SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#10 Jacksonville State 21, UT Martin 14
@#24 Southeast Missouri 38, Tennessee State 21
@Tennessee Tech 27, Murray State 24
Eastern Kentucky 17, @Austin Peay 13
#10 JACKSONVILLE STATE 21, UT MARTIN 14
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State had to rely on its defense late to hold off UT Martin and stay tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The 10th-ranked Gamecocks (7-2, 6-1) marched 69 yards in three plays for the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds left to defeat the Skyhawks 21-14 Saturday afternoon at Burgess-Snow Field.
Jacksonville State committed three turnovers and was held to its lowest offensive output of the season (314 yards) but managed to defeat the Skyhawks (1-8, 1-5) when Zerrick Cooper connected with Jamari Hester for the go-ahead 43-yard touchdown in the game's final minute.
Hester's longest career reception and the ensuing two-point conversion put JSU ahead after UT Martin had taken its first lead with 1:06 on the clock.
The Skyhawks took their first lead when Jaylon Moore caught a swing pass from Joe Hudson on third-and-5 and sprinted 52 yards for the touchdown. After a timeout, UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson elected to try a two-point conversion and Hudson dove in to give his team a 14-13 edge.
Jacksonville State began the game-winning march at its 31 and Cooper immediately connected on a 24-yard completion to tight end Landon Rice into Skyhawks' territory.
The sophomore quarterback then found Hester streaking down the sideline wide-open and the junior receiver hauled in the 43-yard touchdown as JSU regained the lead and kept its hopes for a fifth-straight OVC title alive.
The Gamecocks preserved the victory when UTM's LaDar Galloway fumbled on the final play and Josh Pearson - the national leader in touchdown receptions entering the game - recovered after being inserted in JSU's secondary to knock down any potential Hail Mary pass.
Jacksonville State began the day averaging 43.1 points per game but was held without an offensive touchdown until the final drive.
The Gamecocks got an interception return for a touchdown from linebacker Quan Stoudemire and two field goals by Cade Stinnett to build a 13-3 halftime lead.
Stinnett's two 28-yard field goals and the extra point after Stoudemire's pick-six moved him into eighth place on JSU's career scoring list with 218 points.
Pearson was limited to three catches for 36 yards and held without a touchdown for the first time this season. He caught the two-point conversion pass from Cooper following Hester's touchdown to keep alive a streak of having scored in every game in 2018.
Cooper was 17-of-31 for 178 yards with one interception. The TD pass to Hester was his 20th, tying him with Ed Lett (1981) for fourth-most in a season.
Stoudemire's 10-yard interception return in the first quarter was the first of his career. The senior linebacker added six tackles and was credited with one pass breakup.
Marlon Bridges and Jalen Choice led Jacksonville State defensively with eight tackles.
#24 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38, TENNESSEE STATE 21
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior Marquis Terry ran for 107 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards this season to lead #24 Southeast Missouri (7-2, 5-1) to a 38-21 victory over Tennessee State (3-4, 2-3) Saturday afternoon at Houck Field.
Terry averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 21 attempts and went over 100 yards for an Ohio Valley Conference high fifth time this year. He finished with over 100 yards in each of his last three games and passed both 1,000 yards this season and 2,000 in his two-year SEMO career.
The Redhawks used a 21-point second quarter to fuel their fifth-consecutive win as they remain the hottest team in the OVC. SEMO never trailed in the game en route to its seventh victory.
Kendrick Tiller connected on a 40-yard field goal for the game's first points with 5:36 left to play in the first quarter. Tiller, this week's OVC Specialist of the Week, is 4-of-5 in field goals after taking over the place kicking duties a week ago at UT Martin.
SEMO followed with a quick 14-point swing in only 43 seconds to push its lead to 17-0.
Kristian Wilkerson caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Santacaterina to cap a 3-play, 75-yard drive in 34 seconds.
