SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#2 Eastern Illinois 56, Tennessee Tech 21
@Eastern Kentucky 44, #23 Tennessee State 0
@UT Martin 45, Murray State 17
Jacksonville State 42, @Austin Peay 10
@Southeast Missouri 37, Urbana University 35
#2 EASTERN ILLINOIS 56, TENNESSEE TECH 21
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Senior wide receiver Erik Lora hauled in three touchdown passes to tie the Ohio Valley Conference regular season record with his 16th touchdown grab of the year as the second ranked Eastern Illinois Panthers improved to 8-1, 5-0 in the OVC with a 56-21 victory over Tennessee Tech (3-7, 0-6 OVC).
In addition to his touchdown receptions, Lora added an 80-yard punt return for touchdown to tie the EIU record for longest punt return in a game. Lora had another long punt return for touchdown wiped out by a holding call on the return. Lora finished the day with 12 catches for 119 yards as EIU racked up 552 yards of total offense.
Lora scored EIU’s first two touchdowns of the game in the first quarter on receptions from Jimmy Garoppolo of 5 and 29 yards. Shepard Little returned a punt 75-yards for a touchdown with 35 seconds left in the opening quarter to stake EIU to a 21-0 lead. It marked the first time in EIU school history that two separate players have returned a punt for a touchdown over 50-yards.
Keiondre Gober extended the Panthers lead to 28-0 with 11:17 to play in the second quarter breaking loose for a 79-yard reception from Garoppolo. It was Garoppolo’s eighth 60-plus yard touchdown pass this season. Gober finished with five receptions for 129 yards.
Garoppolo was 33-of-50 for 399 yards with four touchdown passes. It was the ninth time this season Garoppolo has passed for more than 300-yards in a game. It was the ninth straight game this season he has passed for 200 or more yards in the first half. It was the sixth time this season he has passed for four or more touchdowns in a game. Garoppolo now has 39 touchdown passes this season to rank 10th on the all-time FCS single season list. Garoppolo’s 104 career touchdown passes rank him 11th on the FCS career list.
Tennessee Tech cut the halftime margin to 28-7 with Krys Cates hauling in a 15-yard pass from Jared Davis following an EIU turnover. Davis played in relief of TTU starter Darian Stone who passed for 15 yards on 7-of-11 passing. Davis finished 11-of-27 with three touchdown passes. He hit Eric Belew on two fourth quarter scoring drives.
EIU opened the game up in the third quarter with Lora scoring on a 5-yard touchdown reception and the 80-yard punt return with 6:25 left in the third quarter. Lora increased his career receptions total to 296 as he ranks seventh on the FCS career receptions list. Next up for Lora to catch on the all-time list is Jerry Rice with 301 career catches. Lora has 87 catches for 1,152 yards and 16 touchdowns this year.
EIU’s defense once again played solid allowing only one score against the first team unit. The Panthers allowed just 281 yards of total offense with TTU rushing for 83 yards and passing for 198. Alex Helms, Antonio Taylor and Kamu Grugier-Hill all finished with a team-high five tackles. Clinton Simpkins had EIU’s one sack as the Panthers finished with 12 quarterback hurries.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 44, #23 TENNESSEE STATE 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - Defense and special teams keyed the Eastern Kentucky University football team’s 44-0 rout of No. 23 Tennessee State Saturday afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Eastern Kentucky’s defense forced four Tennessee State turnovers which led to 17 points. The Colonels held the Tigers to season lows in both passing yards (101) and total yards (172). This game also marked EKU’s first shutout since defeating these same Tigers on Nov. 19, 2005 by a count of 49-0.
The Colonels (6-3, 4-1 OVC) built a 34-0 halftime lead thanks to three Tiger fumbles that led to 14 points, a 30-yard punt return to the TSU seven yard line that set up a touchdown and a defense that limited the visitors to 31 yards of offense on their first seven possessions.
Tennessee State (7-3, 4-2 OVC) crossed midfield only once in the first half, a five-yard run to the EKU 46-yard line that ended with a fumble recovered by the Colonels.
Junior Stanley Absanon set up Eastern’s first score with a 30-yard punt return. TSU punted from its own five and the Colonels took over at the seven yard line. After a few penalties forced a 3rd-and-goal at the 16-yard line, junior quarterback Jared McClain found a diving Devin Borders over the middle for a touchdown with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers’ second fumble of the first quarter came at their own six yard line. Junior defensive back Paul Ritter scooped it up at the seven and went in untouched.
