The Gamecocks (4-3, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference) had a punt blocked, a kickoff returned for a score, missed an extra point and came up on the short side of an EIU onside kick in suffering just their ninth Homecoming defeat since 1946. The Panthers (6-2, 4-1 OVC) used the JSU miscues to build an early 15-point lead and never looked back.
EIU led by 15 as late as a 28-13 in the third quarter, the largest deficit the Gamecocks have faced against an OVC foe since 2005, and made the plays when they needed to hold on for their third win in four trips to Jacksonville.
Senior quarterback Ryan Perrilloux threw for 236 yards and a score on 16-for-26 passing, while also running for 36 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in the losing effort. The LaPlace, La., native moved past Maurice Mullins into sixth place on the school's career passing list with 3,838. His touchdown pass, a 38-yard strike to senior James Wilkerson, was the 35th of his career, tying Reggie Stancil for third on the school's career touchdown passes list.
Wilkerson also made some waves in the Gamecocks' career record books in the game. The Crestview, Fla., native hauled in five catches for 96 yards and a score, giving him 1,587 receiving yards for his career. That moves him past Rusty Fuller (1,500) in seventh place and Taurean Rhetta (1,586) in sixth on the school's career receiving yards list.
Sophomore Calvin Middleton led the Gamecocks' ground attack with 53 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Junior Jamal Young added 33 yards on nine touches. Along with Wilkerson's five catches, Perrilloux found five other players twice, led by Justin Howard's 42 yards.
Senior linebacker Alexander Henderson racked up 15 total tackles to lead all players on the day. The Mobile, Ala., native picked up 11 solo stops.
EIU quarterback Jake Christensen had two touchdowns on a day where he completed 16 of his 29 attempts for 190 yards.
and one interception. Mon Williams accounted for 38 of the Panthers' 65 rushing yards and also scored once.
The Panthers jumped on the Gamecocks quickly, taking their opening drive 58 yards in 5:03 to take an early 7-0 lead. Christensen capped the nine-play drive by finding Erik Lora from six yards out to account for the first first-quarter points against JSU by an FCS foe this season.
EIU recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and drove to the JSU one, but stalled and turned it over on downs. The Gamecocks failed to produce and the Panthers' Lorence Ricks blocked Patrick Tatum's punt attempt to set up the EIU offense at the Jax State four yard line. Mon Williams ran it in on the second play to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead with 14:35 to play in the half.
The Gamecocks got a boost before going into the locker room at the half, when Perrilloux found James Wilkerson across the middle. Wilkerson plowed through the Panthers' initial tackle attempt and scampered the rest of the way for a 38-yard score that cut the deficit to 14-6 with 49 ticks on the second-quarter clock. Tatum missed the point after attempt, leaving the Gamecocks with an eight-point deficit at the intermission.
EIU stretched the lead to 21-6 early in the second half, thanks to Christensen's second touchdown pass of the game. He found Chris Wright on the right sideline from 10 yards out with 10:15 to play in the third, capping a seven-play, 51-yard scoring drive.
Perrilloux marched the JSU offense down the field on the next possession, an 80-yard drive that took just eight plays and 3:48 off of the clock. The senior signal caller was 2-for-2 for 39 yards passing and ran for 20 yards on three carries on the drive, the last being an eight-yard scoring run that cut the Panthers' lead to 21-13 with 6:27 to play in the third quarter.
The Panthers answered on the ensuing kickoff, thanks to an 87-yard return for a touchdown from Ricks, the first against the Gamecocks since EIU's Quinten Ponius ran one back 97 yards on Nov. 10, 2007.
The Gamecock offense had another 80-yard scoring drive to respond with, one that ended with a two-yard Calvin Middleton run that cut the deficit to 28-20 with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Gamecocks will look to get back on track next week, when they travel to Clarksville, Tenn., for a 4 p.m. game against Austin Peay on Oct. 31.
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