMichael Jackson.

Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Paul McRoberts is tackled after a 44-yard reception to the Jacksonville State 4-yard line during the third quarter Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 at Houck Stadium. Southeast scored later on the drive. (Fred Lynch)

A 44-yard catch by McRoberts set up Jackson's touchdown that pulled the Redhawks within 35-24 with 5:18 remaining in the third.

"The playmakers made plays and up front they did a good job," Snyder said of the offense, which was 5 of 5 in the red zone. "Whenever you get inside the red zone and you're able to line up against a bigger set and offensively be able to run it just right up the middle, that's really good."

JSU converted on third-and-9 on the next drive and scored three plays later on a screen pass to Dalton Screws that turned into a 36-yard touchdown to put the Gamecocks ahead 42-24 to close out the third quarter.

Southeast punted to start the fourth and then JSU used 7:18 off the clock on an 18-play drive. Quarterback Christian LeMay kept it for a 1-yard touchdown with 7:41 left.

Southeast scored its fourth touchdown of the day on a 5-yard pass to tight end Logan Larson with 3:32 remaining for the final score.

Southeast finished with 366 yards of offense, 161 rushing and 205 receiving, against the conference's top defense that entered the game allowing an average of 282.9 yards a game. McRoberts finished with 135 yards receiving and a touchdown on eight catches. Jackson finished with 72 yards rushing on 15 carries.

"I felt like offensively we were able to run the ball after the first quarter," Matukewicz said. "We were trying to run zone and they were just too big and they were stuffing the holes, so we had to run some power stuff, get Kyle going out there a little bit. Kyle opened up some holes. What I saw was, that's one of the best defenses in the country. They're No. 1 in the universe in third-down defense, and our offense really did a good job, so that's why I'm encouraged. We've got our leading rusher back, our leading receiver back, a young guy Adrian Davis that's a tough matchup in the red zone and has got length and things like that, so there's a lot of good that we can build on."

Southeast Missouri State quarterback Kyle Snyder carries 10 yards for a first down before he is pushed out of bounds by Jacksonville State s Darius Jackson during the third quarter Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 at Houck Stadium. (Fred Lynch)

One person that the Redhawks won't return to their offense next season is Snyder, who broke the school's single-season record for total offense in Saturday's game. He finished with 3,243 yards after completing 17 of 27 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 71 yards on 14 touches.

"Just like it's been all year, just a gritty, tough competitor that I'm proud of because he left this game playing the best," Matukewicz said. "There's a lot of seniors that go out not playing their best football that I've been a part of, but he did. And he didn't start last year. That's a testament, one, to his teammates and coaches, but also to him and his mental toughness of not just waving the white flag, but keep battling."

Southeast finished its first season under Matukewicz with two more wins than it had in each of the last three seasons.

"Guys who are up-and-coming leaders, they're there," senior linebacker Wisler Ymonice said. "They understand what's required of us, so I believe that we're on the right track as far as SEMO football."