SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 31, Jacksonville State 28
@#23 Eastern Kentucky 45, Austin Peay 14
UT Martin 66, @Murray State 59
#18 Tennessee State 40, @Southeast Missouri 28
EASTERN ILLINOIS 31, JACKSONVILLE STATE 28
CHARLESTON, Ill. - On a day when the Eastern Illinois offense was not clicking on all cylinders, it was the Panthers defense that came up big during a 31-28 homecoming win over Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon at O’Brien Field.
EIU improved to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the OVC and will have an off week on Oct. 20. JSU fell to 3-3 overall, 2-2 in the OVC.
Freshman Kamu Grugier-Hill appeared to have sealed the win for EIU when he intercepted a Marques Ivory pass with 2:22 left in the game and returned it to the JSU 29 yard line. EIU was unable to get a first down as they went for it on 4th and 1 on a quarterback bootleg pass that was tipped at the line and intercepted by James Powell.
The Gamecocks then drove down the field without a timeout to use. Ivory drove the ball to the EIU 16 setting up the final play of the game. Ivory avoided a heavy EIU rush dumping the pass to Washaun Ealey. Ealey was tackled by Grugier-Hill and JSU could not line up to snap the ball before time expired.
Grugier-Hill’s interception was the fifth turnover EIU’s defense forced in the win as they fell behind 14-0 before using turnovers to their advantage.
EIU had a bad punt following its first possession to set up JSU with a short field. Ealey scored on a 1-yard run as he finished with 149 yards on the ground, the first running back to rush for more than 100-yards this season against EIU.
JSU’s second score came on a Coty Blanchard pass to Denzel Cheeks with 13:49 left in the second quarter.
Pat Wertz forced a fumble midway through the second quarter that Jourdan Wickliffe recovered at the bottom of the pile. Jake Walker scored seven plays later to make it 14-7. Walker rushed for 103 yards, his second straight 100-yard game.
EIU’s second touchdown came via the turnover as Tavares Crawford intercepted an Ivory pass and raced 39-yards for the score. Cameron Berra knocked home a 43-yard field as time expired in the half to give EIU the 17-14 lead.
Ealey put JSU back on top on the Gamecocks first drive of the second half after Telvin Brown set up JSU with good field position on a 64-yard kickoff return. Taylor Duncan scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to put EIU back in front.
The two teams traded scores in the fourth quarter. JSU scored on Ealey’s third rushing touchdown of the game. The score was set up by a blocked punt by JSU’s Francis Duncan. Special teams factored into the contest as JSU missed three field goals including one blocked by EIU.
The Panthers final score which proved to be the game winner was on a Jimmy Garoppolo pass to Chris Wright from 15-yards out with 3:36 left in the game.
Garoppolo passed for 220 yards going 26-of-51 with one touchdown and two interceptions. Erik Lora had 11 receptions for 128 yards. It was Lora’s seventh straight game with 100 yards receiving as he passed Jerry Wright for the EIU single season record for receptions. Lora now has 83 receptions with four games remaining.
Ivory was 14-of-26 for 160 yards passing and three interceptions for JSU. The Gamecocks out gained EIU 463 to 381 in total offense. Rashad Smith (13) and Jermaine Hough (10) led JSU with double figure tackles.
EIU was led by Robert Haynes with ten tackles. Wickliffe had eight tackles including the fumble recovery and one interception.
#23 EASTERN KENTUCKY 45, AUSTIN PEAY 14
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior quarterback T.J. Pryor added two more records to the one he already held as Eastern Kentucky University rolled to a 45-14 victory over Austin Peay Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium.
No. 23 Eastern Kentucky improves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the OVC with the win while Austin Peay falls to 0-7 and 0-5.
Typically, completing your first seven passes – two of which were for touchdowns – and leading your team to scores on four of its first five possessions for a 28-7 halftime lead is impressive on its own. Pryor did all that and broke a pair of school passing records in the process.
On Eastern’s first offensive play, Pryor hit a wide open Cameron Baily for an 84-yard scoring pass. That tied the school mark of 46 career touchdown passes held by Jim Guice (1964-68). In the second quarter, Pryor hooked up with fellow senior Tyrone Goard from 28 yards out to break the record and give the Colonels a 21-0 lead.
Pryor’s second touchdown pass was his sixth straight completion to start the game and the 479th of his career. That completion broke Josh Greco’s (2004-07) school record of 478 completions. Two weeks ago in a victory over UT Martin, Pryor broke Eastern’s record for career passing yards.
On EKU’s next possession, senior running back Matt Denham ran it in from five yards out, his second scoring run of the game, and the Colonels’ fourth score in their first five possessions.
Eastern Kentucky rolled up 302 yards of offense in the first half, out-gaining the Governors by 87 yards despite holding the ball for four fewer minutes. EKU’s four scoring drives were on one, nine, six and two plays. Two of the drives lasted 11 and 48 seconds.
Senior defensive back Justin Bell’s 16-yard interception return for a touchdown with 9:21 left in the third quarter gave the Colonels a 35-7 lead and put the game away.
Jake Ryan accounted for both of Austin Peay’s scores. He completed a four-yard pass to Darryl Clack in the second quarter and a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mikhail Creech in the third quarter. Ryan went 19-for-32 for 173 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Colonels finished with 474 yards of offense – 219 on the ground and 255 through the air. Pryor passed for 232 yards. He was 8-for-13 with two scores and an interception. Denham ran for 114 yards to go along with his two touchdowns. Bailey caught three passes for a career-high 125 yards and a touchdown.
The Governors finished with 316 yards of offense. APSU turned the ball over three times, compared to just one for Eastern.
