The Jacksonville State Gamecocks have won a second consecutive bowl game in their young FBS tenure as they overcome the Troy Trojans 17-13 in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at Cramton Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.
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The game got going early with Jax State finding the endzone on their first possession, as Caden Creel found Brock Rechsteiner (son of WWE legend Rick Steiner) for a 22-yard score to make it an early 7-0 advantage. Later in the quarter, the Trojans’ defense forced a critical turnover with a strip sack of Creel that was returned for a touchdown to knot the score at 7-7 after 15 minutes.
Troy took a 13-7 lead into the locker room at the halftime break in what was a very quiet second quarter. Scott Taylor Renfroe connected on a pair of field goals from 38 and 30 yards, respectively, to give the Sun Belt West champs the slight edge.
With 6:35 left in the third quarter, Garrison Rippa got the Gamecocks back on the board with a 51-yard field goal that sliced Troy’s lead in half at 13-10 before opening the fourth quarter with an 11-play touchdown drive that ended with Andrew Paul finding pay dirt and giving Charles Kelly’s squad the lead.
Then, a pair of three-and-outs kept the game close before Tucker Kilcrease threw a critical interception as the Trojans were looking to retake the lead down 17-13. With 2:20 remaining, Creel found Deondre Johnson for a 28-yard pitch and catch on third and six to force Troy into calling their final timeout of the game.
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Troy got the football back with time on the clock, but they were unable to find the endzone on the final play as the Hail Mary attempt was tipped to a Trojans receiver, but fell just incomplete as the Gamecocks secured the 17-13 win.
