SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Indiana State 16,
Eastern Illinois 6
Eastern Kentucky 35, @Presbyterian 10
@#23 Southeast Missouri 56, West Virginia State 10
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 37,
@Tennessee State 31
Tennessee Tech 38, @Western Illinois 24
@#10 Jacksonville State 30, North Alabama 12
@Murray State 59, Morehead State 7
@East Tennessee State 20,
Austin Peay 14
INDIANA STATE 16, EASTERN ILLINOIS 6
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Eastern Illinois found the end zone in the third quarter and was driving for a potential game tying score in the fourth quarter when the fourth Panthers turnover of the day stalled the drive. Indiana State would turn that turnover into an insurance field goal to beat EIU 16-6 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
EIU falls to 0-4 on the season while ISU improved to 2-2.
After not turning the ball over in the last two games, Eastern Illinois had a turnover on its opening possession – one of four Panthers turnovers on the day.
The EIU defense was up to the task as they held Indiana State to a 23-yard Jerry Nunez field goal after giving the Sycamores the ball on the 38-yard line. It was one of three times on the day that EIU's defense limited Nunez to a short field goal following a turnover.
One of the biggest turnovers of the game came early in the fourth quarter as Denzel Bonner's interception ended a potential game tying drive by EIU. Bonner picked off the pass at the ISU 40 and returned it to the EIU 29. Indiana State would score six plays later to go up 16-6 on a 21-yard field goal by Nunez.
EIU's defense was able to force turnovers of its own. JJ Ross ended an ISU drive in the first quarter with an interception. In the second quarter Anthony Shockey forced a fumble which was recovered by Terrell Greer. Austin Johnson (13 tackles), Dytarious Johnson (10 tackles) and Antonio Crosby (10 tackles) would lead the Panthers in tackles as the defense was active on the afternoon.
The Sycamores big play in the first half came late in the first quarter as back-up quarterback Kurt Wilderman hit Rontrez Morgan for a pass down the near sideline for 69 yards which put ISU up 10-0 at the time. Indiana State would hold a 13-0 lead at the halftime. Wilderman was 14-of-22 for 186 yards while rushing for a team high 50 yards.
In the third quarter Harry Woodbery was able to move the Panthers down the field as they cashed in for their first touchdown since the second quarter of the season opener at Chattanooga. Woodbery scrambled for a 4-yard touchdown on 4th and goal with 1:10 left in the quarter. EIU was within one score at 13-6 after missing the extra point.
EIU's potential game tying drive would end on the fourth turnover of the day for the Panthers. Woodbery finished the day 8-of-22 for 63 yards with two interceptions. Chris Walker rushed for 49 yards on ten carries.
Indiana State had one additional chance to add to the lead in the fourth quarter but a Kylan Cole sack on third down pushed Nunez back for a long field goal attempt which sailed left with 1:28 left in the game.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 35, PRESBYTERIAN 10
CLINTON, S.C. - Eastern Kentucky University’s football team scored 28 unanswered points on its way to a 35-10 victory at Presbyterian College on Saturday.
EKU running back Daryl McCleskey Jr. scored a touchdown while churning out 138 yards on 12 carries, an average of 11.5 per touch. Redshirt freshman quarterback Parker McKinney finished 14-for-20 for 155 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. Newcomer Keyion Dixon caught six passes, including a scoring reception, for 101 yards.
Joseph Sayles had two interceptions for a Colonel defense that held the Blue Hose to 224 total yards.
With Eastern (2-2) trailing 10-7 with 36 seconds left in the first quarter, McKinney got a quick drive started. On the second play he ended the quarter with a 45-yard pass to Dixon over the middle to the PC 10 yard line. On the first play of the second quarter McKinney and Dixon hooked up for the go-ahead score. The 3-play, 65-yard drive took just 35 seconds.
The Colonels put some distance between the two teams late in the second. Taking over at his own 30 yard line with 2:08 on the clock, McKinney engineered another touchdown drive. He got it started with a 19-yard toss to Davion Ross to reach midfield. A completion to McCleskey along the right sideline moved the ball eight yards and a run up the middle by McKinney picked up eight more to the 11 yard line. Two plays later, McKinney took off around the left side and finished the drive himself with an 11-yard touchdown run. The extra-point made it 21-10 with just 26 seconds to go before the break.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and then Eastern Kentucky put 14 points on the board in a period of 1:02 in the fourth quarter. On the first play of EKU’s second fourth quarter possession, McCleskey ripped of a 63-yard touchdown run down the left side. On the second play of the ensuing Presbyterian possession, Sayles picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 34 yards to the six. McCleskey got the Colonels to the one before McKinney connected with Jaelin Carter in the left corner for six. The extra-point made it 35-10 with 9:30 left in the game.
Eastern totaled a season-best 452 yards of offense – 229 on the ground and a season-high 223 through the air. Presbyterian (0-3) finished with just 100 rushing yards.
#23 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56, WEST VIRGINIA STATE 10
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - #23 Southeast Missouri (2-2) racked up 669 yards of total offense and put an end to a two-game losing skid with a commanding 56-10 victory over West Virginia State (2-1) Saturday afternoon during Family Weekend at Houck Field.
