SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 33, Murray State 18
@Tennessee State 37, Eastern Illinois 17
#16 Southeast Missouri 51, @Northwestern State 16
@Kennesaw State 33,
Tennessee Tech 30 (OT)
#3 Tennessee 65,
#14 UT Martin 24
LINDENWOOD 33, MURRAY STATE 18
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood football team earned a 33-18 win over Murray State (0-8, 0-3 OVC) on Saturday from Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo. It was the first official win in the OVC for the Lions, and the third-straight victory for Lindenwood.
The Lions fell behind early, as Murray State took a 12-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. Lindenwood settled in, and started the second quarter with a phenomenal effort by Cade Brister. In what looked to by a sack, Brister was able to fight off a tackler to find Kobe Smith on a 39-yard touchdown strike to bring the Lions within five points. The Racers added a field goal on the next drive to build its lead back up to double digits.
From that point on, the Lindenwood defense played great while the offense began to find their groove. At the 1:33 mark of the second quarter, Brister found Payton Rose for a 27-yard touchdown completion to put make it a one-point deficit. On the touchdown, Rose set the new school record for receiving yards in a career. Lindenwood was able to put together a great defensive possession, allowing Logan Seibert to knock through a 45-yard field goal to put the Lions in front 17-15 at the half.
Murray State opened the second half with a field goal on its first possession, but the defense of Lindenwood pitched a shutout for the remainder of the game. With the Lions down 18-17, Darion Bolden intercepted a pass at the one-yard line and took it to the house for a 99-yard interception return and took all air out of the Murray State sideline.
Brister found Smith for a second time to start the fourth frame, giving the Lions a 30-18 advantage. The Lions forced a three-and-out the next Racer drive, which Jayden Patrick made a key stop and the line of scrimmage and broke up a pass to force a punt. Lindenwood put together a long 14-play, 7:23 drive which was capped off with a 29-yard field goal by Seibert to make it a 33-18 ballgame. Murray State tried to make a comeback, but Bolden registered his second pick of the game to close out the 15-point win over the Racers.
Bolden's interception return was the third-longest in school history, while he tallied the first interceptions for the defense this year. Mann McGruder was all over the field, as he compiled a total of 14 tackles to lead all defensive players. Patrick had seven tackles on Saturday, with two pass breakups and 0.5 tackles for loss. Sterlin Williams secured a sack, making it 5.5 sacks on the year for the junior defensive lineman. With his one score on the day, Rose has tied DeDe Dorsey for 180 points scored while wearing the Lindenwood uniform. Rose made the 30th touchdown catch of his career, after making a great effort to get into the end zone.
TENNESSEE STATE 37, EASTERN ILLINOIS 17
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State defense racked up six sacks and forced four turnovers to help the TSU to a 37-17 win over Eastern Illinois at home Saturday afternoon.
The TSU improved to 3-4 on the year and 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play, while the EIU fell to 2-5 and 1-1.
Draylen Ellis led Tennessee State's passing attack with 309 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Devon Starling paced the TSU rushing attack by accumulating 58 yards over the course of the game, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Starling also tacked on 58 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jalen Rouse also added 37 yards on the ground.
Da'Shon Davis hauled in four catches for 70 yards. J.J. Holloman had a nice day as he recorded six receptions for 69 yards. TSU also added 52 yards receiving and one touchdown from John Roberts IV in the game.
Jahsun Bryant led the Tennessee State defensive effort, totaling four tackles, 0.5 TFL, one interception, and one forced fumble. James Reese IV added one interception and Terrell Allen had six tackles, 3.0 TFL, and two sacks in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing four turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with TSU turning those takeaways into 10 points. Tennessee State converted on 44.4 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Tennessee State did an excellent job limiting the Eastern Illinois offensive attack, holding the EIU to 188 total yards. TSU kept Eastern Illinois under 150 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing 115 passing and 73 rushing yards. The TSU pestered the Eastern Illinois passing attack all game long, totaling six sacks and pulling down three interceptions.
