Defenses Dominate the Salute to Veterans Bowl

Between injuries and opt-outs, Jacksonville State and Troy had to rely on their respective defenses in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl  Tuesday night in Montgomery, Alabama. Jacksonville State put together one viable touchdown drive in the fourth quarter for the 17-13 win, as players now work on deciding their futures at whatever school is next for them.

This was the 64^th meeting between the two schools, but the first since 2001.

Early Misses

It was a night of misses all around, and it started early, as in before the game. Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery did an air drop with seven parachutists landing around midfield before the singing of the national anthem. The problem is that there were actually eight parachutists. The eighth one missed Cramton Stadium altogether and landed at nearby baseball complex, Paterson Field. Bowl organizers and Maxwell Air Force Base had no comment on what happened.

Missing Players

Both teams were also missing key players. Troy’s leading rusher Tae Meadows opted out of the game as the sophomore prepares to enter the transfer portal next month. JSU was also without its leading rusher. Cam Cook, Conference USA’s leading rusher, was out with an unspecified injury.

Defenses Dominate

That left it to the quarterbacks for the offense. But on Troy’s second drive of the night, “Goose” Crowder scrambled, got hit, and seemed to reaggravate an already injured ankle. He was done for the night, having gone three for six passing for 13 yards.

JSU quarterback Caden Creel led the Gamecocks on a rare touchdown drive on the night. Creel took JSU 71 yards on nine plays in the first quarter. He connected with Brock Rechsteiner on a 22-yard touchdown pass for the 7-0 first-quarter lead for Jacksonville State.

Troy struggled to put together viable drives with Crowder out. Tucker Kilcrease took over at quarterback. But even having played in seven games during the season, he struggled to keep the offense moving. He finished the night 12-23, passing for 116 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions.

It was the Trojans’ defense that kept them in the game early. JSU’s Creel was scrambling inside his own 10-yard line. He was hit at the goal line and fumbled. The ball was recovered in the end zone by Troy’s Luis Medina to tie the score at 7-7.

Scott Taylor Renfroe added field goals of 38 and 30 yards to give Troy a 13-7 lead at the half. But that was also it for the Trojans’ scoring for the night.

Second Half Is the Difference

On its second drive of the third quarter, Jacksonville State got a 51-yard field goal from Garrison Rippa to close the Troy advantage to 13-10.

Troy was mounting a drive late in the third quarter by Kilcrease was intercepted by JSU’s Ian Mitchell near midfield. After a first-down pass by Creel, JSU had 10 straight running plays, primarily by Justus Savage. Andrew Paul finished off the drive with a rush to the left side from one yard out. The 11-play drive put the Gamecocks up 17-13.

Kilcrease managed only 37 yards passing for Troy in the fourth quarter. The Trojans had one last gap in the closing minutes of the game, getting as far as the JSU 44-yard line. But with no timeouts remaining, they were left with only a Hail Mary into the end zone, which was knocked down by JSU.

Jacksonville State finishes the season 9-5 under first-year head coach Charles Kelly. Troy finished the 2025 season at 8-5.