SATURDAY'S SCORES
#19 Southeast Missouri 31, @Eastern Illinois 7
UT Martin 20, @Tennessee State 3
@Lindenwood 63, McKendree 35
@Murray State 27, Robert Morris 9
Tennessee Tech 35, @North Alabama 27
#19 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 31, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Geno Hess ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns and #19 Southeast Missouri (8-2, 4-0) scored 31 unanswered points in a 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois (2-8, 1-3) Saturday on a frigid day at O'Brien Field.
With temperatures dropping to as low as 27 degrees and snow on the ground, SEMO won its fifth-straight road game. The Redhawks put together another nice victory, this time doing so without starting quarterback Paxton DeLaurent who missed his first game with a foot injury.
SEMO gave Tom Matukewicz his 50th career win as a head coach. Matukewicz, in his ninth year at the helm, won 49 of those games with the Redhawks and picked up the other as Northern Illinois' interim head coach back in 2010.
After a slow start which saw both teams combine for under 100 total yards (95) in the first quarter, SEMO came alive to score 21-straight points and take a two-score lead.
Down, 7-0, Patrick Heitert entered the game and put together the first scoring drive of his career in impressive fashion.
Heitert, replaced starter CJ Ogbonna in his first career game under center, quickly completed his first two passes, including one for 30 yards to Johnny King down the far sideline. On third-and-7, Heitert then ran for his first career touchdown to tie the game with 9:45 left to play in the second quarter.
Turnovers by SEMO's defense on EIU's next two possessions led to 14 more points.
Mali Walton picked off Dom Shoffner and his turnover resulted in a 31-yard run by Hess which put the Redhawks ahead for the first time at 14-7.
Less than two minutes later, Keandre Booker intercepted a pass which SEMO capitalized to score again, this time using a 10-yard run by Hess to stretch the lead to 21-7 at the intermission.
The Redhawks polished off their eighth win of the season by tacking on 10 more points in the second half.
DC Pippin, after missing two field goals, connected on a 41-yard try with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Hess hit paydirt on a 1-yard run for his third touchdown of the day at the 9:15 mark in the fourth period.
Hess averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts and broke SEMO's all-time record in 100-yard games with the 15th of his career. Hess has now broken five of his program's career records this season alone.
Heitert finished with 140 yards on 11-of-17 passes and ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts.
Defensively, SEMO was outstanding. The Redhawks limited EIU to only 100 total yards, the second-fewest by any opponent in SEMO's NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks had two turnovers, as well.
Bryce Norman paved the way with a game-high 11 tackles and is now four away from 100 this year. The Redhawks added three sacks, two interceptions and seven tackles for loss.
SEMO's five-game road winning streak is the program's longest in its Division I tenure. Additionally, the Redhawks posted eight wins in a season for only the fifth time in school history.
UT MARTIN 20, TENNESSEE STATE 3
NASHVILLE - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team put a check mark next to one of its season goals on Saturday afternoon by securing yet another Sgt. York Trophy after picking up a 20-3 road victory at Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State.
The Skyhawks (6-4, 4-0 OVC) remained unbeaten in OVC play behind a dominating defensive performance which featured two interceptions, a blocked field goal and a season-low three points allowed. UT Martin is now in control of its own destiny heading into the final week of the season as a win against Eastern Illinois will clinch at least a share of the OVC regular season championship.
The victory also clinched UT Martin its 10th Sgt. York Trophy after going 2-0 in the annual series against fellow competitors Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech to win the in-state bragging rights. The Skyhawks have now won outright or shared the traveling trophy in 10 of the last 13 years – including in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
UT Martin scored on its first offensive drive of the game while also adding a defensive touchdown on a 39-yard interception return by graduate safety Ty Woods to give the Skyhawks a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. From there the Skyhawk defense anchored down to block a field goal, limit TSU to just 235 yards of total offense and tally eight tackles for loss in the contest. The Tigers did get on the board with a field goal as time expired in the first half before being held scoreless in the second half. The visitors later added a little insurance on a quarterback keeper by Dresser Winn early in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game out of reach.
A balanced defensive unit kept the Tigers at bay throughout the contest, holding the home squad to just 11 first downs and out of the endzone. Graduate safety Deven Sims paced the team with six tackles on the afternoon while junior defensive tackle Jay Rogers had two tackles for loss – including a nine-yard sack. Woods added five tackles and a TFL in the win along with his pick six while Aaron Webb also tallied an interception – the first of his Skyhawk career. Graduate jack TJ Neal had a big day with two tackles for loss and a sack while Daylan Dotson also got to the quarterback for a 14-yard sack late in the game with the Tigers in Skyhawk territory.