Tennessee State got on the scoreboard first with 9:27 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. TSU then followed with another score to expand the lead to 6-0.
Tennessee State then added a touchdown with 6:04 left in the second quarter to make it a 13-0 lead. TSU kept building their advantage, scoring again to go ahead 20-0.
Tennessee State continued to increase its lead, scoring again with :31 left in the second quarter to go up 27-0. EIU then rallied, tallying 14 points before the TSU responded with a field goal to extend their lead to 30-14.
Tennessee State held the EIU off the board before scoring for a final time with 10:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 37-14. Tennessee State didn't score again and Eastern Illinois added three more points to finish off the game.
#16 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 51, NORTHWESTERN STATE 16
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Quarterback Paxton DeLaurent was 13 of 24 for 201 yards with three touchdowns as #16 Southeast Missouri Football (6-1, 2-0 OVC) powered their way to their sixth-straight victory with a 51-16 decision over Northwestern State (3-5, 3-0 Southland) Saturday afternoon at Turpin Stadium.
SEMO ran the ball 54 times for a season best 418 yards in the win. Geno Hess continued to be the bell cow for the Redhawk rushing attack, carrying the ball 17 times for 207 yards and found the endzone on three separate occasions.
The Redhawks defense got a huge play early on the second offensive play for Northwestern State. Defensive back Eric Ivory, Jr. intercepted NSU's Zachary Clement and returned it 11 yards to setup an eventual 54-yard field goal by SEMO's DC Pippin to give SEMO an early 3-0 advantage.
NSU would tie the game on their second possession with a 24-yard field goal from kicker Eddie Godina to knot it at three, midway through the first quarter. SEMO would regain the lead with another Pippin field goal, this time a 20-yarder to give the Redhawks a 6-3 advantage, and SEMO would never trail again.
Nasim Cairo then recovered a Demons fumble after a Keandre Booker sack to set the Redhawks up at the NSU 29-yard line. Hess then took the handoff from DeLaurent and scampered into the endzone from 29-yards out to give the Redhawks a 13-3 lead at the 7:11 mark in the opening quarter. Another Hess rushing touchdown (4 yards, 6:33) and a Pippin 29-yard field goal would give the Redhawks a 23-3 lead after the first 15-minutes.
Pippin was 3-for-3 on field goals Saturday. He also was 3-for-3 on PATs. Austin Harpenau, Jorge Figueroa, and Clark Curnow also, all made PATs for the Redhawks Saturday.
Shamenski Rucker added 58 yards on the ground for SEMO and Darrell Smith finished with 49 yards.
SEMO would then increase its advantage to 37-3 at the break with a pair of touchdowns by Damoriea Vick and Johnny King. Vick caught a three-yard touchdown reception at 3:09 left in the half before King hauled in a 12-yard touchdown at 1:41 in the second quarter. King turned in five catches for 68 yards with a touchdown.
Ryan Flournoy added 85 yards receiving on five receptions. He extended the SEMO lead to 44-3 at 10:24 in the third with a 19-yard touchdown from DeLaurent. Flournoy has now registered a touchdown in five-straight games.
Hess then scored his third touchdown of the day with 9:02 left in the third quarter to provide SEMO a 51-10 advantage.
Northwestern State benefited from two huge plays to cut the Redhawks advantage to 51-16. Clement hit Scooter Adams on an 84-yard touchdown at 10:10 in the third before a 59-yard touchdown reception by Ke'Nard King wrapped the scoring at 8:49 in the third stanza.
SEMO's defense was stout once again, turning the Demons over two times, with one interception and one fumble recovery. Safety Lawrence Johnson and Jackson, Missouri, native Bryce Norman led the Redhawks with 5 total tackles each on the afternoon to lead the defense for the second-straight week.
Clement was 17 for 38 and 305 yards passing, registering a pair of touchdowns and one interception. He also ran 11 times for 53 yards.
