BOUNCE BACK: Career night from Creel gets Jax State back on track

JACKSONVILLE — One week after picking themselves up off the turf in Fargo, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks found their rhythm — and then some.

Behind a career night from senior quarterback Caden Creel, Jax State exploded for 526 yards of offense to steamroll Eastern Kentucky 49-7 in Saturday night's home opener at AmFirst Stadium.

Creel set career highs with 21 completions, 327 passing yards and five touchdown passes in offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright's second game calling the plays.

"When guys execute, you can put up numbers like that and you can do things like that," Creel said. "Coach Housewright can call the plays that he called because we're executing. If we don't execute, then our offense is nothing."

The win provided a much-needed response from Creel and the Jax State offense after managing just 170 yards in a 33-7 season-opening loss to North Dakota State.

Creel said the Gamecocks "got punched in the mouth" in Fargo because of their lack of execution. They spent the week addressing those issues, and the improvement was evident Saturday night.

"This group is very resilient," Creel said. "Last week was a tough week, and the way that we bounced back this week, I think, was pretty impressive."

Jax State (1-1) wasted no time righting the ship, as Creel and fifth-year wide receiver Jamill Williams torched the defense on the Gamecocks' first three offensive possessions with touchdown passes of 13, 55 and 30 yards. Williams bounced back from a quiet 5-yard opener to finish with seven catches for 144 yards, capping his four-touchdown night with a 4-yard grab from Creel in the fourth quarter.

"He's one of the most competitive guys that I've been around," Jax State head coach Charles Kelly said when asked about Williams, a transfer from Division-II Albany State. "Even last week, even after the game, it was like, you know, this won't be the way it is."

Creel also completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Luke Gilbert to push the lead to 42-7 in the third quarter and finished second on the team with 54 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Junior running back Jalen Likely led the ground game with 73 yards on five carries — highlighted by a 45-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7 at halftime — though the Gamecocks did most of their damage through the air.

"They gave us some looks that we felt like we could take advantage of in the passing game, so I'm glad we were able to execute them," Kelly said.

Jax State's defense was equally dominant, holding Eastern Kentucky (0-2) to 285 yards of total offense. The lone blemish was a 72-yard touchdown run by Brady Hensley.

Fifth-year safety Caleb Nix picked up where he left off last season, intercepting Tyler Travers and returning it 43 yards for a second-quarter touchdown.

"He knows exactly what to do, where to be," said Jax State linebacker Walker O'Steen. "He's kind of like a coach on the field. He just does what he's supposed to do, and when you do that, you make plays."

O'Steen, a former White Plains standout, led the Gamecocks with eight tackles, while true freshman Ty Sims, a Gadsden City graduate, recorded his first career interception.

Jax State will now head to Athens, Ohio, to face the Ohio Bobcats, and the Gamecocks will do so with plenty of momentum on their side.

"I'm just excited to grow on it," Creel said. "We can't be content about what we did tonight. We've got to keep on wanting to do more and strive to be great."