SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 32, Tennessee Tech 27
@Austin Peay 42, Eastern Illinois 26
@#11 UT Martin 41, Tennessee State 20
MURRAY STATE 32, TENNESSEE TECH 27
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State used a huge defensive effort and a record-breaking performance from Marcis Floyd to top Tennessee Tech, 32-27, Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
Murray State jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first with an Aaron Baum field goal followed by a three-yard rush from Damonta Witherspoon. After Tech got within three at the end of the first, DJ Williams completed a 79-yard drive by scoring from six-yards out to extend the lead to 17-7.
On the ensuing Tennessee Tech drive, Marcis Floyd took a Willie Miller pass 90 yards to for a touchdown for the second pick-six of his career. He followed it with another interception two drives later leading to another Baum field goal and giving MSU a 27-7 break.
The Golden Eagles scored the lone touchdown of the third to trim the lead to 13 points. After a third Baum field goal to start the fourth, Tech answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to cut the deficit to 10, however Floyd intercepted the two-point try and returned it 99 yards to give MSU two points of its own. The Golden Eagles scored once more with under a minute to play, but it did not matter as MSU held on for the win.
DJ Williams was 12-for-19 for 137 yards passing in the game, while rushing for an additional 83 and a touchdown. Damonta Witherspoon led the rushing attack for the Racers with 87 yards and a score, while LaMartez Brooks had a team-high 79 yards receiving.
Floyd finished the game with seven tackles, a sack, two interceptions for a school-record 117 return yards, a touchdown and a defensive PAT. Eric Samuta posted a game-high 11 tackles to go along with a forced fumble, while Luwaun Powell posted two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and seven solo tackles.
Floyd broke a 37-year old record Saturday when he racked up 117 return yards on two interceptions. Floyd had a pick-six for 90-yards and an additional interception for 27 yards. The previous record of 115 yards was set by Ralph Robinson in 1984 against Akron. Additionally, Floyd was only two yards away from the OVC record of 119 yards set by Bobby Sipio of Western Kentucky in 2000 against Tennessee State.
AUSTIN PEAY 42, EASTERN ILLINOIS 26
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Jonathan Edwards intercepted three passes as part of a program record six-interception day as Austin Peay State University’s football team overcame a rough start to power past Eastern Illinois 42-26 in Ohio Valley Conference action, Saturday, at Fortera Stadium.
Edwards’ three-pick day – all coming in the first half – is tied for second-most in program history, most since Thomas Sexton’s three-interception day against Kentucky Wesleyan in 2001. Shae Simmons added two second-half interceptions, and Koby Perry chipped in an interception. The six Austin Peay interceptions tied the program record set in both 1999 and 2001 against Kentucky Wesleyan.
The interceptions were just part of a stellar Governors defensive performance, including season highs in tackles for loss (9) and sacks (5). Austin Peay (4-5, 2-2 OVC) leaned on that defense as they fell into an early hole on the scoreboard and mounted a steady comeback.
First, the Governors had to survive an inauspicious start that saw them commit turnovers on two of their first three plays from scrimmage. The Governors’ defense limited the damage from those giveaways to a field goal and a touchdown meaning Austin Peay trailed 10-0 with 11:57 remaining in the first quarter.
The Governors traded touchdowns with the Panthers for nearly the rest of the half. Austin Peay gained the lead for good after Eastern Illinois turned the ball over on downs in its territory. The Governors needed just one play to take the lead as Draylen Ellis connected with Drae McCray for a 43-yard touchdown with a Maddux Trujillo PAT giving the APSU a 21-20 lead.
A few drives later, Eastern Illinois (1-9, 1-4 OVC) threatened to regain the lead, driving to the Austin Peay 15-yard line. Edwards ended the threat with his second interception, this time in the end zone.
Ellis led the Govs down the field quickly after the change in possession and needed five plays to cover 80 yards. Snead broke off the first of two big plays on the drive, his 33-yard run taking the ball into EIU territory. Two plays later, Ellis found a wide-open C.J. Evans for a 33-yard touchdown completion and a 28-20 lead that lasted until halftime.