SEMO's six-game winning streak ties the longest win streak the program has had since it won six in a row during the 2019 campaign.
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between SEMO and Northwestern State. The matchup closed out SEMO's two games against Southland Conference foes as part of the Ohio Valley Conference/Southland scheduling alliance.
The Redhawks totaled a season best 51 points.
SEMO has now earned its sixth winning season in its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision history. For head coach Tom Matukewicz, it is his third winning season in his last five seasons at the helm of the Redhawks.
KENNESAW STATE 33, TENNESSEE TECH 30 (OT)
KENNESAW, Ga. - Tennessee Tech overcame an early 14-point deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but the homestanding Owls scored twice in the final 81 seconds of regulation – sandwiching a quick Golden Eagle scoring drive to force overtime.
Tech was held to a field goal in its overtime try, but Kennesaw State picked up the game-winning score on five plays with a quarterback keeper for Xavier Shepherd, giving the Owls a 33-30 victory on Saturday at Fifth Third Stadium.
Kennesaw State, who recently announced its move to Conference USA, won its 21st straight non-conference game in a row, but the Golden Eagles (1-6) gave a fight.
Tech started off well, marching down the field 69 yards on 15 plays to eat up 8:14 on the clock, but the Owls stalled them on the KSU 6-yard-line and forced the Golden Eagles to turn the ball over on downs.
The first Kennesaw drive was bolstered as Shepherd kept the ball and appeared to be wrapped up and down twice, but no whistle was heard and Shepherd got back up and running both times. By the time Tech finally got the QB down on the ground, he picked up 41 yards on the play. He then threw a 23-yard pass to Gabriel Benyard to move the chains, then Preston Daniels rushed up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown. Conor Cummins’ extra point was good to give the Owls the 7-0 lead.
The Owls extended their lead with a sustained drive of their own, chewing up 7:04 on the clock and going 78 yards on 17 plays, Cummins’ PAT sailing through to make it 14-0.
Following a Quavel Thornton punt return to Owl 42, Thornton picked up an eight-yard gain, but a personal foul on Kennesaw added another 15 yards to get into the red zone. After a two-yard rush by Willie Miller, Jeremiah Oatsvall connected on a 17-yard hookup to Metrius Fleming in the end zone for the touchdown.
Both teams swapped field goals before the half ended as Cummins hit a 24-yarder with 29 seconds left before intermission, then Hayden Olsen connected on a 47-yarder – his longest of the season – as time expired to make it a 17-10 game at the half.
The defense stood tall in the second half, keeping Kennesaw State off-balance and forcing them off of their triple-option bread and butter. Forced to pass more, the Golden Eagles were able to take advantage of the strategy shift and chip away.
Starting on their own 30, Tech needed eight plays to find paydirt, collecting three plays for double-digit yardage, including a 32-yard pass to Heath Price to get the Golden Eagles to the Owl 8. Oatsvall then got a pass to David Gist on the left side, who took it in for the score. Olsen’s PAT tied the game at 17-all.
Tech was able to stall the Owls on their own 34, turning the ball over on downs. The Golden Eagles weren’t able to move up much, but it was still in range for Olsen as he hit a 46-yarder with 5:40 left in the third quarter to take a 20-17 lead.
After holding off KSU once more to open the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles were moving up field and reached the Owl 25. Thornton had the ball on the setup and threw the ball to the Owl 13, where it was intercepted by Markeith Montgomery. In the process, Oatsvall went down and ended up sitting out the next offensive series.
Meanwhile, KSU got into field goal range to the Tech 23. Facing fourth down, Cummins attempted a 40-yard kick, but the ball sailed wide left, preserving the Golden Eagle lead.
As time wore down, the Golden Eagle defense continued to hold strong. Nicholas Bigelow punted for Tech once more, pinning the Owls down at their own 4 with 4:57 remaining in regulation. Shepherd, however, was able to get something going, rushing for an 11-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage, then adding a 34-yard pass to Benyard. The drive ended as he completed a 20-yard pass down the left side to Isaac Foster, retaking the lead with Cummins’ PAT making it a 24-20 Owl lead with 1:21 remaining.