SEMO's 669 yards marked the second-most total yards in a game during its NCAA Division I era.
Daniel Santacaterina completed 15-of-20 passes for a season-high 279 yards and was responsible for three touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). Geno Hess paved the way with 96 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and Mark Robinson followed with 92 yards and a touchdown as the Redhawks piled up 382 yards on the ground.
Three other Redhawks, including Santacaterina, Zion Custis and walk-on Brayden Hull also scored a rushing touchdown.
WVSU faked a punt on a fourth-and-9 and Dant'e Jones ran 31 yards for a first down on the opening drive of the game. The Yellow Jackets managed to get to SEMO's 14-yard line before Martin Ahlstroe's 27-yard field goal sailed wide right.
The Redhawks scored on their next two possessions after that.
Custis picked up 39 yards on five carries and ripped off a 29-yard run to give SEMO a first-and-Goal at the WVSU-5. After the Redhawks were backed up to the Yellow Jackets' 18-yard line following a holding penalty, Santacaterina dashed 18 yards to the end zone to give SEMO a 7-0 lead with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter.
SEMO's defense forced a three-and-out and the Redhawks took over on downs at midfield. On the next play, Santacaterina threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Alston extending the Redhawks lead to 14-0 at the 5:17 mark. Alston scored his first touchdown of the year.
The Redhawks scored twice more in the second quarter to stretch their lead to 28-0 at halftime.
Colby Cornett caught a 26-yard pass from Santacaterina and Hess hit paydirt on an 8-yard run for those scores.
SEMO polished off its victory with another four touchdowns in the second half with 21 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.
Custis scored on a 2-yard run to cap SEMO's longest drive of nine plays and 92 yards with 2:54 left to play in the third quarter.
Hess then scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard run, Robinson crossed the goal line on a 21-yard rush and Hull scored his first career touchdown from eight yards out.
SEMO won its ninth-straight game at home and scored on eight of its 11 drives.
Zach Hall and Lawrence Johnson led the Redhawks defense with seven tackles apiece. Al Young also had an interception. Young tore his Achilles on the play and will miss the rest of the season.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 37, TENNESSEE STATE 31
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State football team fell in a down-to-the-final-play heartbreaker to Arkansas Pine Bluff, 37-31, Saturday afternoon in Hale Stadium.
Trailing for much of the game, Al-Malik Moore caught his first touchdown pass of his career to lift the Tigers to a 24-19 lead over the Golden Lions.
Three of Arkansas Pine-Bluff’s extra point attempts were blocked – two by 6-6 Malik Abdul-Haqq and another by Khalil Jones, allowing the Tigers a chance to make up the seven-point deficit with one minute left on the clock. A toe-dragging touchdown by Steven Newbold tied the game, 31-31. A fourth down, last-minute attempt by UAPB proved successful as the Golden Lions’ Jeremy Brown walked into the end zone on a 17-yard pass, winning the game for Pine Bluff.
Cameron Rosendahl, who has led the Tigers all season, finished the game with 334 passing yards. Local phenom Chris Rowland led the receiving game with 154 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown, followed closely by Newbold with 91 yards on seven carries.
Ronnie Killings and Terry Straughter led the defensive push totaling nine and eight tackles, respectively.
TENNESSEE TECH 38, WESTERN ILLINOIS 24
MACOMB, Ill. - The song may say that the waiting is the hardest part. For the Tennessee Tech football team, the Golden Eagles started its first drive then had to wait as a lightning delay forced the teams back into the locker rooms.
So they waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Following a 2:29 delay – 18 minutes shorter than the Golden Eagles had to endure in last season's opener at Chattanooga – Tech found the end zone on its second drive, quickly forcing the tempo in the contest. The Golden Eagles built on it, then held off Western Illinois for a 38-24 win on Saturday in Macomb, Ill.
The weather wasn't the only thing Tech had been waiting on. The win gave the Golden Eagles their first non-conference road win since beating Hampton in 2013. It was gave Tech its first 3-1 start since the 2011 campaign – the last season the Golden Eagles won a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title and the league's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
While Tech didn't score on its first drive after the weather delay, it did score on the second as Bailey Fisher floated a touchdown pass and lofted it right into the outstretched hands of Darrius Stafford. And as the first quarter came to a close, Tech stood on top.
Western Illinois (0-4) responded with a 21-yard field goal, then Tech added another touchdown before the intermission as Fisher found Tavin Kilpatrick with a 17-yard strike, putting Tech up 14-3 at the half.
Tech then added 10 points to open the third quarter as Fisher ran for the first of his three rushing scores, the first a six-yard run to cap a nine-play, 70-yard drive. Devin Parker extended Tech's lead to 24-3 with a 35-yard field goal.
Western Illinois, however, wasn't going down quietly. Following a quarterback change to Kevin Johnson, the Leatherneck offense started to rally. Before the third quarter closed, Johnson threw a 23-yard TD pass to Jack Whyte.
The fourth quarter opened as Fisher got those points right back, scoring on a one-yard rush to end a seven-play, 70-yard drive. The Parker PAT made it 31-10 with 12:15 left in the contest.
