SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#16 Eastern Illinois 56, Austin Peay 35
@UT Martin 44, Tennessee Tech 23
Southeast Missouri 17, @Murray State 16
#3 Jacksonville State 48, @Liberty 19
#16 EASTERN ILLINOIS 56, AUSTIN PEAY 35
CHARLESTON, Ill. - On an unusually hot fall day, it was the offense that heated up the scoreboard as No. 16 Eastern Illinois won its Ohio Valley Conference opener with a 56-35 win over Austin Peay at O’Brien Field in Charleston. Temperatures on Saturday’s Family Weekend game hovered just over the 90 degree mark.
Eastern Illinois built a 21-7 lead in just over a quarter of action to open the game. Korliss Marshall scored the Panthers first two touchdowns catching an 11-yard pass from Austin Green and scoring on a 1-yard run that put EIU up 14-0 with 3:26 to play in the first half.
After Austin Peay cut the lead in half with a Tommy Hays 3-yard touchdown pass to Prince Momodu with 13:59 to play in the first half, senior Devin Church ran through a seam in the middle and raced 50-yards for a touchdown. Church was one of two Eastern Illinois running backs to finish with more than 100 yards as he finished with a game high 139 yards. Christopher Anderson added 129 yards and two second half touchdowns giving the Panthers offense a late shot in the arm. It marked the first time since Nov. 16, 2013 that EIU had two running backs finish with more than 100-yards.
The Governors answered Church’s score with a long touchdown drive as Hays rushed in from three yards to cut the lead to 21-14 with 7:20 to play in the half. The drive covered 72 yards as three of APSU’s scoring drives on the day covered 72 or more yards.
EIU had a chance to add to the lead late in the first half but Gunner Scholato picked off a pass in the end zone with 2:13 remaining in the half. Scholato was a factor on defense all day for APSU finishing with a game high 18 tackles. The interception was the only blemish on Green’s stat line as he was 24-of-30 for 263 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start.
Leading 21-14 at the half special teams and defense would play a factor in the second half for both teams. Austin Peay tied the score at 21-21 as Kyran Moore returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards to tie the game at 21-21.
Anderson made his first appearance this season for the Panthers on the next drive and capped it with a 14-yard touchdown run putting the Panthers back up by a score. Following a missed field goal by APSU, Green capped another Panthers scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 3:27 to play in the third quarter. EIU rushed for 330 yards and six touchdowns. The Panthers racked up 641 yards of total offense, the ninth highest single game total in school history.
The Governors did not give up on the afternoon cutting the EIU lead back to one touchdown to open the fourth quarter as Timar Mitchell connected with Jared Beard for an 8-yard touchdown. APSU then recovered an onside kick to retain the ball as Malik Boynton caught the short kick and fell out-of-bounds. EIU’s defense came up big as Nick Horne forced a turnover for the third straight game as he picked off a Mitchell pass and returned it 31-yards to set up another EIU score. Horne finished with four tackles, the interception and one quarterback hurry.
Green hit Church for a short touchdown pass three plays later for EIU and the Panthers gave themselves some breathing room on their next offensive possession with Shawn Mitchell picking up a fumble near the goal line and running the ball in from two yards out to put EIU up 49-28.
Beard added to his big receiving day to account for APSU’s final score. He caught a 46-yard pass from Mitchell. Beard had 11 catches for 176 yards and two scores. Mitchell was 15-of-22 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions with Horne picking off the pass in the fourth quarter. Cornelius Page picked off a long pass at the end of the first half.
Anderson found pay dirt with 4:53 to play which put the Panthers over the 50-point mark for the game. Anderson averaged 9.9 yards per carry with 13 carries for 129 yards. Church had 139 yards on the ground while catching four passes for 45 yards. Aaron Gooch was the Panthers top offensive target with five catches for 55 yards.
Seth McDonald led the Panthers defense with eight tackles. David Johnson made seven tackles in his EIU debut with 3.5 tackles for loss. Josh Price also had 3.5 tackles for loss for EIU.
