SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 49, #18 Tennessee State 28
@UT Martin 49, Jacksonville State 47
#23 Eastern Kentucky 31, @Southeast Missouri 7
Eastern Illinois 31, @Tennessee Tech 24
@Austin Peay 56, Culver-Stockton 0
MURRAY STATE 49, #18 TENNESSEE STATE 28
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State rushed for a season-high 284 yards and scored the final 29 points of the game to rally for a 49-28 victory over #18 Tennessee State in a nationally televised game Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium.
TSU (8-2, 4-2 OVC) looked to seize control of the game in the third quarter as they put together a 99-yard drive that took just under five minutes off the clock and took a 28-20 advantage.
The Racers (4-5, 3-3 OVC) had other plans as they responded with a 10-play scoring drive that ignited the team and the fans. Casey Brockman started the drive with a 17-yard completion to Ja-Vonta Trotter. Brockman later connected with Walter Powell for 20 yards, before Duane Brady went up the middle for five yards and a first down. Three-straight running plays by Jaamal Berry culminated with a five-yard scoring run.
The defense stepped up on the next drive and forced a three-and-out, giving the offense the ball on the TSU 38. A 20-yard strike to Powell, followed by a 17-yard hook-up with Janawski Davis quickly put the ball on the one-yard line. Brockman went over left end on the next play for the touchdown. Brockman then found Dontel Watkins for the two-point conversion to give the Racers the 35-28 lead.
The Tigers came right back with a drive of their own that reached the Racers 33-yard line. Michael German’s next pass deflected of the receiver’s hands, and into the arms of a diving Julian Whitehead.
The offense wasted little time in capitalizing as Berry went for 17 yards on the first play, then came back two-plays later with a big 47-yard run. Brockman found Trotter for a five-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 14 points.
After the two teams exchanged punts, the TSU offense took over deep in its own territory. Facing a 3rd-and-6, German dropped back to pass, but was sacked by Jeremy Brackett. The Tigers punted out of their own endzone, and Powell returned the punt to the endzone, but it was brought back by a penalty.
Taking over on the 18-yard line, the Racers fed the hot hand and Berry responded by gaining 11 yards on the first play, six more yards on the next play, and punched it in for the touchdown on the third play.
The Tigers got on the board on their second possession as they intercepted a pass in the endzone and put together a 12-play scoring drive. Trabis Ward did the bulk of the load as he carried eight times for 28 yards on the drive, including going the final two yards for the touchdown.
The Racers responded on their next possession as Brady went up the middle for 23 yards, and Brockman followed with a 15-yard connection with Trotter. After another 14-yard gain by Brady, Brockman found Powell for a 13-yard touchdown.
The MSU defense forced a three-and-out, the Racer defense moved down the field into the red zone. After Brady picked up eight yards on three-straight carries, the Racers settled for a 25-yard Jordan Benton field goal.
TSU took the air out of the ball in the second quarter as the took 9:30 off the clock on a 18-play drive. The Tigers ran the ball 12 times on the drive, and ended it with a six-yard Michael German touchdown pass to Weldon Garlington.
The Racer offense had another quick response as they needed only five plays to cover 70 yards and reach the endzone. Brockman scrambled to pick up a first down and a defensive holding penalty moved the ball into Tigers territory. On third down, Jaamal Berry went over left tackle, made a cut across the field, and raced for a 35-yard touchdown.
Berry led the Racers by rushing for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Brady added 78 yards on nine carries as the Racers averaged 8.6 yards a carry.
Brockman finished the day 27-for-38 for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also gained 19 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He raised his career total to 9,962 yards of total offense, passing Michael Proctor for the school and OVC record.
Powell recorded his fifth 100-yard receiving performance of the season by catching eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the process, he became the 6th Racer receiver with 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
UT MARTIN 49, JACKSONVILLE STATE 47
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - An improbable comeback attempt on a record-setting Saturday afternoon fell just short for the Jacksonville State football team, who fell 49-47 at UT Martin.
Senior Alan Bonner caught a school-record five touchdown passes on a day in which senior Marques Ivory tossed a school-record six touchdown passes, but it was the Skyhawks' Derek Carr and Quentin Sims would come out on top in a shootout to stay in the running for the Ohio Valley Conference title. The Gamecocks drop to 5-4 on the year and 4-3 in OVC play, while UTM improves to 7-2 and 5-1 in conference play.
Carr threw seven touchdown passes, five to Sims, on a day that saw the two offenses combine for 1,126 yards of total offense. Sims and Bonner tied the OVC record for touchdown catches in a game, while Bonner broke Joey Hamilton's JSU record for the same category.