The Colonels put together their first extended drive at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter to go up 21-0. On 3rd-and-10 from the 26-yard line, McClain hooked up with Borders again, this time down the right sideline, to cap a seven-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up 3:11. McClain moved the ball early in the drive with a 20-yard run up the middle.
Eastern Kentucky added two more touchdowns before the end of the half. McClain tossed a one-yard scoring pass to senior tight Ike Ariguzo and redshirt freshman running back JJ Jude scored from a yard out with 27 seconds remaining before the break.
EKU out-gained Tennessee State in the first half of play, 205-52
The Colonels took their opening drive of the second half and marched 75 yards to pay dirt in seven plays. Redshirt freshman Jared Sanders finished it off with a three-yard touchdown run. The ensuing point-after made it 41-0. Junior kicker Andrew Lloyd rounded out the scoring with a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
McClain finished 8-for-14 passing for 129 yards. The junior tossed a career-best three touchdown passes and also led EKU with 73 yards on the ground.
TSU’s running back Tim Broughton was held to a season-low 38 rushing yards on 17 carries.
UT MARTIN 45, MURRAY STATE 17
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team overcame an early deficit this afternoon to cruise over Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State by a 45-17 margin at Hardy Graham Stadium.
UT Martin (6-3, 4-2 OVC) trailed 14-0 after the first quarter but bounced back by outscoring the visiting Racers 45-3 over the final three quarters of play. This game marked the second straight week that the Skyhawks have set a new season-high in points after compiling 38 points at Austin Peay on Oct. 26.
The Skyhawk defense stood out today with several remarkable efforts. Junior linebacker Tony Bell recorded 4.5 sacks, which is the most out of any NCAA player at all levels in 2013. The 4.5 sacks tied with Tennessee Tech’s Marcus Edwards (2010) for the most sacks in a single game by an OVC player in the last decade. The outstanding performance was part of a career-best 16 tackles for Bell, which ties for the most stops in a single game by any OVC player in 2013.
Redshirt senior cornerback Thad Williams also had a career day today, coming away with two interceptions to go along with eight tackles. The two picks marked the first time a Skyhawk had a multi-interception game since Markei Guy accomplished the feat at Tennessee State in 2010.
Camaren Harris also added an interception while Ben Johnson (one sack) and DJ Roberts (0.5 sacks) got into the action for UT Martin to help the Skyhawks set a new season-high with three picks and six sacks.
Offensively, Jarod Neal chalked up a career day – accounting for four touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore signal caller out of Hendersonville, Tenn. completed 75 percent of his passes (18-for-24) for 245 yards and a career-best three touchdowns while adding a career-high 38 yards on the ground, including a go-ahead rushing score in the third quarter to give UT Martin a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Jeremy Butler continued his dominant season today, hauling in nine receptions for 133 yards and a pair of touchdown catches. It was the seventh 100-yard receiving game and sixth multi-touchdown performance of Butler’s career, as he has now caught eight touchdowns in the last six games and 19 overall scores in 19 career games at UT Martin.
Chris Thompson (six catches, 80 yards) also snared a touchdown grab today for the Skyhawks.
OVC rushing leader DJ McNeil gained 111 yards on 28 carries for his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He added a pair of touchdowns for the fifth multi-touchdown game of his career, as he now stands in fourth place on the all-time UT Martin rushing touchdown list with 20.
Murray State (5-4, 3-2 OVC) was led by Jaamal Berry’s 134 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Skyhawk defense limited the Racers to 284 yards of total offense and 123 combined yards in the second half.
Neither team would get on the scoreboard until UT Martin’s third possession of the game. After taking over at its own 2-yard line, the Skyhawks ran an option play with Dylan Favre at quarterback, who saw action for the first time in nearly a month this afternoon. Favre’s backwards pitch emerged loose in the endzone and Murray State’s T-Ray Malone fell on the ball to give the Racers a 7-0 advantage at the 4:58 mark of the first quarter.
On Murray State’s next possession, Berry scored from 26 yards out to make the score 14-0 with less than a minute to go in the opening quarter.
The Skyhawks would then score on their ensuing possession, as McNeil rumbled into the endzone from five yards out with 13 minutes to go before halftime. A Jackson Redditt PAT sliced UT Martin’s deficit in half at 14-7.
