SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#1 Jacksonville State 34, #13 Eastern Kentucky 0
@Southeast Missouri 38, Tennessee Tech 17
Eastern Illinois 34, @Murray State 20
@Tennessee State 20, Austin Peay 6
@Arkansas 63,
UT Martin 28
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 34, #13 EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Homecoming on the Jacksonville State campus saw the No. 1-ranked Gamecocks send a resounding message to any Ohio Valley Conference foe with hopes of unseating them as conference champions.
Jacksonville State (7-1, 5-0 OVC) dominated from the opening kickoff and routed No. 13 Eastern Kentucky 34-0 before a homecoming crowd of 21,988 at Burgess-Snow Field Saturday afternoon. It marks the second year in a row the Gamecocks posted a shutout against an OVC opponent on homecoming.
The Colonels (5-3, 4-1) came in tied with the Gamecocks and Eastern Illinois atop the league standings, but had no answers as Jacksonville State raced to a 24-0 halftime lead and never let up.
JSU can take another major step toward a second straight conference title next Saturday when it travels to face OVC co-leader Eastern Illinois (5-3, 5-0). The game will be televised on ESPN3 and kickoff is at 1 p.m.
Nothing Eastern Kentucky tried offensively was successful against the opportunistic Jacksonville State defense. The Colonels were averaging 35.7 points per game, third-best among OVC teams, but never got inside the Gamecocks 23 and only crossed midfield twice.
Eastern Kentucky was held to 175 total yards, with 39 of that coming on a run by Ethan Thomas in the second quarter.
Eli Jenkins was masterful - again - at the helm of the Gamecocks offense, engineering three first-half touchdown drives. Jenkins finished with 342 total yards (324 passing, 18 rushing) and joined David Gulledge (1987-90) as the only quarterbacks in Jacksonville State history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards.
Jenkins also became the first JSU quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards since Marques Ivory on Nov. 3, 2012.
Jacksonville State set the tone with a 96-yard scoring drive on its first possession.
Jenkins hooked up with Barge three times on the 11-play drive, the final completion a 14-yard screen pass that saw the junior receiver leave an EKU defender grasping air as he eluded the tackle and ran into the end zone with 7:53 left in the first quarter.
Linebacker Dawson Wells stepped in front of a Colonels' pass and took the interception back 48 yards for a touchdown with 13:44 to go in the second quarter. Connor Rouleau kicked the extra point to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 14-0.
It became 21-0 four minutes later when Troymaine Pope scored from the 1 to finish off a seven-play, 70-yard drive.
Rouleau tacked on JSU's final points of the first half with a 41-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining.
Barge hauled in another Jenkins touchdown pass late in the third quarter, this one covering 26 yards, as the Gamecocks stretched their lead to 31-0. Barge finished with a game-high 158 yards on nine receptions.
Rouleau's 37-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the fourth made the final 34-0.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38, TENNESSEE TECH 17
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (3-5, 2-2) scored 17 third-quarter points, all on special teams, to key a 38-17 victory over Tennessee Tech (2-7, 1-5) Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium.
Southeast, which wore pink jerseys donning the names of individuals affected by cancer as part of its Pink Up initiative, topped this special day by getting its second Ohio Valley Conference win.
After holding a slight 10-7 lead at halftime, Southeast scored a pair of touchdowns and kicked a 50-yard field goal in a span of 5:18 in the third quarter.
TTU was in punt formation at its own 26-yardline when Darrius Darden-Box blocked Jonathan King's kick at the 15-yardline. The ball took a couple bounces off the turf before Darden-Box scooped it up at the 7-yardline and ran to the end zone.
Southeast took a 21-10 lead at the 7:48 mark on the big play.
Ryan McCrum, who missed from 47 yards out in the second quarter, kicked a 50-yard field goal to widen Southeast's lead to 24-10 with 4:15 remaining.
Then, Paul McRoberts, returned a punt 69 yards down the near sideline for a touchdown to put the Redhawks ahead, 31-10, with 2:30 on the clock. McRoberts' special teams touchown came exactly two weeks after he made his debut as a punt returner.
Southeast later tacked on one last touchdown when Dante Vandeven scored on an 8-yard run with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter to polish off its commanding 38-17 victory.
Offensively, Tremane McCullough ran for 138 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. McCullough averaged 8.1 yards per rush and dashed 81 yards for his third rushing touchdown this year. The rushing play marked the fourth-longest in Southeast history, as McCullough posted his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
Vandeven completed 11-of-21 passes for 125 yards and ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns. McRoberts contributed a game-high four catches for 56 yards and ran back four punts for 83 yards. His 69-yard punt return for a touchdown was the longest in the OVC this season and third-longest in school history.
