SATURDAY'S SCORES
#2 Eastern Illinois 70, @UT Martin 22
@Murray State 34, Eastern Kentucky 27 (OT)
@Tennessee Tech 34, Austin Peay 0
@Jacksonville State 42, Southeast Missouri 34
#2 EASTERN ILLINOIS 70, UT MARTIN 22
MARTIN, Tenn. - With three starters out of the lineup, Eastern Illinois offense did not miss a beat as the Panthers scored 28 first quarter points to post a perfect Ohio Valley Conference record with a 70-22 victory over UT Martin.
EIU finished the regular season at 11-1, 8-0 in the OVC as the Panthers find out their post-season seed in the FCS playoffs at 10:30 a.m. (Central) on Sunday with the announcement of the 2013 field on ESPNU.
The 11 regular season wins are the most for EIU in school history.
The 70 points was the third highest total in school history behind an 82 point game against Merom Academy in 1920 and 73 points against Kentucky State in 1982. EIU racked up 704 yards of total offense the second highest total in school history.
UT Martin finished the regular season at 7-5, 5-3 in the OVC.
The Panthers took advantage of a short punt on UTM’s first possession and converted when Jimmy Garoppolo hit Adam Drake for a 33-yard score. It was one of three times Garoppolo and Drake connected for scores. Drake had 14 catches for 225 yards and three scores. The 225 yards ranks as the fourth highest receiving total in school history.
Drake had all three touchdown grabs in the first quarter scoring from 33, 9 and 40 yards. Jeff LePak added three touchdown grabs with one each in the first, second and third quarters. LePak finished with seven catches for 196 yards as EIU fell four yards shy of having two 200-yard receivers.
Garoppolo finished his campaign for the Walter Payton Award with a 477 yard passing day and six touchdowns. It was the fourth best single game passing total in school history while the six touchdowns was the second highest total. Garoppolo threw seven touchdowns against Illinois State earlier this season.
EIU’s defense was just as strong on the day limiting UTM to no first downs in the first quarter and just five rushing yards in the first half. The Skyhawks finished with 295 total yards in the game with only 47 on the ground.
Jourdan Wickliffe was the Panthers leading tackler with seven stops. LeQuince McCall had five tackles including three for loss. EIU forced five turnovers in the game.
EIU led 47-9 at the half with two of the UTM points coming on a safety when the Panthers snapped the ball over the punters head through the end zone. The Skyhawks other first half score came on a Jeremy Butler 28-yard pass from Jarod Neal.
The Panthers ran a school record 112 plays in the game with 203 yards rushing and 501 yards passing. EIU should retain its spot as the nation’s number one scoring and total offense when NCAA statistical rankings are released on Sunday morning. Shepard Little rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns as he won the OVC rushing title with 1,309 yards, eighth best in school history.
EIU has now scored in 28 straight quarters as the Panthers won their 12th straight OVC game, posting their third perfect OVC season (2005 and 2001 the other two).
MURRAY STATE 34, EASTERN KENTUCKY 27 (OT)
MURRAY, Ky. - The question surrounding the Murray State football program has been its defense. But, on this day, it was the defense that made the biggest play of the game as they stopped Eastern Kentucky on fourth down at the goaline in overtime to secure a 34-27 victory in the 2013 season finale at Stewart Stadium.
The Racers (6-6, 4-4 OVC) got the ball to start overtime and lost a yard on their first two plays. They then went deep into their bag of tricks and made the call for Big Boy. Maikhail Miller handed the ball off to Jaamal Berry, who gave it to Paul Rice on the reverse. Rice then pitched it bag to Miller, who found Jesse Blackburn in the endzone for the 26-yard touchdown.
The Colonels (6-6, 4-4 OVC) faced a 4th-and-2 on their overtime possession, but quarterback Jared McClain was able to escape and pick up the first down. They then got a first-down run that set up the Colonels on the four. The Racer defense forced another fourth-down situation, but his time the interior line stopped the quarterback just shy of the goaline for the victory.
The victory marked the first time since 2004 that the Racers have defeated EKU, and the first victory over the Colonels at Stewart Stadium since 1999. The win was also the first time in school history the Racers have defeated EKU and Jacksonville State in the same season.
The combination of Miller to Blackburn was working all afternoon as the duo connected nine times for 170 yards and a pair of scores. Blackburn was not the only receiver to have a big day as Rice added nine grabs for 124 yards. Miller finished the day 37-of-54 for 467 yards and two touchdowns.
Trailing by seven six to start the second half, the Racers need six plays on their first possession to take the lead. Miller found Blackburn for 31 yards, and followed it up with a 41-yard strike to Rice to set up first-and-goal. On second down, Miller hit Blackburn in the back of the endzone for the two-yard touchdown.
After forcing EKU to punt on each of its first four possessions of the second half, the Racers took over deep inside their own territory. Facing fourth down at their own 13, the Racers lined up in punt formation. The Colonels blocked the punt, but Steven Mix scooped up the ball and raced 11 yards to pick up the first down. MSU would get a 40-yard catch by Blackburn to help set up a Marc Wynstra 26-yar field goal on the drive.
The Colonels then punted on their fifth-straight possession of the half, and the Racers again turned it into points with a 25-yard Wynstra field goal.
EKU finally got its offense going on the final drive of the game as they drove 64 yards and got a one-yard Thomas Owens touchdown run with 46 seconds remaining.
The Racers jumped out to an early lead as they marched 75 yards on the opening possession of the game and scored on a Miller three-yard touchdown run. EKU took advantage of a pair of Racer turnovers to get two field goals from Andrew Lloyd.
