SATURDAY'S SCORES
#14 Eastern Kentucky 27, @Southeast Missouri 10
UT Martin 44, @Austin Peay 14
#1 Jacksonville State 42, @Tennessee Tech 13
Eastern Illinois 25, @Tennessee State 22 (OT)
#14 EASTERN KENTUCKY 27, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - A stellar second half allowed the Eastern Kentucky University football team to turn a 10-10 halftime tie into a 27-10 victory over Southeast Missouri State University on Saturday at Houck Stadium.
The 14th ranked Colonels (4-2, 3-0 OVC) came out of the locker room after halftime and quickly took control of both sides of the ball. The EKU defense forced the Redhawks to punt after three plays on their first possession of the second half.
The Eastern offense then marched to the go-ahead score on three plays. On the first Bennie Coney connected with Ben Madon over the middle and the tight end turned it into a 38-yard gainer as he eluded a tackle and raced toward the left sideline. After a rush for no gain, Coney then found Bryan Green down the left sideline for a 29-yard touchdown reception. The drive lasted just 1:06 and the extra-point made it 17-10.
That’s essentially all EKU would need. The defense held Southeast to 52 total yards of offense in the second half and just 31 rushing yards for the game. SEMO scored on two of its first three possessions of the game and took a 10-7 lead on Ryan McCrum’s 20-yard field goal with 8:53 left in the second quarter. Eastern Kentucky defense then forced SEMO to punt on its next six possessions stretching to the final five minutes of the game when the Redhawks went for it twice on fourth down and failed to convert each time.
A thrilling drive late in the third and early in the fourth gave Eastern a two-touchdown lead. A 34-yard run off tackle by freshman Ethan Thomas took the Colonels to the SEMO 39 yard line. The drive appeared to stall after EKU gained just one yard on the next three plays. Keith Wrzuszczak came out to punt on 4th-and-9. The sophomore took the snap, rolled out and found Barton Mann for 16 yards and a first down. Eastern ran one more play to end the third quarter.
On the second play of the fourth, Coney’s pass to Devin Borders on 3rd-and-5 gained just three yards, but a face mask penalty gave the visitors 1st-and-goal at the seven yard line. Three plays later, Coney found Joel Brown over the middle in the end zone for six. The extra-point made it 24-10.
Coney finished 20-of-29 for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception. Madon caught six of those passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Green finished with four receptions for 82 yards and his touchdown. Thomas ran four times for 57 yards.
EKU had three sacks and a total of 10 tackles for a loss. Trey Thomas and Tyrell Curry each had eight stops. Noah Spence finished with seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.
Eastern Kentucky out-gained the home squad 404 to 191 and 113 to 31 on the ground.
Quarterback Dante Vandeven was 24-for-36 for 160 yards for Southeast Missouri (2-5, 1-2 OVC).
UT MARTIN 44, AUSTIN PEAY 14
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team scored early and often en route to a commanding 44-14 road Ohio Valley Conference victory at Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon. The victory notches the team’s third consecutive victory and secures a season sweep of the annual Sgt. York Trophy series.
The Skyhawks (4-2, 3-1 OVC) clinched the program’s second consecutive Sgt. York Trophy after sweeping the season series for the second straight year against Tennessee foes Austin Peay, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech. UT Martin moves to 19-8 all-time in the Sgt. York Trophy series, the best mark amongst all participating schools while holding a seven-game winning streak in the series.
Jarod Neal paced an efficient offense which scored 44 points on just 60 offensive plays. Neal went 15-for-25 on the day with 209 yards and one touchdown. The gunslinger connected with his favorite receivers throughout the contest, finding Caylon Weathers seven times for 78 yards and one touchdown while Rod Wright caught five balls for 108 yards.
The running game notched 210 yards on the ground while seeing five players record rushing attempts. Jaimiee Bowe led the team with eight rushes for 50 yards while adding one touchdown. Junior Najee Ray made the most of his four attempts while recording 48 yards. Senior Trent Garland notched eight attempts for 47 yards while adding a pair of touchdowns as Ladevin Fair was close behind with 46 yards for himself.
Defensively the Skyhawks produced another solid performance, holding the opposition to 17 points or fewer for the third consecutive outing. The safety duo of Terrious Triplett and Khalid Hagens paced the team with 17 combined tackles while Jay Murphy tallied six tackles himself. For the second straight week the Skyhawks made a big play on special teams as Tae Martin blocked a field goal for the second consecutive game while Jordan Landry recovered the ball and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown.
