SATURDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 48, @Georgia State 24
Eastern Kentucky 48, @Eastern Illinois 16
@UT Martin 61, Austin Peay 23
@Tennessee State 55, Southeast Missouri 3
MURRAY STATE 48, GEORGIA STATE 24
ATLANTA - Murray State scored 21 straight points in the second quarter and held off a second half comeback attempt as the Racers defeated Georgia State 48-24 Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.
Casey Brockman put the Racers ahead halfway through the first quarter, finding Walter Powell open in the back of the right side of the end zone from one yard out to go ahead 7-0.
A couple of long pass plays on consecutive drives for Georgia State (1-4) led to a touchdown and field goal for the Panthers as they jumped ahead 10-7 early in the second.
The Racers (3-3) offense came together in the second quarter, with Brockman walking into the end zone from a yard out for the second MSU score from the one yard line. They completed three third down attempts of at least nine yards or more on the drive. Duane Brady scored his first rushing TD of the season on the next Murray State possession, running up the middle from eight yards out as the Racers jumped to a 21-10 lead with just over three minutes remaining before halftime.
Following a Murray State turnover in Georgia State territory and short GSU punt that went out of bounds on its own 46, Brockman found Brady on a short screen pass along the Racers sideline. Brady broke away from the defense, running across the center of the field to the right side of the end zone for the third touchdown of the quarter and a 28-10 lead.
Murray State came out after halftime and added to its lead, capping a 97-yard drive, the second longest for the offense this season, on a four yard rush from Dexter Durrante for the fifth Racers touchdown of the day. MSU converted on three straight third down attempts on the drive.
Keiton Hill responded for Georgia State with a 43 yard touchdown to Danny Williams , finding him open between the hash marks in the middle of the field for the Panthers' first score since just before the end of the first quarter.
GSU brought the game to within a pair of scores on its next possession as Donald Russell broke away from the defense on a nine yard touchdown run, his second of the game.
The Panthers missed an opportunity to come to within one score, kicking a field goal from __ yards wide left after the Racers batted down a pass on the goal line on third down.
The Racers responded on their next drive as Brockman and Powell connected for the second touchdown of the day between the two, with Brockman finding him wide open without a defender in coverage for 36 yards down the right side of the field.
Julian Whitehead forced the first Georgia State turnover of the game late in the fourth quarter as the Panthers were moving into Racers territory. Whitehead fumbled after making the pick, but Ricky Mitchell recovered on the MSU 25 to keep possession.
Brockman added his fourth touchdown on the ensuing drive, a short seven yard strike to Hannibal Beauford to cap the 75 yard possession with 1:19 remaining in the game.
Brockman had another strong game behind center for the Racers, completing 35-of-46 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
Tyler Lavea and Duane Brady combined to handle the majority of rushes on the day, Lavea running for 85 yards on 12 carries and Brady taking eight handoffs for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Brady was Brockman's favorite target in the air, tying with Ja-Vonte Trotter for a team-best seven receptions for 91 yards and a TD. Trotter was second-best with 55 yards as 10 different Racers had at least one reception on the day.
Qua Huzzie led the defense with seven total tackles, including one for loss. Three of Jamal Crook's five tackles resulted in a loss of 22 total yards.
Whitehead and Jarius Williams each picked off Georgia State once, with Williams' coming as time expired at the end of the game.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 48, EASTERN ILLINOIS 16
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team ran for a season-high 374 yards on its way to a 48-16 victory over host Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. The win was the fifth straight for the Colonels (2-3, 1-1 OVC) over the Panthers (1-5, 0-4).
The tone for the game was set on the second play of the game. Junior running back Matt Denham burst through the offensive line for a 64-yard gain. Denham finished with a personal-high 216 yards on 22 carries in his first start of the season. It marked the first time an Eastern Kentucky player rushed for at least 200 yards since C.J. Walker totaled 228 yards against Murray State on Nov. 15, 2008.
After netting a field goal on the opening drive, EKU moved 85 yards on five plays for a touchdown on its second possession to take a 10-0 lead. All 85 yards on that drive came on the ground.
Two more scoring drives in the second quarter gave Eastern Kentucky a 24-3 lead. A 30-yard pass completion to junior tight end Paul Henry set up EKU's second touchdown. Junior quarterback T.J. Pryor kept EKU's third touchdown drive alive with a 16-yard completion to sophomore Justin Williams on a 3rd-and-5.
The Colonels continued to pour on the offense in the second half, recording touchdowns on their first three possessions. Senior running back H.B. Banjoman tallied two of those touchdowns with a 31-yard run and one-yard plunge.
Defensively, Eastern Kentucky held Eastern Illinois to only 24 yards rushing on 21 carries. The Colonels also limited EIU to just 2-of-10 (20 percent) on third down conversions. Senior linebacker Tyson Patrick registered a team-high eight tackles and was involved in a sack.
UT MARTIN 61, AUSTIN PEAY 23
MARTIN, Tenn. - Junior quarterback Derek Carr completed 24-of-36 passes for 387 yards and a school record six touchdown passes to lead The University of Tennessee at Martin to a 61-23 college football victory over visiting Austin Peay Saturday afternoon at Hardy M. Graham Stadium.
