SATURDAY'S SCORES
Kentucky 49,
Murray State 10
Chattanooga 34,
@UT Martin 24
@Bowling Green 42,
Eastern Kentucky 35
#23 Austin Peay 78, @Morehead State 40
Southeast Missouri 48, @Southern Illinois 44
Indiana State 55,
@Eastern Illinois 41
Tennessee State at Hampton (cancelled)
KENTUCKY 49, MURRAY STATE 10
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Despite losing to Kentucky, 49-10, Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field, the Murray State football team left Lexington with several positives as it heads into its bye week, followed by the opening of Ohio Valley Conference play.
Defensively, Kenney Wooten had the first sack of the season on UK quarterback Terry Wilson, in addition to forcing one of two fumbles on the afternoon, the other coming from Marquez Sanford. Sanford led the Racers on the day with seven tackles, including 0.5 for loss.
Offensively, after giving up eight turnovers in the first two games of the season, Murray State had just one Saturday, a late-game interception by Shuler Bentley, who was under extreme pressure on the play. In addition, the Racers improved on their third down conversion rate, going from 8-for-27 in the first two games to 9-of-16 Saturday.
Drew Anderson was 15-of-32 in the game for 118 yards, while backup Preston Rice came in late and broke off a 21-yard run for MSU's only touchdown of the game. Receiving wise, the freshmen duo of Malik Honeycutt and Armani Hayes led the Racers with four catches each for 76 and 35 yards, respectively. On special team, Gabriel Vicente improved to 4-for-4 on field goals on the year with a 29-yarder as time expired in the first half.
CHATTANOOGA 34, UT MARTIN 24
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team pushed for a comeback down the stretch but ultimately dropped its home opener against in-state foe Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 34-24.
The Skyhawks (0-3) are still looking for their first win of the season despite trimming the margin to as close at 10 points on a pair of occasions in the fourth quarter. With the deficit down to just 10 points late in the fourth quarter following an onside kick, the Skyhawks would push the ball all the way down to the Chattanooga three-yard line but would see its final offensive stand fall short at the goal line to seal the contest.
UT Martin tallied 23 first downs on the day while notching 457 yards of total offense but a pair of first half turnovers kept the squad off the scoreboard until the final seconds of the second period. While Chattanooga was out-gained offensively, the Mocs took advantage of an efficient offense with 361 yards while tallying three touchdowns and a pair of field goals.
Sophomore quarterback Dresser Winn led the Skyhawks offense by completing 27-of-43 pass attempts for 300 yards and a three total touchdowns. The game marked his second straight week with 300 passing yards but a pair of interceptions – including one at the goal line – stifled a pair of drives in the first half. As a whole, Winn would find the tandem of Jaylon Moore (four yards) and Colton Dowell (24 yards) for touchdown completions while punching in a three-run rushing score to round out his afternoon.
Versatile junior receiver Terry Williams put on a show for the second consecutive outing. After notching a pair of touchdown receptions a week ago against FBS foe Middle Tennessee, Williams tallied 229 all-purpose yards on the day. The playmaker notched 10 receptions for 141 yards while tallying three carries for 48 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior safety Brandon Anderson notched a new career-high with 10 tackles to pace the Skyhawks. Perhaps Anderson's biggest tackle of the day came in the third quarter when he stripped loose a fumble on the right sideline to flip the field and later set up a key scoring drive. Senior Kevin Prather, Jr. also posted a big game with nine tackles on the afternoon, including a pair of tackles for loss. Junior DaVonte Maura also notched a season-high eight tackles while recovering a fumble.
Chattanooga (3-0) remained unbeaten on the season behind the strong play of junior quarterback Nick Tiano as he completed 20-of-24 passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Tyrell Price tallied 22 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Sophomore Bryce Nunnelly meanwhile led the receiving core with eight catches for 117 yards.
BOWLING GREEN 42, EASTERN KENTUCKY 35
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Eastern Kentucky University’s football team led 35-34 until the 6:47 mark of the fourth quarter when Bowling Green State University scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to edge the Colonels 42-35 on Saturday in Bowling Green, Ohio.
EKU had a chance to tie or win the game in the closing seconds against the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team. The Colonels (1-2) got the ball at their own 32 yard line with three minutes left to play and marched to the BGSU 15 yard line with eight seconds left on the clock. Two passes to the end zone just missed their targets for a last second touchdown.
LJ Scott kept the drive alive early with a 6-yard run on 4th-and-4 at the Eastern 38. On 3rd-and-13 from the Falcon 44 yard line, Dakota Allen connected with Jaelin Carter down the right sideline for 29 yards to the 15. The Colonels then made their two attempts at the end zone.
Eastern Kentucky finished the game with 389 rushing yards and out-gained Bowling Green (1-2) 498 to 388. As a team, EKU averaged 6.5 yards per rush. Darryl McCleskey Jr. led the team with 168 yards on 19 carries, an average of 8.8 per run. Allen finished with 77 yards and a touchdown run.
BGSU’s Jarrett Doege connected with Quintin Morris in the back of the end zone to push the lead to 42-35 with 6:47 remaining in the game.
