Hilltoppers Fall To Jax State In CUSA Championship Game

Friday, December 6

Jacksonville, AL

6 p.m.

Western Kentucky University

8-5 , 6-2

Jax State

9-4 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Western Ky.

Jacksonville St.

12/6/2024 10:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score CUSA_Championship_-_Game_Book.PDF Postgame Press Conference

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – WKU Football lost 52-12 to Jax State on Friday in the Conference USA Championship Game at AmFirst Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

WKU opened the scoring with a 54-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro with 10:39 to play in the first quarter.
Jax State scored four unanswered touchdowns in the first half, starting with a 6-yard pass to take a 7-3 lead. The Gamecocks also had a 26-yard touchdown pass with 3:21 to play in the first quarter to take a 14-3 lead into the second quarter, and added scores on runs of 4 yards and 6 yards to go ahead 28-3 with 1:19 to play until the break.
Carneiro made his second field goal – a 44-yarder – as time expired to make it a 28-6 game at halftime.
Jax State opened the second half with a 75-yard drive capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run to take a 35-6 lead.
The Gamecocks made a 27-yard field goal with 6:21 to play in the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-6.
WKU scored its first touchdown of the game with 2:16 to play in the third quarter, when Caden Veltkamp threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kisean Johnson. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, making it a 38-12 game.
Jax State added to its lead with 11:01 to play with a 29-yard touchdown run to go ahead 45-12.
The Gamecocks capped the scoring in the 52-12 game with a 10-yard rushing touchdown with 3:00 to play.

NOTABLES

WKU's team captains for the game were running back Elijah Young, defensive back Demarko Williams and running back George Hart III.
Announced attendance at AmFirst Stadium was 15,628
WKU falls to 2-2 in CUSA Championship Games with the loss. The four appearances in the championship game are tied for most in conference history.
WKU falls to 8-5 with the loss.
The temperature at kickoff was 32 degrees, marking the coldest CUSA Championship Game in league history and the coldest game on record at Jax State.
Lucas Carneiro's 54-yard make is tied for the second-longest in program history and ties his career high. He improved to 6-for-6 from 50-plus yards this season with the make. He is now 17-18 on field goals this season, with a program-record 17 consecutive makes.
Easton Messer led the offense with 83 yards on seven receptions, while also tallying 113 yards on kickoff returns for 196 all-purpose yards.
Keyshawn Swanson led WKU with 14 tackles, while Devonte' Mathews added 13.

QUOTABLES

"Congratulations to Jacksonville State. They had a really good night. I'm good friends with Coach Rich Rod (Jax State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez). He had a great gameplan tonight, obviously. It was an honor to be in this game. Wish we could've performed a lot better than what we did. We will rebound and go get a big bowl win. Want to congratulate Coach Rich Rod and his team. Hats off to them tonight." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the CUSA Championship Game loss.