SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#17 Southeast Missouri 38, Eastern Kentucky 31
@Tennessee Tech 37, Jacksonville State 27
Eastern Illinois 49, @Tennessee State 38
@#24 Austin Peay 38, UT Martin 24
#17 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 38, EASTERN KENTUCKY 31
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - .Kristian Wilkerson had a season-high 254 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Zion Custis ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the game-winner to lead #17 Southeast Missouri (7-3, 5-1) to a 38-31 come-from-behind win over Eastern Kentucky (5-5, 3-3) Saturday at Houck Field.
SEMO trailed, 31-14, with 10:11 remaining in the third quarter before scoring 24 unanswered points to grab its 12th-straight victory at home. The Redhawks scored 17 points in the fourth quarter alone.
The Redhawks took the field for their inaugural Impact Game playing for special individuals who have made a difference in their lives.
With its victory today, SEMO secured a winning season in back-to-back years for the first time in its NCAA Division I history. The Redhawk senior class has won 22 games and is the winningest senior class since SEMO turned Division I in 1991.
The Redhawks, who had five turnovers, overcame that misfortune with huge plays on both sides of the football.
After Daniel Santcaterina's 4-yard touchdown run tied the game at 31-31 with 5:55 left to play, SEMO's defense made a huge stop on EKU's ensuing drive.
The Colonels went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Redhawks 31-yard line, but fell short of a first down when Daryl McCleskey was tackled by Mike Matthews and Lawrence Johnson at the line of scrimmage.
SEMO took over on downs with 1:32 on the clock and Santacaterina immediately completed a 19-yard pass to Wilkerson to get the Redhawks to midfield.
An 18-yard run by Custis moved SEMO into EKU territory. Three plays later, Custis sprinted 12 yards into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with a little under one minute to go (:55).
EKU managed to get to SEMO's 38-yard line and had one final chance, but Shabari Davis intercepted Parker McKinney's hail mary pass to nail down the win.
Zack Smith also scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Santacaterina (5:11, third quarter) and Kendrick Tiller kicked a 40-yard field goal (5:55, fourth quarter) during SEMO's stretch of 24 unanswered points.
Santacaterina completed 63 percent (17-of-27) of his passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, and Wilkerson caught 10 passes for an average of 25.4 yards per reception. Custis added 83 yards on 16 carries. Wilkerson now has the top two single-game receiving yard marks in school history (363 at UT Martin in 2018; 354 vs. EKU in 2019).
SEMO outgained EKU, 466-322, for the day.
Zach Hall finished with a game-high 11 tackles to lead the Redhawk defense.
The Colonels scored three of their four touchdowns on the ground with McCleskey, McKinney and Alonzo Booth running for one each.
TENNESSEE TECH 37, JACKSONVILLE STATE 27
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The last time Tennessee Tech saw victory over Jacksonville State in Cookeville was a come-from-behind victory that spoiled the Gamecocks' Ohio Valley Conference championship bid in 2010. The following year, the Golden Eagles won the OVC's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Granted, that's talking about a year from now. Tennessee Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander isn't finished talking about this year yet.
With the 37-27 victory over Jacksonville State in Saturday's Homecoming game, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Gamecocks, the Golden Eagles improve to 6-4 on the season – the most wins since going 7-4 in 2011 and tied for the 16th most wins in a single-season in Tech's 98 seasons of play.
Bailey Fisher, Tech's sophomore quarterback, put the offense on his back as he rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns – the first Golden Eagle quarterback to rush for over 100 yards since Brock McCoin's 115-yard rushing game against Austin Peay in 2015 – while also completing 20 of his 27 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns for 334 yards of total offense.
Fisher threw touchdown strikes to Metrius Fleming – a three-yard pass for his third touchdown of the season – as well as the first career TD for Brad Clark, a 26-yarder in the third quarter.
Senior kicker Haidar Zaidan also made a strong case for himself for the league's specialist of the week as he went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a career-long 54-yard kick. He also connected from 28 and 21 to add to the Golden Eagle lead. He was also 4-for-4 on PATs, putting him at 13 of the Golden Eagles' 37 points.
Tech ended the game with 398 yards of total offense. The Golden Eagles were also a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone.
Meanwhile, JSU's Zerrick Cooper still threw for 312 yards as he completed 28 of his 41 passes with three touchdowns, including two to Josh Pearson to extend his school-record touchdown total to 30. The wideout also ended the game with 142 yards on eight catches.
