SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#13 Southeast Missouri 31, Murray State 24
Eastern Kentucky 29, @Jacksonville State 23
Tennessee State 37, @Tennessee Tech 27
@#19 Austin Peay 35, Eastern Illinois 7
@Kentucky 50,
UT Martin 7
#13 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 31, MURRAY STATE 24
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - .- Daniel Santacaterina threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to lead #13 Southeast Missouri (9-3, 7-1) to a 31-24 win over rival Murray State (4-8, 2-6) Saturday at Houck Field.
Santacaterina broke SEMO's all-time career record in passing touchdowns (46) as the Redhawks won a piece of the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference title. The OVC crown is SEMO's second in program history and first in nine years.
SEMO's 17 seniors took the field as the winningest class in the Redhawks NCAA Division I era and picked up their 23rd win as a unit. The special group was recognized during the team's Senior Day festivities prior to kickoff.
The Redhawks trailed, 24-17, before going on their fourth-quarter assault to cut down the Racers.
Zack Smith was on the receiving end of Santacaterina's touchdown passes in the final period. The first was a 17-yard reception on a perfectly placed throw in between defenders on a third-and-long. That play tied the game at 24-24 just five seconds into the fourth quarter.
After SEMO's defense stopped MSU on a fourth-and-2, the Redhawks marched 51 yards in seven plays and completed that drive with the go-ahead touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Santacaterina to Smith with just under nine minutes left (8:57).
Then, the Redhawks defense disrupted any MSU momentum the rest of the way by making several huge plays. Clarence Thornton dropped TJ Warren for a loss when the Racers faked a punt. Later on, Lawrence Johnson broke up a pass on a fourth-and-18.
Lastly, after SEMO came up short on a fourth-and-1, Bydarrius Knighten broke up a Preston Rice pass on a fourth-and-5 to nail down the Redhawks sixth consecutive win.
The first half featured a 31-point second quarter as MSU led 24-17 at the intermission.
MSU was ahead, 10-3, following a 26-yard field goal by Zaden Webber with 11:33 remaining in the second quarter.
SEMO answered with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Santacaterina to Kristian Wilkerson on an eight-play, 94-yard drive to tie the game at 10-10.
On the Racers next possession, Zach Hall picked off Preston Rice and ran 61 yards for a touchdown to give the Redhawks their first lead at 17-10 at the 7:37 mark. Hall's 61-yard interception return tied the eighth-longest in school history.
MSU responded with back-to-back touchdowns to grab the lead at halftime.
Rice completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to LaMartez Brooks with 5:28 to go and later tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Armani Hayes in the final minute of the first half.
MSU, which entered the day with the lowest scoring offense in OVC play (16.4 ppg), surpassed that average in the first 30 minutes of the game.
SEMO's defense, which gave up 286 total yards in the first half, allowed only 114 yards and shutout MSU in the final 30 minutes.
Santacaterina completed 29-of-39 passes, while Wilkerson caught 11 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Smith added five catches for 27 yards and two scores.
Zion Custis and Mark Robinson ran the ball well helping the Redhawks gain 148 yards on the ground. Custis carried the ball 15 times for 86 yards and Robinson picked up 55 yards on 12 attempts.
Defensively, Zach Hall led the Redhawks with 10 tackles, an interception and one pass breakup. Knighten and Swift followed with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
SEMO won its 13th-straight game at home and kept presently the OVC's longest home winning streak intact. The Redhawks closed out a regular-season on a six-game winning streak for the first time in their D-I history, as well.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 29, JACKSONVILLE STATE 23
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Eastern Kentucky University’s football team beat Jacksonville State University, 29-23, on Saturday for the Colonels first win over the Gamecocks since 2012.
EKU kicker Samuel Hayworth broke the program record for kicking points in a game with 17, and tied the mark for field goals with five. After coming up one point short of tying the record earlier this season, Hayworth surpassed Jamie Lovett's program record of 16 kicking points in a game, set against Youngstown State in 1983.
It was Eastern’s first win over JSU since beating the Gamecocks, 51-21, in Richmond on Sept. 22, 2012. It was the first win by the Colonels in Jacksonville since Nov. 5, 2011.
