SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 40, #19 Southeast Missouri 38
@Eastern Illinois 52, Austin Peay 21
#8 Jacksonville State 41, @Tennessee State 14
@UT Martin 38, Tennessee Tech 13
@Eastern Kentucky 40, Robert Morris 39 (OT)
MURRAY STATE 40, #19 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State football team pulled off one of the most unbelievable comebacks in the near 93 year history of the program Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium. Down 31-0 towards the end of the first half, the Racers scored 34 unanswered points and completed the comeback with a 79-yard kickoff return from Malik Honeycutt with just three seconds left to upset 19th-ranked Southeast Missouri, 40-38.
Out of the gates, little went right for the Racers. Over the first 18 minutes of the game, the Racers missed a close field goal, threw three interceptions and lost a fumble to the which directly resulted in three SEMO touchdowns and a field goal. The Redhawks would further their lead later in the second on their first offensive touchdown of the game, pushing the lead to 31-0.
With just 10 seconds left in the half, Drew Anderson found Tyre Gray in the end zone from two yards out, to give the Racers some life at the break, down 31-7. As much as the first half belonged to the Redhawks, the second half belonged to Murray State. Gabriel Vicente got the third quarter started with a field goal, followed by touchdown passes from Anderson to Honeycutt and Gray, cutting the deficit to 31-24.
Down one score in the fourth quarter, the Racers began the frame by driving the ball all the way down to the three-yard line, but could not punch it and had to settle for a field goal, inching close to the lead at 31-27. The Racers and Redhawks then traded scoreless drives for the rest of the quarter until finally Anderson found LaMartez Brooks in the end zone from seven yards out to put the Racers on top for the first time, 34-31, with just 1:42 second left in the game
However, as quickly as Murray State's lead arrived, it left just as fast. Southeast Missouri's Daniel Santacaterina engineered a seven-play, 64-yard drive that was completed with a five-yard touchdown pass to Zack Smith, to give the Redhawks a 38-34 lead with only 20 seconds left.
With literally seconds left in the game, Honeycutt received the ensuing kickoff and almost immediately ran into a group of Redhawks near the right sideline. Knowing the game was on the line, Honeycutt bounced off the defenders, rolled out to the left side, found a hole and ran 79 yards for the touchdown, giving Murray State a 40-38 lead with three seconds remaining.
Not wanting to give SEMO a chance at returning a blocked kick, the Racers took a knee on the PAT, setting up the opportunity for the Redhawks to have a miracle of their own. On the kickoff, Colin Boyd squibbed it to D.J. Freeman who caught it at his own 35. The junior defensive back then took the ball 25 yards to MSU 40-yard line before finally being pushed out of bounds, to complete the most unlikely of wins. The touchdown was the first for the Racers on a kickoff return since Janawski Davis went 85 yards against UT Martin 2015.
Anderson was 37-for-63 in the game for 412 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Gray had two touchdowns on five catches and 59 yards, while James Sappington led 11 different receivers that caught a pass with four receptions and 98 yards.
Defensively, Kendrick Catis led Murray State with 10 tackles, six solo, and an interception, while Quincy Williams and Marquez Sanford each had seven. Kenney Wooten tallied 2.0 sacks in the contest, while Matz Peters had 1.5 tackle-for-loss.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 52, AUSTIN PEAY 21
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois was 7-of-7 in the red zone on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers rolled to a 52-21 win over Austin Peay on senior day at O'Brien Field.
EIU improved to 3-7 on the season, 3-4 in the OVC. APSU dropped to 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the OVC.
The Panthers jumped out to a 14-0 run in the first quarter as Clarksville native Isaiah Johnson began his big rushing day with a pair of touchdowns from ten and 14 yards out. Johnson would add a third score in the fourth quarter as he rushed for 187 yards on 23 carries. His long run of the day was 76 yards which set up a second quarter touchdown.
Quarterback Johnathan Brantley extended the Panthers lead to 28-0 with back-to-back rushing touchdowns early in the second quarter. Brantley scored from 11 yards on both runs with his second rushing touchdown at 10:21 pushing EIU's lead to 28-0.
Brantley connected with Alexander Hollins on a 38-yard touchdown pass following an Austin Peay turnover to make it 35-0 with 2:36 to play in the first half. Brantley was 16-of-26 passing for 152 yards and the touchdown. Harry Woodbery would add 36 yards through the air and a touchdown pass to Aaron Gooch in the fourth quarter.