Southeast piled up 360 total yards, including 235 on the ground. The Redhawks' 38 points marked a season-high.
The Redhawk defense had three takeaways, including two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Southeast also had a season-high seven sacks for a loss of 42 yards.
Stephon Williams was responsible for three sacks, the most in a game by an OVC player this year. Chad Meredith followed with 2.5 sacks and seven tackles, while Mike Ford and Eriq Moore each had a pick. Moore moved into a tie for 17th at Southeast with his seventh career interception.
Brad Ivey led the team with nine tackles and Terrance Hill turned in eight tackles and recovered a fumble.
Special teams wise, the Redhawks blocked a kick this season for the first time and returned their first blocked punt for a touchdown since Oct. 19, 2013 (at Eastern Illinois). Additionally, McRoberts became the first Southeast player to return a punt for a touchdown since Chris NesSmith (44 yds) accomplished the feat vs. Tennessee State on Oct. 5, 2002.
Brock McCoin, one of the top receivers in the OVC, started at quarterback for TTU. McCoin completed 13-of-27 passes for 192 yards and ran for 96 yards on 27 carries.
Jay Rudwall led the Golden Eagles with 11 tackles.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 34, MURRAY STATE 20
MURRAY, Ky. - After a solid opening first quarter by Murray State quarterback KD Humphries, Eastern Illinois defense clamped down giving the Panthers a 34-20 win to improve to 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Humphries opened the first quarter 10-of-11 for 138 yards as Murray State led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter. Humphries finished the game 28-of-51 with 346 yards. A late fourth quarter completion of 61 yards to Paul Rice added to the final total. The late completion to Rice set up a touchdown by Jesse Blackburn with 2:48 to play cutting EIU’s lead to 27-20.
EIU recovered the onside kick attempt and on third-and-three Shepard Little broke through the line for a 40-yard touchdown, his second of the day. Little finished with 109 yards on the ground as the Panthers extended the lead to two scores.
EIU’s defense did a good job applying pressure with four first half sacks. Dino Fanti and Kamu Grugier-Hill each had two. Fanti finished the day with six tackles including four tackles for loss. Grugier-Hill, last week’s OVC Defensive Player of the Week, finished with five tackles.
EIU improved to 5-3 overall, 5-0 in the OVC. Murray State fell to 2-6, 1-4 in the OVC.
Scoring to open the game was a little unusual as the Racers led 6-0 then trailed 7-6 before their offense ever took the field. EIU eventually took a 17-13 halftime lead.
EIU opened the game on offense but the Racers scored first as Marquez Sanford picked off a pass on the opening play and scored from 26-yards out. Murray State missed the extra point to lead 6-0 with 14:54 to play.
Thirteen seconds later EIU took the lead as Tray Mitchell returned the kickoff 94-yards to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead at 14:41. Mitchell became the first Panther to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Tavares Crawford in 2011 against Southeast Missouri. It was the sixth longest kick return in school history.
Following a 40-yard field goal by Nick Bruno to put EIU up 10-6, MSU regained the lead with 4:38 to play in the first quarter as Blackburn hauled in a 27-yard pass from Humphries.
Little’s 1-yard run to open the second quarter put EIU up 17-13. The Panthers had 411 yards on offense with Jalen Whitlow throwing for 236 yards while adding 39 yards rushing.
The Panthers had a big play late in the third quarter to give themselves a little breathing room. Whitlow connected with Ben Odugbesan for an 80-yard touchdown at 2:33.
Bruno added his second field goal from 31-yards out with 6:49 to play.
MSU was led on defense by Zach Dean and Jonathan Jackson with seven tackles each.
TENNESSEE STATE 20, AUSTIN PEAY 6
NASHVILLE - Tennessee State used a stingy defense and a 97-yard drive in the final quarter to earn a 20-6 win over Austin Peay. The two teams battled in front of 5,985 fans who endured a continual rain on Saturday afternoon at Hale Stadium.
The win gave the Tigers its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season (1-4) as they evened their season record to 4-4. APSU is still looking for its first win of the year as they fell to 0-9, 0-6 in conference play.
Austin Peay opened fast as they marched 66 yards on 11 plays and took an early 3-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Logan Birchfield. The Governors would get the offense going again to close out the first half with a 10 play-57 yard drive which resulted in a Birchfield 22-yard field goal to cut the score to 13-6.
