SATURDAY'S SCORES
*@Eastern Kentucky 41, Southeast Missouri 17
@South Alabama 33, UT Martin 30
*@Murray State 36, Eastern Illinois 27
*#10 Jacksonville State 44, @Austin Peay 14
*Tennessee State 42, @#19 Tennessee Tech 40
EASTERN KENTUCKY 41, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 17
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team forced six turnovers and churned out 244 rushing yards in a 41-17 victory over Southeast Missouri Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Eastern Kentucky (3-3, 2-1 OVC) capitalized on a number of Southeast Missouri (1-5, 1-3 OVC) miscues to build a 20-0 first half lead, but it was the Redhawks' fourth turnover midway through the third quarter that ended a SEMO rally and helped the Colonels cruise to victory.
Southeast entered the game having committed only four turnovers all season. The Redhawks finished with six giveaways against the Colonels.
Junior running back Matt Denham accounted for 142 of Eastern's yards on the ground on 23 carries and scored twice. He became the first Colonel since 2007 to rush for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games.
A 40-yard Colonel field goal with 1:18 left in the first quarter broke a scoreless tie.
A 28-yard punt by Southeast on its next possession gave EKU the ball near midfield again. On the first play Denham ran for 42 yards, dodging a tackler and then breaking loose down the left sideline. It appeared Eastern would have to settle for another field goal after T.J. Pryor's pass on 3rd-and-4 fell incomplete. However, the Redhawks were called for defensive holding, giving the Colonels a first down at the two yard line. Denham carried up the middle to finish off the drive and EKU led 10-0 early in the second quarter.
Eastern Kentucky then took advantage of two straight fumbles by SEMO on kickoff returns. The first fumble gave the Colonels the ball at the 33-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal from the eight, Pryor connected with junior Cameron Bailey over the middle, but he was stopped inside the one-yard line. EKU gave the ball to senior H.B. Banjoman on fourth down and he found the end zone.
Southeast Missouri fumbled again on the ensuing kickoff and Eastern had the ball at the 40-yard line. The Colonels moved to the six, but had to settle for a 24-yard Luke Pray field goal and a 20-0 lead with 7:42 remaining before halftime.
The Redhawks finally seemed to gain some momentum late in the first half. Scheible rebounded from an interception and converted an 82-yard pass from his own five-yard line. Three plays later SEMO was on the board after a three-yard quarterback keeper with 1:35 left in the half.
Southeast cut the Colonel lead in half, 20-10, with a field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Redhawks were on their way to closing the gap to three points as they drove to the EKU 13-yard line on their first possession of the second half. However, an interception by Patrick McClellan at the eight put an end to the drive and the Southeast Missouri rally.
SEMO was still within 10, 27-17, when Denham polished off a 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 6:04 remaining in the game. On the first play of Southeast Missouri's next possession, junior Kevin Hamlin stepped in front of a pass and ran it back 39 yards for another EKU touchdown.
Pryor finished 12-for-25 through the air for 99 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries.
Scheible finished 11-for-22 with three interceptions. He ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns. SEMO's Spencer Davis caught three passes for 116 yards.
SOUTH ALABAMA 33, UT MARTIN 30
MOBILE, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter but came up short as South Alabama posted a 33-30 victory over the Skyhawks this afternoon at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Junior transfer Quentin Sims caught three touchdown passes and had a career-best six receptions for 78 yards, while senior wide receiver Stephen Shiver had seven catches for 96 yards.
Shiver now has 102 receptions and 1,618 yards in receiving. He has the eighth most receptions in school history and he passed UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famer Tony Champion, who was seventh in school history, with 1,618 receiving yards.
MURRAY STATE 36, EASTERN ILLINOIS 27
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman hit wide receiver Hannibal Beauford for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:26 remaining in the game to give the Racers the lead for good in a thrilling, 36-27, come-from-behind victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium. It marked the second-straight year the Racers overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half on Homecoming.
Trailing by three points with 3:06 showing on the clock and the Racers on their own 25 yard line, Brockman found Walter Powell and Nevar Griffin on back-to-back plays covering 14 and 16 yards, respectively. Following a Mike Harris eight-yard run, Brockman found Ja-Vonta Trotter over the middle for 18 yards down to the 16. On the next play, the EIU defense jumped offside and Brockman went for the endzone and Beauford came down with the game winning. The extra-point hit the left upright and the lead sat at just three points.
On the Panthers (1-6, 0-5 OVC) next possession, junior defensive end Kevin Robinson sacked quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and forced a fumble. Robinson quickly pounced on the ball to give it back to the Racers.
