SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 30, @Tennessee Tech 14
Lindenwood 37, @Eastern Illinois 34 (2OT) (Non-Conference)
@#24 Austin Peay 52,
Murray State 17
TENNESSEE STATE 30, TENNESSEE TECH 14
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State used a big 219-yard performance on the ground, including 126 yards from Jalen Rouse, to pick up a 30-14 win against Tennessee Tech Saturday night on the road at Tucker Stadium.
TSU improved to 2-4 on the year and 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while TTU fell to 1-5 and 0-3.
Draylen Ellis led Tennessee State's passing attack with 247 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns and no interceptions. The signal caller also added 61 yards and one touchdown on the ground with a 50-yard TD run.
Rouse paced the TSU rushing attack by accumulating 126 yards over the course of the game, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Devon Starling reeled in two catches for 55 yards. Da'Shon Davis got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in three balls for 51 yards.
Josh Green paced the Tennessee State defensive effort, recording four tackles and one interception. Marcellious Lockett added one recovered fumble and Jahsun Bryant had six tackles and one recovered fumble in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with Tennessee State turning those takeaways into 13 points. Tennessee State put together a strong performance on the ground, racking up 219 rushing yards while averaging 5.1 yards per carry and out-rushing Tennessee Tech by 70 yards. Tennessee State converted on 56.2 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Tennessee State's defense held up against Tennessee Tech's offense, giving up 326 total yards.
Tennessee State scored first and jumped out to a 3-0 lead with 9:05 left in the second quarter. TSU then extended their lead to 9-0 with another score.
Tennessee State kept Tennessee Tech off the scoreboard and extended its lead to 16-0 with :38 left in the second quarter. TSU continued to increase their lead, scoring again to go ahead 23-0.
Tennessee State kept building its advantage, scoring again with 5:09 remaining in the third quarter to go up 30-0. Tennessee State didn't score again and Tennessee Tech tacked on 14 more points to finish off the scoring.
LINDENWOOD 37, EASTERN ILLINOIS 34 (2OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Lindenwood football team (4-2, 0-1 OVC) won 37-34 in a double-overtime thriller over Eastern Illinois (2-4, 1-0 OVC) on Saturday in Charleston, Ill.
The Lions started the game slow on the offensive side of the ball, as Eastern Illinois took a 7-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. Lindenwood jumped on the board early in the second quarter, after Justin Williams scored from five yards out. The Panthers added a field goal later in the second frame to regain a lead at 10-7. In the final 10 seconds of the half, Cade Brister found Abe Haerr on a 20-yard touchdown strike to give the Lions a 14-10 lead at the half.
The Panthers drove in another touchdown in the third quarter, to take a 17-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Logan Seibert tied the game at the 13:26 mark of the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Panthers forced a fumble and took it to the end zone for the 24-17 lead. The Lions continued to battle, as Brister capped off a late drive with a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 24-24.
After 60 minutes of play, the game remained tied and went to overtime. Lindenwood had the ball first to start the extra period, and Brister connected with Payton Rose on a two-yard back-shoulder throw to make it a seven-point lead for the Lions. The Panthers quickly responded, sending the game into a second overtime. Eastern Illinois had to settle for a field goal after a strong defensive stand by Lindenwood. After leaving the field earlier in the fourth quarter, Kobe Smith came back into the game to make the game-winning catch to give the Lions a wild 37-34 win on the road.
The defense played great on Saturday with the help of every area of the team. David Whittemore led the team with nine tackles and a forced fumble, while Sterlin Williams secured the only sack for the Lions. Lloyd Lockett made four stops from the secondary, and recovered a fumble when backed up in Lindenwood territory. Saturday's overtime game was the first for the Lions since joining the NCAA Division I ranks, and its first since the 2019 overtime win over Missouri S&T.
#24 AUSTIN PEAY 52, MURRAY STATE 17
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Despite committing no turnovers for the first time this season, the improved offensive efficiency was not enough for the Murray State football team Saturday as it fell to 24th-ranked Austin Peay, 52-17, at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.
For the third consecutive game, a Murray State wide receiver tallied over 100 yards. LaMartez Brooks had 104 yards on eight catches with one touchdown. The touchdown was the lone of the day for quarterback Jayden Stinson, as he finished the game at 20-for-40 for 185 yards.
Jarad MCray came up big defensively for Murray State in the game by finishing with five total tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss for a total of seven yards and an interception.
Eric Samuta, Jamari Dailey and Justus Johnson led the Racer defense in tackles on the day with six tackles each with all six of Samuta’s going down as solo stops. The lone sack of the day for Murray State was a strip-sack by Damonyai Lacey with Cody Goatley recovering the ensuing fumble. Cam Brown also had a solid performance with 2.0 tackles-for-loss, while Cayvian Holmes had two pass breakups.