Eastern Kentucky finishes the 2019 campaign with a 7-5 record and a 5-3 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Alonzo Booth broke a 16-16 tie with a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:47 left in the third quarter. The scoring drive came right after JSU had scored a touchdown to knot the game, and appeared as if it would stall when the Colonels faced a 3rd-and-5 at the JSU 45 yard line. However, Daryl McCleskey Jr. caught a short pass on the right sideline and turned it into a 27-yard gain to the 18 yard line. Conor Blount carried for 12 yards to the 10. Two penalties on Jacksonville State got Eastern to the two yard line. Two plays later, Booth jumped over the line to put the visitors in front.
A 50-yard field goal by Hayworth with 10:21 remaining in the game stretched the margin to 26-16. After the Gamecocks fumbled the ball away on their next possession, Eastern strung together a drive that covered just 32 yards, but took 6:41 off the clock. Hayworth’s fifth field goal of the game, this time from 28 yards, pushed the advantage to 13, 29-16.
Jacksonville State answered with a quick touchdown, moving 75 yards in 1:42. An 18-yard pass to KJ Stepherson from Zerrick Cooper, coupled with the extra-point, made it a 6-point game with 1:42 left. EKU had to punt the ball away with 27 seconds remaining, but the Gamecocks only had 18 seconds to work with when they took over at their own seven yard line. JSU did not pick up a first down and the game ended on Aaron Patrick’s second sack of the game.
The senior defensive end finished with two sacks in the game and 10 for the season. He moved into second place on EKU’s all-time sacks list with 27.5 for his career.
Eastern out-gained Jacksonville State (6-6, 3-5 OVC) 396-391. The Colonels held a 203 to 80 advantage on the ground and held the ball for 11:20 longer than the Gamecocks.
Blount finished 18-for-35 for 172 yards with one touchdown pass. McCleskey rushed for 110 yards on 24 carries. Booth had 54 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Corey Glass and Allante Leapheart had nine tackles each for the Colonels.
Cooper threw for 311 yards, finishing 21-for-35 with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also led the team with 44 rushing yards.
The two teams battled to a halftime tie. After JSU took the opening possession and drove 79 yards in seven plays for a touchdown, the Colonels held the home team to a field goal the rest of the half. Jacksonville State’s point-after attempt failed due to a bad snap.
Hayworth tied the game on two second quarter field goals, one from 34 yards and one from 24. Bryant Wallace pushed JSU in front 9-6 when he made a 21-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the second quarter. Hayworth tied it when he put a 25-yarder through the uprights with 15 seconds left in the first half. After starting quarterback Blount had to leave the game on that drive when his helmet came off, Dakota Allen came in and connected on a big 3rd-and-6 pass for 21 yards to the JSU 24.
After the game-tying field goal, the ensuing kickoff was recovered by EKU’s Matthew Jackson at the Gamecock 37 yard line. Eastern picked up seven yards before attempting a 48-yard field goal that came up short as the second quarter clock expired.
TENNESSEE STATE 37, TENNESSEE TECH 27
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Chris Rowland had 148 receiving yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions and Tennessee State rallied to shock Tennessee Tech 37-27 on Saturday.
Tennessee State (3-9, 2-6 Ohio Valley Conference) overcame first-half deficits of 20-0 and 27-10 and used the final quarters to stage the comeback.
Down 17 at the half, Te'kendrick Roberson ran it in from 14 yards to complete an 11-play, 81-yard drive to start the third quarter. The two-point conversion failed. Later, Rowland threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Rosendahl and reduced the deficit to 27-23.
More than midway through the fourth, DeMarco Corbin made it 30-27 after his 3-yard TD run. On the Golden Eagles' next drive, Seth Rowland got free and blocked Luke Maynard's punt that Jordan Bell recovered in the end zone with 4:44 left.
The Tigers entered with three straight defeats and had been beaten in nine of their last 10 games. It's the second straight year the Tigers have beaten Tennessee Tech (6-6, 3-5). Tennessee State ended the season with consecutive defeats.
#19 AUSTIN PEAY 35, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - For the first time since 1977, the Govs are the class of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The word 'incredible' gets thrown around a lot, but this is nothing short of incredible. It's not just that Austin Peay State University's football team was the doormat of the league for years--they were cellar-dwellers for decades at a time, the perennial last-place choice at league media day year-in and year-out. Entire classes of players came and went without winning nine games, which these Govs just did for the first time in program history.
It is a new day. And despite the coolness and the precipitation in Clarksville tonight, it is glorious. The Govs are OVC champions.
