SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 28, @Tennessee Tech 14
@Southeast Missouri 47, Tennessee State 14
@Eastern Kentucky 35,
#19 Austin Peay 27
UT Martin 34, @#9 Jacksonville State 31
EASTERN ILLINOIS 28, TENNESSEE TECH 14
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Turnovers turned into victory for Eastern Illinois football on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers forced four Tennessee Tech turnovers leading to a 28-14 EIU win at Tucker Stadium.
The biggest turnover of the game came midway through the fourth quarter as Tennessee Tech was driving for what appeared to be a game tying touchdown as EIU led 21-14. TTU’s quarterback lost the handle on the football during a scramble inside the 10-yard line. Bryce Dewberry scooped up the loose ball and raced a school record 90-yards for the touchdown.
EIU’s win moved the Panthers to 1-4 on the season but more importantly, 1-0 in the OVC. TTU fell to 0-4 on the year, 0-1 in the league.
Eastern Illinois defense helped set up its two second quarter touchdowns after Tennessee Tech built a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Logen Neidhardt pinned TTU inside its ten yard line on a punt and a big play on third down by Dewberry forced the Golden Eagles to punt from their one-yard line, giving EIU good field position.
DeAirious Smith would catch a seven-yard strike from Otto Kuhns with 6:37 to play in the first half to bring EIU within one point as the extra point was missed. Smith finished the day with six catches for 109 yards.
Kaelin Drakeford would help set up the Panthers second touchdown as the safety picked off a TTU pass with 1:11 left in the half. Kuhns connected with Smith for the second time in the half on a 16-yard touchdown pass to put EIU in the lead with 16 seconds left in the half. Kuhns found DeWayne Cooks for a two-point conversion to give EIU a 14-7 lead at the half.
TTU took the lead 7-0 in the first quarter when Drew Martin hit Quinton Cross on a 62-yard pass.
Arron Foulkes extended EIU’s lead to 21-7 with 5:54 to play in the third quarter scoring on a 24-yard end around. EIU would rush for 121 yards in the game with Harrison Bey-Buie leading the way with 79 yards.
TTU cut the margin to one score with 2:21 left in the third as David Gist rushed in from one yard out. Martin was 5-of-5 on the drive marching the Golden Eagles down the field in six plays. Martin finished the day 26-of-38 passing for 315 yards.
EIU forced two final turnovers on the final two Tennessee Tech possessions of the game as Jordan Miles had a strip sack with 2:45 remaining in the fourth. Miles created another strip sack with 16 seconds left in the contest as Jason Johnson recovered the fumble.
Johnson led an active EIU defense with 16 tackles. Miles had four tackles with two sacks, both forcing fumbles. Tim Varga added two more sacks for EIU’s defense.
TTU’s defense was led by Nyquan Washington and Jack Warwick both with eight tackles. Jamaal Singleton had a first half interception for the Golden Eagles.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 47, TENNESSEE STATE 14
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Geno Hess ran for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns to lead a vicious rushing attack as Southeast Missouri (1-3, 1-0) picked up its first win of the season, a 47-14 victory over Tennessee State (1-3, 0-1) Saturday.
SEMO handed NFL legend Eddie George the first Ohio Valley Conference loss of his head coaching career.
The Redhawks dominated the ground game, outrushing the Tigers, 380-14.
A native of Peoria, Illinois, Hess became the first Redhawk to rush over 200 yards in a game since Marquis Terry finished with 202 vs. Dayton in 2018.
Kenny Doak accounted for a total of 17 points for the Redhawks as he didn't miss a kick the entire game. Doak was a perfect 4-of-4 in field goals and 5-of-5 in extra points. His 17 points are a new career-high.
SEMO held TSU under 100 total yards in the first half and used three field goals by Doak to help build a 16-0 halftime lead.
The Tigers punted on each of their five drives in the game's opening 30 minutes and were off the field in three plays on three occasions.
Doak scored the first points of the contest when he split the uprights with a 33-yard field goal to put the Redhawks ahead, 3-0, with 9:33 left to play in the first quarter. Doak's first kick was set up with the help of a 25-yard run by Hess and 14-yard completion from CJ Ogbonna to Johnny King.
