The Jacksonville State football won a battle of power running attacks against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday by controlling the second half of the game.

Jacksonville State (6-4, 5-2) won 22-21 behind 13 unanswered points in the third quarter. Running back Calvi Middleton was the Gamecocks' top performer with 191 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Southeast (3-7, 2-5) controlled the first half and took a 21-9 lead into halftime but couldn't withstand the Gamecocks' counterattack in the second half.

"They obviously wanted it more than we did," said Southeast defensive lineman Stave Hendry, who recovered a fumble and made four tackles.

The game was decided on the ground with the teams combining for 686 rushing yards and just 102 passing yards. Both offenses game plan to execute an option-running game that its quarterbacks who excel at.

Jacksonville State's regular starting quarterback Coty Blanchard didn't start the game due to a back injury, but entered the game with a minute left in the first quarter and Southeast winning 14-3. He ran for 83 yards and competed 7-of-9 passes for 52 yards.

"He was able to pick up some key, key first downs for them," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said.

Blanchard's counterpart Matt Scheible became the first Southeast quarterback to rush for 200 yards in a game. He finished with 209 yards and one rushing touchdown.

Scheible rushed for 147 yards and 38-yard touchdown in the first half, but Jacksonville State slowed him down the second half. Southeast gained 102 offensive yards in the second half compared to 242 in the first half.

"In the first half we executed our game plan well," Scheible said. "But in the second half we seemed to be shooting ourselves in the foot."

Southeast's defense had a difficult time getting off the field in the third quarter. Jacksonville State had the ball for 11 minutes and 57 seconds of the third quarter and scored the game's deciding touchdown on an 11-yard touchdown run by Middleton with 17 seconds remaining.

"This one particularly hurts," Hendry said. "I look forward to this game each year since their style is similar to ours."

Southeast will finish its season at 1 p.m. Saturday at Houck Stadium against Murray State. Jacksonville State will play its final game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Tennessee State.