THURSDAY'S SCORES
@#15 UT Martin 42, Western Illinois 25
@Northern Illinois 34,
Eastern Illinois 27
#15 UT MARTIN 42, WESTERN ILLINOIS 25
MARTIN, Tenn. - The No. 15 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team opened the season with an impressive offensive showing, tallying 577 yards of total offense on the way to a commanding 42-25 home victory over Western Illinois on Thursday evening.
The Skyhawks (1-0) scored on their opening offensive drive and never looked back in their 2022 season debut in front of a large crowd eclipsing 5,000 fans at Hardy M. Graham Stadium. UT Martin presented a balanced offensive attack which featured 317 yards through the air and 260 yards on the ground while its defense forced two turnovers and blocked two kicks on special teams.
UT Martin boasted several impressive individual performances led by running back Zak Wallace who tallied 20 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns. The contest marked the second time in his career that he recorded three touchdowns in a single game, matching his feat against Murray State last season, posting just the 14th such performance in school history. Along with his three touchdowns, he jumped up the career rushing touchdown leaderboard into seventh place with 21.
Quarterback Dresser Winn also commanded the offense with an efficient night, completing 22-of-37 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. The contest marked the third 300-yard passing performance of his career. Meanwhile his top receiving target Colton Dowell hauled in seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Dowell notched his seventh 100-yard receiving contest of his career while moving into sixth place on the program’s all-time receiving yards list with 1,860 yards and jumping into 10th on the all-time receiving touchdowns leaderboard with his 14th score.
Other top performances included redshirt-freshman Sam Franklin nearly reaching the century mark on the ground with 89 rushing yards – averaging 8.9 yards per carry – while DeVonte Tanksley and EJ Smoot excelled in the passing game. Tanksley – who missed most of last season with an injury – tallied five receptions for 98 yards while Smoot recorded three catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, it was Preseason OVC Defensive Player of the Year John H. Ford II who paced the team with 13 tackles – including six solo stops – while fellow graduate linebacker Rob Hicks also eclipsed double figures with 10 total tackles. Cornerback Shaun Lewis had a big debut for the Skyhawks as he recorded a pair of interceptions while also tallying three tackles and an additional pass breakup. Then on special teams, Oshae Baker and Ty Woods each blocked kicks to keep points off the board for the Leathernecks.
Western Illinois (0-1) tallied 405 yards of total offense as the quarterback tandem of Henry Ogala and Nick Davenport combined to throw for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Davenport did most of the damage by going 9-for-19 with 180 yards and three touchdown strikes while Naseim Brantley hauled in six receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile on defense, Anthony Quinney tallied a game-high 15 tackles in the loss.
The Skyhawks got on the board first with a nine-yard touchdown from Winn to Smoot on the team’s opening offensive drive of the game. After WIU tied it up in the opening minutes of the second quarter on a 31-yard pass from Ogala to Jafar Armstrong, UT Martin retook the lead for good on Winn and Smoot’s second connection of the game – this time going for a 34-yard touchdown to put the host on top 14-7. The Skyhawks then added to their margin in the final seconds of the half when Winn scrambled to his left and found Dowell in the endzone as he leapt over three defenders to haul in a 48-yard touchdown reception to take a 14-point lead into the break.
Wallace then started his scoring barrage midway through the third quarter as he punched in a six-yard rush for his first touchdown of the night. The sophomore tailback added two more touchdowns on the night with a four-yard carry to close out the third quarter before breaking loose for a 38-yard scamper with five minutes to play in the game.
While the Leathernecks strung together big scoring drives capped by touchdown connections between Davenport and Brantley of 51, 44 and 32 yards, respectively, the final decision was never in doubt as the Skyhawks cruised to the 17-point victory.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 34, EASTERN ILLINOIS 27
DEKALB, Ill. - Eastern Illinois football played until the final whistle on Thursday night in the opening game of the Chris Wilkerson era but ran out of time during a 34-27 loss at defending Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois.
EIU trailed 21-6 at the half but rallied to have a chance to tie the game on one final possession. The Panthers closed to 34-27 when Jonah O’Brien connected with Jay Vallie on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 2:04 left in the game.
The Panthers failed on the onside kick but were given one final opportunity as a 43-yard field goal by Northern Illinois sailed wide right with 58 seconds remaining.
EIU marched into NIU territory but the game would end on an O’Brien pass to Nile Hill with Hill tackled at the 36-yard line as time expired. O’Brien passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns, the most passing yards by an EIU team in an opening game since 2016.
NIU opened up a 21-3 lead with touchdown with runs by Harrison Waylee (one yard), Mason Blakemore (19 yards) and Antario Brown (35 yards) in the first half.
Stone Galloway hit a pair of first half field goals for EIU’s scoring connecting from 34 yards in the first quarter and 25 yards with four seconds left in the first half.
The Panthers scored 21 second half points with touchdown receptions by Jaelin Benefield late in the third quarter and Justin Thomas midway in the fourth quarter. Thomas touchdown with 9:58 left in the game closed the NIU lead to 31-20.
Thomas had six receptions for 83 yards and the one score. Benefield was versatile for EIU with four catches for 57 yards and the score. He also rushed for 63 yards. Markenzy Pierre rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries. EIU finished with 441 yards of total offense while holding NIU to 379 yards.
Elijawah Tolbert led EIU’s defense with 11 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. Jordan Vincent added eight tackles.