SEMO tacked on 13 more points in the second quarter.
Hess polished off an 8-play, 53-yard march just 41 seconds in to the period.
Doak then connected from 40 and 39 yards out to complete SEMO's first-half scoring.
SEMO picked up 266 yards of total offense and outrushed TSU, 122-5, in the first half alone.
The Redhawks continued to have their way with the Tigers in the second half.
Hess scored two more rushing touchdowns on runs of 63 and eight yards, respectively. His second of those scores extended SEMO's lead to 33-6 with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Shamenski Rucker and Will Weidemann each found the end zone in the final period. Rucker scored on a 3-yard run and Weidemann caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ogbonna. The touchdown was the first of Weidemann's career.
SEMO racked up a season-high 607 total yards, its first game with over 600 yards of total offense in an OVC game since it posted 692 at Tennessee Tech on Oct. 6, 2018. The Redhawks 47 points were their most in a home league opener since they put up 51 vs. then-OVC member Samford on the exact same date 17 years ago (Sept. 25, 2004).
Hess averaged 8.2 yards per touch on 25 attempts.
Meanwhile, Ogbonna threw for 227 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 passes. He ran for 48 yards, as well. Ogbonna threw completions to eight different receivers. Rashaan Palmer paved the way with three catches for 85 yards.
Jackson native Bryce Norman and Cape Girardeau local Dony'e Taylor led the Redhawks with six tackles apiece. Norman also forced a fumble and added one tackle for loss. It was the second time in four games where Norman finished as SEMO's top tackler.
Additionally, SEMO recorded two sacks and Ty Leonard had an interception.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 35, #19 AUSTIN PEAY 27
RICHMOND, Ky. - Austin Peay State University's football team saw its four-game win streak against FCS opponents come to an end as it fell 35-20 to Eastern Kentucky, Saturday, at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Trailing 35-20 late in the fourth quarter, No. 19 Austin Peay (2-2) narrowed the deficit to eight points with an eight-play, 79-yard drive, capped with running back Ahmaad Tanner's one-yard run with 4:12 remaining. The Govs' defense stood its ground on the ensuing Eastern Kentucky drive, forcing a punt inside the one-yard line. Wide receiver Baniko Harley's 30-yard punt return gave the Govs an opportunity to tie the game with 1:24 left.
The Governors could not make positive gains on its final drive, retreating to midfield after a sack and pair of incomplete passes set up a long third down. Ellis' throw toward the goal line with 47 seconds remaining was intercepted, sealing the result.
Eastern Kentucky (2-2) rallied with 21 consecutive points after the Govs built a 20-14 lead on Maddux Trujillo's 36-yard field goal early in the third quarter. After a five-play, 75-yard drive gave the Colonels a 21-20 lead with 7:53 left in the third, EKU took advantage of an interception and a shanked punt to score on drives that needed only 39 and 23 yards to build a 35-20 lead with 12:34 left in the contest.
Austin Peay outgained Eastern Kentucky 400-268 thanks to a 91-54 advantage in play count. Harley amassed 136 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions. Ellis
completed 27 passes on a career-high 55 attempts for 298 yards, but was intercepted three times.
Eastern Kentucky saw running back Da'Joun Hewitt finish with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown while Parker McKinney went 12-for-20 for 160 yards and threw for two touchdowns in the win.
UT MARTIN 34, #9 JACKSONVILLE STATE 31
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - For the first time in 34 years, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team strolled into Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium and emerged victorious as the Skyhawks dialed up a gigantic 34-31 triumph over the No. 9 ranked Jacksonville State Gamecocks today.
The win marked the first UT Martin victory in Jacksonville since 1987 and the first nonconference road win over a top-15 squad since defeating Chattanooga on Sept. 16, 2017. The win improved the Skyhawks to 3-1 on the 2021 campaign, compiling three nonconference victories in as many weeks for the first time since joining the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision ranks in 1992.