Bonner padded his career stats in the game, catching 10 passes for 235 yards, both the second-most in school history, for the record-setting five touchdowns. He moved into fourth in school history with 109 career catches, and second in the school record books with 19 career touchdown catches. His 1,872 career receiving yards move him past James Wilkerson into third place in school history.
Ivory completed 17 of his 36 pass attempts for 323 yards and the school-record six touchdown passes. It was the second-highest passing yards total in his career and just the second 300-yard game of his career. His six scoring tosses are one more than Montressa Kirby's previous record of five from 1997 and doubled his previous career high and two shy of the OVC record.
Sophomore DaMarcus James, in his first game back from an injury, ran for 128 yards on 22 carries, his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and of his career. Senior Washaun Ealey ran for 57 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. His touchdown was the only non-passing score in a day that saw a combined 14 touchdowns scored.
Carr was 28-for-43 for 402 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Skyhawks offense. His seven scores were the most against the Gamecocks in JSU's Division I history. Sims caught 10 passes for 137 yards and five scores, also tying UTM's school record. Tevin Barksdale ran for 120 yards on 20 carries.
Defensively, three JSU sophomores recorded at least 10 tackles, with Rashod Byers wrapping up a career-best 15, eight more than his previous high. Ben Endress and Pierre Warren each had 10 tackles in a game that saw five of JSU's top six tacklers playing in the backfield.
Martin took just 121 seconds to get on the scoreboard, orchestrating a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard pass from Carr to Quentin Sims and gave UTM a 7-0 lead with 12:59 left iin the opeing quarter. A little over seven minutes later, Carr found Sims again from eight yards out to give the Skyhawks a 14-0 lead.
The Gamecocks cut that deficit in half with a quick strike from Ivory to Alan Bonner, a 66-yard scoring pass that was the Gamecocks' second longest play from scrimmage this season. The play made it a 14-7 game, but Carr found Kevin Barfield from 38 yards out and then Quentin Sims from 33 yards to jump out to a 28-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Gamecocks cut their deficit in half again, this time on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Ivory to Trey Smith with 10:30 left in the first half. The 11-play drive went 72 yards and took just over four minutes off of the clock.
After Carr's fifth touchdown pass of the day and his fourth to Sims gave the Skyhawks a 35-14, lead, UTM gift wrapped a JSU scoring drive that cut the Skyhawks' lead to 35-21 just before the half. Three personal fouls gave the Gamecocks 45 of their 72 yards on the drive. Ivory found Bonner for the second time in the game, this time for a 15-yard score that cut JSU's deficit to two touchdowns at the intermission.
JSU took its momentum into the second half and cut UTM's lead to 35-28 on the opening drive of the half. Ivory's fourth touchdown pass of the day and the third to Bonner came from 34 yards out with 13:25 left in the third quarter.
After a defensive stop, Ivory got the ball back and tied the game, this time with a 35-yard strike over the middle to Bonner. The record-breaking catch for Bonner came with 7:34 left in the third and tied the score for the first time since it was 0-0 in the game's first two minutes.
Carr and the Skyhawks answered with just under three minutes left in the third quarter, when he found Sims in the end zone for the fifth time to put the Skyhawks back on top by a touchdown, 42-35 with 2:55 left in the third.
The Gamecocks answered on their ensuing possession with Bonner's fifth scoring catch, a one-handed grab of a 12-yard Ivory pass with 13:48 to play. Griffin Thomas missed the extra point, however, his first miss of the year, leaving UTM up by one. The Skyhawks mounted their longest drive of the day, a 15-play, 88-yard one that gave them a 49-41 lead and the Gamecocks the ball with 5:31 to play.
Ivory drove JSU down the field and into the end zone with 41 ticks on the clock to cut the score to 49-47, but Washaun Ealey's two-yard touchdown run, the first rushing score by either team, wouldn't be enough. Ivory's two-point conversion attempt found Bonner, but his foot was just out of bounds in the back of the end zone. Thomas' on-side kick attempt hit a JSU player one-yard too soon, allowing the Skyhawks to run the clock out.
#23 EASTERN KENTUCKY 31, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team stayed alive in the race for a spot in the NCAA FCS playoffs with a convincing 31-7 victory over host Southeast Missouri Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium.
With the win, No. 23 Eastern Kentucky improves to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri falls to 3-6 and 2-4.
The Colonel defense kept SEMO off the board until the Redhawks’ final drive of the game. Eastern forced three Southeast Missouri turnovers and twice held the Redhawks on fourth down tries. Senior defensive back Brooklyn Fox led EKU with his team-leading sixth interception while also recovering a fumble.
Eastern Kentucky got on the board on its first possession following Fox’s interception which he returned to the SEMO eight-yard line. Senior running back Matt Denham converted a 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line to put the Colonels on top, 7-0.