The Governors extended their lead with the second half’s first two touchdowns. In the third quarter, Ellis found Minter down the Govs’ sideline for a 59-yard touchdown and a 34-21 lead with 1:07 left. A Koby Perry interception and return set up a short drive to start the fourth quarter, Snead capping the 22-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run for a 41-20 lead.
Ellis completed 11-of-22 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns – five of his completions going for more than 30 yards. McCray caught six passes for a career-high 137 yards and two touchdowns. Eugene Minter also caught three passes for a career-high 132 yards and a touchdown. Snead added 93 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.
Edwards added two pass breakups, four tackles, and a half tackle for loss to his three-interception day. Meanwhile, Terrell Allen led the defensive line group with three tackles and 2.5 sacks. Additionally, Jack McDonald led the way with nine tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
Eastern Illinois (1-9, 1-4 OVC) saw its quarterbacks go 28-for-57 for 303 yards but threw just one touchdown against six interceptions. Wide receiver Isaiah Hill caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Tyris Harvey had a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter, and Jordan Vincent forced a fumble on the game’s first play from scrimmage and had an interception later in the game.
#11 UT MARTIN 41, TENNESSEE STATE 20
MARTIN, Tenn. - The No. 11 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team protected its home turf of Hardy Graham Stadium on Saturday afternoon, knocking off Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State to not only cap off the home portion of the 2021 schedule with an unblemished record but tie the program's longest winning streak with its eighth consecutive victory by a final score of 41-20.
With the win, the Skyhawks (8-1, 4-0 OVC) remained atop the league standings as the only unbeaten program for another week while picking up their eighth win of the season – becoming just the ninth team in the program's 92-year history to accomplish the feat. The victory also tied other historic teams (1936, 1988 and 2006) by winning eight straight games – a streak which ranks as the second-longest active winning streak in FCS.
UT Martin also took a big step in returning the coveted Sgt. York Trophy back to Martin. After sharing the trophy last season with Tennessee Tech, the Golden Eagles claimed the physical trophy due to tie-breaker rules. With wins over Austin Peay and Tennessee State, the Skyhawks now hold a 2-0 record in this season's York series heading into next week's matchup against Tech.
In a matchup which featured the OVC's top offense (UT Martin) against the league's top defense (Tennessee State), the Skyhawks lived up to their billing on both sides of the ball. Entering the contest, the Skyhawks led the league and ranked ninth in the country with their rushing attack and followed that up by recording a season-high with 298 yards on the ground while scoring four touchdowns – well above the Tigers 155.3 yards allowed per game.
While the Skyhawks did not garner top billing in the league's defensive statistics but rather ranking second in several major categories, the team showed their grit by holding the Tigers to just six points through the first three quarters while forcing a pair of turnovers – including an interception returned for a touchdown in the closing seconds. UT Martin especially flexed in the run game where it held its fourth opponent below 100 yards on the ground this season, limiting the Tigers to just 96 yards on 26 carries.
Running back Zak Wallace continued his breakout season for the Skyhawks by tallying 14 carries for 123 yards while scoring two touchdowns. The redshirt-freshman averaged 8.8 yards per carry while scoring on touchdown runs of 22 and 36 yards, respectively. His two-touchdown performance pushed his season total up to 11 and into the program's single-season top-10 – tying Don Chapman (2007) and Wilbur Edmiston (1960) for sixth place.
Quarterback Keon Howard also cemented his spot in the UT Martin record books with his three-touchdown performance on Saturday. On the same day in which he was honored pregame as one of 18 graduating players, Howard showed his dual-threat ability by compiling 199 yards of total offense while scoring three touchdowns – including two rushing and one passing. With his two rushing touchdowns, he not only set the program's single-season rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks with his 10th – surpassing Leon Reed's previous record of eight set in 1988 – but joined Wallace in the program's overall single-season top-10 by joining Larry Shanks (1967), Marcus Dawson (2007) and Tim Beattie (1998) in a tie for ninth place.
