SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#1 Jacksonville State 56, Southeast Missouri 28
#24 Eastern Kentucky 41, @Murray State 34 (2OT)
@Tennessee Tech 42, Austin Peay 24
Eastern Illinois 23, @UT Martin 21
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 56, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 28
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Josh Barge and his Jacksonville State teammates will be adding another piece of jewelry to their growing collection.
Barge, JSU's junior receiver from Carrollton, Ga., etched his name in the record book as the No. 1 Gamecocks clinched their second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship with a 56-28 win over Southeast Missouri at Burgess-Snow Field.
Jacksonville State (9-1, 7-0) claimed its fifth OVC crown by extending its league winning streak to 16, now the longest conference streak among all FCS teams after Harvard lost to Penn on Saturday. It marks the first back-to-back league titles for the Gamecocks since 2003-04, their first two seasons in the OVC.
Jacksonville State hosts Murray State next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regular-season finale.
Barge became Jacksonville State's all-time reception leader in the second quarter when he snared an Eli Jenkins pass for a short gain, moving past Joey Hamilton (1996-99) with his 179th career catch. He also extended his school record of consecutive games with at least one catch to 35.
Barge had seven receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns and in the process also established a single-season receiving record, surpassing the mark of 62 catches previously held by Ronald Bonner (1997).
Sporting special alternate red camouflage uniforms for Military Appreciation Day, the Gamecocks produced their second-highest offensive output of the season with 617 total yards, including 399 on the ground.
Barge caught touchdown passes of 4 and 24 yards from Jenkins, Troymaine Pope ran for touchdowns of 2 and 30 yards and backup quarterback Christian LeMay finished with 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns as JSU overwhelmed the Redhawks (4-6, 3-3) over the final three quarters.
Pope ran for 137 yards on 17 carries, the ninth 100-yard performance of his career, third-most in school history.
Jenkins connected on a 28-yard scoring pass to Markis Merrill as JSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 5:49 to go in the first quarter.
The junior quarterback finished with 194 yards passing and also contributed his first career reception, catching an 8-yard pass from Dalton Etheridge on a trick play on fourth-and-5 deep in SEMO territory in the second quarter.
Barge's two touchdown catches in the second quarter lifted the Gamecocks to a 21-7 lead by intermission.
Jacksonville State blew it open by scoring 21 points in a span of 6 minutes, 40 seconds in the third. Miles Jones had a 22-yard TD run sandwiched between Pope's two scoring runs as JSU built a 42-14 cushion.
SEMO scored twice in the fourth quarter after the Gamecocks had opened their largest lead, 49-14, with 10:24 remaining.
LeMay, on in relief of Jenkins, scored on his two longest runs of the season on consecutive possessions. His 51-yard jaunt capped a three-play, 68-yard drive and increased JSU's lead to 56-21.
#24 EASTERN KENTUCKY 41, MURRAY STATE 34 (2OT)
MURRAY, Ky. - Bennie Coney became the first quarterback in program history to throw for 400 yards as Eastern Kentucky University’s football team beat Murray State University 41-34 in double overtime on Saturday.
Trailing 27-20, Coney drove the Colonels (6-4, 5-2 OVC) to the game-tying score with 44 seconds left in regulation. Eastern took possession at its own 23 yard line with 1:56 to go. He completed a 21-yard pass to Devin Borders on the first play and then gained 11 on the ground. A 15-yard penalty moved EKU to the Murray State 30 yard line. After a run, Coney found Dy’Shawn Mobley for 16 yards. Three plays later Mobley polished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The drive covered 77 yards in 1:12. Eastern had not scored in the second half until that point. The Racers moved to their own 41 before time ran out.
Murray State (3-7, 2-5 OVC) scored on a 3rd-down, three-yard run to start overtime. On Eastern’s third play in OT, Coney connected with Mobley for a 20-yard game-tying score.
Coney and Mobley covered 10 yards each on a pair of runs during the Colonels’ second overtime possession. Three plays later, Kentayvus Hopkins scored what proved to be the game-winner from a yard out.
On MSU’s first play, Kobie Grace intercepted a tight end pass to end the game. It was Murray State’s only turnover.
Coney finished 44-of-68 for 417 yards. He threw three touchdown passes and one interception. He also led EKU with 59 yards on the ground. Jeff Glover caught eight of the passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
After Murray State took a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter, the two teams exchanged a pair of 17-0 runs stretching to the end of the third.