On offense, the Skyhawks racked up 365 yards of total offense in the win while recording a pair of touchdowns. UT Martin got on the board first as Dresser Winn threw his 17th touchdown of the season to Colton Dowell for a 14-yard score. The touchdown reception marked the 18th of Dowell’s career to move him into a tie for third place in program history. Winn also used his legs for a touchdown, keeping it himself for a one-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. For the day, Winn completed 16-of-28 pass attempts for 182 yards and two total touchdowns.
The running back tandem of Zak Wallace and Sam Franklin also had a nice day. Wallace racked up 115 yards on the ground for his eighth career 100-yard rushing performance. Franklin also equaled Wallace’s 21 carries in his first career start while accumulating 81 yards on the ground.
LINDENWOOD 63, MCKENDREE 35
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood football team (7-3) closed out the 2022 season with a 63-35 win over McKendree (5-6) on Saturday inside Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo.
The Lions started the game with a defensive stop, before quickly marching down the field for the first score of the game. Cade Brister found Payton Rose on a 15-yard strike to make it an early 7-0 lead. McKendree answered on the next drive, but the Lions offense was rolling early as Brister capped off the first quarter with a seven-yard touchdown scamper.
After a touchdown run by the Bearcats early in the second quarter, Brister notched his second score on the ground to make it a 21-14 lead. Just two plays into the next McKendree drive, Lloyd Lockett picked off his fourth pass of his career to spark the Lions. Brister took the Lions on a quick six-play 93-yard drive that ended with another touchdown run for the senior quarterback. The defense forced a three-and-out, and a beautiful one-handed touchdown catch by Rose put the Lions ahead 35-14 after two quarters of play.
McKendree was able to recover a loose ball on the kickoff to open the second half, and scored five plays later to make it a 14-point game. Brister connected with Rose for the third time to give the Lions a 42-21 advantage. The Bearcats stayed in the game with a long touchdown run, making it a 14-point deficit yet again. Lindenwood took up little time on the next drive, which was capped off with a 26-yard touchdown run by Andrew Martin to extend the lead.
After the defense forced a punt, Lindenwood began to eat up clock and made it into the red zone. The Lions had first-and-goal at the five-yard line when Brister threw the ball back to the athletic offensive lineman Blake Rogenhofer who registered the first touchdown of his career. McKendree was able to cut the Lindenwood lead to 56-35, but the Lions capped off the scoring with a touchdown run by Martin.
Lindenwood ran for 362 yards and six touchdowns in the game. The Lions converted on all six third downs, and scored on 8-of-9 trips to the red zone. The well-balanced offense gained 18 first downs by rushing, and 17 in the passing game. Lindenwood rushed for 362 yards and racked up a total of 631 offensive yards, averaging 9.6 per play.
Brister ended his Lindenwood career with over 2,000 rushing yards, as the O'Fallon, Mo. native collected 145 on Saturday. Martin led all rushers with 152 yards on the ground while reaching the end zone twice. Rose hauled with 10 passes for a total of 131 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Redd tallied 118yards on five kickoff returns, as he nearly broke free on his long return of 46 yards.
Defensively, Chase Giorgi led all tacklers with 11 total, as he added 0.5 tackles for loss with one pass breakup. Dylan Petti had a career game with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Lloyd Lockett closed out his tenure in St. Charles with one interception, two pass breakups, and made one stop behind the line of scrimmage. Kobe McClendon ended his quality season with 2.0 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks, and two quarterback hurries.
Lindenwood ended its first season as a NCAA Division I program with seven wins, as two of its three losses came to teams ranked in the top-25 at the FCS level.
MURRAY STATE 27, ROBERT MORRIS 9
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State football team scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter Saturday to rally and beat Robert Morris, 27-9, Saturday on Senior Day at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
Trailing 10-9 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Racers got two 24-yard touchdowns from Cortezz Jones with a 20-yard score from Damonta Witherspoon sandwiched in the middle to help seal the win.
The win was the 500th in program history for the Racers. Murray State is now 500-462-36 all-time over 98 seasons of play.
Murray State ran for 249 rushing yards in the game, led by the duo of Jones and Witherspoon. Witherspoon led the attack with 80 yards, while Jones followed with 75 and Lucas Maue chipped in with 52.
Quarterback Jayden Stinson finished the day at 12-for-23 for 145 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. DeQuan Dallas led the Racer receivers with 55 yards, while LaMartez Brooks followed at 48. Taylor Shields had the lone receiving touchdown of the day, to go along with 28 yards
Cody Goatley did a little bit of everything for Murray State defensively Saturday, finishing the game with 10 tackles including five solo, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sacks. Erica Samuta also had a big day with eight tackles, all of which were solo stops, while Quinaz Turner came up with his fourth interception of the season.
TENNESSEE TECH 35, NORTH ALABAMA 27
FLORENCE, Ala. - Tennessee Tech scored five touchdowns in its eight drives. North Alabama scored five times, too – but it was three touchdowns and two field goals as the Golden Eagle defense came up with four big stops in their own territory to secure a 35-27 victory over the Lions on Saturday.