Dekeivis Perry and Neonta Alexander joined Scholato in double figure tackles for APSU. Perry had 11 tackles. Alexander had ten.
EIU is now 3-1 on the season, 1-0 in the OVC. APSU is 0-3 on the season, 0-2 in the OVC.
UT MARTIN 44, TENNESSEE TECH 23
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team got off to a hot start in Ohio Valley Conference play and its quest for a third straight Sergeant York Trophy with a dynamic 44-23 victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon.
In the first of three consecutive contests in the Sgt. York Trophy series, the Skyhawks (2-2, 1-0 OVC) controlled the contest for much of the game. UT Martin led by as much as 19 early in the third quarter in the team’s OVC opener before ultimately pulling off a 21-point victory following a late 43-yard onside kick return for a touchdown by Tae Martin and an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown by Julian Thompson-Clay on the game’s final play.
UT Martin tallied 366 yards of total offense while posting 269 yards through the air. After starting the last two games, junior quarterback entered the game midway into the first quarter before completing 9-of-16 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Cook connected with a pair of newcomers in Greg McKillion and Londell Lee for the team’s two touchdowns – combining for five catches for 110 yards.
Senior running back Ladevin Fair paced the Skyhawk ground attack with 47 yards on 11 carries, including a 13-yard touchdown. Sophomore Jaimiee Bowe joined in the action by leading the team with 18 rushing attempts while accumulating 28 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown.
Defense and special teams played big parts in the game once again, both tallying touchdowns of their own. Martin returned an onside kick for a touchdown while Thompson-Clay’s 86-yard interception return proved to be the icing on the cake. Senior linebacker Caleb Counce paced the team with nine tackles, including a sack and a game-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Kevin Prather, Jr. notched eight tackles while the trio of Donald Cofield, Jr. (1.0), Jay Murphy (0.5) and Keith Jones (0.5) each tallied sacks.
Despite being flushed from the pocked throughout the contest, Tennessee Tech’s Michael Birdsong was elusive on the day, tallying 56 rushing yards while completing 17-of-38 passes for 274 yards and an interception. The running back duo of Andrew Goldsmith and Yeedee Thaenrat did the bulk of the damage for the Golden Eages, tallying a rushing touchdown each. Sophomore kicker Nick Madonia also converted all three of his field goal attempts from 20, 25 and 42 yards.
Things got off to a bumpy start for the Skyhawks on their first drive of the game. On third and long, starter Gunnar Holcombe would be picked off by Tennessee Tech safety Deontay Wilson, returning the ball to the Skyhawk 24 to set up its first drive. The Golden Eagles would take advantage of the prime scoring position before Thaenrat scored the game’s first points with a one-yard touchdown to give Tennessee Tech an early 6-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would get on the board on their third drive of the contest after turning the reigns of the offense over to Cook. Cook would convert on a long third down attempt, finding CJ McElrath for a 25-yard reception. With the ball in enemy territory, Fair would break a 15-yard carry to move into the redzone, setting up his backfield mate Bowe for a 14-yard touchdown rush down the right sideline, giving UT Martin a slim 7-6 lead.
UT Martin got back on the board early in the second quarter. After starting the drive on the Tennessee Tech 40, the Skyhawk duo of Cook and McKillion connected for a 40-yard bomb down the right sideline to give the squad a 14-6 advantage.
Tennessee Tech would trim into the lead following the big touchdown play. The Golden Eagles would string together a 10-play drive which would stretch 44 yards before a 42-yard field goal by Madonia would cut the deficit to 14-9.
The Skyhawks looked for one last score in the first half to take a comfortable lead into the break. Beginning the drive on the Tech 43, UT Martin would need four plays to get into the endzone. Najee Ray would rush for four yards to set up Cook for a long pass over the middle to find Lee for a 41-yard touchdown. The score would give the Skyhawks a 21-9 lead going into the break.