Ever the competitor, Oatsvall showed guts as he led the Golden Eagles down the field on five plays in just under a minute – a two-yard pass to Brad Clark, a 39-yard strike to Heath Price, a 19-yard grab by Fleming, then an 18-yarder to Miller on the left side to close off the drive. With Olsen’s PAT and 27 seconds remaining, the Golden Eagles were back on top 27-24.
Tech had 151 of its 375 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone.
Showing why Kennesaw State has had plenty of success at home, the Owls just needed two plays to get into field goal range. Shepherd used a 26-yard pass to Isaac Foster and a 26-pass to Xavier Hill to get the clock down to six seconds. After Cummins missed earlier, his next try was true from 40-yards out tying the game and sending it to overtime.
Kennesaw State won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second possession, waiting to see what the Golden Eagles could do.
The Owls’ defense didn’t yield – Tech was pushed back on an ineligible receiver call, picked up a yard on a rush, then two incompletions sent the field goal unit back on as Olsen connected on a 46-yarder to put Tech back up.
It was all up to the defense to get the stop. After Daniels rushed for five, Shepherd took over, passing for five, then keeping the ball on three straight plays as he rushed for two, 11 and then the touchdown on a four-yard push to the right.
Shepherd ended the game with 349 yards of total offense and two total touchdowns, passing for 224 yards and a score on a 15-of-24 effort.
For Tech, Oatsvall threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Price caught four passes for 84 yards, while Jalal Dean had 65 yards and Miller 57.
Defensively, Seth Carlisle set a new career-high in tackles, recording 16 total stops. Hudson Tucker also had double-digit tackles with 10.
#3 TENNESSEE 65, #14 UT MARTIN 24
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 14 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team squared off against Football Bowl Subdivision’s No. 3 ranked Tennessee on Saturday afternoon and could not overcome the Vols high scoring offense, falling on the road 65-24.
The Skyhawks (4-3) faced a big deficit in the first half but rallied back to score three touchdowns and a field goal in the contest – including outscoring the Vols 17-13 in the second half. UT Martin saw its offense do nice things against the Tennessee secondary with 392 yards of total offense, including 316 of those yards coming through the air.
Quarterback Dresser Winn found success through the air as one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s top signal callers completed 26-of-45 pass attempts for 301 yards and two touchdowns. The contest marked the eighth 300-yard passing performance of his career and fifth this season. Additionally, his yardage moved him into fifth place in UT Martin history by bumping his career passing total up to 4,934 yards while also moving into a tie for seventh place with 32 passing touchdowns.
The receiver group had a few bright spots with standout Colton Dowell tallying seven receptions for 112 yards on the afternoon. Dowell now has 10 career 100-yard receiving performances while bringing his career total up to 2,453 yards – sitting just 41 yards behind the program’s all-time record. Others highlighting the stat sheet was EJ Smoot with 88 yards while George Qualls, Jr. posted a career day with 66 yards for two touchdowns.
While the Skyhawks joined the other six teams on Tennessee’s schedule by struggling to slow down one of the nation’s top offenses, the team still made plays. Linebacker John H. Ford II led all players with a game-high 10 tackles – including 1.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore Carson Evans also tallied a career-high nine tackles in the contest while Jay Woods forced the team’s lone turnover with his second interception in as many weeks.
Tennessee (7-0) lived up to its billing with a high-speed offense and tempo throughout the first half by scoring 52 points before heading into the break. The Vols racked up 696 yards of total offense while scoring nine touchdowns. Heisman candidate Hendon Hooker completed 18-of-24 pass attempts for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the contest while fellow receivers Jalin Hyatt (174 yards, two touchdowns), Squirrel White (122 yards, one touchdown) and Ramel Keyton (77 yards, two touchdowns) had big days in the pass game.