SATURDAY'S SCORES
#12 Jacksonville State 44, @Eastern Illinois 23
Southeast Missouri 21, @UT Martin 16
@Tennessee Tech 24, Tennessee State 10
@Austin Peay 34, #13 Murray State 31
#12 JACKSONVILLE STATE 44, EASTERN ILLINOIS 23
CHARLESTON, Ill. - No. 12 Jacksonville State did its part on a sunny Saturday afternoon and now four quarters of football stand between the Gamecocks and their eighth - and final - Ohio Valley Conference championship.
The Gamecocks (8-2, 5-1 OVC) erupted for 17 points in a five-minute span in the second quarter in a 44-23 win over Eastern Illinois at O'Brien Field. The victory sets up a showdown for the conference championship on the road against No. 14 Murray State in next week's regular-season finale.
Quarterback Zion Webb threw a pair of touchdowns to Ahmad Edwards and ran for another, and safety Hudson Petty returned a fumble for a touchdown as Jacksonville State knocked off the Panthers for the seventh straight time in what was likely its last trip to EIU.
Uriah West and Josh Samuel contributed short TD runs and Alen Karajic added a career-long 46-yard field goal as JSU rolled up a season-high for total yards (540) and points scored. The Gamecocks had four plays of 40 yards or more against the Panthers (1-5, 1-5 OVC).
Webb completed 16-of-24 passes for 249 yards without an interception after being picked off four times the previous week.
Both of his touchdown passes went to Edwards, who hauled in a 26-yard TD reception in the first quarter and an 11-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter. The sophomore from Alabaster finished with five catches for a career-high 101 yards.
Jacksonville State broke open a tie game midway through the second quarter when West capped off a five-play drive with a three-yard run, his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Karajic's extra point put the Gamecocks ahead 14-7 at the 7:47 mark in the second quarter.
On Eastern Illinois' first play following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, JSU safety Hudson Petty recovered a fumble and sprinted 22 yards to the end zone just eight seconds later. Karajic's PAT stretched the lead to 21-7.
Webb rushed a team-high 15 times for 63 and scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter. Samuel was again the rushing leader with 130 yards on only 12 attempts, including a 64-yard burst deep into EIU territory in the third quarter.
Jaylen Swain led Jacksonville State with eight tackles and Nicario Harper, Marshall Clark and D.J. Coleman were each credited with seven stops. Petty's fumble recovery was the game's only turnover.
No. 14 Murray State, which is ranked for the first time since 2011, entered Saturday's game at Austin Peay with a 5-0 record.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 21, UT MARTIN 16
MARTIN, Tenn. - Andrew Bunch threw for two touchdowns and Geno Hess ran for a game-high 89 yards and one touchdown to lead Southeast Missouri (3-4, 3-3) to a 21-16 win over UT Martin (2-4, 2-4) Saturday afternoon at Graham Stadium.
After Maqwell Odom fumbled the ball on a punt by Zach Haynes, Trai Hodges recovered at the UTM 21-yard line. Two plays after a 15-yard completion from Bunch to Johnny King moved SEMO to the 3-yard line, Hess later hit paydirt on a 1-yard rush to give the Redhawks a 7-0 lead.
A 47-yard field goal by Tyler Larco cut SEMO's lead to 7-3 with 12:42 remaining in the second quarter and that score would remain the same at the half.
SEMO then put up 14 points in the third quarter and that held up big in the end.
Bunch hooked up with Rashaan Palmer on a 74-yard strike just 48 seconds into the quarter. The scoring play marked SEMO's longest of the season and gave Palmer the first touchdown of his career.
After John Bachus threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Colton Dowell to pull the Skyhawks within four (14-10), Zack Smith caught a 3-yard pass in the end zone to widen SEMO's lead to 21-10 with 18 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Skyhawks managed to get one more score, but SEMO ran out the clock when it took over on downs for the final time with 1:39 left to play.
Bunch completed 13-of-22 passes for 151 yards and Hess carried the ball 18 times averaging just under five yards per touch (4.9). He scored his league-high ninth rushing touchdown.