“I’m proud of our team – it’s been a long time coming,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “For us to be able to take a stand there, take the ball with about six minutes left and get a couple of first downs to put the game away, that’s where our football team is growing. I think we’re just now figuring out how good we can be – if we do the right thing and don’t beat ourselves – we’ve got a chance to beat anybody on our schedule.”
The Skyhawks had to come from behind today, trailing by as many as 14 points before nabbing their first lead of the contest with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Keon Howard to Zoe Roberts connection proved to be pivotal late as those two linked up for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning touchdown scores over a 3:38 stretch.
Howard ended his day by completing 79.2 percent (19-for-24) of his pass attempts for three touchdowns. He also added 40 yards on six carries as UT Martin outgained the host Gamecocks by a 426-409 margin in yards.
Peyton Logan (game-high 67 yards) and Zak Wallace (63 rushing yards on nine rushes, one touchdown) helped the Skyhawks gain 171 yards on the ground.
Six different Skyhawks caught a pass today as Colton Dowell registered six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Roberts, a freshman from Perry, Fla., enjoyed a breakout day with four catches, 73 yards and two touchdowns on five targets.
Defensively, JaQuez Akins came away with a team-high seven tackles (five solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Oshae Baker (six tackles, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery) and Takeem Young (five tackles, one forced fumble) guided a swarming UT Martin secondary against its former Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State, who had one of the biggest FCS wins of the season after knocking off Florida State on Sept. 11.
“Jacksonville State is a good team,” Simpson said. “Their quarterback (Zerrick Cooper) has probably thrown for about 10,000 yards and it seems like he’s been here forever. So for these guys to come into their house and get the win, we’ve got a resumé builder here. Now here's the thing – we’re 0-0 in the OVC. So now let’s not go backwards, let’s keep getting better and see what we can do.”
The Gamecocks (2-2) started out with the upper hand as a strip-sack was returned 46 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the contest. Jacksonville State then scored on seven plays in its first offensive drive to take a 14-0 lead at the 7:39 mark of the opening quarter.
The Skyhawks marched the ball down the field on their final possession of the first quarter, capped off by a 26-yard field goal from Tyler Larco to make the score 14-3.
Jacksonville State missed a 51-yard field goal try to begin the second quarter but came back with a 33-yard kick that was true, giving the Gamecocks a 17-3 lead a little over eight minutes to go before the halftime break.
It didn’t take long for UT Martin to bounce back as the a 45-yard pass from Howard to Rodney Williams II opened the drive. Three plays later, Wallace found the endzone from 17 yards out to trim the Skyhawk deficit to 17-10 – a score that held up until halftime.
UT Martin’s defense kept Jacksonville State off the scoreboard on the first two drives of the second half, leading to another clutch boot from Larco – this time from 40 yards out. That field goal whittled the Gamecock lead to 17-13 with 4:36 to go in the third quarter.
Jacksonville State scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass but the Skyhawks answered right back with a touchdown a little over two minutes later to make the score 24-20. Dowell had three receptions in UT Martin’s six-play scoring drive, including a 14-yard catch right before the end of the quarter.
After a 60-yard Gamecock punt pinned the Skyhawks inside their own 20-yard line, Howard went 5-for-5 on the ensuing drive. Four plays went for double-digit yards before a touch pass from Howard to a streaking Roberts resulted in a four-yard score to give UT Martin its first lead of the game (27-24) with 10:34 to go.
The Skyhawk defense forced a miss on a potential game-tying field goal from 52 yards out on Jacksonville State’s next drive. Three plays later, Howard hit Roberts with a 54-yard throw that padded UT Martin’s advantage out to 34-24 with a little under seven minutes to play.
A quick Gamecock touchdown gave the Skyhawks the ball back with 5:34 remaining. UT Martin then put on a clinic in game management, keeping the ball on the ground and converting a pair of huge third downs as Jacksonville State could not stop the clock. Howard’s four-yard run on 3rd-and-3 from the Gamecock 41-yard line iced the game and resulted in a raucous celebration on the Skyhawk sideline.