The Tiger defense would allow just 74 yards against them through the remainder of the game, including holding the Govs to 46 yards of total offense in the second half.
With Austin Peay leading 3-0, the TSU special teams unit earned its second blocked punt of the season as Ty Law blocked a punt allowing Gabe Terry to pull down the deflected ball at the APSU 26. The Tigers would have to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Lane Clark to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter.
After the Govs held the Tigers to 17 yards in the first quarter, the offense would get things going on the first possession of the second stanza. Telvin Hooks carried the load on the drive breaking runs of 23 and 13 yards. On the runs, Hooks continued his climb up the TSU career rushing list as he passed Lee Derricks (1953-55) and Nathaniel Simpson (1973-76) moving into eighth all-time.
Later in the drive, the Tigers took its first lead of the game as O’Shay Ackerman-Carter found Joshawn Bowens for three yards in the back of the end zone with 10:30 remaining in the half, 10-3. The touchdown was the sixth for the redshirt-freshman quarterback and the third for the senior tight end.
With just under four minutes to go before half, the Tigers would add to its lead as Clark connected on a 38-yard field goal making the score 13-3. The Govs would take over for the final drive of the half.
The Tigers held strong as they stopped a third-and-goal from inside the one with seconds left on the seconds. APSU tried to run a quick play before the Tigers could get set and before the clock would run out before half time. The Govs could not get the play off in time, but the officials deemed a player was injured player on the field and added two seconds on the clock. The second chance was halted by a false start, pushing the ball back five yards leaving the Birchfield field goal as the only option.
The score remained at 13-6 until the Tigers took over the ball at its own three yard line with 10:22 remaining in regulation. TSU proceeded to shave just under nine minutes off the clock as they moved all the way across the field in 15 plays, 13 of which were runs. The Tigers jumped out to a 20-6 advantage as Erick Evans broke through the left side of the line for 25 yards and his third touchdown of the season.
Evans finished the game with 13 rushes and a game high 83 yards. Hooks added 76 yards on 18 carries and surpassed Larry Kinnebrew (1978-82) to become the seventh all-time leading rusher at TSU.
Kendall Morris led the Govs with 76 yards on 18 carries, but was held to one yard on six rushes in the second half.
In his return, Ackerman-Carter finished the contest 13-of-26 for 76 yards a touchdown and an interception.
ARKANSAS 63, UT MARTIN 28
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team set a new program bench mark against Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, but it would not be enough as the powerful Razorbacks picked up a 63-28 Homecoming victory.
The Skyhawks (5-3) took a break from the grind of Ohio Valley Conference play to partake in a late non-conference game against Arkansas.
Serving as the team’s second contest against a SEC opponent this season and fourth in the past two years, the Skyhawks set a new program high with 28 points, ranking as the most points scored against a FBS opponent in school history.
Despite what the final score indicated, the Skyhawks went blow to blow with the bigger Razorbacks. Arkansas won the total offense battle, out-gaining UT Martin 591-519 but the Skyhawks notched 25 first downs and 380 yards through the air to win both categories. The Skyhawks 519 yards of total offense ranked as the most yards allowed by the Razorbacks while the 28 points ranked as the third most points allowed this season.
The play of quarterback Jarod Neal and his receivers played a big part in the Skyhawks offensive performance. Neal completed 30-of-43 passes for 380 yards and one touchdown while tossing one interception. Neal led a passing offense which found 10 different receivers in the contest, including six catches each from the trio of Caylon Weathers, Rod Wright and Najee Ray.
While leading the team in catches, Weathers was effective in his grabs. The redshirt-sophomore tallied 111 yards on his six receptions, averaging 18.5 yards per catch. Wright, a fifth-year senior, ranked second with 84 yard while Ray accumulated 59 yards to round out the trio. Ben Axline caught the team’s lone touchdown reception, grabbing a 12-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Arkansas proved to be as dangerous as touted, scoring 63 points on just 56 offensive plays. The Razorbacks tabulated 591 yards of total offense while the offensive duo of Brandon Allen and Alex Collins stole the show. Quarterback Brandon Allen completed 14-of-19 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. For as much as the quarterback kept the offense moving, the play of Collins was explosive as the junior running back garnered 16 carries for 173 yards and five touchdowns.
The Razorbacks would waste little time kicking off its Homecoming contest with a scoring drive to get the home faithful on its feet. They would receive the opening kickoff before stringing together a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped off by a two-yard rushing touchdown by Collins.