The biggest stop may have been with 6:49 left in the contest. With the Golden Eagles leading 35-24, North Alabama (1-9) marched up the field on 18 plays and got to the Tech 10-yard-line before the Lions were held to 4th-and-goal. Sam Contorno hit the 27-yard field goal for what was eventually the final margin of the contest.
Tech needed to run out as much time as it could to keep the Lions from getting another chance and did just that, eating up 5:40 on the clock as the Golden Eagles moved the chains three times – one on an unnecessary roughness call as Jeremiah Oatsvall was body-slammed to the ground by Micah Fann. Tech got all the way to the UNA 34 facing 4th-and-6, then Oatsvall quick-kicked the ball away, pinning the Lions at their own 11 with 69 seconds remaining in the contest.
North Alabama, who had put up strong offensive numbers all day, did its best to get the ball to the other side. After moving the chains three times in four plays, they got into Tech territory, giving Noah Walters room to fire to the Golden Eagle end zone. But Walters’ next two passes fell incomplete, giving Tech the ball on downs with six seconds left, allowing Tech to run out the clock on a victory formation kneel.
That gave the Golden Eagles their third straight win, earning its first three-game streak since 2019.
It was a balanced offensive assault for Tech (4-6) as the Golden Eagles rolled up 268 yards on the ground and passed for 186 yards, spreading the wealth across much of the lineup. Oatsvall led the total offensive chart, throwing for 183 yards on 14-of-21 passing with a touchdown, then rushing eight times for 67 yards and another score to end the day with 250 total yards.
David Gist also had a touchdown run as he finished the day with 63 rushing yards. That pushed the Cookeville native into fifth all-time in Tech’s career rushing charts with 2,365 yards to pass Jason Ballard (2,315).
Justin Pegues and O.J. Ross also had touchdown runs in the contest, while Jayvian Allen caught a touchdown on his lone catch for 18 yards.
While he wasn’t able to get into the end zone, Metrius Fleming had a solid game with 97 all-purpose yards, rushing once for 36 yards and catching four passes for 61 yards. Allen led Tech in rushing with nine carries for 70 yards, while also catching a touchdown pass for 18 yards and returning kicks for 37 yards to end the day with 125 all-purpose yards.
ShunDerrick Powell continued to show why he’s one of the top rushers in the Football Championship Subdivision as he picked up his nation-leading 18th rushing touchdown and picked up 151 yards on 30 carries and set UNA’s single-season rushing record with 1,473 yards entering the Lions’ season finale next week at Memphis.
Walters threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-36 passing, completing touchdown passes to Takairee Kenebrew and Demarcus Lacey.
Offensively, UNA edged Tech statistically, collecting 505 yards to the Golden Eagles’ 454 with the Lions rushing for 172 and passing for 333. Five UNA receivers had a catch of 31 yards or more.
Josh Reliford led the Golden Eagles with 10 total tackles, while also breaking up a pass and hurrying the quarterback once. Xavier Washington had nine stops and Tech’s lone sack of the day after recording 10 a week ago against Lindenwood, while Nyquan Washington had eight tackles and a pass breakup.
Neither team was able to create a turnover.
Of Tech’s eight full drives, there were five touchdowns and three punts. One of those came on the first drive and UNA marched down to the Golden Eagle 29, but missed a field goal opportunity. Tech then scored touchdowns on three straight drives.
Oatsvall scored the first as he called his own number on a keeper, picking up the final 14 yards of a seven-play, 77-yard drive. Hayden Olsen kicked the first of his five PATs on the day – continuing his perfect 64-for-64 streak in his career and now stands two PATs made away from tying Nick Madonia for the longest consecutive PAT streak in program history.
North Alabama took up a lot of time on its next drive, closing out the first quarter and taking away the front chunk of the second as the Lions chewed up 6:39 on 17 plays to go 51 yards with the series ending as Contomo kicked a 41-yard field goal.
Tech responded in five plays, going 75 yards with Allen’s 18-yard pass – wide open on the right side and streaking to the end zone – extending the Golden Eagle lead to 14-3.
UNA made it a one-possession game once more as Powell ran for an eight-yard score, capping a 10-play, 76-yard drive. With 1:34 remaining in the first half, Ross scored from four yards out, then the Lions used just under a minute to respond once more with a 31-yard touchdown strike from Walters to Demarcus Lacey.
Tech’s first drive of the second half was able to take up some clock, going 70 yards on nine plays and taking up nearly seven minutes as Pegues was able to find an opening on the left side and squeeze through into the end zone. UNA answered with an 86-yard drive as Kenebrew had the final 39 yards on the series and last touchdown for the Lions on a pass from Walters.
The third quarter ended as Gist closed out Tech’s next ledger with an eight-yard scamper. North Alabama’s final scoring drive took up 8:09 as the Tech defense held the Lions at the Tech 10 and a 27-yard field goal.