EKU got off to a good start when the Colonels scored a pair of rushing touchdowns from three and one yards out to take a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
That’s when Bowling Green took advantage of some Colonel miscues. Doege connected with Morris for a 24-yard strike with 10:04 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14. That touchdown came after a fumble on a punt return. The Falcons got a touchdown run by Andrew Clair from four yards out to give Bowling Green its first lead of the night 21-14 with 6:13 remaining in the first half. That capped off 21 unanswered points.
That lead was short lived. McCleskey took the first play from scrimmage for 68 yards and his second touchdown of the game to knot the score at 21-21.
Doege threw another touchdown pass when he connected with Deric Phouthavong in the end zone to take a 28-21 lead into the half.
Eastern wasted little time in the second half and tied the game when Alphonso Howard scampered in from seven yards out to make it 28-28 with 10:16 remaining in the third quarter. Bowling Green retook the lead when Doege connected with Phouthayong for their second hook up of the night. The extra-point was unsuccessful.
McCleskey found the end zone for the third time on the night when he ran up the middle untouched on fourth down. Samuel Hayworth’s extra-point kick gave EKU the lead, 35-34, with 1:31 to play in the third.
Doege finished 28-of-39 for 258 yards. He tossed four touchdown passes and had one interception.
Ben Bascom and Steven Crowder each had 11 tackles for Eastern Kentucky.
#23 AUSTIN PEAY 78, MOREHEAD STATE 40
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Because outright stopping them seems like a dubious proposition at best.
Kentel Williams scored four touchdowns in his first game of 2018, leading Austin Peay State University's football team to a 78-40 nonconference victory against Morehead State, Saturday, at Jayne Stadium.
Austin Peay (2-1) set school records for points scored, touchdowns scored (11) and total yardage (758) in the victory. In addition, Williams and quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall became the first Governors rushing tandem to both run for 100 yards in the same game since 2013.
The Governors broke open a back-and-forth game over the final 17 minutes, scoring the game's final 28 points. Oatsvall ended the third quarter with a 39-yard touchdown run, giving Austin Peay a 57-40 lead. Williams then broke off a 72-yard rushing touchdown – his fourth score of the game – for the only play in a fourth-quarter drive that extended the lead to 64-40.
Austin Peay would tack on two more touchdowns late in the fourth quarter. Tre Nation joined the scoring party with a one-yard touchdown dash, giving the Govs 71 points. Prince Momodu then broke off a 66-yard touchdown burst, giving the Governors a record-breaking 78 points.
Morehead State (1-2) matched the Governors score for score throughout the first half. After Austin Peay struck for the game's first touchdown, the Eagles responded immediately with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That set the tone for the rest of the half with an Austin Peay score matched by a Morehead State score, Austin Peay holding a 43-26 lead at the half.
The Governors closed the first half with Williams' nine-yard touchdown reception then opened the second half with Jay Parker's 19-yard run for the game's first back-to-back touchdowns by either team. Morehead State scored the next two touchdowns before Austin Peay closed with its four straight touchdowns.
Williams' four-touchdown outing was the first by a Governors player since JaVaughn Craig's four-touchdown performance against Morehead State last season. The Govs touchdown binge also saw kicker Logan Birchfield kick a program-record 10 PATs.
Against a Morehead State program that entered the weekend allowing opponents to rack up more than 250 yards per game on the ground, Austin Peay's run game rolled up 518 yards on 39 carries—a whopping 13.3 yards per rush. That total is the third-highest mark in program history, and the first time the Govs have rushed for more than 500 yards in a game since 1996.
On the other side of the ball, senior Malik Davis led the Govs with a season-high 11 tackles. Consensus preseason All-American Jaison Williams posted a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss, including a second-quarter sack to open a Morehead State drive deep in Austin Peay territory following a Governors turnover.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 48, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 44
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Preseason All-American tailback Marquis Terry rushed for a school and Ohio Valley Conference record 311 yards and scored four touchdowns, while tight end Austin Crump hauled in a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left to give Southeast Missouri (2-1) a 48-44 win over rival Southern Illinois (1-2) Saturday.
SEMO won the first installment of the "War for the Wheel," and as a result, takes the authentic ship's wheel trophy back to Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks racked up 531 yards of total offense behind Terry's record-setting night.
Terry, who had an upset stomach prior to the game, went off for 166 yards in the first quarter alone. He ended up with a staggering 438 all-purpose yards, also a SEMO and league record.
While SIU had no answer for Terry all night, it was redshirt-sophomore tight end Crump who made the biggest catches of his career to date. Crump never scored a touchdown in his life until he made a 7-yard reception to cut SIU's lead to 10-7 with 2:25 left to play in the first quarter.
Then, when SEMO had the ball in the final 30 seconds, Crump had the game-winning 14-yard reception on a clutch throw by Daniel Santacaterina on third-and-5. The decisive play came after the Salukis took a 44-41 lead with 1:52 remaining. SIU picked up a pair of first downs on fourth-down plays, one by way of a SEMO penalty and another on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Sam Straub.