EKU would score on the ground and through the air in the second quarter, but the Racers split that with the second rushing touchdown of the game from Miller to send the teams to recess with MSU trailing 20-14.
Brandon Wicks led the strong effort by the defense as he recorded 14 tackles. Perry Cooper added 12 tackles and Darrian Skinner 11. Travis Taylor registered two of the team's four sacks.
TENNESSEE TECH 34, AUSTIN PEAY 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A punishing ground game and a swarming defense were keys to Tennessee Tech devouring Austin Peay, 34-0, Saturday afternoon in Tucker Stadium to send the 12 Golden Eagle seniors out on a winning note in the season finale.
Tech (5-7/2-6 OVC) closed out the 2013 season with back-to-back wins, while the Governors (0-12/0-8 OVC) wrapped up a winless campaign.
Junior quarterback Darian Stone rushed for 153 yards to top a ground attack that piled up 284 yards and all five Golden Eagle touchdowns. Cody Forbes added 64 yards while Stephen Bush finished with 59 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
In addition to 118 passing yards on Stone's 9-for-15 effort, the Golden Eagles managed 402 yards of offense. Tech put together three six-minute scoring drives.
The Golden Eagles scored on all four of their possessions in the second half except for a kneel-down on the final play.
The Tech defense, meanwhile, limited Austin Peay to 86 total yards including just 72 through the air. The "D" had 11 tackles-for-loss, led by senior Malcolm Mitchell with three including his team-best ninth quarterback sack of the year. Tra'Darius Goff had two TFL and five tackles, finishing the year with 101 total tackles to rank first in the OVC. Marty Jones was one of three Golden Eagles with a team-high seven tackles, and finished with 98 tackles for second in the league.
As convincing as the final score appears, it wasn't decided until the second half after the Golden Eagles took a slim, 7-0 lead into halftime. That came on a six-minute, 80-yard drive on Tech's first possession of the contest and ended with a one-yard push by Bush.
Tech took control in the third quarter with a couple of touchdowns. Stone led the Golden Eagles on the opening possession of the second half on a 61-yard, five-play drive that was capped when Bush split the line and raced untouched 42 yards for a 14-0 lead.
APSU marched 45 yards on 11 plays into Tech territory, before Jones and Jimmy Laughlin stopped the Governor receiver short on fourth down play. From there, Tech went 66 yards in 14 plays, with Bush pounding it in from the one for a 20-0 lead. The drive chewed up 6:19 off the clock.
Early in the fourth, a 45-yard screen pass to Forbes set up Tech's next score, a nine-yard run by Stone for a 27-0 lead. It was the final pass of the day for the Golden Eagles. The final possession featured 11 consecutive running plays, including eight by Forbes, as Tech moved 71 yards in 11 plays on a six-and-a-half minute touchdown drive for the 34-0 lead. Stone had a 31-yard carry in the effort, while Forbes crossed the goal line from the two.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 42, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 34
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State's regular season resumé is complete.
The Gamecocks hung on to defeat Southeast Missouri State 42-34 before a crowd of 12,927 on Senior Day at Burgess-Snow Field to solidify their credentials for a spot in the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoff field.
Jacksonville State (9-3, 5-3 in Ohio Valley Conference) will find out its fate Sunday at 10:30 a.m. during the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Selection Show on ESPNU. First-round games will be conducted at eight campus sites on Nov. 30.
The Gamecocks quickly put the disappointment of last week's loss at No. 2 Eastern Illinois behind them by scoring on their first three possessions. DaMarcus James ran for three touchdowns as Jacksonville State raced to a 28-6 lead at halftime.
James finished with a career-high 206 yards on 35 carries, one of three Gamecock ball carriers with more than 100 yards against the OVC's second-worst rush defense. Quarterback Eli Jenkins added 124 yards and Troymaine Pope had 102 on only six carries.
James extended his school record for rushing touchdowns in a season to 23, four more than Oscar Bonds' previous record of 19 set in 2004, and set a new OVC mark, passing Eastern Kentucky's Elroy Harris' record of 21 set in 1988.
Jacksonville State piled up 587 total yards, including 440 on the ground.
The Gamecocks posted 5,244 yards of total offense in the 12 games, eclipsing the school record of 4,882 set in 1991. The 1991 record was set in 14 games.
Clark's ninth win in his first season ties him with Jim Fuller (1977) for the most regular season wins by a first-year head coach in JSU history. Fuller went 9-2 in his first season at the Gamecocks' helm, then won a pair of playoff games to finish 11-3 overall.
Pope finished off a pair of seven-play scoring drives in the second half with TD runs of 21 and 3 yards. The sophomore's 3-yard scoring run gave Jacksonville State its biggest lead, 42-13, with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter.
But the resilient Redhawks (3-9, 2-6) refused to fold in their season finale. SEMO piled up 21 unanswered points in just over seven minutes to start the fourth quarter, closing the deficit to 42-34 with 7:41 to go.
SEMO had one last shot to pull even after Jacksonville State's Griffin Thomas missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with 2:26 remaining.
Starting at their 29, the Redhawks moved downfield to JSU's 15 in 12 plays, but backup quarterback Kyle Snyder's 9-yard pass to Peter Lloyd on fourth down came up a yard short and the Gamecocks ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Jacksonville State registered its most first-quarter points since 2009 as James scored on runs of 1 and 15 yards and Jenkins added a 7-yard TD in the game's first 12 minutes.
James later added his third TD, an 8-yard run, to cap a 74-yard, 10-play JSU drive. Thomas' extra point made it 28-6 with 3:16 left before intermission.
SEMO's offense racked up 463 total yards, with DeMichael Jackson netting 183 of their 410 rushing yards. Lewis Washington added 111 yards on 14 carries.