The Gamecocks also rushed for 139 yards to finish the contest with 451 offensive yards.
The big thing was that the Golden Eagles' defense – particularly the defensive line – found ways to make stops as JSU was only able to get within the Tech 20 three times in the contest. Seth Carlisle ended the game with 11 tackles to lead the Golden Eagles, while Cameron Hudson (seven tackles) had a fumble recovery and Tai Carter (two tackles) had an interception.
Chris Tucker, Henry Karimu and Jale'n Gladney also recorded sacks to put pressure on Cooper. The Golden Eagles ended the day with seven tackles-for-loss for 23 yards, while also breaking up four passes and three QB hurries.
Tech was also able to control time of possession, holding a 35:08 to 24:52 advantage.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 49, TENNESSEE STATE 38
NASHVILLE - After gambling on 4th down most of the season, it was a different gamble by Eastern Illinois head coach Adam Cushing that paid off. Trailing 38-35, EIU pulled off an onside kick with 5 seconds left in the third quarter and eventually cashed it in for a 42-38 lead with just over 10 minutes left to go in the game.
EIU would tack on an insurance touchdown midway through the fourth quarter as the Panthers picked up their first win of the season with a 49-38 win at Tennessee State.
EIU improved to 1-9 on the season, 1-5 in the OVC. TSU fell to 2-8 overall, 1-5 in the OVC.
Charles Shelton recovered the onside kick and James Sheehan caught his second touchdown pass of the game to give EIU the lead with 10:17 to play.
On the other side of the ball, EIU’s defense stepped up in the second half allowing only three TSU points after trailing 35-21 at the half. The Panthers had three sacks on TSU’s final two offensive possessions with Jason Johnson forcing a fumble on the first of those Tiger drives. Jaelin Benefield scored one play later for the Panthers final score with a 9-yard run with 7:21 left in the game.
Benfield finished the day rushing for 105 yards and two scores as the Panthers had their best rushing attack of the season. Senior Darshon McCullough had 155 yards on the ground as EIU churned out 265 on the ground.
As has been customary in their recent meetings, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State put points on the scoreboard as both teams had two touchdowns in the opening quarter.
TSU drove the length of the field on the opening drive scoring a short run by DeMarco Corbin to lead 6-0 after the extra point attempt was missed. EIU answered on its first drive with Benefield breaking off a 45-yard run from the wildcat formation on a fourth down play to put the Panthers up 7-6.
TSU regained the lead on the next possession driving the field with quarterback Cameron Rosendahl rushing in from 3-yards out. Chris Rowland scored on a 2-point conversion to put TSU up 14-7.
The Tigers would stop EIU on the Panthers next offensive drive but quickly turned it back over as Edwyn Brown intercepted a tipped pass by Dytarious Johnson. Brown returned the interception to the TSU 15-yard line and McCullough scored on a 15-yard run on the next play to knot the game at 14-14.
The scoring continued in the second quarter with special teams playing a factor. EIU’s first punt of the game was returned by Chris Rowland for a 57-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 21-14 with 12:16 to play in the first half. TSU would gain 224 yards on the day on punt and kickoff returns.
Rowland continued his big day on the next TSU drive as he hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Rosendahl. Rosendahl would connect with Steven Newbold just before halftime to put TSU up 35-21. Rosendahl finished the day with 209 yards passing.
EIU added its third touchdown following its second forced turnover of the game. Ameer Aqel forced a fumble on a punt that EIU recovered deep in TSU territory. The Panthers would score on a Sheehan 12-yard touchdown pass from Harry Woodbery. Woodbery passed for 206 yards.
The Panthers moved to within one score midway through the third quarter as Isaiah Hill had a 4-yard touchdown run on an end around. The score was set up by a big run by McCullough.
Antonio Zita extended TSU’s lead to ten points with a field goal in the third quarter after EIU made a defensive stand inside the ten yard line. D’Mitri George made two of the three stops inside the ten.
Jason Johnson would lead EIU on the day with nine tackles. Dytarious Johnson had seven tackles and two forced fumbles. EIU limited TSU to just 62 yards of offense in the second half.
Nick Harper led TSU with 11 tackles. Terry Straughter had nine tackles with 2.5 for loss.
#24 AUSTIN PEAY 38, UT MARTIN 24
CLARSKVILLE, Tenn. - In one of the biggest games in program history – Homecoming and a battle to stay atop the Ohio Valley Conference – Austin Peay State University's football team showed up in a big way, holding UT Martin's offense to minus-25 rushing yards as they claimed a 38-24 win in the season's penultimate home game.
