Missed the game? Watched it but can’t get enough or can’t believe what you saw? Cat Scratches will break down the nuts and bolts from each and every game, including some postgame reaction and comments from the players who made the difference.The essentials: Kentucky ended a four-game losing streak, defeating the Jacksonville State Gamecocks by a score of 38-14 in Commonwealth Stadium. The Wildcats rolled up 445 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.With the score knotted at zero midway through the first quarter, UK scored three touchdowns and a field goal on the next drives, including a defensive touchdown that started it all. By halftime, UK held a 24-7 lead and never led by less than 17 the rest of the way. For a UK team that had struggled entering Saturday’s game, taking care of business against an opponent that had proven itself able to compete at a high level did wonders for the Cats’ confidence.”You definitely try to savor that feeling, no question about that,” head coach Joker Phillips said. “I don’t think that our guys have forgotten how to win. I wouldn’t say that.  It was just good to come away with the win.”UK showed it knew how to win in withstanding Jacksonville State, who overcame a fourth-quarter deficit against Ole Miss a season ago. A kickoff return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter cut UK’s lead to 31-14, but the Cats were able to run the ball effectively and stiffen defensively to close out the Gamecocks.”It would have been easy for this football team after the kickoff return for them to come back, make a couple more plays and us turn the ball over and have them come back and win,” Phillips said. “But our football team accepted the challenge. They remembered what we’d been talking about all week, and accepted the challenge and put this team away.” Turning point: During UK’s losing streak, the Cats were desperate for a ball to bounce their way and for something good to happen. In the first quarter on Saturday, the Cats made their own luck.Neither team scored through the first six drives when UK punted away. JSU picked up a couple first downs on the subsequent drive, leading to a second-and-nine on the Kentucky 49-yard line. Quarterback Coty Blanchard dropped back to pass and safety Martavius Neloms came flying in on a blitz from the secondary. Neloms laid a big hit on Blanchard, knocking the ball loose. He picked up the fumble and raced 40 yards for the first score of the game.”We needed someone to make a play, and Neloms did,” Phillips said. “He got a sack, caused a fumble and a return for a touchdown, so that got us going.”Neloms said the effect of the play was palpable on the sideline.”I think it settled everybody down because it was so early,” Neloms said. “Once everybody got relaxed, we played our game and we played great.”The junior not scored a touchdown since high school and had been waiting for three years to get in the end zone again. In fact, Neloms said his dreams the night before the game were punctuated by seeing himself in the end zone.”It’s kind of ironic because I dreamed about that play last night,” Neloms said. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like to score a college touchdown and I was able to go out there and score one today.”Play of the game: UK took advantage of the momentum on its side after Neloms’ score. The defense was able to get a stop and set up the offense on its own 24-yard line. The Cats relied on the running game to drive to the JSU 29-yard line and turned to play-action when they noticed single coverage on wide receiver La’Rod King outside. Quarterback Morgan Newton gave King a chance to make a play, throwing the ball to the left side of the end zone with a Gamecock corner draped over his wide out. Even though JSU was whistled for pass interference, King jumped and corralled the pass for a touchdown to extend UK’s lead to 14-0.”Especially when you’re 6’4″, you’ve got a 5’9″ defensive back on you, and it was good to see La’Rod go and attack the football aggressively,” Phillips said. “He’s a basketball player, and he’s got to go get a rebound.”That wasn’t the only “rebound” King would bring down on the day. He was targeted five times on the day and he made catches on each of his opportunities for a total of 84 yards. He also scored a second touchdown on a beautifully thrown fade pass from six yards out, skying over a defender to make the play.Player of the game: If not for CoShik Williams and the UK running game, Newton likely would have never seen single coverage on King. Carrying the bulk of the work due to injuries to Josh Clemons and Raymond Sanders, the redshirt junior had career highs with 22 carries and 148 yards. The tough running style he has come to be known for was on display, as he consistently gained extra yardage and made the most out of the holes in front of him.Phillips praised Williams during the two weeks since UK last took the field for his strong practice efforts and was thrilled to see him demonstrate that same kind of performance on game day.”I mentioned earlier in the week that CoShik had had a really good week – really good two weeks – and it showed up,” Phillips said. “It was good to see him get some results out of his hard work because he had done a really good job all week.”In addition to Williams’ 158 yards, UK got 66 from Jonathan George and 33 from Brandon Gainer.Unsung heroes: Just as King would not have his opportunities to make plays without Williams and UK’s other running backs, the running backs would not have been able to make plays without an offensive line that turned in its best effort of the season. “You can’t run well as a running back unless the guys are doing their jobs up front,” Phillips said. “(Williams) was making people miss in the secondary once he got there and running through some tacklers, but they did a good job of getting him started, the offensive line did.”Rolling up 330 yards on the ground and protecting the quarterback well, the now-healthy offensive line demonstrated the improvement Phillips said he had seen even in recent losses.”Those guys have been playing better every week,” Phillips said. “That was the group that was getting better. It didn’t show because we weren’t making any plays on the perimeter. We took some sacks.  But those guys have been the group that’s been improving the most.”Coming into the season, the offensive line was expected to be the anchor of a young offense, but injuries and ineffectiveness haven’t allowed that to pass. With health finally on their side, the line is playing the way it was expected to. “I don’t know if we have the skill set up there to really be a dominant SEC offensive line,” offensive coordinator Randy Sander said, “but we do have the tools to be a really consistent, really functional offensive line.”Injury report: Raymond Sanders left the game early with an ankle injury. Mister Cobble also left with a shoulder injury. The extent of the two injuries is not know at this point and Cobble and Sanders will be evaluated Sunday.Hidden stat: With Morgan Newton taking over at quarterback this season, UK expected to run from the quarterback position much more than in recent years. The staff has struggled a bit to find play calls that fit Newton’s running style while Newton hasn’t been able to find a balance between staying patient in the pocket and taking advantage of scrambling opportunities.”We tried to get him more on the perimeter,” Phillips said. “We’ve been running him up inside, we tried to get him more on the perimeter and make some good runs and make some throws.”Newton’s effort on the ground against Jacksonville State was the closest to what was envisioned entering the season. He had 12 carries for 75 yards with big chunks coming on both scrambles and called runs. Newton has progressed significantly in making reads and timely decisions and it showed Saturday.”At quarterback, things have got to happen fast,” Phillips said. “Is he open?  Is he open?  No, let’s go.  ‘Let’s go’ means get the ball out of my hand or pull it down and run it. We can’t have (negative) plays, and he did a good job of managing the game as far as not taking those (negative) plays.”What this one means: Even though this was the seventh game of the 2011 season for UK, the Cats treated this one as if it was their first, calling it the opener of their “second season.””We were 2 4 in the first season, and we have to take one game at a time in this second season,” Phillips said. “We’re 1 0.”With five games to go against much tougher opponents than the one UK faced Saturday, there is a lot of work ahead. Mississippi State is up next and preparation begins Sunday.”We’ve got to go to work tomorrow, got to get to 2 0,” Phillips said. “We’ve got a tough SEC opponent that had an open week to prepare, but we’ve got to deal with it.”There has been a lot of talk lately about having fun on the football field again, but the Cats couldn’t quite do it until a few things went their way. “In the end, it’s still a game,” Phillips said. “It’s still a game, and our guys have to play it like that. You can’t get all uptight and put pressure on yourself. You’ve just got to go play, relax and go play.”If the Wildcats can take that looser attitude into the last five games of their second season, it could make all the difference.