The Jacksonville State Gamecocks won their second consecutive bowl game in their FBS tenure, defeating the Troy Trojans 17-13 in the IS4S Veterans Tribute Bowl at Cramton Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.
advertise
The game started right off the bat as Jax State found the end zone on their first possession when Caden Creel found Brock Rechsteiner (son of WWE legend Rick Steiner) for a 22-yard score to take a 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, the Trojans’ defense forced a key turnover on the Trojans, leading to a strip sack by Creel that set up a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 after 15 minutes.
The second quarter was very quiet as Troy entered the locker room with a 13-7 lead at halftime. Scott Taylor Renfroe hit two field goals of 38 and 30 yards to give the Sun Belt West champions a slim advantage.
A 51-yard field goal by Garrison Rippa with 6:35 left in the third quarter got the Gamecocks back on track, cutting the Trojans’ lead in half at 13-10, and then opened the scoring with an 11-play touchdown drive that was eventually rewarded by Andrew Paul and gave Charles Kelly’s team the lead.
A two-and-out then kept the game close, with Tucker Kilcrease making a key interception as the Trojans looked to regain the lead at 17-13. Creel found Deondre Johnson for a 28-yard touchdown reception on third-and-6 with 2:20 left in the game, forcing the Trojans to call the final timeout of the game.
advertise
The Trojans got the ball back with the clock on the clock, but they couldn’t find the end zone on the final play as a Hail Mary attempt was passed to the Trojans’ receivers but fell short, sealing the victory at 17-13 for the Gamecocks.