In the second quarter, a big pass play from sophomore quarterback Jared McClain to senior Tyrone Goard moved the ball to the Redhawk 24-yard line. Two plays later, junior running back Deshaun Sands burst through the left side of the line for a 20-yard score to push the lead to 17-0 at halftime.
McClain engineered two scoring drives in the third quarter to make the score 31-0. He scored on a three-yard boot-leg to cap a nine-play, 60-yard drive and then scrambled out of pressure for another three-yard score at the end of the quarter.
For the game, McClain finished 8-of-11 passing for 138 yards while adding 24 rushing yards and two scores. Meanwhile, Denham piled up 24 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Sands chipped in with 48 yards rushing.
Southeast Missouri running back Levi Terrell, who had rushed for at least 100 yards in five straight games, was held to a season-low 57 yards on the ground.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 31, TENNESSEE TECH 24
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois rallied from a 10-0 first quarter deficit to win 31-24 at Tennessee Tech to remain in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference. EIU improved to 6-3, 5-1 in the OVC. TTU lost its seventh straight game falling to 2-7, 0-6 in the OVC.
Back-up quarterback Darian Stone drove the Golden Eagles the length of the field on the opening drive to put TTU up 7-0 as Doug Page scored form 1-yard out with 9:18 to play in the first. Stone rushed for 100 yards on the day as the Panthers faced their first true running quarterback of the season.
On the Panthers next drive the Panthers were short on a 4th down play just past midfield. TTU drove for a Zach Sharp 32-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the opening quarter.
Jimmy Garoppolo drove EIU down to the inside the five yard line on the next series as EIU was again short on 4th down. Following a defensive stand, Garoppolo had his first of two long touchdown passes on the day hitting Chavar Watkins for 61 yards. EIU trailed 10-7 at the half.
Garoppolo was 27-of-41 for 376 yards and three touchdowns in the win including opening the game completing 15 of his first 18 passes. Watkins hauled in seven passes for a career high 140 yards.
One of the adjustments he made gave the Panthers their first lead of the game as Garoppolo scrambled to avoid four TTU tacklers and hit Keiondre Gober for a two-yard score on EIU’s opening drive of the second half. Cameron Berra tacked on a 19-yard field goal to give EIU the 17-10 lead with 8:03 left in the third quarter.
Tennessee Tech tied the score at 17-17 as Stone found Da’Rick Rogers for a 14-yard strike. Stone was 22-of-43 for 153 yards. Rogers was limited to 5 catches for 49 yards.
EIU answered quickly as Garoppolo connected with Chris Wright for 73-yards with 4:21 left in the third quarter. Wright had 102 yards on four catches.
The Panthers added what proved to be the deciding touchdown on a Taylor Duncan run up the middle early in the fourth quarter. Page scored the final Golden Eagles touchdown with 2:27 left before Erik Lora recovered the onside kick.
Lora caught seven passes in the game to become the 17th player in FCS history to reach 100 catches in a season. He moved past Roy Banks for the EIU single season receiving yards record.
EIU’s defense was led by Jourdan Wickliffe with 13 tackles and one interception. Robert Haynes had 12 tackles.
AUSTIN PEAY 56, CULVER-STOCKTON 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University rolled up 49 first-half points to snap a 10-game losing streak as it defeated outmanned Culver-Stockton, 56-0, Saturday, in a non-conference game at Governors Stadium.
The victory gives Austin Peay a 1-8 overall record while NAIA foe Culver-Stockton, a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, slipped to 1-9.
The Governors cracked the scoring column just four plays in, using two Wildcats personal four penalties to reach the Culver-Stockton 20. Ean Pemberton then raced up the middle to give APSU a 7-0 lead.
Two minutes later the Governors scored again. Defensive end Iosua Siliva sacked Wildcat quarterback Curtis Widener at the Culver-Stockton nine, with Anthony Marion recovering. Two plays later Terrence Oliver knifed into the end zone as APSU quickly was up 14-0.
Almost the same scenario occurred on the next possession. Widener was sacked Zach Lane, fumbling the football. This time it was Malcolm Goines falling on it on the four-yard line.
Jake Ryan then hit Devin Stark on a fade route to become only the second Governors quarterback in history to throw for 30 or more touchdown passes. It was one of only eight passing attempts by Ryan on the day
By quarter's end the Govs led 28-0 and they scored three more times in the second quarter, including Pemberton's second score, this time from 14 yards out. Pemberton finished with 112 rushing yards on eight carries. It was the sixth time this season a Governor rushed for 100 or more yards as APSU finished with 378 rushing yards.
Running back Terrence Oliver also had two scores for the Governors.
APSU finished with 447 yards in total offense while Culver-Stockton had just 41.