The 86thmeeting between longstanding rivals SEMO and SIU featured 89 points, 1,078 total yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 lead changes between the teams. The teams combined for 55 points in the second half.
After Crump's touchdown in the first quarter, Terry ripped off a 74-yard run on the first of his four touchdowns to give the Redhawks their first lead at 14-10 with 1:09 in the first quarter.
SEMO, however, trailed 20-17 at the half after Nicholas Litang kicked a 29-yard field goal.
The Redhawks forced a turnover on the opening kickoff of the second half when Octavius McClatchey hit James Caesar. Backup running back Mark Robinson recovered the fumble at the SIU 29.
Two plays later, Terry scored on a 23-yard run to put SEMO ahead, 24-20, just 50 seconds into the third quarter.
After D.J. Davis hit paydirt on a 1-yard plunge, the Redhawks regained the lead again, this time on an 11-yard run by Terry. That TD capped a 5-play, 77-yard drive, giving SEMO a 31-27 cushion at the 6:23 mark.
Litang's 38-yard field goal polished off a 17-point third quarter as SEMO went up seven, 34-27, with 2:55 on the clock.
It was SIU, which countered with 17 points of its own in the final 15 minutes.
Straub threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Leonard to grab the Salukis a 37-34 lead on the end of a 77-yard march.
Terry's final touchdown, this time consisting of 10 yards, finished off an 8-play, 75-yard drive and gave SEMO a 41-37 advantage with 4:25 to play.
Leonard caught his second 8-yard touchdown pass of the fourth quarter to get the Salukis their last lead at 44-41 before the dramatic ending.
Terry, who ran for 202 yards the week before against Dayton, averaged 10.4 yards per carry on 30 attempts. In addition to his 311 rushing yards, Terry caught one pass for 13 yards and returned five kickoffs for 114 yards. His 311 rushing yards beat the OVC's single-game rushing record by one yard - 310 by Murray State's Steve Chaney in 2005. Meanwhile, his 438 all-purpose yards bested Austin Peay's Kentel Williams' 399 in 2016.
Santacaterina completed 18-of-31 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns, while Crump wound up with 23 yards on three catches. Kristian Wilkerson and Zack Smith, who made some clutch catches down the stretch, topped the Redhawks with four receptions apiece.
Defensively, SEMO forced four turnovers. Zach Hall, DJ Freeman and Al Young each had an interception, and Robinson recovered a fumble. Bydarrius Knighten and Hall paved the way with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.
INDIANA STATE 55, EASTERN ILLINOIS 41
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Transfer quarterback Johnathan Brantley had one of the best passing days in Eastern Illinois school history on Saturday evening but in the end the Panthers were outdone by Indiana State as the Sycamores beat EIU for the first time since the 2004 season winning 55-41.
EIU fell to 0-3 on the season while Indiana State improved to 2-1 as they won their first game over a NCAA Division I opponent since Oct. 22, 2016 when they beat Southern Illinois.
The tone for the game was set on the opening kickoff as Isaiah Johnson broke a tackle early and broke loose for a 59-yard return. Brantley would connect with Alexander Hollins for the first of three touchdown passes between the duo with 12:52 to play in the first quarter. Brantley passed for 443 yards on the day, the eighth highest total in school history. He became the first EIU player to pass for more than 400 yards since Jimmy Garoppolo on Nov. 23, 2013 at UT Martin. Hollins three touchdown passes marked the second time this season and third time in his career that he has hauled in three touchdowns in a game. Hollins finished the day with 10 catches for 167 yards.
After the EIU extra point was blocked, Indiana State answered back with a quick drive as Ja’Quan Keys scored from 3 yards out. It was the first of four rushing touchdowns for Keys as he finished with 232 yards on 34 carries. As a team Indiana State rushed for 326 yards and seven touchdowns as Christian Covington scored twice and Ryan Boyle scored once.
The two teams traded points on their first three possessions with each scoring. EIU had another touchdown catch from Hollins and a 96 yard kick return for touchdown by Matt Reyna. Covington scored for the Sycamores and Jerry Nunez added a 22-yard field goal as EIU led 20-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Kick returns proved to be a large part of the day as EIU had 298 yards on kick returns. Reyna finished with 160 including his touchdown return which was the first for EIU since Tray Mitchell took one the distance on Oct. 31, 2015 at Murray State. Isaiah Johnson had 138 return yards. The Sycamores were able to keep pace as Dakota Caton had five returns for 178 yards including a 98-yard touchdown return called back on a penalty.
The Sycamores took the lead on back-to-back touchdown runs by Keys in the second quarter and led 31-20 at the break.
Aaron Gooch caught ten passes for 110 yards for EIU giving the Panthers two receivers with double digit catches. Brantley was 37-of-49 on the day as EIU’s run game was held to 46 yards. Brantley was the team’s leading rusher with 15 yards.
Dante Hendrix had five catches for 99 yards to lead a Sycamore air attack that had 209 yards. Indiana State finished with 535 yards of offense while EIU had 501.
On defense Raymond Crittenden and Mark Williams both posted double digit tackles. Crittenden had 11 stops while Williams had ten.
Jonas Griffith was Indiana State’s leading tackler with 11.