SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#3 Jacksonville State 34, Austin Peay 14
UT Martin 38, @Murray State 31
@Tennessee State 35, Eastern Kentucky 28
#17 Eastern Illinois 30, @Tennessee Tech 24
#3 JACKSONVILLE STATE 34, AUSTIN PEAY 14
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State's 19th consecutive Ohio Valley Conference win didn't play out as most of the crowd of 14,455 at Burgess Snow Field probably expected.
The No. 3 Gamecocks overcame a slow start to beat winless Austin Peay 34-14 as Eli Jenkins and Josh Clemons each ran for two touchdowns. Jacksonville State's 19th straight league win ties Murray State (1995-97) for the third-longest streak in OVC history.
Clemons piled up a career-best 143 yards and Jenkins ran for 117 more as JSU improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in OVC.
Clemons scored on runs of one yard and 46 yards in the second half. Jenkins added a 5-yard TD in the third quarter as the Gamecocks finally established their offensive rhythm after sputtering through game's first 30 minutes.
The Governors' defense stifled JSU's passing game all afternoon. Jenkins completed 9 of 20 for a season-low 72 yards, with Josh Barge hauling in six receptions for 44 yards.
Jacksonville State also was just 1-for-10 on third-down conversions.
Austin Peay (0-6, 0-5), which entered the day allowing opponents 595 yards per game, held the Gamecocks to a season-low first-half output and trailed only 14-7 at intermission.
JSU could muster only 159 total yards through the first two quarters - its previous first-half low was 227 yards at LSU on Sept. 10. The Governors maintained possession for nearly 20 minutes, keeping the Gamecocks' usually potent offense on the sideline for much of the half.
Jacksonville State struck first after forcing an Austin Peay punt on the game's first series.
Jenkins directed a 10-play, 62-yard drive for the game's first points. Demontrez Terry hauled in his third career touchdown pass, an 11-yarder from Jenkins, and Cade Stinnett tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 JSU lead at the 8:05 mark in the first quarter.
Jenkins and Barge each reached impressive milestones on Jacksonville State's second series.
Barge's first catch of the day tied the OVC record for most consecutive games with a reception. He now has caught at least one pass in 44 straight games, tying the league mark previously established by Samford's Jeff Moore from 2004-07.
Barge and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp are one reception away from tying the FCS record of 45 consecutive games with a reception.
Jenkins joined Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garrapolo and Murray State's Casey Brockman as the only players in OVC history with 10,000 career total yards after his 14-yard run to the Austin Peay 29 midway through the first. But the Gamecocks came away without points when Stinnett's 49-yard field goal sailed right.
Austin Peay tied it at 7-7 with 11:46 left in second quarter. Quarterback Timarious Mitchell broke free on a 43-yard run to the end zone - his longest of the season - to finish off a four-play Govs drive. Mitchell's run was the first of 20 yards or more by a non-FBS opponent this season.
Jenkins did it himself as Jacksonville State took the lead for good with a quick, three-play drive with 5:59 left in the half. The OVC's leading rusher ran 27, 25 and the final four yards as JSU regained the lead at 14-7.
Austin Peay attempted a 40-yard field goal prior to halftime, but Randy Robinson blocked the kick and Reggie Hall recovered to end the threat.
Siran Neal led the JSU defense with eight tackles, including four solo stops. Darius Jackson recovered a Govs fumble in the third quarter that set up Clemons' 1-yard plunge on the next play.
UT MARTIN 38, MURRAY STATE 31
MURRAY, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team notched its sixth consecutive victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State on Saturday evening behind a 38-31 decision. The win also notched the 10th win against the Racers since 2006.
The Skyhawks (4-3, 3-1 OVC) entered the game with the league’s most potent scoring offense averaging 41.0 points per game and nearly met that mark with their 38-point output. In an oddity of sorts, tonight’s victory marked the 15th consecutive game in the series that the winning team scored 38 points or more while the 30 points allowed by the Skyhawk defense was the least allowed in the series dating back to the 2013 season.
UT Martin totaled 446 yards of total offense while registering 22 first downs. The Skyhawks scored in each phase of the game, notching three passing touchdowns, three field goals and an interception return.