UT Martin would get a defensive stop on the first possession of the second half, giving the squad control on its own 23. Cook would move swiftly through the air, finding Caylon Weathers for eight yards before looking downfield to find Ben Axline for a 27-yard reception. Another 10-yard completion to McKillion would move the ball across midfield before eventually finding Lee for a 10-yard gain. With the ball on the 13, Fair would break free and reach the endzone for his first touchdown of the season.
Tennessee Tech would begin its comeback attempt in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles would cap a 14-play, 72-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal by Madonia. Later in the quarter, Tech would trim the margin to single-digits following an efficient four-play, 81-yard drive. Birdsong would move the ball through the air, finding Joseph Cunningham for 35 yards before connecting with Thaenrat for a 24-yard reception. With the ball just outside of the redzone, Goldsmith would break loose for a 22-yard touchdown to make the score 28-20.
The Skyhawks would look to pad their advantage midway through the final quarter. With the margin down to eight points, Cook would move the ball through the air by connecting with Kyle Kerrick over the middle for a 51-yard gain. Another completion from Cook to Weathers for 11 yards would put the Skyhawks in redzone, setting Mitch Mersman up for a 25-yard field goal.
After the Golden Eagles would respond with a 20-yard field goal of their own from Madonia to make it an eight-point margin once again, the game took an interesting twist. Trailing by eight points with just over a minute to play, Tennessee Tech would attempt an onside kick. Not only would the Skyhawks recover the attempt, but Martin would snatch the attempt off the bounce and return the kickoff 43-yards for a touchdown to make it a 38-23 contest. The touchdown was the first kickoff return by the Skyhawks since Oct. 6, 2012.
With one last effort, Tennessee Tech would move the ball down the field, even moving into Skyhawk territory. One last heave with less than 10 seconds to go would be intercepted by Thompson-Clay who then returned the interception 86 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown as the clock expired.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 17, MURRAY STATE 16
MURRAY, Ky. - Connor Mitchell's 38-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left sailed wide right and Southeast Missouri (1-3, 1-0) escaped with a 17-16 victory over Murray State (0-4, 0-1) Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.
Trailing, 16-10, with less than two minutes remaining, SEMO needed a stop and would get it when it forced MSU to go 3-and-out.
The Redhawks took over on downs at their own 42-yard line and used a 31-yard completion from Jesse Hosket to Tyler McLemore to keep the drive alive on a third-and-3. On the next play, Hosket hooked up with Adrian Davis on a 20-yard touchdown pass for the game-winner.
Completions of 14 and 17 yards, respectively, followed by two SEMO penalties helped get MSU to the Redhawks 19-yard line where the Racers called timeout with two seconds on the clock. SEMO countered with a timeout of its own before Mitchell missed his kick.
SEMO struck first on the opening drive when Hosket threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tremane McCullough with 8:35 left in the first quarter.
The Redhawks used a 23-yard pass from Hosket to McCullough on a third-and-7 and picked up a first down on a fourth-and-2 to keep the drive alive that covered 75 yards in 14 plays. McCullough's first career receiving TD put the Redhawks ahead, 7-0.
MSU quickly answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass from KD Humphries to Demetric Johnson. Johnson got behind his defender and ran 35 yards after the catch to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:57 remaining.
After a total of 10 punts and four 3-and-outs between the teams, SEMO used a little trickery to put itself in position to score just before the half.
Ryan McCrum lined up for a 43-yard field goal when holder Tyler Manne caught the snap and threw a 9-yard pass to McCrum for a first down on a fourth-and-7.
On the next play, Hosket completed a 16-yard pass to McCullough to move the Redhawks to the MSU 1-yard line. The Racers then stopped SEMO on three-straight plays as time expired leaving the game tied at intermission.
The Redhawk defense held its ground limiting MSU to just 50 yards in the second quarter.
SEMO had a first-and-10 at the MSU 12-yard line when Chase Abbington fumbled the ball and Zachary Wade recovered for the Racers.
Three plays later, Humphries hooked up with Jesse Blackburn for a big 81-yard pass play that gave MSU a first-and-Goal at the SEMO-1. On the ensuing play, Tyre Gray scored on a 1-yard plunge and the Racers took their first lead at 13-7 following a missed 2-point conversion.