Defensively, SEMO finished with three three takeaways. Lawrence Johnson and Omardrick Douglas each turned in 10 tackles, while Hodges and Bryant Pirtle both recovered fumbles. Kareem Gaulden had an interception, as well.
Additionally, the Redhawks stopped the Skyhawks four times on fourth down.
TENNESSEE TECH 24, TENNESSEE STATE 10
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander’s had quite a few big wins in his career. His 50th however may mean a lot more to him.
As the Golden Eagles recognized their seven 2020-21 seniors before Saturday’s game against Tennessee State, Tech built on that momentum, surging to a 14-0 lead and never looking back as the Golden Eagles topped the visiting Tigers 24-10.
With the victory, Tech has ensured the Sergeant York Trophy is coming back to Cookeville with a share of the title – the Golden Eagles stand at two wins with next week’s game at UT Martin to go in the OVC’s four-team round-robin between the Tennessee schools. Still with pride on the line and the opportunity to win it outright, Tech isn’t celebrating on that just yet.
The Golden Eagles held on to the ball and never let go. From start to finish, Tech rolled up 369 yards on 70 plays and possessed the ball for 35:37. There weren’t any turnovers on the Golden Eagles’ side, while Josh Reliford picked off a pass to set up a scoring drive.
Willie Miller looked comfortable in his third career start at quarterback, completing 14 of his 23 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. The offense pulled together big play after big play – 12 in double-digit yardage – as Tech rushed for 201 yards as well.
Ashton Maples caught a 39-yard pass, while Brad Clark had catches for 33 and 19, while Quinton Cross (20) and D.J. Moyers (17) also had long-distance calls from Miller. On the ground, Kurt Taylor, Jr., had four double-digit rushes including a 46-yarder, while also running for 12, 11 and 10, the latter a touchdown. Jordan Brown also ran for 35, Quinton Cross for 30 and Miller called his own number for 17 yards.
On the other side of the coin, though, Tennessee State collected 13 tackles-for-loss, but it wasn’t enough to slow the Golden Eagles down.
Tech jumped on the scoreboard with 5:45 left as Miller completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Brad Clark to end a six-play, 47-yard drive. The Golden Eagles marched down the field again, collecting 90 yards on 10 plays, ending as Brown took a direct snap and powered forward for the touchdown midway into the second quarter.
Tennessee State found its way on the scoreboard late in the second as Antonio Zita hit a 51-yard field goal. Not to be outdone, Tech freshman kicker Hayden Olsen added a career-long 52 yarder for the lone points in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Tech scored one more time as Reliford intercepted TSU quarterback Deveon Bryant and returned it to the Tiger 10. Taylor took the ball and cut through for the 10-yard touchdown on the next play.
TSU did find the end zone with six minutes to go in the game as Bryant called his own number and ran in for a 13-yard score.
Tech’s defense held TSU to 159 yards on 50 plays, 72 on the ground and 87 through the air. Bryant led the Tigers in rushing with seven carries for 42 yards, while also completing five of 15 passes for 41 yards. Isaiah Green completed eight of his 10 passes for 46 yards.
Seth Carlisle led the Golden Eagles with seven tackles.
AUSTIN PEAY 34, #13 MURRAY STATE 31
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Kicker Grant Paulette booted a 33-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, sending Austin Peay State University football team into jubilation on the home sideline of Fortera Stadium after the Govs secured a 34-31 win against 13th-ranked Murray State, Saturday.
A second-half shootout gave the Govs (4-5, 4-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play) a second-straight win against a top-25 opponent after Austin Peay knocked off Jacksonville State a week ago. Murray State (5-1, 5-1 OVC) will face the Gamecocks next week to decide the OVC for the 2020-21 season.
It was not a fast start for either program Saturday. The teams traded a trio of three-and-outs in the first 2:54 of play before the Govs finally found their way onto the scoreboard. Thanks to pinning the Racers deep to force their second punt of the day, the Govs took over near midfield and were inside the Racer 30-yard line within three plays, two being completions to Baniko Harley for eight and 13 yards. The drive stalled not long after and Grant Paulette, making his spring's first appearance, nailed a 40-yard field goal to get the Govs on the board.