EKU began its run in the final seconds of the first quarter and carried it throughout the second. With a 7-3 lead and time running out in the opening quarter, Glover caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Coney. Glover hauled it in at the five and then stumbled into the end zone with a pair of defenders draped over him.
The Colonels put together another scoring drive midway through the second quarter. Joel Brown picked up 18 yards on a catch over the middle on 3rd-and-8 early in the drive. Arien Beasley gained 11 yards to the 17 yard line on a reverse. A 12-yard catch by Jaucady Rutledge got the visitors to the one. Three plays later Coney found Ben Madon in the left flat and he found pay dirt. The extra point made it 17-7 with 6:14 left before intermission.
Aided by a sideline, tightrope catch by Borders for a gain of 31 yards, Eastern added a 28-yard Lucas Williams field goal in the final minute and a half to take a 13-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
Murray State entered the game leading the Ohio Valley Conference with 355 passing yards per game. EKU had a 214-50 edge through the air in the first half and limited the Racers to two first downs. The Colonels ran 67 plays and out-gained MSU 314-100 in the first 30 minutes of action.
Murray State scored on each of its first two possessions of the second half to erase the Colonel lead. The Racers opened the second half with a 7-play, 65-yard drive that included three first downs and 67 passing yards. KD Humphries connected with a streaking Jeremy Harness in the back corner of the end zone for six. The point-after made it 20-14.
Paul Rice eluded a host of tackles on his way to a 51-yard touchdown catch and run that led to a 21-20 Murray State lead with 9:06 left in the third.
MSU added a pair of field goals, the final one coming with 2:01 left in the game to stretch the margin to seven.
Murray State finished with 23 first downs and 426 total yards, including 319 of the passing variety. Eastern Kentucky had 570 yards of total offense, passing for 417 and running for 153.
TENNESSEE TECH 42, AUSTIN PEAY 24
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Big plays led to quick strikes as Tennessee Tech came back from a halftime deficit to earn a 42-24 Homecoming victory over Austin Peay Saturday in Ohio Valley Conference action in Tucker Stadium.
After opening the game at receiver, sophomore Brock McCoin moved to quarterback and led an offense that had four scoring drives of three plays or less. Two other Tech scoring drives took six and seven plays, and four of the six Tech touchdowns came on plays of 46 yards or longer.
The Tech defense, meanwhile, held Austin Peay scoreless in the second half, allowing just six rushing yards and 57 total yards after halftime.
Tennessee Tech improved to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the OVC after snapping a five-game losing streak. Austin Peay ended the year at 0-11 overall and 0-8 in the league. It was Tech's third straight win over the Govs and sixth in the last seven meetings.
McCoin became only the second player in school history to rush for 100 yards and pass for 200 yards in a game. He finished with 115 rushing yards on 19 carries, and threw for 206 yards, going 8-for-12 with three touchdowns.
Ladarius Vanlier scored four touchdowns, rushing for 131 yards and three touchdowns, including end zone romps of 46 and 51 yards and added a 69-yard touchdown reception.
Finishing the game with 272 all-purpose yards, the second-best game in his career, Vanlier moved to second in all-purpose yardage with 5,196 yards.
Krys Cates turned one of his three receptions into a 46-yard touchdown, one of his two scores on the afternoon. He finished with three catches for 92 yards.
Austin Peay was led by quarterback Trey Taylor, who was 17-for-30 for 208 yards with two touchdowns. He also rushed 12 times for 70 yards. Kendall Morris topped the Gov ground game with 112 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. Jared Beard caught six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman Tim Collins had a career-high 11 tackles and forced a fumble to top the Tech defensive effort. Tra'Darius Goff had 10 tackles while Jay Rudwall added nine stops. Devon Jones led APSU with nine tackles.
Tech finished with 482 yards of offense on 52 plays while the Governors had 385 yards on 77 plays, getting 327 in the first half.
Tech used back-to-back quick scores in the third quarter to erase a 24-21 halftime deficit and hand control to the home team. Each of those two scoring drive was just three plays and was ignited by big plays from Vanlier and Cates.
The first came on a burst of speed by Vanlier, who broke through the middle and went 51 yards for his third touchdown of the afternoon. The three-play scoring drive went 68 yards in only 1:14.
Cates hauled in a pass from McCoin, broke free from a would-be tackler, and raced to the end zone to complete a 46-yard play for a 35-24 Golden Eagle lead with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter. The drive took just three plays to cover 48 yards in 49 seconds.