EIU finished the day with 216 yards rushing and 404 yards of total offense.
Austin Peay got on the board at the end of the second quarter on a Jeremiah Oatsvall 6-yard pass to Gorel Soumare. Oatsvall would connect through the air in the third quarter with DJ Montgomery for a 21-yard pass which made it 38-14 EIU with 4:50 to play in the third quarter. Oatsvall passed for 188 yards with Montgomery his favorite target of the day with seven catches for 165 yards.
Five EIU players recorded eight tackles on the afternoon with Dytarious Johnson making eight stops with three tackles for loss. EIU had three turnovers gained with Edwyn Brown getting an interception while Joe Caputo and Austin Johnson both had fumble recoveries. Josh Price had eight tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Gunnar Scholato led the Governors defense with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Jaison Williams had two sacks for APSU.
#8 JACKSONVILLE STATE 41, TENNESSEE STATE 14
NASHVILLE - The Ohio Valley Conference portion of Jacksonville State's schedule is complete with another championship trophy.
Zerrick Cooper threw three touchdown passes as the No. 8 Gamecocks defeated Tennessee State 41-14 at W.J. Hale Stadium Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Murray State's last-second victory over Southeast Missouri State, Jacksonville State (8-2, 7-1) became the first league member to ever win five consecutive outright football championships.
Now Jacksonville State turns its attention to the regular-season finale against second-ranked Kennesaw State and a showdown with major FCS playoff implications.
Jalen Choice returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown and Yul Gowdy had a 15-yard pick-six during a four-minute span of the fourth quarter as Jacksonville State's defense turned the game into a rout. It marked JSU's first game with multiple interceptions for touchdowns since returning three for scores against Eastern Kentucky in 2016.
Traco Williams also had an interception in the end zone for the Gamecocks to halt Tennessee State's opening drive to begin the third quarter.
Cooper completed 20-of-30 passes for 272 yards. He now has 23 TDs this year, tying the school record for single-season touchdowns passes thrown held by Ryan Perrilloux (2009).
He also led the Gamecocks in rushing with 50 yards on 14 carries.
Cooper threw two first-half touchdowns to Jamari Hester and another to Josh Pearson as JSU built a 27-7 lead by intermission. Pearson's 10-yard TD catch midway through the first quarter was his 16th of the season, extending his school record.
Hester caught a team-high nine passes, the most of his career.
The Gamecocks received the opening kickoff and wasted little time driving 65 yards for the game's first points.
Cooper hit Hester with a 14-yard touchdown pass at the 12:59 mark in the first quarter. It marked the Gamecocks' 35th scoring drive of the season that took less than three minutes.
Pearson's 10-yard touchdown catch completed a six-play, 80-yard drive on Jacksonville State's second possession. Cade Stinnett's extra point pushed the lead to 13-0 with 7:12 to go in the first.
Tennessee State answered with a 58-yard touchdown to draw to within 13-7 but the Gamecocks responded with two more touchdowns – a 2-yard pass to Hester from Cooper with six seconds left in the first quarter and Michael Matthews' 16-yard run early in the second.
The Gamecocks' defense delivered a key stop just before halftime to take a 20-point cushion to the locker room.
The Tigers (3-5, 2-4) drove 82 yards in 12 plays and had the ball on JSU's 1 with 18 seconds left. After a timeout, linebacker Christian Wafford crashed through and sacked TSU quarterback Michael Hughes, forcing a fumble as time ran out.
UT MARTIN 38, TENNESSEE TECH 13
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team saw its lengthy losing streak come to an end with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball to post a 38-13 victory on Senior Day against Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech.
The Skyhawks (2-8, 2-5 OVC) scored early and often in the contest, tallying 21 unanswered points to open the game while holding the visiting Golden Eagles scoreless in the second half. UT Martin outgained Tech with 463 yards of total offense while limiting the Golden Eagle offense to just 214 yards of their own.
One senior really left his mark on the game as James Gilleylen entered the contest needing just six tackles to move into the program's top-10 tackles leaderboard. Not only would Gilleylen notch the six tackles, but he would set a new career-high with 15 tackles – including 2.5 tackles for loss to move into 10th place. Meanwhile Clifton recorded a strong performance of his own in his final game at Hardy Graham Stadium with a career-high 10 tackles on the afternoon while Horton-Martindale tallied his third interception of the season.
