SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 30, Tennessee State 26
@UT Martin 27, Eastern Illinois 10
Eastern Kentucky 26, @Murray State 13
@#3 Jacksonville State 23, Southeast Missouri 7
@#17 UCF 73,
Austin Peay 33
TENNESSEE TECH 30, TENNESSEE STATE 26
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Winless no more. After eight long weeks, all the Tennessee Tech football team wanted to do was get a notch under the win column, to get proof that the process was indeed working.
With renewed vigor following the off-week and with the Sergeant York Trophy in play, the Golden Eagles made a statement on Saturday, earning a huge 30-26 victory over visiting Tennessee State.
The Tigers certainly made the Golden Eagles work for the win as Patrick Smith caught seven passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns and Steven Newbold caught seven passes for 108 yards. Quarterback Michael Hughes threw for 331 yards on 20-of-36 passing to propel TSU (4-4, 1-4 OVC) in its effort.
However, the key stat on Hughes day came from two fourth-quarter interceptions by Clay Davis, the latter sealing the contest for the Golden Eagles. The first came with 2:19 remaining in the contest, potentially allowing Tech to run down the clock.
But Yeedee Thaenrat was brought down in the end zone, resulting in a safety and giving State the ball back with 2:09 remaining with the four-point margin well within reach.
Still, Tech's defense came through once again. Hughes was sacked, then completed a pass to Seth Rowland to move the chains. Hughes threw an incompletion, then Davis struck again, snagging the pass out of the air at the Tech 40.
This time, Tech wasn't going to let TSU get another attempt. With 1:31 remaining on the clock, the Golden Eagles got to go into victory formation for the first time in the 2017 campaign.
Tech certainly had no problem putting offense together, racking up a respectable 332 yards, including 160 rushing and 172 passing yards.
And the Golden Eagles came out in a big way, putting 10 points on the board before the first five minutes of the contest had ticked off. Nick Madonia got the first of his three field goals with a 40-yard kick, then running back Andrew Goldsmith worked in a little trickery as the former high school quarterback showed off his arm with a 27-yard pass to Dontez Byrd to end a two-play, 39-second scoring drive.
Goldsmith also ran for a 31-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
But the Tigers came roaring back, taking a 24-20 lead in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown catch from Smith.
Tech wasn't fazed as the Golden Eagles responded with an eight-yard hookup between Tavin Kilpatrick and Andre Sale and the resulting Madonia PAT to make it a 27-24 Tech lead.
Madonia hit his third field goal of the day, a 39-yarder, with 6:31 remaining to make it a six-point contest.
Goldsmith ended the game with 101 carries and a touchdown on 12 carries, while throwing for 27 yards and touchdown. Byrd caught five passes for 111 yards and a score. Sale completed 10 of his 23 passes for 145 yards.
Aderick Moore had 12 stops, including two sacks for 22 yards and five tackles-for-loss for 30 yards while also forcing a fumble.
UT MARTIN 27, EASTERN ILLINOIS 10
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team scored in every facet of the game en route to snapping a season-long three-game losing streak with a dominating 27-10 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks (4-4, 2-3 OVC) controlled the contest throughout the game, using every component of the squad to score points. After allowing an early turnover on the team’s first play from scrimmage, UT Martin would force five turnovers in the contest – including one defensive touchdown – while playing efficiently on offense and special teams with a pair of touchdown passes and two field goals, respectively.
In a game which saw UT Martin total just 51 offensive plays, the Skyhawks maintained a stable offense which scored a pair of touchdowns through the air despite subdued statistics. Even with just 192 yards of total offense, the Skyhawks could maintain its gameplan behind a stingy defense which made plays throughout the afternoon. Five turnovers proved costly for the Panthers as they directly resulted in one touchdown while setting up two scoring drives on a pair of interceptions.
True freshman Dresser Winn earned the start at quarterback once again, completing 5-of-7 passes for 83 yards while also scrambling for 32 yards on 12 carries. Senior Troy Cook also saw action, competing 3-of-5 attempts for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Junior Ladarius Galloway paced the Skyhawks with 14 carries for 55 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, junior wide receiver Devonte Howard led the receiving core with a pair of receptions for 50 yards while Jaylon Moore and Donnell Williams made the most of their respective catches, tallying a touchdown each.
Defensively, UT Martin showed why its one of the top units in the country. After entering the contest with the eighth ranked defense in the country, the Skyhawks limited the Panthers to just 275 yards – including 75 rushing yards. Additionally, the squad limited the Panthers to just 10 points on the day after entering the contest allowing an average of 17.0 points per game which ranked 11th nationally.