The final score of the afternoon was a picture-perfect pass down the middle from McCoin to a streaking Vanlier. He nabbed it in full stride and kept on streaking for a 69-yard touchdown and a 42-24 lead. The seven-play drive went 98 yards in 3:48.
The first half was a back-and-forth tug-of-war that Austin Peay used to build a 24-21 lead at the break.
Austin Peay marched 83 yards for the opening score of the ball game, a six-yard TD pass from Taylor to Beard for a 7-0 lead with 5:23 to play in the first quarter. The 10-play drive chewed up 4:53.
Tech tied the contest as McCoin moved to quarterback to replace starter Jared Davis, and directed a three-play, 46-yard drive. He hit Cates for a 33-yard gain, then tossed one over the middle that Cates made a phenomenal, one-handed, leaping catch for the score with 1:38 remaining in the period.
Austin Peay wasted no time in regaining its lead just nine seconds later as Beard snuck behind the defender on the first APSU play, and Taylor hit him in stride for a 79-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Governor lead.
The third TD in a span of 1:07 came when Vanlier tried the middle, was halted, and raced outside right end, sprinting untouched 46 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-14 with 31 seconds to play in the period. It was a two-play, 56-yard scoring drive.
After that flurry of scoring, the defenses held for awhile before Austin Peay eventually marched for a tying score with 4:43 left in the half. The 58-yard, six-play drive culminated in a one-yard run by Kendall Morris to knot the game at 21-all.
The Govs put the final points on the board in the first half on a 35-yard field goal by Logan Birchfield for a 24-21 halftime lead.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 23, UT MARTIN 21
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois defense stepped up when it needed to on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers forced four turnovers during a 23-21 win over UT Martin at Graham Stadium.
Thomas Coronado put the Panthers up 23-15 with a 45-yard interception return with 10:59 to play in the game. Dino Fanti hit Jarod Neal’s arm forcing the pass to fall right into Coronado’s arms before the senior raced for the end zone.
Fanti was a factor later in the fourth quarter as the senior finished with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. After UTM closed to within two points on a Ladevin Fair touchdown run with 4:51 to play, Fanti tackled Neal on the two-point conversion to preserve EIU’s two point advantage.
UT Martin forced the Panthers to punt after a three-and-out but punter Mike Bernier had his biggest punt of the day pinning the Skyhawks at the 11 yard line with a 48-yard kick. On the first play following the punt Jourdan Wickliffe picked off the fourth Neal pass of the day to give EIU the win as the Panthers improved to 6-3, 6-1 in the OVC. UTM fell to 6-4 overall, 5-2 in the OVC.
The first half witnessed a safety by both teams as Eastern Illinois held a 16-12 halftime lead.
Jackson Redditt put the Skyhawks on the board first with a 32 yard field goal with 7:47 to play in the first quarter. The field goal was a result of a turnover by EIU’s offense.
Following the field goal EIU scored nine straight points with Shepard Little scoring on a five-yard run and Antonie Johnson blocking a punt attempt out of the end zone for a safety.
Leading 16-10, Bradley Dewberry stopped a UTM drive at the two-yard line as he intercepted a Neal pass, the second interception of the first half by EIU’s defense. The Panthers would have a low snap on the second play of the ensuing drive that Jalen Whitlow batted out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
After the free kick by EIU, the Panthers defense was able to hold on downs to take the 16-12 lead to the locker room. Whitlow rushed for 105 of his 142 yards in the first half, his third career game with more than 100 yards rushing. The 142 yards broke his school record of rushing yards by a quarterback in a game of 137 set last season against Austin Peay.
Rod Wright put UTM up on the first play of the second quarter with Neal hitting Rod Wright on a 27-yard fade to the end zone. The Panthers offense answered with a Devin Church rushing touchdown to lead 16-10 with 8:58 to play in the second quarter. EIU rushed for 157 yards in the first half.
Redditt hit a 21-yard field goal with 6:53 to play to cut the Panthers lead to one point at 16-15.
Dylan Chatman added the other EIU interception as Neal was 30-of-49 for 322 yards with the four interceptions and one touchdown. EIU’s defense held UTM to 81 yards rushing.
Anthony Goodman had a team high 13 tackles with Wickliffe adding 10.
William Tanner had 103 yards receiving for UTM. Marquis Clemons had a team high 11 tackles.