The Racers (4-3, 2-2 OVC) ran the ball three times and were faced with a 4th-and-11. Harris took the handoff and ran through would-be tacklers on his way to a 24-yard touchdown run to seal the victory with less than a second remaining. MSU just took a knee on the extra point to ensure the victory.
MSU jumped out to the early lead as Harris through a 31-yard pass to Powell on the first possession, and then capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Panthers answered back as Garoppolo threw a 36-yard touchdown to Chris Wright and followed it up with a 59-yarder to Wright in the second quarter. On the second EIU touchdown, Jeremy Brackett broke through the middle and blocked the extra point.
The Racers regained the lead late in the half as Harris capped a five-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown burst up the middle. EIU had yet another answer as Jake Walker scored from one-yard out with 37 seconds left in the half. The first-half scoring didn't end there as the Racers took over on the Panther 45-yard line and were able to drive and get a 39-yard field goal off the foot of Kienan Cullen.
The field goal was the 50th in the career of Cullen, making him the all-time leader in MSU history. He is also tied for second in OVC history, and needs only two more field goals to tie the OVC record.
The Panthers pushed the lead to double digits in the third quarter as an 11-play drive was capped with a four-yard run from Walker.
There was no panic for the Racers as they responded with one of their longest drives in recent history as they used 17 plays to march 80 yards, eating up 5:50 on the clock.
MSU faced a 3rd-and-9 at their own 44 before Brockman found Dexter Barnett for the first down. Facing another 3rd-and-13, Brockman found Trotter over the middle for 18 yards and another first down. Harris rushed for a pair of first downs before Brockman hit Walter Powell for eight yards to set up a first-and-goal situation. Harris went up the middle for seven yards, and then pushed his way in from two-yards out on third down.
Harris finished the game by rushing 30 times for 133 yards and four touchdowns. He becomes the ninth Racer running back to rush for four touchdowns in a game, and the first since Stevie Chaney against Austin Peay in 2005. He also completed a pass for 31 yards on the opening drive.
Brockman, who was crowned Homecoming King before the game, went 23-for-36 for 207 yards and a touchdown. He connected with six different receivers with Trotter leading the way with seven grabs for 91 yards.
#10 JACKSONVILLE STATE 44, AUSTIN PEAY 14
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - It took Jacksonville State almost 20 minutes to find its way into the end zone Saturday night.
Then the floodgates opened and Austin Peay couldn't keep the Gamecocks out.
No. 10 Jacksonville State scored 28 points in a 10-minute span in the second quarter - its most in a quarter in seven years - and crushed Austin Peay 44-14 before a crowd of 5,186 at Governors Stadium.
The Gamecocks improved to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play with their fourth straight victory.
It was JSU's fifth consecutive win over Austin Peay since the Govs rejoined the OVC in 2007 and has outscored the Govs 205-58 in those five meetings.
Jacksonville State gave its next opponent, Southeastern Conference member Kentucky, plenty to study on film ahead of next Saturday's game in Lexington, Ky.
The Gamecocks' opportunistic defense forced six turnovers and returned two interceptions for touchdowns - the first time that's happened in a game since 2009. Brooks Robinson also returned a fumble 32 yards for a Jacksonville State score.
Pierre Warren had an apparent interception return for a TD, but the play was blown dead by an official's inadvertent whistle.
Two freshmen reserves, linebacker Ben Endress of Ashland and defensive back Jamaal Johnson of Piedmont, added to Govs' quarterback Jake Ryan's misery in the fourth quarter.
Endress scored on a 10-yard interception return with 3:37 left. Johnson duplicated the feat just over a minute later, picking off Ryan and racing 45 yards to the end zone for the Gamecocks' final touchdown.
Ryan completed just 16-of-31 passes for 172 yards and was intercepted five times before mercifully being replaced on Austin Peay's final possession.
It was a turnover by Jax State that led to the game's first points.
Alan Bonner muffed a punt late in the first quarter that was recovered by Austin Peay's Devan Stark at the JSU 30. Two plays later, Ryan connected with Stark on a 15-yard touchdown pass and the extra point gave the Govs a 7-0 lead with two minutes left.
The game took a decided turn in JSU's favor after Warren's interception.
Starting at the APSU 35, the Gamecocks covered the distance in just four plays, with Washaun Ealey scoring on a 27-yard run, his longest of 2011. James Esco's extra point pulled JSU even at 7-7 with 10:34 left in the second quarter.
Coty Blanchard ran in from the 3 on JSU's next possession to cap a nine-play, 51-yard drive. Esco's kick made it 14-7 at the 5:56 mark, a lead the Gamecocks never relinquished.