Junior linebackers Garrett Wall and James Gilleylen tallied nine tackles each while combining for two tackles for loss. Limited to just one half of play before suffering an injury, safety standout Kahlid Hagens posted a big performance, tallying six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception. As a whole, the Skyhawks would tallying a pair of sacks and eight tackles for loss while Gilleylen, Hagens, Tae Martin and Andrew Horton-Martindale each notched interceptions. Along with the team’s interceptions, it was a strip sack which was recovered in the air by junior Anthony Brown that he returned 17 yards for a touchdown which gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the contest.
Joining in the scoring production was senior specialist Mitch Mersman. Despite windy playing conditions, Mersman would convert all three point after attempts while making two of three field goal attempts. A first quarter 23-yard field goal tied the contest with 4:26 to play before putting the finishing touches on the game with a 35-yard attempt to open the fourth quarter and cap the game’s scoring.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 26, MURRAY STATE 13
MURRAY, Ky. - With a dominate defense and running game, Eastern Kentucky University’s football team picked up its second straight win with a 26-13 victory at Murray State University on Saturday at Stewart Stadium.
The EKU defense forced three turnovers, held Murray State to 63 yards rushing and 273 yards of total offense, including minus-4 yards in the third quarter.
One game after rushing for a season-best 229 yards, the Colonels (3-5, 3-3 OVC) churned out 180 in the first half against the Racers and finished with a new season-high 279 yards on the ground.
One week after setting a new career high with 137 yards on 22 carries, Daryl McCleskey Jr. finished with 144 yards on 21 carries against Murray State (2-6, 1-3 OVC).
Dan Paul caught a 22-yard pass just inside the goal line with 6:44 left in the first quarter for the first score of the game. The extra-point made it 7-0. The Colonels took advantage of two costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Murray State, including a 15-yarder on 4th-and-10, early in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 14-0. LJ Scott capped the 16-play, 73-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The drive ate up 7:12 of clock time.
Eastern pulled away with two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first half. Ryan Markush caught a 38-yard pass over the middle from Tim Boyle to give the visitors a 20-3 lead with 3:32 to go before intermission. Scott ran for another short touchdown, this time from one yard out, with 1:30 remaining in the second quarter to push the score to 26-3. The Racers added a late first half field goal to make it 26-6.
Neither team added points to the board until Murray State scored a touchdown with 2:44 left in the game. The Colonels ran the clock to less than a minute on their ensuing possession and then time ran out on any Racer comeback attempt.
Boyle finished 15-of-25 for 201 yards and threw two touchdown passes. Scott had 35 yards with his two touchdown runs. Ralph Patton contributed 54 rushing yards on nine second half carries.
Defensive lineman Luder Jean Louis totaled six tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 12 yards. Corey Glass forced two fumbles and had three tackles.
Murray State quarterback Shuler Bentley finished 20-for-40 for 210 yards and threw one touchdown pass.
#3 JACKSONVILLE STATE 23, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State's 1992 Division II national championship squad featured a defense that held six of its regular-season opponents to 10 points or less.
With the members of that team on hand Saturday for the 25-year celebration of Jacksonville State's first and only football national title, the 2017 Gamecocks - wearing throwback uniforms paying homage to the '92 team - needed a similar defensive effort to hold off upset-minded Southeast Missouri.
Jacksonville State blocked two SEMO kicks and Cade Stinnett booted a career-best three field goals to lift the No. 3 Gamecocks to a 23-7 chilly Homecoming victory at Burgess-Snow Field.
Stinnett kicked field goals of 22, 39 and 36 yards, freshman tight end Trae Barry caught a 65-yard touchdown pass and Roc Thomas added a 27-yard scoring run late as JSU improved to 7-1, 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference. It was the Gamecocks' 10th-straight win over the Redhawks and extended their OVC win streak to a league-record 29 games.
Jacksonville State's defense limited SEMO to 22 yards on 36 carries and only 209 scrimmage yards.
The biggest plays, however, were field goal blocks from Marlon Bridges in the second quarter and Randy Robinson in the fourth to halt Redhawk scoring threats. It was the first time the Gamecocks have blocked two field goals in a game since 2008 against Tennessee State.
Robinson's kick block, his second of the season, came with Jacksonville State clinging to a 13-7 lead with just over eight minutes remaining. It was the culmination of a difficult day for SEMO kicker Nicholas Litang, who also missed a 52-yarder in the first quarter that hit the left upright and bounced away.