Austin Peay (0-7, 0-4 OVC) dropped its 12th consecutive contest dating back to last season. Junior running back Julian Franklin led the Governors attack with 16 carries for 102 yards while notching a touchdown. Quarterback Timarious Mitchell jumpstarted a stale offense, completing 4-of-5 passes in the second half for 48 yards and a touchdown.
The Skyhawks would waste very little time on their first drive of the contest. Neal put all questions of his health in the past, connecting with Wright over the middle of the field for a 41-yard pass completion. Already in enemy territory, Neal would hit Weathers for another first down across the left sideline before finding the tall receiver for a 22-yard touchdown into the right corner of the endzone on the fourth play of the drive, giving the Skyhawks an early 7-0 advantage.
A strong defensive stop would give UT Martin the ball back on the ensuing drive. Starting on its own 23, UT Martin would push the ball down the field, highlighted by a 22-yard rush by Neal down the visitor’s sideline. Fair would then break a 13-yard rush of his own to move into Austin Peay territory. With the ball in the redzone following an 11-yard completion from Neal to William Tanner, Garland would take the ball the rest of the way, capping off the drive with a five-yard rush up the gut to give the Skyhawks a 14-0 lead.
Austin Peay would look to get on the board on the following drive, getting into the redzone. The Governors would methodically move down the field, picking up 68-yards before seeing their drive stall inside the 10. Looking to put some points on the board, the Governors would attempt a 24-yard field goal but Martin would block a field goal for the second consecutive week before Landry picked up the loose ball and returned it 87-yards for a touchdown, giving the Skyhawks a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The home squad used the following drive to get on the board. After failing to score from the redzone, the Govs would hit the ground to push across their first touchdown. Trey Taylor would complete a nine-yard completion before keeping it himself for an 11-yard scamper. Franklin would then take control, notching an 11-yard gain before breaking free down the home sideline for a 37-yard touchdown, cutting the margin to 21-7 in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
UT Martin would respond with another scoring drive on the ensuing drive. The Skyhawks would string together a nine-play drive while notching 52 yards. Moving into the redzone, the Skyhawks would capitalize on the scoring chance as Jackson Redditt booted a 32-yard field goal.
Another three-and-out for the Govs would give the Skyhawks the ball on their own 45. The Skyhawks would move the ball through the air as Neal connected with Weathers for a 12-yard completion before finding Wright for a 38-yard reception to move to the five yard line. With prime position and a fresh set of downs, Garland would punch it in with a two-yard touchdown, his second of the game, to take a 31-7 advantage.
With the game holding a near nine minute scoring drought in the second half, the Skyhawks would finally get on the board late in the third. After missing an attempt from 31-yards the drive before, Redditt would converted another 31-yard attempt on the following drive, giving the Skyhawks a 34-7 lead. With the field goal, Redditt notched his 10th point of the afternoon and moved the senior into third place on the program’s all-time kick scoring leaderboard with 196 career points.
Austin Peay would cut into the margin again, adding its second touchdown of the day after marching 77 yards down the field. Franklin would break a 31-yard scamper down the sideline to move into Skyhawk territory. Mitchell would then connect with James Coleman for a 17-yard completion before finding Jared Beard for a 20-yard touchdown, making it a 34-14 margin.
The Skyhawks would respond by hitting the ground and chewing up valuable time in the fourth quarter. Taking up nearly four minutes in clock, the Skyhawks used eight plays to record 59 yards, setting up Redditt for his third and final field goal of the night, this one from 29 yards.
After another successful defensive stop, UT Martin would begin its final scoring drive on the Austin Peay 39. With good field position, backup quarterback Troy Cook would see action, connecting on three passes during the drive to move into the redzone. With the ball on the 17, the Skyhawks would give the ball to Bowe for a 17-yard scamper up the middle, notching his second touchdown of the year and bringing the score to its final resting place at 44-14.
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 42, TENNESSEE TECH 13
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Things went south for Tennessee Tech from the opening kickoff against No. 1 Jacksonville State Saturday night.
Junior quarterback Eli Jenkins threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Gamecocks (5-1, 3-0 Ohio Valley Conference) reeled off their fourth straight win, thumping Tennessee Tech 42-13 at Tucker Stadium.
The win marked Jacksonville State 12th straight victory against OVC opponents.
The Golden Eagles fumbled the opening kickoff out of bounds at their 7, an indicator of things to come.
Jacksonville State's defense forced a three-and-out and the offense wasted little time finding the end zone, driving 61 yards in 10 plays. Jenkins finished the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Dalton Screws to start the rout.