Defensively, the Skyhawks were led individually by linebacker John Ford who equaled his career-high with 12 tackles while tallying a pass breakup and his team-best third interception of the season – returning it 75 yards for his second career pick-six. Fellow linebacker D'Carrious Stephens and safety Oshae Baker ranked second on the team with seven tackles each while Daylan Dotson paced the team with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Meanwhile, reigning FCS National Defensive Player of the Week Eyabi Anoma added to his OVC-leading sack total with his sixth of the campaign.
UT Martin found a couple key contributors on special teams this afternoon. Multi-purpose specialist Tyler Larco contributed heavily in the punting game, tallying two punts for 46.0 yards per attempts – including a game-long 51-yarder. He also made five point after attempts. The team's other highlight was graduate defensive end David DuBose who took a direct snap off a punt and rushed 29 yards for a first down to pick up a key fourth down conversion to set up the game's first touchdown.
It took a bit for either team to find its groove on the offensive side of the ball until the Skyhawks used its bit of trickery in their final drive of the first quarter to jump start their initial scoring drive. With a fresh set of drives and in TSU territory, Howard put the Skyhawks on the board just two plays into the second quarter by finding Randy Fields, Jr. for his first touchdown in a Skyhawk uniform with a 13-yard strike to put the home squad up 7-0 – capping off a 9-play, 69-yard drive.
After Tennessee State responded with a scoring drive of its own on the ensuing drive, resulting with a 28-yard field goal by Antonio Zita to cut the margin to 7-3, UT Martin looked to add to its margin in the second. The drive started with a 38-yard carry by Peyton Logan to move into TSU territory. Following big carries by both Wallace and Howard to secure first downs, it was Howard to would add the next touchdown as he punched it in from one-yard for his ninth score of the year to make it a 14-3 contest.
The fireworks were not over yet, as Jay Rogers and Daylan Dotson strip-sacked quarterback Geremy Hickbottom on Tennessee State's first play of the following possession with Dotson coming up with the fumble to give the Skyhawks possession on the TSU 26. The Skyhawks would not waste their prime scoring position as Wallace found the endzone just three plays later on his first touchdown of the day on a 22-yard carry over the left side to give UT Martin a 21-3 lead heading into halftime.
Despite being held to just 23 yards in the quarter, Tennessee State tallied the lone points of the third quarter as place kicker James Lowery made a 26-yard attempt midway through the period to trim the deficit to 15 points.
Action would pick up on both sides in the fourth quarter. Looking to get back in the game, TSU pieced together a lengthy eight-play drive which traveled 85 yards resulting in a five-yard touchdown by Devon Starling to cut the margin down to a one-score margin at 21-13.
The only time wasted answered TSU's scoring drive came on a methodical scoring drive by the home team. With the clock on their side, the Skyhawks milked nearly five minutes off the scoreboard by tallying four first downs on a nine-play drive before a 21-yard rushing touchdown by Howard pushed UT Martin's lead back out to 27-13 with a little over six minutes to play.
Tennessee State did not go away quietly as the visitors came back once again with another 10-play drive to march down the field and into the red zone. The drive was highlighted by a key 23-yard pass completion from Hickbottom to Dayton Johnson on 4th-and-13 from the TSU 32 to extend their comeback attempt. Once in the red zone, Hickbottom found Johnson again – this time in the endzone – for a 12-yard touchdown connection to make it a 27-20 contest with 1:47 to play.
After recovering an onside kick attempt, many figured the Skyhawks would just try to run out the clock with a first down or two to use up TSU's remaining timeouts. After an initial timeout following an eight-yard rush by Wallace, the powerback found a seam and kept running all the way towards the endzone for a 36-yard touchdown to pad the home team's lead out to 34-20. Then a few plays later with TSU making a final push, Ford intercepted a deep pass attempt by Hickbottom and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds to play to bring the final score to 41-20.