UT Martin then forced a punt and took advantage of good field position to tie the game in only two plays. Neal hit Thompson for a 20-yard gain and found Butler for a 21-yard strike on the next play, capping off a scoring drive that lasted just 34 seconds.
Bell accounted for a pair of sacks on Murray State’s next drive and the Skyhawk offense did their part to give UT Martin its first lead of the contest. Redditt converted a 33-yard field goal with 3:44 remaining in the second quarter to make the score 17-14 in favor of the Skyhawks.
The Racers would answer with a field goal from 24 yards out as time expired in the first half to result in a 17-17 tie at the break.
Murray State would receive the ball first in the second half but the Skyhawk defense held their ground as the Racers missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.
After the two teams then traded punts, UT Martin’s pressure on defense led to another Skyhawk touchdown. With Murray State driving into Skyhawk territory, Williams came up with an interception that would lead to a one-yard touchdown run by Neal that gave UT Martin a 24-17 lead with 4:18 to go in the third quarter.
The Skyhawk defense then forced a three-and-out and five plays later, McNeil marched in from two yards out to extend UT Martin’s lead to 31-17.
With Murray State facing a third-and-19 from the UT Martin 30-yard line, Bell broke through the line once again to deliver yet another sack to end the third quarter and put a pause on the Racer drive.
UT Martin then pieced together an impressive 12-play, 99-yard drive that spanned 6:53 to help put the game away. Neal delivered a 41-yard pass to Butler on the drive, then found Corey Jordan for an 11-yard gain on fourth-and-nine from the Murray State 24-yard line. Four plays later, Neal fired an 11-yard touchdown strike to Thompson to make the score 38-17.
Williams then stepped in front of a Parks Frazier pass for his second interception of the game with 6:57 remaining, setting up the final Skyhawk touchdown of the afternoon. Neal lofted a perfectly-timed 13-yard touchdown pass to Butler with 4:05 remaining to provide the final scoring margin of 45-17.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 42, AUSTIN PEAY 10
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - – Junior DaMarcus James ran for a school-record five touchdowns and the Jacksonville State defense shut down Austin Peay in rolling to a 42-10 Ohio Valley Conference win on Saturday evening.
James tied the OVC record for rushing touchdowns in a game and broke the school record of four that was set on the same field by Cedric Johnson in 2007. He finished the day with 102 yards on 19 carries and ran his season touchdown total to 17 and his career number to 23. After leading the Gamecocks (7-2, 3-2 OVC) to the win over the Governors (0-9, 0-5 OVC), he now ranks second in school history in rushing touchdowns in a season and eighth on the career list.
James' production was plenty on a day that saw the Gamecock defense hold the Austin Peay offense to just 245 yards, but JSU got more from freshman wide receiver Josh Barge. The native of Carrollton, Ga., caught nine passes for 115 yards, running his season total to 40 catches for 569 yards, breaking Bubba Long's JSU freshman record of 34 catches for 540 yards in 1966.
Barge was the favorite target of sophomore quarterback Kyle West, who finished the day with 188 yards on 18-for-30 passing, in making his first career start for the Gamecocks. Sophomore Bo Billups added a career-high 47 rushing yards, while sophomore Telvin Brawn ran seven times for 32 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards for the JSU offense.
The Gamecock defense rose to the occasion to limit its opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense for the second-straight week and really buckled down in the final three quarters. After the Govs gained 104 yards in the first quarter, JSU held them to just 141 yards over the final 45 minutes. Most of their production came from running back Omar Williams, who ran for 179 yards on 35 carries, exactly half of his team's 70 total plays.
The JSU defense held Peay's quarterbacks to a combined 4-for-26 passing for just 58 yards and two interceptions. Timarious Mitchell was 4-for-23 for all 58 yards and a score, while Jacob Sexton threw two picks in three pass attempts. Junior Jamaal Johnson, who made his first career start at safety for the Gamecocks, led JSU with eight tackles, while junior Caleb Lawrence and senior Barry Stafford each made a career-high seven stops on the front line.
In addition to limiting Peay's passing efficiency, JSU intercepted two passes for the first time this season and had five tackles for a loss. Junior Rashod Byers made the first and returned it 95 yards to get JSU on the board in the first quarter, and senior Rob Gray made his fifth career pick in the second quarter and returned it all the way down to the 3-yard line.