Already in a hole, the Skyhawks would move the ball down the field, getting near midfield before seeing the promising drive come to a sudden halt. After a pair of receptions by Weathers and Wright moved the Skyhawks near midfield, the visitors were sitting with a fresh set of downs at their own 45. Looking to make a splash, Neal would hit Tanner on a screen pass before the wide receiver looked down field for a passing play of his own. The trickery would not work out for the Skyhawks on the drive as the forced extra pass fell into the hands Rohan Gaines - a Razorback defender – for the game’s first turnover.
With the defense not bending following the interception, the Skyhawks would regain possession with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. Neal would hit Weathers for a 20-yard completion before connecting with the receiver again for 14 yards to move the cross to midfield. With prime field position following a 27-yard reception by Ray, the Skyhawks would stumble again as Neal would be picked off, this time by Brooks Ellis who then returned the ball 28 yards.
Arkansas would capitalize on the new possession with a quick scoring drive. Allen would hit Hunter Henry for a 37-yard completion before finding Jared Cornelius for 11 yards on the following play. Allen would find Damon Mitchell for a 13-yard completion, setting up Collins for his second rushing touchdown of the contest, this one from six yards out to take a 14-0 lead.
The Razorbacks would score again just four minutes later following a short punt to set up prime scoring position for the home squad. After Allen would be sacked by Caleb Counce for a seven yard loss, he would come right back and find Henry for an 18-yard completion. Set up in the redzone, Collins would score his third touchdown of the contest, this time from five yards out to take a 21-0 advantage.
UT Martin would get on the board on its following scoring drive after taking over on its own 14. Looking to move the ball with his feet, Neal would scamper for 21 yards before finding Kyle Kerrick for a five-yard reception and CJ McElrath for a 31-yard game to move just outside the redzone. Even though not in the redzone, Bowe would make the most of his carries, cutting loose for a 26-yard scamper down the visitors sideline for a touchdown to break in the scoring column.
Arkansas would come back with two consecutive scoring drives to push its margin out to 28 with less than four minutes remaining in the half. The first drive would be highlighted by a 21-yard carry by Kody Walker before Allen found Mitchell for a 49-yard touchdown. Another solid punt return by the Razorbacks would lead to the team’s fifth touchdown as Collins scored on a three-yard scamper up the middle to make it 35-7.
Looking to cut into the margin before heading into the half, UT Martin would eat up 2:20 minutes of clock before scoring on its sixth play of the drive. Neal would find Wright for a 25-yard completion before finding his partner again for a 20-yard reception to move into Arkansas territory. From there Neal would find Ray for a nine yard gain before Ray took the ensuing handoff 21 yards for a diving touchdown in the corner of the endzone, his second rushing touchdown of the year.
The Skyhawks would look to come out of the locker room with momentum and a scoring opportunity. Neal would find Weathers for receptions of 10 and 24 yards on consecutive completions to move into Arkansas territory. The quarterback would find Wright for a 20-yard completion between strong runs by Garland to move the Skyhawks all the way to the one yard line with a fresh set of downs. Despite having four downs to play with, Garland would need just one as he pushed in for a one-yard touchdown to make it a 35-21 contest.
With the margin cut to just 14 points, Arkansas would put its foot back on the gas pedal. Allen would get the scoring going again with his second passing touchdown, finding Reed for a 71-yard touchdown to break the game open again.
Arkansas would add another pair of touchdowns to close out the third quarter, taking a 56-21 advantage into the fourth quarter. After passing for a pair of touchdowns, Allen would keep the ball himself for a three-yard keeper into the endzone for his first rushing touchdown on the year. Keeping with a familiar trend, the Razorbacks would score their final touchdown of the quarter with a 63-yard handoff to Collins for his fifth touchdown of the day.
The Razorbacks would add on its ninth touchdown of the day following the Skyhawks third turnover of the contest. With the ball on the UTM 35, backup quarterback Austin Allen would find Jeremy Sprinkle for a 35-yard touchdown over the top to take a 63-21 advantage less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
Down but not out, the Skyhawks would rally for a final score in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Starting the drive on their own 20, Neal would find Tanner for a 15-yard completion before connecting with Wright for back-to-back passes for 13 combined yards. Facing third and six, Neal would find Brett Thompson for a nine-yard completion to extend the drive before hitting Kerrick once again for a 19-yard reception down the Arkansas sideline. Sitting right inside the redzone, Neal would hit Tanner for an eight-yard gain to set up a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ben Axline in his first contest back from a wrist injury to bring the score to 63-28. The touchdown reception was Axline’s first of the year and third of his career with two of those touchdowns coming against Southeastern Conference foes.