The Gamecocks drove 61 yards in eight plays following Robinson's block, with Stinnett converting on a 36-yard kick for a 16-7 JSU lead with 3:41 on the clock.
Thomas sealed the victory less than a minute later with his 27-yard sprint to the end zone after the defense stopped the Redhawks on fourth-and-8. The TD run was Thomas' seventh this season.
Quarterbacks Bryant Horn and Kendrick Doss struggled much of the afternoon as Southeast Missouri recorded eight sacks.
The Gamecocks offensive line, with three starters dealing with injuries, had surrendered only six sacks through the first seven games.
Horn and Doss were a combined seven of 19 for 179 yards, with Doss throwing one interception. But the junior from Florence, Ala., on his first play in relief of Horn, hooked up with Barry for a 65-yard touchdown pass at the 6:38 mark in the first quarter to give Jacksonville State a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown reception was Barry's third on seven catches this year.
Bridges and Jonathan Hagler led the Gamecocks with nine tackles apiece.
#17 UCF 73, AUSTIN PEAY 33
ORLANDO, Fla. - Kyran Moore scored two touchdowns and amassed 346 all-purpose yards as Austin Peay State University’s football team gave nationally-ranked UCF all it could handle before falling 73-33 in a nonconference tilt, Saturday, at Spectrum Stadium.
Moore’s 346 all-purpose yards is the best performance in the FCS this season and the third best in all of Division I. He opened his assault with a 74-yard pass reception from Jeremiah Oatsvall that set up the Govs second touchdown and was the longest pass play this season.
Failing to find the end zone on his first big play, Moore left no doubt in the third quarter, slashing up the middle of the UCF kick return defense and sprinting 91 yards for a touchdown. It was the Govs first kick return score since last season and got the Govs within two scores, 38-26.
But Moore wasn’t done with his highlight reel, making an impressive theft and catch in the fourth quarter for another touchdown. Officially, it was a simple 35-yard touchdown strike, but Moore tipped the ball out of a defenders hands, denying an interception, and caught the ball himself in the end zone for his second score.
Thanks largely to Moore’s effort, Austin Peay (5-4) proved undaunted in its matchup against an FBS foe. The Govs 33-point outing tied its best-ever scoring effort against an FBS opponent with four different Governors scoring.
Joining Moore in the scoring column were wide receiver Trey Pruitt, offensive lineman Ryan Rockensuess and running back Ahmaad Tanner. Tanner notched the Govs first touchdown on a seven-yard run in the first quarter, tying the game 7-7. Rockensuess secured the Govs second touchdown when he alertly rounded up a fumble at the goal line, again closing the gap to one score. Pruitt found paydirt when he hauled in a 12-yard pass from Oatsvall in a wild second quarter.
UCF (7-0), ranked No. 17 in the FBS Coaches Poll entering the week, gained a measure of control around the first-quarter break. After the Govs tied the game, 7-7, the Knights saw Mike Hughes score on a 91-yard kickoff return to break the tie. UCF added to its lead on the other side of the break, with Taj McGowan capping a 47-yard drive with a touchdown run for a 21-7 lead.
The Knights extended their control midway through the second quarter – which saw APSU and UCF combine for 50 points – with another pair of back-to-back scores. Kicker Matthew Wright hit a 20-yard field goal and on the ensuing APSU drive, Shaquem Griffin recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards for a score and a 31-13 lead.
UCF solidified its lead with a pair of toe-tap receptions on each side of the halftime break. Dredrick Snelson caught a 27-yard pass in the back of the end zone for a touchdown just before halftime for a 45-26 lead. Tre’Quan Smith hauled in 15-yard touchdown on the other side of the break to push the lead to 52-26.
Moore’s 346 all-purpose yard outing included 216 kickoff return yards – the fourth-most in program history and the most by any returner since Terrence Holt in 2009. He also amassed the Govs first 100-yard receiving performance in 2017, finishing with 130 yards on five receptions.
Oatsvall completed 12-of-18 passes for 209 yards, his first career 200-yard passing performance. It followed on the heels of a 199-yard outing against Southeast Missouri last week, giving the Govs freshman signal caller 408 passing yards in his first two collegiate starts.
McKenzie Milton led UCF with 275 yards passing and three touchdowns as part of a 24-of-26 passing outing. He also rushed for a touchdown – one of five touchdowns on the ground for the Knights.