It was a slow start to the game for the Governors offense, losing a fumble and punting in their first two drives. But while the offense sputtered early, the defense came out on the attack. The Govs defense forced a punt on each of UT Martin's first three drives. Kordell Jackson recorded a sack to slow the first drive, Jack McDonald got to the quarterback to end the second drive, and on the third Josephus Smith and Pat Walker combined for a tackle for a loss to pin the Skyhawks back on the five yard line on first down.
After the defense forced the third UT Martin punt of the day, the Govs offense finally kicked it into gear as the clock ticked down on the first quarter. The Govs started a drive with 57 seconds left in the first, and the drive seemed like it would end with a field goal when Logan Birchfield was sent out for a 30-yard attempt. JaVaughn Craig took the snap and pitched to Ahmad Tanner who scampered for six yards and a Govs first down.
On the very next play from scrimmage, wide receiver Baniko Harley lined up to take the snap in the "Wild Gov" formation. Harley followed running back Prince Momodu right back up the middle for a seven yard touchdown run to break the scoreless tie and jump-start the Governor offense.
With UT Martin down seven points and their offense unable to move the ball on the ground, the Skyhawks attempted to throw a deep ball to get things moving. To the surprise of nobody in Clarksville, Tennessee, the pass was picked off by Kordell Jackson, his seventh of the season.
On the second play after the Jackson interception, the Kentel Williams show began. Williams ran off left-tackle into a pile of blockers and would-be tacklers. Williams kept the wheels churning, and when the Skyhawk players thought he was down, broke free and raced 67-yards untouched to the endzone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
With all the momentum, Mark Hudspeth and Co. did not take their foot off the gas. On the very next drive the Governors faced a fourth and one on the UT Martin 49-yard line, they went for it, and converted thanks to a three yard rush from Harley. The conversion led to a 23-yard Logan Birchfield field goal, giving the Governors a 17-0 lead. UT Martin would tack on three points of their own, but the Govs still carried a two touchdown lead ito halftime.
When the Govs offense turned the ball over on their first drive out of the halftime break, the defense stepped up once again. On UT Martin's first play after taking possession, Smith sacked Skyhawks quarterback John Bachus for the second time. On the next play, Shaun Whittinghill and John Wesley Whiteside combined for a three yard tackle for a loss. On third and 21, Bachus' pass attempt would fall incomplete and the Govs defense would force the fifth Skyhawk punt of the game.
With the ball back, the Govs offense started clicking once again. Two more rushes by Williams, then a 28-yard strike from Craig to Harley. Then Craig did it with his legs, running for ten yards over the next two plays. Then Craig went back to his favorite target, DeAngelo Wilson for a 28-yard completion to put the Govs on the UT Martin five yard line. Williams did the rest from there, punching it in from five yards out on the very next play for his second touchdown of the game, and the Govs led 24-3.
UT Martin would get one touchdown back on their next drive, cutting the Govs lead to 24-10. The Govs would punt the ball back to UT Martin on their final drive of the third quarter. The ensuing Skyhawk drive saw them move the ball all the way to the Austin Peay 29 yard line, where they made the decision to go for it on fourth and five. With pressure from McDonald and Kwame Sutton, Bachus' fourth down pass fell to the turf and the Govs offense had the ball again.
Rushes from Craig and Williams set the Governors up just short of midfield. Then Craig found Wilson again, who had managed to get loose behind the Skyhawks secondary, for a 49-yard completion to set the Governors up inside the five-yard line. It only took one play from there, as Williams struck pay dirt for the third time in the game, extending the Govs lead back to three touchdowns.
UT Martin would score again on the next drive, but the Governors offense would answer again. A nine play, 54-yard drive was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown scamper from Momodu and the Govs led by three touchdowns once again, with just four minutes left in the game.
UT Martin would score again to close the gap just a bit, but the Governors recovered the onside kick. Craig and the Governors offense trotted back out on the field one last time, where they would assume the victory formation. Craig would drop to a knee twice as time expired and the Governors claimed their third straight win.
When the dust settled, the sheer dominance of the Governors defensive front could be seen. Led by Smith, the Govs defense held UT Martin to minus 25-yards on the ground, recorded a program record-tying six sacks, and nine tackles for loss. The Govs run defense had everyone's attention before the game, but they discovered a new level of dominance against the Skyhawks.