SATURDAY'S SCORES
#1 Jacksonville State 48, @UT Martin 41
Tennessee State 30, @Florida A&M 14
@#18 Eastern Kentucky 51, Austin Peay 13
Tennessee Tech 31, @Murray State 29
Shorter University 26,
@Southeast Missouri 21
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 48, UT MARTIN 41
MARTIN, Tenn. - Every good team has at least one game a season when it struggles against an opponent to make the score closer than the game actually was.
That is what happened to No. 1-ranked Jacksonville State at UT Martin Saturday afternoon.
After having a commanding 28-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks held on to beat the Skyhawks 48-41 after UTM scored 21 unanswered to draw to within seven in the game's closing minutes.
The win improves Grass' overall record as Gamecock head coach to 13-3, tying Jim Blevins (started in 1965) for the best 16-game start as a head coach in Jacksonville State history. It's also the 11th consecutive game the Gamecocks have won against fellow Ohio Valley Conference opponents, with their last loss coming at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2013.
Jacksonville State (3-1, 2-0) fell behind early in the first quarter after a Jackson Redditt 41-yard field goal put UT Martin ahead by three. He added a 38-yarder later in the quarter after a Troymaine Pope 8-yard touchdown run then a 21-yard touchdown completion from Eli Jenkins to Josh Barge put the Gamecocks ahead.
The pass from Jenkins to Barge was the first of three touchdown toss from the redshirt junior quarterback to the Carrollton, Ga., native. Barge also hauled in a 9- and 17-yard touchdown pass later in the game.
The three touchdown catches in the game tied the junior's career-high and was only his second career multi-touchdown game at JSU. He finished with nine catches for 107 yards to go along with the three touchdown receptions.
Jenkins came up 34 yards short of his career-high in passing yards (288), but the Birmingham native finished the day 16-of-25 passing for 254 yards and three touchdowns. He also added a 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. He became the first quarterback since Ryan Perrilloux to account for four touchdowns in a game.
Jenkins (5,398) also moved past Maurice Mullins (5,138 from 2002-05) for sixth place and David Gulledge (5,339) for fifth place in Jacksonville State's total offense list. He trails Perrilloux (5,339 from 2008-09) for fourth.
Running back, and Kentucky transfer, Josh Clemons scored his second rushing touchdown since joining the Gamecocks when he ran into the end zone from four yards during the fourth quarter.
UT Martin's Jarod Neal did everything he could to help the Skyhawks earn the come-from-behind victory.
The quarterback threw for 433 yards on 34-of-49 passing. He also threw for five touchdowns: 12-yarder to Carlos Williams, 63-yarder to William Tanner, 16-yarder to Rod Wright and a 39-yarder to Wright.
Anniston native Troymaine Pope ran for a game-high 159 yards on just 16 carries. He also added a 46-yard touchdown run to his first quarter score.
UT Martin trailed 28-6 with three seconds left in the first half before Neal's touchdown strike to Weathers brought the Skyhawks to within 15. UTM immediately opened the second half on a scoop-and-score by Terri Triplett to cut the deficit to eight, which was the closest it would come to the lead until the it trailed by seven at the end of the game.
TENNESSEE STATE 30, FLORIDA A&M 14
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Tigers took advantage of good field position to charge back and steal a win over rival Florida A&M on Saturday night. Tennessee State improved to 3-1 with a 30-14 win over the FAMU (0-4) in front of 18,020 at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
Coming out of halftime, the Rattlers went for the big play on the second snap from scrimmage. Carson Royal found Kareem Smith for a 46 yard touchdown toss giving FAMU a 14-7 lead with 12:05 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
The Tigers would respond in a big way, by scoring 23 unanswered points.
The tide started to turn when punter Austin Rowley pinned the Rattlers with a 48 yard punt to the 10. The defense held tight and forced FAMU to punt from their own end zone, creating strong field position for the Tigers.
TSU would need just six plays to move 47 yards for the game tying score. On a third and 15 from the FAMU 38, Ronald Butler launched a ball towards Dantwaun O’Neal, but a Rattler defender was there to break up the play. The ball bounded in a fortunate way for the Tigers and into the arms of Patrick Smith in the end zone.
Rowley would come through again on his next attempt. The freshman had his shortest punt of the evening at 37 yards, but the ball would be downed at the one yard line. Three plays later, Jason Morrow broke through the offensive line and hit running back Devondric Nealy behind the goal line to record a safety and gave the Tigers its first lead of the game at 16-14 with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
After the safety, TSU received the ball and proceeded to attack the Florida A&M defense. Butler started the drive by hitting Smith for 10 yards, setting up the longest run of the game, a 27 yard blast up the middle by Telvin Hooks.
With the Tigers at the opponents 32, Butler went back to Smith who made a move on the defender for his second touchdown of the game. The Tigers extended its lead to 23-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter on Smith’s sixth scoring reception of the season.