After SEMO forced TSU to punt, Terry ripped off a 37-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Redhawks ensuing possession. That took nine seconds and came at the 11:51 mark of the second period.
Terry scored his second touchdown of the day on an 8-yard reception from Santacaterina and widened SEMO's lead to 24-7.
Micheal Hughes later hooked up with Treon Harris on a 20-yard touchdown pass to pull the Tigers to within 10 (24-14) at the half.
On the first play of the third quarter, Ta'Kendrick Roberson dashed 69 yards to the SEMO 6-yard line. Three plays later, Justin Swift intercepted Hughes at the 9-yard line and ran 44 yards to the TSU 47.
Swift's interception resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Santacaterina to Wilkerson giving SEMO a 31-14 advantage with 10:49 in the third quarter.
Wilkerson scored his third touchdown, this time on a 9-yard reception from Santacaterina at the 4:35 mark in the third quarter, as the Redhawks buried TSU for good.
Santacaterina completed 22-of-36 passes for 306 yards and matched a season-high four touchdown passes. He threw for over 300 yards for the fourth time in five games. Santacaterina's 23 passing touchdowns in 2018 are now tied for second in a single season at SEMO. Santacaterina also ran for 27 yards on eight carries.
In addition to his 107 rushing yards, Terry caught six passes for 76 yards out of the backfield. He finished with 183 all-purpose yards. Terry ranks eighth all-time with 2,097 rushing yards in two seasons at SEMO.
For the first time in his career, Wilkerson put together back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. He had a game-high eight receptions for 129 yards and three touchdowns. It was also the first time in his career where he tallied three receiving touchdowns in consecutive games. Additionally, Wilkerson surpassed 2,000 (2,033) receiving yards in his career and ranks fifth all-time in that category at SEMO.
Offensively, SEMO put up 484 total yards. The Redhawks went without turning the ball over for the third-straight game and sixth time in nine contests this season.
Defensively, the Redhawks forced two turnovers, blocked a kick and stopped TSU twice on fourth down.
Zach Hall again led the way with 12 takedowns, his team-best seventh double-digit performance this year. Hall added an interception, blocked a field goal and posted 1.5 tackles for loss, as well.
Swift followed with eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, a pair of quarterback hurries and one interception.
Roberson (137) and Earl Harrison (105) each ran for over 100 yards to lead TSU.
TENNESSEE TECH 27, MURRAY STATE 24
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It’s simple to type out the result, describe the big plays and just simply knock out a game story.
But Tennessee Tech’s 27-24 win over Murray State on Saturday wasn’t just any other game. This was a statement, evidence in what head coach Dewayne Alexander planned to achieve with the Golden Eagles.
As the players and coaches celebrated on the field and later in the locker room, there was not a dry eye. After all this is something they had worked for since December 22 of last year. The mission was to bring pride back to the Golden Eagle program, to make the university, its students and alumni and the community proud of the Tech team again.
An 0-8 record against some of the toughest opponents in the country, including five ranked teams, shaded that view in many ways, but the Golden Eagles never gave up.
Case In point – senior defensive back A.J. Flemister. As the campaign wore on and losses mounted, the Chattanooga product never wavered. He spent his time working, getting better on and off the field and kept fighting.
It was that experience that helped Flemister intercept a pass from one of the conference’s top quarterbacks, Drew Anderson, and keep the Racers to just two passing touchdowns.
And the freshman class continued to gain experience, shown as true freshman quarterback Bailey Fisher ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, then passed for 228 yards and two scores on 21-of-34 passing.
Then there were the inspirations.
The previous evening, junior Darrius Stafford was at the TTU Sports Hall of Fame inductions with his fellow teammates, watching as one of his high school coaches – former Golden Eagle Larry Shipp – was inducted into the Class of 2018.
Stafford followed suit, catching six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown – the first 100-yard receiving game of the season and the first in over a year as Dontez Byrd (also on-hand Saturday for the Robert Hill Johnson Award presentation) caught five passes for 111 yards against Tennessee State on Oct. 28 last year.
