Jacksonville State rolls past No. 10 Stephen F. Austin in season opener

It took some time for Jacksonville State to settle in for its first game of the season. The Gamecocks turned the ball over twice on its first three drives and found itself trailing by 10 points midway through the second quarter.

But the rest of the afternoon turned into the Zion Webb show. After being charged with those first two turnovers, the Jacksonville State quarterback finished with three touchdowns and accounted for 219 offensive yards to lead his team to a 42-17 victory over No. 10 Stephen F. Austin in the FCS Kickoff at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. It gave coach Rich Rodriguez a victory in his debut with the program.

Jacksonville State (1-0), who did not receive a single vote in the preseason FCS Coaches Poll, fell behind early but it seemed in control for most of the first half. The Gamecocks nearly doubled up SFA's total offensive output but they still trailed on the scoreboard.

Webb would change that late in the first half.

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The quarterback connected with Sterling Gablan for a 73-yard pass with just over two minutes to go in the second quarter. On the next play, Matt Laroche ran in for the score from eight yards out to cut into the Gamecocks' deficit.

Jacksonville State quickly got the ball back and had great field position after a short punt. It took just five plays for Webb to find the end zone again, scoring on a rushing touchdown and giving his team a lead with 16 seconds left in the half.

That momentum continued after the break with Webb scoring on the ground again to extend the lead with 8:10 to go in the third quarter. An interception by Deco Wilson set up Webb's third rushing touchdown of the game less than four minutes later.

On Stephen F. Austin's next drive, a botched snap on a punt attempt led to a defensive touchdown for the Gamecocks as Cole Fuller landed on the fumble in the end zone. It capped off Jacksonville State's 35 unanswered points in less than 14 minutes of game time.

The game was.called in the fourth quarter after a two-hour rain delay.