FAMU tried to make a comeback, but fell short as Ezra Robinson broke up a 4th and 9 pass at the TSU 40 with 6:40 remaining to give the ball back to the Tiger offense.
TSU sealed the game as they held onto the ball for six minutes as they picked up the final score of the game. Hooks was the workhorse on the drive carrying the ball six times for 64 yards, but Erick Evans would cap off the drive with the final two runs, the last being a one yard run to produce the final outcome, 30-14.
Smith led all receivers in the game with seven catches for 109 yards and two scores. Ronald Butler finished his homecoming with 194 yards on 16 completions and 33 attempts. The Tallahassee native threw for three touchdowns
Telvin Hooks carried the ball 13 times on the night for 117 yards, as the Tigers outgained FAMU 370 to 201 total yards.
Rowley completed the evening with seven punts for 308 yards, good for a 44.0 average. The San Diego, Calif., product placed three balls inside the 10.
FAMU opened the scoring early in the second quarter when Nealy returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown. The Rattlers would hold the lead Ronald Butler connected with Joshawn Bowens for a 12 yard touchdown reception 17 seconds before intermission.
#18 EASTERN KENTUCKY 51, AUSTIN PEAY 13
RICHMOND, Ky. - EKU never trailed on the way to a 51-13 win over Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Playing without senior All-American running back Dy’Shawn Mobley, EKU rode the backfield combination of newcomer Adam Lane and freshman Ethan Thomas to victory. Lane and Thomas softened the blow of Mobley’s absence by combining for 118 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Bennie Coney, meanwhile, went 28-of-35 for a season-high 261 yards and a touchdown.
The Colonel defense grounded Austin Peay to 99 yards through the air and forced two turnovers, including a pick-six by Thomas Owens late in the second quarter that broke the game open before halftime.
EKU drew first blood with a 28-yard field goal from Lucas Williams to go up 3-0. Junior Devin Borders then blocked an Austin Peay punt to set up a six-yard touchdown pass from Coney to Joel Brown, making it 10-0 with 6:52 left in the first quarter.
After a pair of Williams’ field goals, Austin Peay got on the board when quarterback Trey Taylor ran it in from the one-yard line to make it 16-7 midway through the second quarter.
That would be as close as the Governors would get, though, as Eastern used the pick-six from Owens and a nine-yard touchdown run from Thomas to extend its lead, 30-7, going into halftime.
EKU slowly put the game out of reach with three third-quarter touchdowns. Lane got in on the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run with 12:42 left in the third quarter. Thomas got his second touchdown of the game with an eight-yard run midway through the third quarter. Kyle Romano came in at quarterback and, on his first drive, threw a six-yard touchdown to Taylor Miller.
Austin Peay scored late in the fourth to make it 51-13 on a Kendall Morris five-yard run.
TENNESSEE TECH 31, MURRAY STATE 29
MURRAY, Ky. - Tennessee Tech senior Tra'Darius Goff made 14 tackles in the game Saturday night at Murray State, but his biggest stop isn't included in that number.
The linebacker chased down Murray State's Jeremy Harness on a reverse as the Racers attempted to tie the game with a two-point PAT with 1:51 remaining, knocking him out of bounds at the two-yard line and denying the home team the tying points.
It was one of many plays that made the difference as the Golden Eagles (2-2/1-0 OVC) held on to claim a 31-29 victory over the Racers (1-3/0-1 OVC) in Roy Stewart Stadium in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Tied at 7-7 after the first quarter and 14-all at halftime, the Golden Eagles moved ahead with two touchdowns in the third quarter to grab a 28-14 lead. The Racers answered with a quick touchdown, but junior Maleek Hall blocked the PAT kick attempt, his second blocked kick of the night after snuffing a field goal in the second quarter. That left Tech ahead, 28-20.
Murray added a field goal to pull within 28-23 late in the third quarter, setting the stage for the fourth quarter dramatics.
The Golden Eagle defense came up with a stop and forced a short Racer punt that was downed inside the TTU one-yard line with 8:07 remaining.
Junior quarterback Jared Davis engineered a drive that ate up six minutes and moved the ball 98 yards, to a third-and-inches at the MSU one.
But the snap was high and he almost lost the handle, pulling it down as he was hauled down at the Racer 14. Tech settled for a high-pressure, 31-yard field goal by John Arnold that made it 31-23 with 4:50 to play.
Murray rode the arm of K.D. Humphries, who passed for 391 yards and three touchdowns, the length of the field. The junior quarterback carried it the final two yards for a touchdown, capping a 68-yard, nine play drive that left the score at 31-29.
From the three, Murray State went for two to tie the game, and Harness took a pitch racing from right to left with an eye toward the corner of the end zone. He broke one tackle and turned up field where Goff made the game-saving tackle, knocking Harness out of bounds short of the goal line.