SEMO managed to get the ball to the MSU 27-yard line with the help of a 15-yard catch by Jacquan Fuller and pass interference penalty by the Racers. After a 1-yard run by Will Young, an incomplete pass and a dropped ball by McCullough, the Redhawks settled for a 44-yard field goal by McCrum to cut MSU's lead to 13-10 with 39 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Redhawks turned the ball over again when Hosket's pass was tipped and intercepted by Dylan Boone. That miscue resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Mitchell as the Racers pushed their lead to 16-10 at the 11:50 mark in the fourth quarter. For Hosket, it was his first interception of the season.
Offensively, SEMO ran a total of 91 plays which tied for fourth-most in a game during its NCAA Division I era.
Hosket completed 19-of-44 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns, while McCullough added a career-high nine catches for 94 yards.
SEMO's defense notched three sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Roper Garrett paved the way with nine tackles and now stands just one away from 300 in his career. Kendall Donnerson followed with six tackles, including two for loss, a breakup and a half-sack.
In his return after missing last week's game at Southern Illinois with a shoulder injury, Humphries finished with 341 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-33 attempts. Blackburn contributed a game-high 112 receiving yards.
Special teams wise, Alex Knight punted seven times for 296 yards, dropping four of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Knight moved to third all-time in career punting yards (7,476) at SEMO. McCrum tied for fifth all-time in career points scored (190), as well.
SEMO improved to 8-18 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers.
#3 JACKSONVILLE STATE 48, LIBERTY 19
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Jacksonville State wrapped up the non-conference portion of its 2016 schedule with a resounding road win over one of the most successful FCS programs of the past decade.
Eli Jenkins rushed for two touchdowns and threw two more as the third-ranked Gamecocks pounded Liberty 48-19 Saturday night at Williams Stadium. Jacksonville State's suffocating defense snuffed out the Flames by limiting them to only 181 yards, far below their season average of 336.
Roc Thomas added 114 yards, one touchdown on the ground and caught a TD pass as Jacksonville State improved to 3-1.
Jacksonville State amassed 563 total yards with Jenkins accounting for 345 himself (224 passing, 121 rushing).
Liberty (1-3) managed only 41 yards and was 0-for-10 on third-down conversions in the first 30 minutes.
Jacksonville State need 53 seconds to score after forcing the Flames into a three-and-out on the opening series. Jenkins was 3-for-3 on the quick drive, hitting a wide-open Thomas for a 51-yard touchdown pass just three minutes into the contest.
Connor Rouleau's extra point put the Gamecocks in front 7-0 at the 12:06 mark in the first quarter.
Liberty's only first-half highlight came on a 31-yard field goal by Alex Probert.
Another long three-play drive extended Jacksonville State's lead to 14-3 midway through the first. Jenkins ripped off his longest run of the season, a 76-yard sprint to the end zone, with 4:48 remaining in the quarter. It was the senior quarterback's longest run since an 83-yarder against Charleston Southern in last year's FCS playoffs.
Josh Barge, who earlier became the sixth player in Ohio Valley Conference history to surpass the 3,000-yard milestone for career receiving, returned a Liberty punt 75 yards for touchdown early in the second quarter. Barge became the first Gamecock to return a punt for a touchdown since Alan Bonner went 64 yards against Alabama A&M in 2009.
Jenkins scored on a one-yard sneak and Cade Stinnett's kick gave JSU a 27-3 halftime lead.
That explosiveness continued after Liberty had closed to within 27-10 entering the final quarter.
Thomas scored on a two-yard run one play after breaking free on a 57-yard scamper on the first play of the fourth. Shaq Davidson hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass from Jenkins five minutes later, and reserve back Justice Owens broke loose on an 87-yard touchdown run to make the final 48-19 with 1:27 remaining.
Jacksonville State sacked Liberty's quarterbacks six times and intercepted two passes. The Flames managed only 44 yards on 36 rush attempts.