Near the end of the first quarter, the Racers found the counterpunch. Methodically, Murray State chipped its way down the field before a 26-yard Preston Rice-to-Malik Honeycutt strike got the Racers inside the Austin Peay 30-yard line. Four plays later, Aaron Baum hit from 41 yards to tie the game at the
The Govs took over with 1:51 left in the first quarter and drove deep into Racer territory on a 12-play, 75-yard march that spilled deep into the second quarter. Twice, the Govs converted on third-down and once on fourth-and-one when the drive threatened to stall near midfield. After Ahmaad Tanner converted the second third-down attempt, the Govs unveiled some trickery, using the flea-flicker to get the defense to bite on the run. Draylen Ellis took the pitchback from CJ Evans Jr. and hit a streaking Eugene Minter for a 26-yard touchdown.
The Racers answered on the game's next drive, mostly via a 41-yard Rice-to-Jacob Bell completion to get the Racers to the goalline before Rice punched it in from a yard out to tie it at 10. The teams traded halting drives to send the teams into the locker room tied up.
And then the second half started.
You could tell quickly that the halftime adjustments might allow both offenses to gain a little more purchase. It took a whopping three plays for the Govs to find the end zone in the third quarter—Evans for nine yards, Evans again for 52 and then Ellis on an 11-yard scamper for six. Forty-seven seconds needed for the half's first score.
Murray State's Damonta Witherspoon opened the Racers second half with 29 yard and 16-yard scampers. Two plays later, Rice hit LaMartez Brooks for 28 yards for the equalizer. Two minutes and 40 seconds, two touchdowns. Business was picking up for the final 30 minutes.
The Govs began to march again on the next drive. Ellis started finding DeAngelo Wilson in space, for gains of 17, 18 and 21 yards on the drive's first three plays to get into the red zone. The Govs moved to first-and-goal at the Racer five-yard line before Murray State seemed to have solved the run game, dropping Evans and Ellis for losses on back-to-back plays to force fourth-and-goal from the five.
Austin Peay and head coach Scotty Walden could've gone for the chip-shot field goal and the lead, putting pressure on the defense to stop the Racers. Instead, the Governors' first-year head coach called Tanner's number and the senior plowed his way into the end zone to put the Govs up a touchdown.
The Racers went on the march in response. Two Rice-to-Brooks connections converted third downs, and Rodney Castille converted a third-and-one inside the Austin Peay 10-yard line for six yards, down to the two. Rice called his own number again for a score to tie it up heading into the fourth quarter.
Early in the final frame, the Racers took their first lead on an 18-yard Witherspoon tote. With 12:23 to go, the Govs took over trailing by that score and immediately marched down the field. Ellis to Wilson for 11 yards on the first play of the drive. Ellis to Wilson for 10 on second-and-one. On third-and-12, Ellis dropped a perfect pass into Evans' hands for 17 yards.
Ellis then used his feet to convert a third-and-four to get to the Murray State 11-yard line; two plays later, he hit Evans again for 10 yards and a score after the shifty freshman took the screen and eluded a pair of Racers to find the end zone.
With 7:47 to go, the Racers took over; on third-and-one, Hunter Scholato and Matthew Gayle brought down Witherspoon behind the line to force a Racers punt, on what proved to be Murray State's penultimate play from scrimmage
For a team that plays fast as a principle, the Govs proved they could grind when needed, starting the final drive from their own four-yard line with 5:33 to play. Third-and-three, Tanner bounced through the line for 16 yards. Third-and-six, Ellis found Jay Parker for eight over the middle. Tanner for five yards on third-and-four. When they had to find a way, the Govs did.
Once Austin Peay hit midfield, the chunk plays started coming against a weary Racer defense. Ellis—again—to Wilson for 11 yards. Tanner for another huge 16-yard gain to bring the Govs inside the Racer 20-yard line. With 15 seconds left, the Racers called timeout; Tanner gained another five yards and then Ellis took a knee to center Paulette up for a 33-yard attempt with two seconds left.
The Racers had one more play to try some razzle-dazzle, but Elijah Culp brought down Brooks before he could lateral to end the game and secure a second-straight top-15 win for the Govs.