THURSDAY'S SCORES
@#9 Jacksonville State 24, UT Martin 23
@Louisville 21, Murray State 9
@Eastern Illinois 33, Illinois State 26
#9 JACKSONVILLE STATE 24, UT MARTIN 23
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - It won't generate the same national headlines or ESPN highlights as Jacksonville State's stunning upset of Ole Miss to kick off the 2010 football season.
It was, however, every bit as dramatic.
Senior Calvin Middleton scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left and James Esco kicked the go-ahead extra point as the Gamecocks rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee-Martin 24-23 at Burgess-Snow Field Thursday night.
Jacksonville State (1-0), the preseason OVC favorite, appeared on the verge of suffering its first home loss to UT-Martin in 24 years. The Skyhawks (0-1) had taken a 23-10 lead with 14:11 remaining when Cody Sandlin kicked a 45-yard field goal to give UT-Martin its biggest lead of the night.
But Gabriel Chambers returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to midfield and the Gamecocks didn't wasting any time finding the end zone.
After a 7-yard Washaun Ealey run, backup quarterback Coty Blanchard and the junior transfer from Georgia hooked up on a 43-yard scoring pass with 13:06 to go. Esco's extra point trimmed JSU's deficit to 23-17.
The Gamecocks defense, which surrendered 475 yards, rose to the occasion on UT-Martin's next two possessions. The final scoring drive began at the 50 and JSU covered the distance in 3:53, with Blanchard running for 20 and 8 yards on consecutive plays to move the team deep into Skyhawks territory.
Middleton capped off the nine-play drive with his 4-yard run, setting off a celebration from the crowd of 17,919.
But the high-powered UT-Martin offense wasn't finished.
Starting at their own 15 with 34 seconds left, the Skyhawks moved to the JSU 42 in five plays. Facing a second-and-10 with six seconds remaining, quarterback Derek Carr hooked up with Stephen Shiver on a 27-yard completion, but Shiver was forced out of bounds at the JSU 15 as time expired.
That future isn't likely to include starting quarterback Marques Ivory. The senior from Warner Robins, Ga., sustained a fractured right fibula during the first half and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday.
Blanchard, the hero of last year's win at Ole Miss, completed 9-of-17 passes for a JSU career-high 133 yards and one touchdown. He also ran nine times for 32 yards.
Jacksonville State trailed 17-7 at halftime after surrendering 285 total yards.
The Gamecocks' only first-half points came on Ivory's 22-yard pass to tight end Justin Howard with 9:54 left in the second quarter.
Esco's field goal early in the third quarter drew Jacksonville State to within 17-10. But the visitors got field goals of 25 and 45 yards from Sandlin to stretch their lead to 23-10 early in the fourth.
Ealey ran for 41 yards on 13 carries in his Gamecock debut, while Middleton finished with 28 yards on 10 attempts.
LOUISVILLE 21, MURRAY STATE 9
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Murray State defense created four turnovers Thursday night, forcing three fumbles and an interception in a 21-9 loss against Louisville at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
The Racers (0-1) kept a threatening Louisville out of the end zone on the Cardinals first drive of the game. After reaching the Murray State 15 yard line on a 40 yard run by punter Chris Philpott on 4th and short, Richard Biers recovered a Jeremy Wright fumble forced by Darrian Skinner on the 18 yard line to give the Racers back possession. The fumble recovery was Biers' second straight in a season opener.
Louisville (1-0) got on the scoreboard in its next possession, completing a 13 play, 70 yard drive on a four yard touchdown pass from Will Stein to Scott Radcliff with 5:10 remaining in the first.
An MSU miscue on the following drive led to another Cardinals score. A mishandled snap on a punt attempt gave Louisville possession on the Murray State 13 and Victor Anderson ran in from two yards out on the second play for the second touchdown of the quarter.