Troy Cook - the nation’s top quarterback in passing efficiency - highlighted the offensive side of the ball by completing 21-of-38 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Cook found three different targets for touchdowns in Ben Axline (six catches, 64 yards), Londell Lee (four catches, 68 yards) and Greg McKillion (three catches, 92 yards).
Joining in the action was specialist Mitch Mersman who made a name for himself by hitting 3-of-4 field goal attempts, including a career long of 39 yards in the victory. Mersman completed the evening by booting field goals from 37, 39 and 37 yards respectively.
On the defensive side of the ball it was James Gilleylen who paced the team with 10 tackles while Joseph Este notched eight of his own. Sophomore Kevin Prather, Jr. tallied seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack along with both a forcing and recovering a fumble. Tae Martin provided arguably the biggest play on the defensive side, returning his second interception for a touchdown of the season for 36 yards.
Murray State (1-5, 1-2 OVC) battled throughout the contest, overcoming a pair of deficits before ultimately dropping its fifth game of the season. The Racers were led by the play of quarterback K.D. Humphries who completed 23-of-44 passes for 248 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Humphries found his main target Jordan Gandy eight times for 118 yards and a touchdown while connecting with Jess Blackburn and Jonathan Moss for scores. Running back Mareio McGraw led the ground attack with 10 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown.
For the sixth time in the season’s seven games, UT Martin jumped out to an early advantage in the contest by scoring first. While the Skyhawks would get on the scoreboard on the opening drive, it nearly stalled on the first set of downs before Cook found Lee for a 47-yard completion on third and long. With the ball moved to the Racer 25, the Skyhawks would eventually reach the redzone before settling for a 37-yard field goal by Mersman to give the visitors a 3-0 advantage.
Both offenses would struggle after the initial scoring drive until Murray State capitalized on a defensive stop. A forced fumble and recovery by the Racers would start their drive with first and goal. Needing just six yards to reach the endzone, the Racers would draw a pass interference penalty before Humphries found main target Gandy for a two-yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.
After giving up the early touchdown, UT Martin would string together 17-unanswered points to cap off the first quarter. The first touchdown would be a result of a 12-play, 66-yard drive which saw Cook find Caylon Weathers for a one-handed 23-yard reception to give the Skyhawks first and goal. With the ball inside the five-yard line, Cook would look to the air again for a four-yard touchdown completion to Axline to make it a two-possession contest. The touchdown reception marked the third consecutive game with a score for Axline.
With an offensive touchdown in the books, UT Martin then looked to its defense to leave a mark. With Murray State on its own 29, Humphries would be picked off by Martin who returned the interception 36 yards for a touchdown. The interception marked the third interception returned for a touchdown for the Skyhawks this season and the second for Martin.
UT Martin would use its defense to set up another scoring drive after Prather, Jr. forced and recovered a fumble on a strip sack to give the Skyhawks the ball in Racer territory. With the ball just outside of the redzone, the Skyhawks would turn to Mersman once again who would tally a new career-high by booting a 39-yard field goal to give the visitors a 20-7 lead.
Murray State would take control in the second quarter, scoring 14-unanswered points to retake a narrow lead midway through the period. The Racers would cut into the margin with a big 65-yard carry for a touchdown by McGraw to trim the deficit to single-digits. Another big play on the ensuing drive following a fumble recovery would result in a 23-yard touchdown from Humphries to Moss to take a 21-20 lead with six minutes left in the half.
Looking to close out the half strong, UT Martin would find the endzone in the final minutes to take a 27-21 lead into the break. Cook would orchestrate an 86-yard drive on just seven plays by finding Axline for 13 yards before switching the field and locating Kyle Kerrick for a 35-yard completion to cross midfield. Jaimiee Bowe would break loose for a 14-yard carry before Cook looked to the air to find Lee for an 11-yard touchdown before the half.
Neither team would score in the third quarter but the Skyhawks would do much of the heavy lifting on an eventual scoring drive in the final minutes of the period. UT Martin would notch 57 yards on 12 plays on the field drive of the third which included a 14-yard completion to set up a field goal attempt to open the fourth. With the wind in his face, Mersman would open the fourth quarter by knocking a 37-yard field goal to take a 30-21 advantage.
