Jacksonville State is the only football team in the Ohio Valley Conference that is allowing less than 100 rushing yards per game this season.

The reason? The four defensive linemen who have been dominating the line of scrimmage, holding opposing teams to 97.3 rushing yards during conference play.

“Their D-line is the best part of their defense,” Eastern coach Kim Dameron said.

At 6-0 in the OVC and 8-1 overall, the Gamecocks are only allowing 2.9 yards per carry. In its win at Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State surrendered 100 rushing yards to the Colonels, who average more than 200 yards per game.

“They’re really good up front,” Dameron said. “Their defensive tackles and defensive ends are big and fast. They get off blocks. They’ve dominated physically up front.”

Dameron said the Gamecocks’ defensive line reminds him of Ohio’s, which helped the Bobcats’ defense to contain Eastern’s running backs to 31 yards on 11 carries, as the Panthers lost 34-19 on the road on Sept. 27.

Eastern did not have the services of Shepard Little during that loss, as the junior was still recovering from an ankle injury. Heading into Saturday’s game at Jacksonville State, Little’s availability is not 100 percent certain, but Dameron said he feels good about the running back, who tweaked a hamstring Saturday against Murray State.

“Shep is going to be all right,” Dameron said. “We were really cautious with him because of that type of injury, but it wasn’t a tear it just cramped up on him a little bit. I think he was feeling a little tight before the game for whatever reason.”

Little was taken out with a little more than four minutes left in the first quarter against the Racers, but Dameron said he was back in practice on Tuesday.

“We didn’t want him to run full out, but he did practice,” Dameron said.

The Panthers have the No. 2 rushing attack in the conference that is averaging 325.8 yards per game. Eastern has three of the top-10 rushers in the OVC, with Little leading the way for the Panthers with 100.8 yards per game.

Eastern quarterback Jalen Whitlow was slowed down compared to his previous numbers in the running department against Murray State, but Dameron said that is opening up more room for his running backs.

Despite the success of Jacksonville State’s defense, which also has the No. 1 scoring unit in the OVC, giving up 11.8 points per game, Dameron said Eastern does have the chance to exploit some of the Gamecocks’ aggressiveness.

“They’re very aggressive at linebacker playing the run, so hopefully you can get them on some play-action passes and things of that nature,” he said. “Being a 4-3, quarters team, they don’t have real hard edges on the outside, so you should be able to get to the perimeter a little bit.”

The Panthers sport the top offense in the conference, averaging 551.2 yards per game, while scoring 44.2 points per game.

Adam Gristick has been in the middle of a lot action for Eastern’s defense this year, as the senior linebacker has 72 tackles, second behind Kamu Grugier-Hill’s 74. Gristick is one of the seniors who have been in several battles against Jacksonville State and he knows how challenging Saturday’s road game will be.

“It’s always a physical game with them,” he said. “They’re physical and we’re going down to their place. It’s two Goliaths going at it for the conference. We’ll be ready.”

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.