On the offensive side of the ball, UT Martin saw three different quarterbacks receive reps down the stretch. Joe Hudson earned his third career start, completing 16-of-22 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns – one passing and one rushing – including a 27-yard rushing scamper in the second quarter.
Galloway ,the team's senior runningback, paced the squad with 12 rushing attempts for 52 yards while tallying a rushing touchdown. His teammate Jaimiee Bowe also posted a solid contest with seven carries for 49 yards and a pair of touchdowns – including a 33-yard carry in the fourth to put the contest out of reach.
The day's scoring was rounded out by a 28-yard receiving touchdown by Colton Dowell late in the second quarter while Ryan Courtright added on a 19-yard field goal in the third quarter.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 40, ROBERT MORRIS 39 (OT)
RICHMOND, Ky. - On Senior Day at Roy Kidd Stadium, it was seniors LJ Scott and Jared Tucker who played the role of heroes in the Eastern Kentucky University football team’s come-from-behind 40-39 win over Robert Morris in overtime.
A 40-yard field goal by Robert Morris (2-8) with 26 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 33-33, forcing overtime.
EKU (6-4) took the ball first in OT and went to Scott on four consecutive plays. The senior running back responded with runs of eight yards, 12 yards and three yards, before barreling in from two yards out to give the Colonels a 40-33 lead. It was Scott’s third touchdown of the day.
RMU responded by scoring on a two-yard pass to Dorian Bowie. The visiting Colonials opted to go for the two-point conversion, but quarterback Jimmy Walker’s pass was swatted away by Tucker in the right corner of the end zone to give the Colonels the thrilling victory.
It is EKU’s fourth win in its last five games.
After Robert Morris opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, Eastern Kentucky responded with a 14-play, 71-yard drive of its own that ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Scott. The Colonels’ two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 7-6 with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter.
RMU tacked on a 38-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and then got a 43-yard touchdown run from Terence Stephens early in the second quarter to take a 16-6 advantage.
A 29-yard pass from freshman quarterback Parker McKinney to senior Dan Paul sparked the Colonels downfield on their next possession; however, the drive stalled in the red zone and EKU was forced to settle on a Samuel Hayworth 35-yard field goal, cutting the RMU lead to 16-9 with 9:17 to play before halftime.
RMU intercepted McKinney around midfield on EKU’s next possession, and the Colonials converted the turnover into seven points, as Walker promptly found DeLano Madison for a 24-yard TD. The score gave Robert Morris a 23-9 lead with 1:44 left in the first half.
It looked like that would be the score at halftime; however, with five seconds on the clock, Darrien Tipps-Clemon blocked a Robert Morris punt at the Colonials’ five-yard line and Brentton Ervin scooped it up and scored, making it 23-16 and swinging the momentum to EKU at the break.
The Colonels ran with that momentum early in the second half. After RMU missed a 31-yard field goal on its opening drive of the half, McKinney engineered a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. The drive was sparked by a 23-yard catch from freshman Jackson Beerman and a 28-yard catch-and-run by sophomore BK Smith to the RMU one-yard line. Scott bullied his way in from two yards out to cap the drive, tying the game at 23-23 with 4:51 left in the third quarter.
With the game still tied early in the fourth quarter, Tucker intercepted Walker and returned it to the Colonials’ 30-yard line. EKU drove it to the three-yard line and then used a 30-yard field goal by Hayworth to take its first lead of the game, 26-23 with 8:41 remaining.
On Robert Morris’ next drive, the Colonials went for it on 4th-and-4 in the red zone and turned it into a 19-yard touchdown catch to retake the lead, 30-26, with 3:37 on the clock.
McKinney and the Colonels responded by marching 71 yards on eight plays. Beerman crowned the drive by making a diving touchdown catch in the left corner of the end zone to make it 33-30, EKU, with 1:20 remaining in the game.
Robert Morris used a 21-yard kick return and a 22-yard pass from Walker to Tim Vecchio to quickly get back into EKU territory. The Colonials then tied the game with a 40-yard field goal by Nick Bisceglia with 26 seconds on the clock.
Eastern was able to cross midfield on its ensuing drive; however, McKinney’s Hail Mary attempt fell short, sending the game to overtime.
Making his first career start, McKinney finished with 186 yards and one touchdown through the air. Scott rushed for 82 yards on 19 carries.