It wasn't over, however, as the Racer defense stopped Tech near midfield and forced a punt after Davis' long pass downfield toward Brock McCoin was just off his fingertips.
But the Racers were called for a personal foul for roughing the kicker after running into Jonathan King, and Tech was able to kneel down three times and let the clock run down to zero.
Davis finished the night as Tech's leading rusher with 63 yards on 15 carries, including his fourth TD of the season with an eight-yard, first-quarter score. His 41-yard keeper down the left sideline was one of the biggest plays in Tech's field goal drive in the fourth quarter.
He was 26-for-40 for 264 yards through the air with two touchdowns and one interception, and was sacked three times.
McCoin was Tech's top target, grabbing a career-best 14 passes for 108 yards, but junior Jordan Smith had the biggest catches of the evening. He caught five passes for 78 yards, including two touchdowns and another that took the ball to the one-yard line.
Goff led the Tech defense with 14 tackles, including one tackle-for-loss and a quarterback sack, and also forced a fumble. In addition to blocking two kicks, Hall made a career-best 10 tackles and broke up three passes.
Daniel Pierce, making his first career start, added a career-best 10 tackles.
The MSU offense was directed by Humphries, who finished 43-for-57 passing for 491 yards with three touchdowns. He was not intercepted and was sacked twice. Harness was the top Racer receiver with 11 catches for 115 yards, while Janawski Davis added seven catches for 140 yards with three touchdowns. Paul Rice had eight catches for 86 yards.
The Murray State defense was topped by Elijah Daniel's nine tackles, including a school-record six tackles-for-loss.
SHORTER UNIVERSITY 26, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 21
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Shorter University (1-2) ran for 300 yards and used a big fourth-down stop with a little over three minutes left to get by Southeast Missouri (1-3), 26-21, Saturday afternoon at Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium.
Southeast began its final drive at its 10-yard line with 6:11 remaining after B.J. McCoy scored his second touchdown on a 3-yard run. Tremane McCullough ripped off a 53-yard run to get the Redhawks to the SU 28. Brendan Stewart rushed for four yards following a false start penalty. Dante Vandeven then threw an incomplete pass and was dropped for a loss of four yards. Southeast called timeout with 3:09 on the clock before Vandeven's next pass on fourth-and-13 was incomplete.
SU ran for a pair of key first downs, including one on a third-and-7 and another on fourth-and inches the last time it had the ball. The Hawks took a knee to run out the clock right after Aaron Bryant moved the chains on fourth down.
SU had Southeast on its heels all day with its tricky triple option offense and the Redhawks simply had no answer.
The Hawks chewed up the first 8:46 of the game, covering 78 yards in 15 plays during their first scoring drive. McCoy led the charge with 39 yards on eight carries and rushed four times inside the 5-yard line before Bryant scored on a 3-yard run to give SU a 7-0 advantage with 6:14 left to play in the first quarter.
Vandeven, who made his first career start at quarterback, engineered an 11-play, 54-yard march that ended with his own 5-yard run to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:56 on the clock. It marked Vandeven's first career rushing touchdown.
Southeast took the lead when Stewart scored his first career touchdown on an 8-yard run. His TD came four plays after McCullough broke free for a 48-yard run and put the Redhawks ahead, 14-7. That score would stay the same at the half.
McCoy's 37-yard touchdown run finished off an 8-play, 87-yard drive and tied the game at 14-14 with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter.
The Redhawks countered when Stewart scored his second touchdown on a 5-yard run to regain a 21-14 lead at the 4-minute mark. McCullough picked up 31 yards on six attempts to set up the TD that polished off a 13-play, 85-yard drive in 5:57. That, however, was Southeast's last score as SU added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away.
Bryant completed an 18-yard pass to Cody Simpson to give the Hawks a one-point (21-20) lead. Kenny Langford's PAT went off the right upright.
McCoy ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, averaging just under seven yards per touch (6.9) to lead SU. Bryant contributed 41 rushing yards and completed 6 of 8 passes for 109 yards and a TD.
SU piled up 409 yards of total offense and gained 6.1 yards per play.
McCullough rushed for a game-high 166 yards on 18 carries and Stewart ran for 40 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts to lead Southeast. McCullough, who gained over 100 yards for the second-straight game, averaged 9.2 per rush. Vandeven completed 13 of 17 passes for 104 yards and ran for 28 yards and a TD on six carries. He also threw an interception.
Six different receivers caught a pass for Southeast, with Adrian Davis paving the way with three for 34 yards. Peter Lloyd also had three, while Paul McRoberts, Darden-Box and McCullough followed with two each. Lewis Washington was the other with a reception. Additionally, quarterback Tay Bender did not play the second half due to an injured left shoulder. Bender had 11 yards on three carries before he exited the game.
Defensively, Roper Garrett registered 11 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss of four yards. Garrett went his third-straight game with double-digit tackles and recorded 10 or more for the eighth time in his career. He also went over 200 career tackles.