UT MARTIN 66, MURRAY STATE 59
MURRAY, Ky. - Senior quarterback Derek Carr doesn’t play video games. However his performance Saturday afternoon against Murray State in Roy Stewart Stadium was comparable to something you would see in Madden. It was virtually unbelievable and record-setting to say the least.
Carr led The University of Tennessee at Martin to a 66-59 victory over host Murray State.
En route to the victory Carr set a school record with seven touchdown passes; the most passing yards in a game (560 yards); and a new career TD passes mark (54).
Carr completed 42-of-46 passes (91 percent) for 560 yards without an interception.
The Skyhawks scored claimed a 28-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the point production wasn’t limited to Carr and the offense. Senior defensive back Thad Williams intercepted heralded Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman and turned up field 42 yards for a touchdown with 13:31 to play in the first quarter.
Carr, Butler and Sims handled the rest of the points in the first quarter. Butler caught a 22-yard touchdown pass, while Sims caught TD passes of 15 and 22 yards. It was Butler and Carr who accounted for the Skyhawks’ 14-second quarter points.
The Skyhawks outscored Murray State 17-7 in the third quarter. Thompson entered the act with a 34 yard touchdown reception and Butler caught a 42-yard pass.
Butler finished the game with eight catches for 177 yards and four touchdowns. The four TD catches in one game is a new school record.
Sims had 12 catches for 146 and a pair of TDs. Thompson had seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. For the first time in school history, the Skyhawks had three players who each had more than 100 yards of receiving.
In the fourth quarter, Murray State outscored the Skyhawks 21-7, but Williams broke up Brockman’s pass intended for Walter Powell.
Brockman finished the game with 537 yards of passing and an OVC record eight touchdown passes. He was 45-of-67 with an interception; the 45 completions tied the OVC record that he established a year ago.
MSU wide receiver Walter Powell had 14 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns. The 14 grabs ranks as the third highest single-game performance in school history. Powell also has 74 catches this season, and is just 14 receptions shy of tieing Harvey Tanner’s 45-year old record of 88 receptions.
With the victory the Skyhawks are now 3-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 5-2 overall. Murray State is 2-2 in the league and 3-4 on the year
#18 TENNESSEE STATE 40, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 28
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - A historic performance by Trabis Ward led the way as Tennessee State improved to 7-0 on the season with a 40-28 win at Southeast Missouri State Saturday night.
Tennessee State (7-0, 3-0 OVC) opened the game on a 15 play, 72-yard drive that was stopped inside the SEMO 10-yard line as running back Darion Hall never got control of the handoff, giving the Redhawks possession.
After a SEMO (2-4, 1-2 OVC) three-and-out, the Tigers took advantage of great field position at the SEMO 49-yard line. Quarterback Michael German started the drive with a 34 yard completion to tight end Wesley Samuels down to the 15. TSU kept the drive alive with a 12-yard pass to Devin Wilson on a third-and-eight. The first points of the game came on another third down conversion as German found fullback Johntae Gleaves in the right corner of the end zone for the one-yard score to put TSU up 7-0 with 3:54 left in the first quarter. The Tigers converted 11 of their 15 third down chances, while holding SEMO to just five of 12.
German finished with 154 passing yards on 17-of-27 throwing for a touchdown and zero interceptions.
SEMO wasted no time tying the game as the Redhawks offense covered 75 yards on just six plays. Quarterback Scott Lathrop had three carries for 44 yards, including a rushing touchdown from 13 yards out.
The Tigers would take back the lead with another lengthy drive as Jamin Godfrey connected on a 25-yard field goal for the 10-7 edge. Trabis Ward got TSU into SEMO territory with a 43-yard rush.
Ward had the first of his four touchdowns with 8:06 left in the first half from 12 yards out to increase the lead to 17-7.
After a first half that saw 24 points, the offenses exploded in the second half as they each put up three touchdowns and combined for 44 points.
Much like TSU started the first half with a ball controlling drive, SEMO answered with one of their own to start the second half. The Redhawks cut the TSU lead to 17-14 as running back Levi Terrell scored from seven yards out. SEMO passed only twice on the 12 play, 82-yard march down the field.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Tigers used a nice mixture of run and pass to set up Godfrey for his second field goal of the game, this one from 42 yards.
With the momentum in their favor despite trailing 20-14, SEMO drove deep into TSU territory and looked to extend the drive on a third-and-two at the TSU 23 in the final minute of the third quarter. Lathrop dropped back to pass, but was intercepted by Steven Godbolt. It was the sophomore’s fourth interception of the season as he returned it 62 yards to the SEMO 26.
TSU would hitch its wagon to Ward as he found the end zone after five consecutive carries totaling 26 yards and a score.
With the Tigers holding their largest lead of the game at 26-14, SEMO would not throw in the towel as Terrell score again, this time on a 52-yard scamper to pull the Redhawks to within five with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Once again, Ward was the TSU workhorse as he carried the ball on nine of the next 11 plays resulting in a one-yard touchdown, his third of the contest to put the Tigers up 33-21 after a failed two-point conversion with 5:39 on the clock.
Just when it looked like the Tigers were in the clear, the resilient Redhawks continued to fight back. Lathrop had his only passing touchdown on the night to Paul McRoberts, who made an outstanding one handed grab in the back of the end zone, from eight yards out to make it a five point game with 2:22 remaining.
Even though they had all three timeouts left, SEMO elected to attempt an onside kick rather than kick it deep and try and stop Ward. TSU recovered at the SEMO 44.
With the Tigers needing a first down to assure themselves of a 7-0 record, they turned to none other than the junior from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Ward converted a third-and-two with a five yard run and backed that up with a 30-yard rushing touchdown, his fourth of the night to give TSU a 40-28 victory on the road.
Ward finished with 43 carries for 267 yards and four touchdowns, all career-highs.
It’s the second most rushing yards in a game in TSU history and second most touchdowns in a game.