Austin Peay's offense hogged the ball in the first quarter, staying on the field for 11:23 of the first 15 minutes of the game. The Govs also outgained JSU 104-18 in the quarter, but the Gamecock defense stepped up to get the scoring started.
With 2:06 left in the quarter, Byers stepped in front of a Jacob Sexton pass into the flats and took it 95 yards for the game's first score. The sixth-longest interception return in school history would be the first big play for a JSU secondary that took control of the game early on.
The Govs used the ground to generate their early momentum, but when they needed to throw it wasn't there. Quarterbacks Timarious Mitchell and Jacob Sexton combined to go 1-for-17 passing for just 16 yards and two interceptions in the first half, while the Gamecocks used that defense to build an early lead and take a 28-3 lead into the halftime locker room.
James scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, the first Gamecock to do so in one quarter since Jamal Young at Eastern Illinois in September of 2010. JSU countered Peay's lopsided first quarter of total offense by gaining 139 yards to the Govs' 42 in the second quarter. Omar Williams carried the load for Peay in the first half with 120 of the Govs' 146 yards on 22 carries.
JSU picked up in the third quarter where it left off in the second. After an Austin Peay three-and-out to start the half, the Gamecocks put together its longest drive of the night. The 10-play drive went 61 yards and finished with James' fourth score, and after Peay's lone touchdown late in the quarter, James scored his final and record-breaking score on a 40-yard scamper with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 37, URBANA UNIVERSITY 35
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - - Austin Black rushed the middle to block Blaine Hafner's 50-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left and Southeast Missouri (2-7) escaped with a heart-throbbing 37-35 win over Urbana University (6-3) Saturday afternoon at Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium.
Southeast trailed, 35-31, until Kyle Snyder threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Paul McRoberts with 37 seconds left. McRoberts made an unbelievable catch in the back left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Urbana quarterback D.J. Mendenhall threw a 31-yard pass to Alvin Busbee on a 4th-and-5 to keep the Blue Knights final drive alive. Hafner then lined up for a 50-yard field goal at Southeast's 33-yardline, but Black batted the kick down securing the Redhawks come-from-behind win.
Southeast trailed by two touchdowns on two occasions in its back-and-forth battle with Urbana.
Mendenhall and David Hill each scored on runs of seven and four yards, respectively, to give Urbana an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
DeMichael Jackson cut the lead in half when his 4-yard run capped a 9-play, 71-yard drive with 12:11 remaining in the second quarter.
Urbana answered right back when Mendenhall hooked up with Joe Webb on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 9:56 on the clock to give the Blue Knights a 21-7 advantage.
Southeast then scored on its final two drives to bring the game to a 21-21 deadlock at the half.
Scott Lathrop threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Peter Lloyd before connecting with Paul McRoberts on a 25-yard score.
Alex Knight's 38-yard field goal gave Southeast its first lead (24-21) with 1:01 left in the third quarter. Knight's kick proved to be even bigger in the end since it came at the end of a drive that was kept alive due to a personal foul by Urbana which came immediately after a Southeast incomplete pass on a 3rd-and-5.
Kelly Carter's 42-yard kickoff return was followed by a 47-yard run by David Hill quickly moved Urbana to Southeast's 4-yardline. Two plays later, Hill hit paydirt on a 2-yard run to grab the Blue Knights a 28-24 lead with 14 seconds left.
Backup quarterback Kyle Snyder, who hadn't played in three games, entered the game and made a huge difference in the exciting finish.
Snyder scrambled to throw a 42-yard pass to Lloyd, completing a 9-play, 80-yard drive which gave the Redhawks a 31-28 edge with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter.
He then threw his second fourth-quarter touchdown, this time a 23-yard completion, to McRoberts.
Jackson ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, as Southeast outrushed Urbana, 260-165.
Lathrop completed 7-of-17 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Snyder completed 7-of-15 passes for 109 yards and two TDs. Lathrop (51) and Snyder (34) also combined for 85 yards on the ground.
Lloyd caught four passes for a career-high 109 yards and two touchdowns, while McRoberts had a team-high five catches for 79 yards and two TDs.
Defensively, Matt Starks led Southeast with eight tackles and an interception.
Mendenhall completed 23-of-68 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown to lead Urbana. Hill also rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns, while Joe Webb hauled in a game-high 10 catches for 110 yards and a TD.
In addition, Southeast racked up a season-high 494 yards of total offense.