He wasn’t the only receiver to haul in a score as Melvin Holland Jr. got it all started with a 20-yard touchdown catch from Fisher on the first drive of the game.
Nick Madonia also went 2-for-3 on field goals, helping the Golden Eagles stay just out of reach.
Hard work, effort, dedication – it all came to fruition on Saturday. Tech had three players with double-digit tackles, led by Josh Poplar with 13, Deontay Wilson with 12 and Jake Warwick with 10. In addition to Flemister’s pick, Shannon Fayne also came up with an interception. Seth Huner also recovered a fumble to add to Murray’s woes.
The Golden Eagles also did that by drawing penalties as the Racers were flagged 12 times for 70 yards, adding frustration to the other side.
Anderson ended the game with 340 yards, completing an efficient 34 of his 41 passes. D.J. Penick and Malik Honeycutt caught the touchdown strikes, while Anderson ran for a score among his team-leading eight carries for 27 yards.
As the final horn sounded, the 11-game losing streak became history.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 17, AUSTIN PEAY 13
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky University shutout Austin Peay State University in the second half to overcome a 13-3 deficit and pick up an Ohio Valley Conference football win, 17-13, on Saturday.
The win was the 600th in the history of Colonel football.
Leodis Moore III intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown with 8:12 left in the third quarter to cut the Governor lead to 13-10. The interception came two plays after the Colonels had missed on a 25-yard field goal attempt.
On the third play of Eastern’s next possession, quarterback Alphonso Howard left the game with an injury. True freshman Parker McKinney came in and went 7-for-8 the rest of the game for 89 yards.
Moore’s second interception of the game stopped an Austin Peay drive at the EKU 29 yard line with 6:33 left in the game. McKinney went to work and led the Colonels to the go-ahead score. He completed a 3rd-and-5 pass that came up just short of the first down. L.J. Scott took the hand off and picked up the first down on a 13-yard run to keep the drive alive. On the next play, McKinney hit Jackson Beerman for 14 yards over the middle to the APSU 35 yard line. A roughing the passer penalty pushed the ball to the 20 yard line. McKinney dropped back to pass again and connected with a diving Dan Paul over the middle in the end zone for the touchdown.
Samuel Hayworth’s extra point gave the visitors a four-point lead with 4:23 to go.
The Eastern Kentucky (5-4, 4-2 OVC) defense rose to the occasion again. The Governors moved the ball to the EKU 27 yard line. On 3rd-and-4, Kente Williams carried the ball to the 18, but a holding penalty made it 3rd-and-14 from the 37. Jeremiah Oatsvall threw two incompletions and Austin Peay gave the ball back with 1:49 remaining.
Eastern ran the ball on three straight plays forcing the Govs to use their two remaining timeouts, but the Colonels had to punt with 38 seconds on the clock. On the second play of the ensuing possession, TJ Comstock intercepted the ball to seal the win.
The Colonels will play their final home game of the 2018 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 10, against Robert Morris. Kickoff at Roy Kidd Stadium is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
EKU out-gained the conference’s top rushing team 215 to 190 on the ground. Eastern had nearly a 100-yard advantage in total offense, 360 to 261. Daryl McCleskey had 81 yards on 14 carries. Scott finished with 73 yards on 18 carries.
Moore ended the game with his two interceptions, eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and a pass break-up.
Both teams scored on their first possessions of the game. Austin Peay (4-5, 2-4 OVC) got a five-yard touchdown run from Oatsvall to draw first blood. The Colonels marched 48 yards on nine plays and saw Hayworth convert a 35-yard field goal.
Eastern’s offense failed to score again in the first half, but the defense held APSU to two long field goals in the second quarter. Logan Birchfield hit from 45 and 43 yards away. EKU missed two good scoring opportunities when the Governors killed a drive with an interception at the APSU 12 yard line in the first quarter and Hayworth’s 51-yard field goal attempt with no time left in the second quarter had the distance but missed just to the right.