Facing a nine-point deficit in the final quarter, Murray State would begin its comeback attempt. The Racers would tally three big first downs before Humphries looked to the air once again to find Blackburn for a 23-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to two points. Looking to complete the comeback attempt, the Racers would turn to Connor Mitchell who would boot a 50-yard field goal with 10 minutes to play to take a 31-30 lead of their own.
After giving up its second lead of the game, UT Martin looked to answer quickly. On the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Cook would find McKillion over the middle before scampering 75 yards for a touchdown. Along with retaking the lead, the Skyhawks would look to make it a seven-point advantage following a two-point conversion by Bowe up the middle to make it a 38-31 contest in what ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
TENNESSEE STATE 35, EASTERN KENTUCKY 28
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State football team sprinted out to a 35-3 halftime lead and held on for a 35-28 Ohio Valley Conference win over Eastern Kentucky at Nissan Stadium in the 2016 Homecoming Game on Saturday night. Redshirt senior Ezra Robinson registered two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown to lead the TSU defense.
The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 OVC) received a pair of rushing touchdowns from senior quarterback Ronald Butler with redshirt-freshman Andrew Knox and freshman Sabree Curtis, Jr. also adding rushing touchdowns.
On the final drive of the game for EKU (2-4, 1-2 OVC), TSU linebacker Chris Collins came up with an interception with eight seconds left to preserve the victory.
#17 EASTERN ILLINOIS 30, TENNESSEE TECH 24
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Nick Horne stopped Tennessee Tech on 4th down with 36 seconds remaining as the No. 17 ranked Eastern Illinois Panthers held on for a 30-24 win on Saturday night at Tucker Stadium.
EIU improved to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the OVC. TTU dropped to 2-5, 2-3 in the OVC.
Eastern Illinois led 27-24 with 7:31 to play in the game. The Panthers chewed up just over five minutes of game clock before going up 30-24 with 2:19 to play on Nick Bruno’s third field goal of the game, this one from 23 yards.
TTU moved the ball to the Panthers 40-yard line but Horne stopped a scrambling Michael Birdsong on a fourth down run. EIU took over and ran out the clock for the victory.
Eastern Illinois closed the first half scoring ten points in the final 19 seconds as the Panthers trailed Tennessee Tech, 17-13 at the half.
After going 1-of-3 in the red zone in previous scoring drives in the first half the Panthers cut the lead to 17-10 with 19 seconds left in the half as Mitch Kimble connected with Dennis Turner for a 17-yard touchdown. TTU would mishandle the kickoff as Vince Speller recovered the loose ball. Bruno hit a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
The Panthers continued that momentum into the second half as they set up a 65-yard play-action Kimble touchdown pass to Paul Gossage with a steady dose of Devin Church on the ground. Church posted his fourth 100-yard rushing day of his career matching his career high with 139 yards. Kimble’s long touchdown to Gossage came with 9:03 to play in the third quarter.
A second TTU turnover of the game led to the Panthers next score as Jarvis Williams forced a fumble and Raymond Crittenden recovered the ball at the bottom of the pile. Three plays later Darshon McCullough bowled over from 1-yard to put the Panthers up 27-17 with 5:28 to play in the third quarter.
Tennessee Tech cut the lead to 27-24 with a 3-yard run by Andrew Goldsmith with 7:31 to play in the game.
As the Panthers offensive converted only 1-of-3 red zone attempts to start the game, Tennessee Tech was able to move the ball with sharp first half passing by Birdsong who was 16-of-20 for 158 yards. He would finish the game 26-of-38 for 294 yards but was sacked four times by the EIU defense.
Nick Madonia put the Golden Eagles on the board with a 43-yard field goal after Brandon Thomas had intercepted a Kimble pass in the end zone on the EIU opening drive. Bruno evened the score for EIU at 12:57 of the second quarter with a 28-yard field goal.
TTU scored twice in the second quarter with Jordan Smith hauling in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Birdsong and Yeedee Thaenrat ran for a 17-yard score with 1:39 left in the half putting TTU up 17-3.
Kimble passed for 323 yards. His top target on the evening was Turner who finished with four catches for 122 yards.
Seth McDonald led the Panthers defense with nine tackles. Williams added eight tackles with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Four TTU players finished in double figure tackles led by Josh Poplar and Clay Davis each with 15 tackles.