Final Stats | Final Stats PDF Version | Postgame Notes

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Calvin Middleton ran for 191 yards and three touchdowns, and scored the go-ahead TD late in the third quarter to give Jacksonville State (6-4, 5-2) a 22-21 come-from-behind win over Southeast Missouri (3-7, 2-5) Saturday afternoon at a windy Houck Stadium.
 
JSU, which trailed, 21-9, at halftime, scored 13 points in the third quarter to pull off the victory. Middleton, who had two of his touchdowns in that period, hit paydirt on an 11-yard run to give the Gamecocks their first lead with 17 seconds.
 
That play capped JSU's longest drive of the game which covered 91 yards in 10 plays. The Gamecocks also had the ball for 11:03 in the third quarter alone.
 
“It was a great effort today,” said Southeast head coach Tony Samuel. “I thought we just faced too many 3^rd-and-long situations.”
 
JSU converted on eight of its 14 third-down chances and that helped spur the Gamecocks comeback.
 
The biggest of those came on a 3^rd-and-4 when Coty Blanchard ran seven yards for a first down to keep JSU's final drive alive with less than three minutes left to play in the game. Blanchard did not start today's contest due to back spasms in pregame warm-ups. He entered the game late in the first quarter.
 
“Coty made a great play to get the first down,” said Samuel. “He kept them alive on a lot of their drives.”
 
Southeast missed out on another opportunity for a stop when Tylor Brock dropped an interception at the goal line early in the third quarter. Middleton would later score from a yard out on a 4^th-and-Goal.
 
Southeast took the opening kickoff and immediately moved into JSU territory with a 23-yard run by Matt Scheible on the first play from scrimmage.
 
Two plays later, redshirt-freshman Spencer Davis took a Scheible pitch off right tackle, busted through a huge hole and dashed 39 yards to the end zone to give the Redhawks a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game.
 
James Esco's 24-yard field goal capped an 8-play, 50-yard drive to get JSU on the board with 4:55 left to play in the first quarter.
 
Southeast would answer on its next possession. The Redhawks took over on downs at their own 35-yardline. A 13-yard run by Scheible and 17-yard run by true freshman AJ Cobb helped move Southeast inside JSU's 20-yardline.
 
Ron Coleman scored on a 1-yard run five plays after Cobb's jaunt to push Southeast's lead to 14-3 at the 1:06 mark.
 
Middleton ran the ball seven times for 32 yards and JSU was putting together a good drive to start the second quarter when Josyah O'Keefe-Lopez put an end to that. O'Keefe-Lopez jarred the ball loose from Alan Bonner at the Southeast-15 and Brock recovered.
 
After Joe Vucic booted a career-long 72-yard punt, JSU had the ball at its own 13.
 
Blanchard rushed for 10 yards and completed a pair of big third-down passes to key JSU's next drive which resulted in a 17-yard run by Middleton. The Gamecocks marched 87 yards in 13 plays to narrow the Redhawks lead to 14-9 with 3:10 remaining.
 
A 20-yard kickoff return by Davis set up Southeast's last scoring drive of the first half.
 
Following back-to-back carries by Lennies McFerren, consisting of 15 and nine yards, respectively, Scheible broke free for a 38-yard run to give Southeast a 21-9 advantage.
 
That score would hold up at the intermission after JSU turned the ball over on each of their last two possessions of the first half.
 
Philip Klaproth put a huge hit on Justin Howard and Johnnie Morgan recovered on the Gamecocks first miscue.
 
Darrick Borum recovered the other fumble after Frankie Davis hit Rashod Byers.
 
Southeast did not score on either of its chances in JSU territory following those turnovers.
 
Middleton averaged five yards per carry on his game-high 38 rushing attempts to lead JSU.
 
Scheible ran for 209 yards and one touchdown, becoming the first-ever Southeast quarterback to rush for over 200 yards in a game. Scheible piled up 141 yards in the first half.
 
Defensively, the Redhawks had a season-high four takeaways.
 
Blake Peiffer again paved the way with a career-high 19 tackles, including nine solo stops. Peiffer, who moved into a tie for sixth in single-season tackles at Southeast with 136, has registered double-digit tackles in eight-straight games.
 
“Blake continues to get better every game,” said Samuel. “I think his best football is ahead of him.”
 
Brock and Bryan Blanfort followed with nine tackles each.
 
Southeast held a slight 344-342 edge in rushing yards and both teams combined for just 102 passing yards on the day.
 
The Redhawks close out their 2011 season against Murray State on Nov. 19. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT, at Houck Stadium. Southeast will honor its 12 seniors prior to that game.