Austin Peay got on the board first; after pinning Eastern Illinois deep and forcing a punt, the Govs took over and marched 61 yards in less than four minutes. The first scoring drive featured a healthy dose of JaVaughn Craig Rivers and Baniko Harley; first was a 16-yard hookup to move the Govs into Panther territory, then a clutch 13-yard scramble by the senior quarterback on fourth down. Finally, Craig Rivers hit Harley from 13 yards out to get the Govs on the board for the first time.
Just when it looked as though the Govs were going to have the game in hand, disaster struck. After leading Austin Peay into the Eastern Illinois red zone, Craig Rivers lofted a pass toward DeAngelo Wilson but led him too far and wound up in the hands of J.J. Ross. The Panthers would march 75 yards, with Darshon McCullough going the last 47 himself on the second quarter's first snap to tie the game.
The Govs needed less than two minutes to answer. Craig Rivers hit Harley for gains of 30 and 39 yards to get the Govs inside the EIU 10, then took it the last five himself for the score, his season's seventh on the ground.
When the offense stalled or the defense simply needed to catch its breath, Craig Rivers--formerly doing business as JaVaughn Craig before adding Rivers to his last name this week in honor of his stepfather--was the man the Govs turned to. It's a microcosm of the season, really; way back in Week 2, when Jeremiah Oatsvall went down and things looked dire, it was Craig Rivers emerging from the proverbial phone booth, ready to be Superman, that helped save the Govs season. Late in the first half, after Austin Peay forced a punt with 2:30 to play, the signal-caller engineered a four-play scoring drive that saw him Prince Momodu for 14 yards and Gorel Soumare for 12 before running the final 19 on his own to send the Govs into the break with a 21-7 lead.
When another Craig Rivers-to-Harley toss, this from nine yards out, made the score 28-7, that was the build to crescendo. When the Govs stopped the ensuing Eastern Illinois drive on downs at midfield, taking over with 2:30 to play in the third and holding a three-score lead, that was the moment reality set in.
The Govs were gonna do this. They were going to be Ohio Valley Conference Champions and go to the FCS playoffs.
Just because we hadn't gotten to mention him yet, Craig Rivers hit DeAngelo Wilson for a 40-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but by that point, it was over. There was too much momentum. This program had come too far to relinquish that kind of lead. The universe is simply not that cruel.
The players and coaches deserve all the credit, here. In modern FCS football history, joining up with Austin Peay football had never been a cause celebre; it was likely to lead to more questions than answers. The past must be acknowledged; their struggle helped lead to this incredible moment we all got to witness Saturday night.
That era had ended a while ago for those in the know. In practicality if not necessarily in record, it ended the second this senior class, with program-changers like Craig Rivers, Kentel Williams, Trent Taylor and Juantarius Bryant in the fold, elected to come to Clarksville. That perception ended among our league brethren when the Govs won eight games and the first of three straight Sgt. York Trophy's in 2017.
Tonight, Austin Peay changed a nation's mind. Twenty-four teams get to vie for the FCS title. For the first time ever, Austin Peay will be one of them.
KENTUCKY 50, UT MARTIN 7
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team saw its season come to a close on the soggy turf of Kroger Field, falling to Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky 50-7.
The Skyhawks saw their season conclude with an overall record of 7-5 after going 6-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. UT Martin finished in third place in the league standings, just one game out of first place while securing the most wins for the program since 2016. Additionally, the Skyhawk defense finished the season ranked first in the OVC in scoring defense, allowing 19.5 points per game.
In today's contest, UT Martin struggled on both sides of the ball against a stingy offense and a potent rushing attack. With Kentucky entering the game with one of the nation's top rushing attacks and defensive squads, the Wildcats rolled to a program-record 462 rushing yards while limiting the Skyhawks to 204 yards of total offense.
Freshman quarterback John Bachus III completed 17-of-30 pass attempts for 157 yards despite being under pressure all afternoon and being sacked five times. With his 131 yards of total offense, Bachus concludes the season with 2,642 yards of total offense – which ranks fifth in single-season history – while also tallying 2,539 passing yards which ranks eighth.
Graduate running back Jaimiee Bowe posted his 22nd career rushing touchdown in the contest, scoring on a six-yard carry in the fourth quarter. His touchdown gave Bowe sole possession of third place on the program's career rushing touchdown leaderboard. Another senior of note is Terry Williams who finished his Skyhawk career with 125 receptions which ranks sixth in program history after tallying eight catches for 74 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore safety Deven Sims posted a career-high with nine tackles while graduate linebacker Cecil Cherry ranked second on the team with eight stops. Junior safety Takeem Young would also make a statement by recording his second interception of the season while tallying a pair of pass breakups.