Johnson then took the Leathernecks on a nine-play, 74-yard drive, ending as he found George Wahee on a 18-yard touchdown. WIU then forced a quick turnover as Andre Whitley picked off Fisher – the second time in the contest. The Leathernecks only needed one play to score again as Johnson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Houston. The extra point was good, and it was suddenly a one-possession game once more.
But Fisher engineered a drive to keep Tech far enough on top. Facing second-and-two on the Tech 48, the sophomore QB ran the ball three straight times – 12 yards, 14 yards and 26 yards for the touchdown.
Tech needed another stop to put the game away and it got it as Seth Carlisle intercepted Johnson on 2nd-and-14 from the Golden Eagle 37, putting the final nail in the coffin.
From there, all the Golden Eagles had to do was run out the clock. Andrew Goldsmith put the final nail in the coffin as he ran for a first down on a 14-yard carry, giving Tech the best two words in football: victory formation.
Carlisle ended the game with two interceptions and three tackles, while Michael Scavo also picked off a pass. Jack Warwick led the Golden Eagles defensively with eight tackles.
Offensively, Tech rolled up 549 yards of total offense to WIU's 380, with the Golden Eagles rushing for 218 yards and passing for 331. Tech went the entire first quarter without rushing the ball, but Fisher wound up with 90 yards and three scores on 13 carries, while Goldsmith had 72 yards on 10 totes.
Fisher also ended the game with 314 yards and two touchdown passes on a 23-for-37 day, despite two interceptions. Goldsmith also completed a 17-yard pass to Kilpatrick to move the chains. Fisher ended the game with 404 yards of total offense, putting the career charts in reach in perhaps Tech's next contest.
Metrius Fleming also had a quiet day of work, hauling in seven passes for 165 yards.
#10 JACKSONVILLE STATE 30, NORTH ALABAMA 12
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Josh Pearson continued his rapid ascent in No. 10 Jacksonville State's record book as the Gamecocks won their final non-conference game of 2019.
The speedy senior receiver hauled in touchdown passes of 12, 67 and 53 yards from Zerrick Cooper as Jacksonville State knocked off UNA 30-12 before a crowd of 21,976 at Burgess-Snow Field. It was the first in a four-game series between the former Gulf South Conference rivals that will see JSU visit Braly Stadium in Florence in 2020.
Pearson caught seven passes for a career-best 149 yards as the Gamecocks (3-1) won their third straight. The Lions, a member of the Big South Conference, fell to 1-3.
Pearson's third career three-touchdown performance moved him into second place on JSU's all-time TD receptions list with 22. With one more score through the air, Pearson will tie Joey Hamilton (1996-99) for most touchdown catches in school history.
The Gamecocks started fast and kept up the pressure throughout the game, a complete reversal from the previous week's win over then-No. 4 Eastern Washington.
Jacksonville State moved 75 yards in 15 plays on the game's opening possession after UNA won the toss and deferred. Cooper completed seven passes on the time-consuming drive, his final completion a 12-yard strike to Pearson with 7:41 to go in the first quarter. Bryant Wallace's extra point gave JSU a 7-0 lead.
UNA answered with a touchdown early in the second quarter, driving 55 yards in eight plays. Terence Humphrey ran in from the 1, but the PAT failed, leaving JSU ahead 7-6 with 14:19 left in the second.
Jaelen Greene scored on a 19-yard run, Wallace kicked a 27-yard field goal and Pearson snagged a 67-yard touchdown toss from Cooper as the Gamecocks struck for 16 points in less than six minutes to extend their lead to 23-6 by halftime.
Pearson later caught a short pass over the middle from Cooper and out-ran UNA's secondary for a 53-yard touchdown with 9:56 left in the game.
Cooper was 19-of-31 for 266 yards. His counterpart, UNA's Christian Lopez, was 21-of-40 for 252 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Gamecocks outgained UNA 373-347.
Zack Woodard was credited with eight tackles to lead the Gamecocks' defensive effort. Traco Williams ad Jeremiah Harris had six each, with Williams also coming up with his fifth career interception.
MURRAY STATE 59, MOREHEAD STATE 7
MURRAY, Ky. - Playing to the largest crowd Roy Stewart Stadium has seen in 21 years, the Murray State football team put on a show Saturday night, defeating Morehead State, 59-7.
Murray State (2-2) accounted for over 500 yards of offense in the game led by incredible performance by quarterback Preston Rice. The redshirt sophomore from Waynesboro, Tennessee was 17-for-24 in the game with no interceptions and four touchdowns on 214 yards. In addition, he rushed for 86 yards on nine carries and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jared McCray in the third quarter.
LaMartez Brooks led the MSU receivers with five catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while Ty Terrell led the special teams with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Defensively, the Racers had five takeaways on the day with four fumble recoveries and an interception and held the Eagles to less than 250 yards of total offense and less than 100 yards rushing. Anthony Koclanakis led the attack for Murray State with eight tackles and an interception, while Scott Humpich had six tackles, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 20, AUSTIN PEAY 14
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.