The Racers responded better on their next possession, rattling off back-to-back first downs on an 18 yard pass to Ja-Vonta Trotter and a 10 yard scramble by Mike Harris to reach the MSU 42.
Following Louisville's second passing touchdown of the game to open up the second quarter, the Racers marched down the field, using eight rushes to pick up most of the 46 yards gained on the drive before an interception on third down from the Louisville 34 ended the possession.
The Racers got the ball back quickly though, picking up their second turnover of the game. Facing 3rd and 17 after three straight false start penalties, Darrell Davis intercepted Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater 35 yards down the field in man-to-man coverage as MSU took over on its own 24. The change of possession by the Racer defense made it four straight season openers with at least two turnovers.
Brockman's longest completion of the half came with under three minutes, finding Arthur Brackett wide open for a 29 yard gain. He found Brackett again later in the drive, leading the Racers into the red zone on a 20 yard strike down the right sideline with under a minute remaining.
Kienan Cullen ended the MSU drive with points, connecting from 30 yards out on the right hash mark for the first Racers score.
Harris ended the half the star of the offense, leading all ball carriers in the game with 71 yards on 16 carries.
The Racers came out solid on defense after halftime, holding the Cardinals to a three and out and forcing Philpott short of a first down on another punt run attempt that mirrored the same play from earlier in the game.
The defense forced another turnover halfway through the half as Kevin Robinson landed on and recovered a loose ball that slipped out of Stein's hands at the Louisville 34. The Cardinals went right back on offense a play later as Brockman was hit as he was throwing, leading to his second INT of the game.
Victor Daniels was responsible for the fourth Louisville turnover, stripping Victor Anderson from behind in the open field after he had broken off a 20 yard run. Davis recovered for the loose ball on the turf for MSU, his second turnover recovery on the night.
The turnover lead to the first Murray State touchdown as the Racers drove 74 yards down the field in 13 plays. The Racers picked up three third down conversions in the sequence before Mike Harris scampered through the middle of the field for a 22 yard score.
Harris ended the night with 116 yards on the ground, averaging 4.46 yards per carry as he broke the century mark on his touchdown run.
Brockman rebounded from a rough start to the game to finish with 148 passing yards, picking up five first downs with his feet as he ran for 44 yards.
Julian Whitehead led the defense with nine tackles, Sam Small had a team-best 1.5 tackles-for-loss and Daniels recorded a sack. The Racers held Louisville scoreless in the second half, limiting the home team to 131 second half yards.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 33, ILLINOIS STATE 26
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Nick Martinez picked off two passes in the final 2:26 of the game as Eastern Illinois opened the 2011 season with a 33-26 win over Illinois State in the 100th playing of the Mid-America Classic.
Martinez final interception sealed the game for the Panthers with nine seconds remaining handing EIU head coach Bob Spoo the win in his 25th and final season at EIU.
The Panthers had taken a 33-26 lead with 2:31 left in the game as Jimmy Garoppolo hit Chris Wright for a 10-yard score as Wright got a toe just inside the goal line.
EIU led 2-0 in the first quarter on a safety and increased its lead to 5-0 on a field goal by Cameron Berra. The Panthers went into the locker room leading 12-9 as ISU also scored on a safety.
ISU took a 19-12 lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter as Ben Ericksen scooped up an errant EIU snap and raced 30-yards for a score.
The Panthers tied the score on a Garoppolo one yard run as the sophomore quarterback finished with 25-of-34 for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Lorence Ricks was his top target hauling in seven passes for 114 yards and a score in the fourth quarter.
Matt Brown was 23-of-35 for 240 yards for ISU but had the two fourth quarter interceptions to Martinez. Ashton Leggett had 97 yards on the ground with two rushing TD's.
Redshirt freshman AJ Woodson was the top ground gainer for the Panthers with 52 yards on 14 carries. Senior Cory Leman led the defense with 11 tackles.
Evan Frierson and Josh Howe each had 11 tackles for ISU.