Tennessee Tech (2-5, 1-3) was held to a pair of John Arnold field goals and a rushing TD with just over a minute left in the game, its lowest point total of the season.
Jacksonville State piled up 619 yards, the sixth-highest total in school history.
Jenkins was 18-of-27 passing for 184 yards and two touchdowns, the 4-yarder to Screws and 30 yards to Troymaine Pope in the second quarter, compiling a passer rating of 148.4. He has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in nine straight games and 15 of his last 16.
Jenkins also contributed to the scoring with a 40-yard run in the first quarter, finishing with 89 yards on 13 carries.
Arnold's 43-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the first quarter drew TTU to within 7-3. But after an exchange of punts, Jenkins burst free on his 40-yard touchdown run to extend JSU's lead to 14-3 with 1:12 to go in the first.
Josh Clemons' 3-yard run capped a 12-play, 72-yard drive as the Gamecocks pushed their lead to 20-6 midway through the second quarter. Pope's nifty catch-and-run for 30 yards with 1:27 left gave JSU a 26-6 lead at halftime.
Miles Jones raced 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and Connor Rouleau added the extra point for a 33-6 lead. True freshman Monty Young of Saks tackled Golden Eagles quarterback Colby Brown for a safety with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 35-6.
Jacksonville State's final points came in the waning moments when JoJo Wynn ran 65 yards for a touchdown on his third career carry. Cade Stinnett's extra point made the final 42-13.
Brandon Bender led the Gamecocks with seven tackles, including three solo stops.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 25, TENNESSEE STATE 22 (OT)
NASHVILLE - Jourdan Wickliffe picked off a pass in the first overtime session that helped Eastern Illinois remain undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play with a 25-22 win at Tennessee State on Saturday night.
Nick Bruno knocked home a 26-yard field goal during EIU’s first overtime possession to give the Panthers the 25-22 advantage. It was the second time that EIU has beaten TSU in overtime at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
EIU improved to 3-3 overall, 3-0 in the OVC. TSU fell to 3-3 overall, 0-3 in the OVC.
With EIU holding the lead most of the game, TSU changed momentum on a blocked punt by David Kamara that the Tigers recovered at the 3-yard line. TSU scored with Ronald Butler hitting Chris Sanders-McCollum on a 7-yard pass. TSU failed on the two-point conversion to lead 19-14 with 3:20 to play in the third quarter.
EIU regained the lead with a solid drive in the fourth quarter. The Panthers had six rushing playing covering 63 yards as Devin Church found the end zone for the second time in the game, this time from 25 yards out. EIU then pushed its lead to 22-19 as Jalen Whitlow hit Addison Bounds for the two-point conversion.
Church finished with 125 yards on 17 carries. It was the third straight game that Church has scored two or more touchdowns.
Lane Clark tied the game at 22-22 with 6:41 to play in the fourth quarter, hitting a 50-yard field goal. It was Clark’s third made field goal of the game.
Both teams had two possessions in the final 2:31 of regulation but were unable to generate any offense.
Two big plays, one on each side of the ball, helped Eastern Illinois hold on to a 14-10 halftime lead over Tennessee State.
The Panthers big offensive play was with 9:50 to play in the second quarter as Whitlow hit Bounds for a 62-yard touchdown strike. It was the second straight week that Whitlow and Bounds had connected for a touchdown pass covering more than 60 yards.
EIU’s big defensive play came with two seconds remaining in the half as Dylan Chatman intercepted a TSU pass at the one yard line to end a potential Tigers scoring drive.
Both teams traded a turnover to open the game. EIU blocked a punt on TSU’s first possession as Mack Weaver came through the line. Ezra Robinson gave the ball back to the Tigers on EIU’s first play with an interception inside the five yard line.
EIU would sustain a drive midway through the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead with 7:25 to play in the first quarter on a Church 8-yard run.
TSU would tie the game with 11:21 to play in the second quarter as Butler ran in from 30-yards out. Butler had 104 yards rushing and 125 passing for the Tigers.
Clark’s 31-yard field goal for TSU with 4:16 to play in the first half made it 14-10. Clark knocked home a 41-yard field goal with 8:59 to play in the third quarter to make it 14-13 EIU. The drive was set up by a Terrell Bonds interception at the TSU six yard line and returned deep into EIU territory. EIU’s defense was able to hold on the drive.
In what turned out to be a defensive battle Seth McDonald led EIU with eight tackles and one sack. Bradley Dewberry had six tackles.
Chris Collins led TSU with seven tackles and Kamara had seven.