Jake Ryan threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Scott Thomas with 5:42 remaining in the first half and Austin Peay claimed a 14-13 lead.
And then the Skyhawks took charge. Carr threw his first touchdown pass of the game, a 51-yarder to senior Kenny Jones and junior kicker Cody Sandlin made it a one-point game, 14-13, with 3:22 to play in the half. Sandlin scored 13 points by kicking in the game and now has 113 career points.
Sophomore Ben Johnson intercepted Ryan to set up the go-ahead touchdown for the Skyhawks, a 13-yard pass to senior Stephen Shiver. A fumble on the ensuing by Austin Peay's Kamron Johnson led to Carr's third touchdown pass of the game, a 16-yard pass to Shiver.
The Skyhawks led 34-14 at the half.
Junior tight end Ben Everett missed the game because of an injury, but the Carr had a plethora of receivers. Jones led all receivers with seven catches for 127 yards. Georgia Tech transfer Quentin Sims had five catches for 66 yards. In all, eight players caught passes. Carr passed for 245 yards in the first half. He completed 15-of-23 passes without an interception.
The Skyhawks only rushed for 80 yards in the first half and 165 yards in the game. Junior running back Tevin Barksdale scored the Skyhawks only rushing touchdown of the game in the first quarter, a 28-yard run with 12:22 on the clock. Junior tailback Jason McNair led the Skyhawks ground game with 15 carries for 54 yards. AJ Williams had 16 carries for 46 yards and Barksdale had five carries for 33 yards.
The Skyhawks outscored Austin Peay 20-9 in the third quarter. Carr threw two more touchdown passes in the quarter and senior punt return specialist CJ Estelle returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. The punt return marked the second consecutive week the Skyhawks special team unit has scored for a touchdown. Sophomore Kevin Barfield returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee Tech a week ago.
The Skyhawks closed out their scoring with 12:43 to go in the game when Carr threw a 19 yard pass to sophomore DJ McNeil.
With the victory the Skyhawks are now 3-2 overall, 2-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference standings and 1-1 in the Sgt. York Trophy series.
Austin Peay falls to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the OVC and 1-1 in the Sgt. York series.
TENNESSEE STATE 55, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
NASHVILLE - An offensive explosion was the best way to describe Tennessee State's 55-3 demolition of Southeast Missouri in front of 6,234 at LP Field on Saturday evening.
The Tigers (2-4, 1-2 OVC) compiled a season-best 536 total offensive yards, throwing for 270 yards and rushing for 258 yards. TSU tied the most points scored since defeating Tennessee Martin in 2001. Tennessee State outnumbered the Redhawks 31-to-11 in first downs.
SEMO (1-4, 1-2 OVC), the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions, were held to 158 offensive yards and just three points.
The win snapped a nine-game conference losing streak for the Tigers, marking their first OVC win since defeating Eastern Illinois on Nov. 19, 2009.
The vaunted rushing attack was led by tailback Trabis Ward racked up 135 yards rushing, carrying the ball 17 times and totaling two touchdowns. Senior Dante' Thomas inked 90 yards and a touchdown.
Wideout Calvin McNairl recorded 116 yards and two touchdowns in the victory, while seven others made receptions in the contest.
Redshirt freshman Mike German had another solid passing attack, completing 20 passes in 34 attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns. German has not thrown an interception in 102 pass attempts this season.
Defensively, the Tigers recorded five tackles for loss and a sack. Senior linebacker John Jones had two TFLs and five total tackles. Rico Council led the Tigers with seven tackles in the contest.
At the half, Tennessee State led 41-0 as the Tigers put up 406 total offensive yards in the first half, including 236 from the passing attack. The TSU defense proved to be lethal, holding Southeast Missouri to one first down and 13 yards.
The Tigers struck first with a 27-yard touchdown by Thomas to put TSU up 7-0 with 11:37 left in the first quarter. Ward added his fifth touchdown of the year with a 40-yard scamper to extend the Tigers lead to 14-0 with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
German connected on his first passing touchdown in the game with a 25-yard pass to Calvin McNairl to put Tennessee State up by 21. Detorrius Shipley recovered a fumble to give the Tigers prime field position. Just 22 seconds later, TSU responded with a German to McNairl 30-yard pass to put the Tigers up 28-0.
Jamin Godfrey hit his 10th field goal of the year at 13:49 to give the Tigers a 31 point advantage. The sophomore then hit a 38-yard field goal to put TSU up by 34. Godfrey finished the game with 13 points, tying second all-time for kicking points in school history with Eric Benson (Austin Peay, Oct. 8, 2008).
Ward rushed for his second touchdown with a five-yard rush to put the Tigers up 41-0 at the half.
The Tigers added another touchdown with a German one yard rush with 14:18 remaining in the fourth.
Weldon Garlington returned a punt 91 yards to put the Tigers up 55-0. Last week, Garlington returned a kick 100-yards to score a touchdown for the Tigers.