FINAL STATS  |  PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – The third-ranked Jacksonville State football team dominated in all phases on Saturday afternoon, when the Gamecocks won their 11th-straight game with a 24-0 shutout of Tennessee State at Burgess-Snow Field.

The Gamecocks (7-0, 4-0 Ohio Valley Conference) improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1991 and extended the OVC's longest winning streak since 1999 in convincing fashion. The shutout was the first by a JSU defense since 2006 and snapped a streak of 51-straight games in which the Tigers (3-4, 0-3 OVC) had scored.

The JSU offense was as effective as it needed to be, picking up 174 yards on the ground and 99 more through the air. Junior Calvin Middleton's 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries led the Jax State ground game, a key on a day that saw the Gamecocks outgain an OVC foe for the first time this season.

The Tigers managed just 65 passing yards after completing only seven of their 17 pass attempts. The Gamecocks intercepted a pair of quarterback Jeremy Perry's passes and recovered one of TSU's two fumbles.

Junior Marques Ivory was 7-for-17 through the air for 67 yards. The native of Warner Robins, Ga., threw two interceptions and one touchdown, while freshman Coty Blanchard was 4-for-4 for 32 yards and a touchdown. Blanchard, of Leesburg, Ala., also ran for 28 yards on three carries, 24 of which came on a fake punt in the first quarter.

Blanchard's punt team was also a catalyst for the Gamecocks on Saturday. His fake set up JSU's first score of the day, while a TSU fumble on his next punt was recovered inside the 20 and set up Blanchard's scoring pass.

Junior James Shaw led the JSU receiving corps with three catches for 40 yards and his touchdown, an 18-yard haul from Blanchard. Senior John Houston Whiddon also had three catches for 23 yards, while Justin Howard and Jamal Young each had a pair of receptions.

The Tigers' Dante' Thomas ran for 94 yards on 18 carries, while Perry tossed for 65 yards and was sacked three times.

Junior Rodney Garrott had one of those sacks to pace his six-tackle afternoon. He was one off of the team lead of seven by senior Antonio Bonner. Sophomore Keginald Harris intercepted his fifth pass of the season, a category he led the OVC in entering Saturday. The Gamecocks made a total of seven stops behind the line of scrimmage, two of which were in the arms of Garrott.

The Gamecocks pulled a little trickery out of their bag on their first drive of the game. Facing a three-and-out, punter Coty Blanchard kept the ball and scampered 24 yards for a first down to the Tigers' 30-yard line. Two plays later, Middleton found a crease off left tackle and took it 32 yards to the endzone to give the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead with 9:29 remaining in the first quarter.

Late in the second quarter, special teams set up another score for the Gamecocks. Blanchard's 46-yard punt was knocked from Julian Mallory's hands by Jeffery Cameron and recovered by Kevyn Cooper to set the Gamecocks up at the Tigers' 18 yard line. On the first play of the extended drive, Blanchard found James Shaw in the end zone to put JSU up 14-0 with 2:03 remaining in the half.

A 25-yard Shaw return of a Tiger punt on the next drive set up the Gamecocks' final score of the half, a 27-yard field goal by James Esco. His first successful kick of the day gave Jax State a 17-0 advantage at the half.

The Gamecocks pushed the lead to 24-0 on their first possession of the second half, thanks to a nine-yard scoring pass from Ivory to Cameron that capped a six-play, 64-yard drive that took less than three minutes to complete.

The Gamecocks will be at home again on Saturday for a Homecoming matchup with Austin Peay. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m., with festivites planned on campus throughout t- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior OL Curt Porter, senior RB Alphonso Freeney, senior LB Morrell Jones and junior DT Jamison Wadley.

POST-GAME NOTES
- Tennessee State won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kick off.
- Today's attendance: 15,218.
- JSU improved to 7-0 on the season and extended its winning streak to 11 games - which is the nation's longest win streak in the FCS – It's the fourth longest winning streak in Jacksonville State's 107-year history.
- Jax State is 7-0 for the first time since the 1991 season. It is also the longest Ohio Valley Conference winning streak since Tennessee State won 11 during the 1999 season.
- The shutout by JSU is the first one since blanking Eastern Kentucky, 28-0, on Sept. 30, 2006 in Richmond, Ky. ... It's the first shutout at home for JSU since the 1998 season in which the Gamecocks topped Samford 21-0 on Oct. 17 - a span of 133 games.
- The Gamecocks are now 5-1 all-time against Tennessee State and has won the last four meetings.
- Jax State improved to 71-72-7 all time against schools hailing from the state of Tennessee.
- For the second straight game, JSU scored on its opening drive of the game. Calvin Middleton scored on a 32-yard run with 9:29 left in the first quarter..
- With JSU accumulating 273 total yards on offense, it marks the first time this season it has out-gained its opponent in OVC play.
- The Gamecocks went 3-of-5 today inside the Red Zone and pushed its season total to 24-of-28.
- Jax State senior DB T.J. Heath picked off his first pass of the season and his first since the Austin Peay game last season...Heath is the fourth different Gamecock to register an interception this season.
- Sophomore DB Keginald Harris extended his Ohio Valley Conference lead in interceptions with his fifth of the season after the Town Creek, Ala., native picked up his interception in the fourth quarter of the game.
- With its two interceptions against Tennessee State, Jax State has nine on the season - matching last season's total.
- The JSU defense held the Tigers to just 65 passing yards on seven completions - the lowest receiving output by an opponent since holding Austin Peay to 23 yards on October 31, 2009.
- For the second-straight game, the Gamecocks have not reached the 100-yard mark in passing...The last time JSU had back-to-back games without over 100 yards passing was during the 2005 season.
- The Gamecocks held their largest halftime lead of the season with a 17 point lead at the break. The last time JSU held an opponent scoreless in the opening half was last season against Tennessee Martin.
- Junior QB Marques Ivory extended his streak of completing a TD pass to seven games with a nine-yard strike to Jeffery Cameron to open the second half.
- With its TD drive to open the second half, Jax State has scored on its first possession of the final half in the last three games.
- Freshman P Coty Blanchard registered his 13th punt inside the 20 after establishing a new season-best 55-yard punt.
- Freshman OLB James Powell recorded his first career sack in the contest...the Jax State defense finished the duel with three sacks - the second-consecutive week that it has posted three sacks.
- Sophomore PK James Esco has connected on at least one field goal in the last three games. Esco nailed a 27-yard FG in the 2nd quarter.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 - JSU has scored on its first possession of the second half in three consecutive games.

4 – Times Tennessee State crossed the 50-yard line today

5 - Interceptions by sophomore DB Keginald Harris, who leads the OVC in interceptions.

7 - Straight games in which QB Marques Ivory has throw for a touchdown.

11 - consecutive wins for JSU, which is the nation's longest in FCS football and third longest in all of Division I football.

17 - Point lead at halftime, the largest lead after one half for JSU. The last time Jax State blanked an opponent in the opening half was last year against UT Martin.

24 - Times JSU has scored in the Red Zone during the 2010 season.

107 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.

273 - Total yards - the first time this season that JSU has out-gained an OVC foe this season.

15,218 - Today's announced attendance.