Ealey's 17-yard run set up the next Jax State score. Fullback Jerry Slota finished off the eight-play drive by taking a direct snap from center and diving in from the 2 to make it 21-7 with 52 seconds left before halftime.
Then disaster struck for Austin Peay (2-4, 2-2) when Monte Lewis forced a fumble that was snatched up by Robinson, who ran 32 yards to the end zone to give JSU a 28-7 halftime lead.
The 28-point quarter was the most Jax State had scored in one period since 2004 against UT-Martin.
Esco's 19-yard field goal early in the third quarter extended the lead to 31-7.
Ealey eclipsed the 100-yard barrier for the third straight contest, carrying 18 times for 124 yards. Jax State outgained the Governors 360-266.
TENNESSEE STATE 42, #19 TENNESSEE TECH 40
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It came down to the wire, but Tennessee State staved off a Tennessee Tech comeback as the Tigers captured a 42-40 victory over the 19th ranked Golden Eagles in front of 8,676 fans at Tucker Stadium.
Tennessee State (3-4, 2-2 OVC) led by as many as 22 points in the second half before TTU (4-2, 3-1 OVC) scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee Tech connected a 10-yard touchdown to cut the Tigers lead to 42-40 with 15 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles initially recovered the onside kick attempt, but it was ruled that the kick did not reach 10 yards, giving the Tigers the ball and subsequently ending the game.
Saturday's victory gave TSU a win over a ranked opponent for the first time since defeating No. 13 Eastern Illinois 21-10.
In total, TSU racked up 398 offensive yards with 232 from the air and 166 on the ground. The Tigers defense forced four turnovers to help catapult the Tigers to victory.
Freshman redshirt quarterback Michael German threw 19 completions for 232 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. The Pompano Beach, Fla., native has not thrown an interception in 131 attempts.
Senior tailback Dante' Thomas racked up 79 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Thomas improved his career rushing total to 1,636, making him just five yards away from reaching TSU's all-time top-5 list. Trabis Ward also had a solid evening, racking up 64 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Wideout Calvin McNairl reeled in four catches for 96 yards. Meanwhile, Devin Wilson and Jeremy Pryor combined for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, linebacker Rico Council had a standout performance. The senior notched nine tackles, recovered two fumbles and recorded two pass breakups. Remarkably, Saturday marked the first time in Council's career that he had pounced on a fumble.
Sophomore defensive back Steven Godbolt picked up two interceptions, a breakup and seven tackles. Also contributing to the Tigers defense was Daniel Fitzpatrick and Antonio Harper, who both recorded nine tackles against the Golden Eagles.
To start the contest, Council recovered a Tennessee Tech fumble to give the Tigers prime field position. The Tigers responded with a three play drive. German connected to Pryor with a 12-yard pass to put TSU up 7-0 with 13:51 left in the first quarter.
On the next offensive possession, the Tigers put together a 10-play drive, culminating with a 27-yard pass from German to Wilson as TSU took a 14-0 lead with 8:44 on the clock in the first.
The Golden Eagles responded with a 77-yard drive as Dontey Gay scored a 1-yard touchdown, cutting the Tigers lead to 14-7.
With 14:52 left in the second quarter, the Eagles used an 11 play drive with Zack Ziegler scoring the tying touchdown.
German threw a 48-yard pass to McNairl that put the Tigers in prime field position. Thomas rushed in for a one-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 21-14 with 13:26 left in the half.
TTU's Zach Sharp nailed a 34-yard field goal to cut the Tigers lead to 21-17.
Tennessee State went up 28-17 when the Tigers converted on three third downs to set up a three yard rushing touchdown by Trabis Ward.
With Tennessee Tech driving, Steven Godbolt picked up a crucial interception to help the Tigers preserve an 11 point lead at the half.
Tennessee Tech's Sharp tacked on a career-best 49-yard field goal to make it a 28-20 at the end of the first half.
On their first drive in the second half, the Tigers drove 61 yards and capitalized with a nine-yard German touchdown run.
Council once again answered with another fumble recovery in the third quarter. His recovery set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Thomas to give TSU the 42-20 edge.
Godbolt collected his second interception of the game at 6:48 in the third quarter. TTU added a Sharp 31-yard field goal with 3:14 left in the third quarter, making it a 42-23 contest.
Tennessee Tech added another touchdown when Tre Lamb made a two yard pass to Charlie Stevens, narrowing the score to 42-30. Sharp tacked on another field goal to cut the deficit to 42-33 with 9:42 left in the game.
The Eagles' Sharp missed a 42-yard field goal with 5:28 left, missing an opportunity to cut the Tigers' lead to single digits. TTU then responded with a Lamb to Ziegler 10-yard pass to put the Eagles within two.