SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 26, Texas A&M-Commerce 25
Southeast Missouri 34, @#17 Southern Illinois 31
Lindenwood 21, @Houston Baptist 20
#10 Chattanooga 38,
@Eastern Illinois 20
Jacksonville State 34,
@Murray State 3
#13 Jackson State 16,
Tennessee State 3 (Memphis, TN)
TENNESSEE TECH 26, TEXAS A&M COMMERCE 25
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a wild finish at Tucker Stadium on Saturday night as the Tennessee Tech football team scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and overcame a 19-6 deficit to take a 26-25 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce.
Turnovers stalled the Golden Eagle offense in the first half as Tech saw passes picked off in two of its first three drives, then two lost fumbles deep in the Golden Eagles' territory led to quick, short-field scores as Eric Rodriguez threw two touchdown passes, completing a 37-yard strike to Andrew Armstrong and a 20-yard scoring pass to B.J. Busbee. After missing the first PAT, Emmanuel Adagbon hit the second to put the Lions up 13-0 with 13:18 remaining in the first half.
Hayden Olsen and Adagbon traded field goals as Tech's kicker hit from 27 and 33 yards out, TAMUC's from 20 and 27 yards out.
Rodriguez left the game in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury, ending his night with 169 passing yards on 14-of-22 passing. That brought Ohio State transfer Jagger LaRoe into the game and while the quarterback was able to complete five of his nine passes, the Tech defense was able to force the Lions to turn the ball over on downs twice in third quarter.
The first turnover on downs led to Olsen's second field goal as Tech was stalled after going 51 yards to the Lion 16. The first TAMCU drive in the fourth quarter ended on downs as the Golden Eagle defense came up strong, forcing the Lions back 13 yards on five plays, going from the Tech 23 to the 36.
With momentum shifting, Tech quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall engineered a nine-play, 64-yard drive. Starting with two rushes for O.J. Ross to get into Lion territory, then Oatsvall completed an 11-yard pass to Ashton Maples, shrugged off a sack, then ran 12 yards to the TAMUC 23. Following a roughing the passer penalty, the Golden Eagles advanced to the 11. David Gist picked up nine yards, then with the Lion defense stacked at the goal line, Oatsvall halved the remaining distance before Gist picked up the final yard for the touchdown.
Olsen's PAT to remain perfect in his career brought Tech back within a touchdown at 19-13 with 9:12 remaining in the contest.
The Lions pushed back ahead by 12 points as Spencer Long cut a swath through the Tech defense as sped away for a 69-yard touchdown. LaRoe attempted a two-point pass, but the pass failed with 7:41 left.
Metrius Fleming took the kickoff out of the end zone and brought it out to the Tech 16 to start the next drive, then Ross picked up carries of 14 and 6 yards before a holding call brought the ball back to the 26. Oatsvall stepped back and fired to Willie Miller for a 17-yard pickup, then got a nine-yard completion from Quinton Cross to get into Lion territory.
Justin Pegues claimed the first down on a six-yard scamper, then Oatsvall ran for two before an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Lions to get Tech to the 25. The Golden Eagles faced 3rd-and-11 before an offsides penalty made it a manageable 3rd-and-6. Oatsvall completed an eight-yard pass to Hunter Barnhart to move the chains.
Now at the Lion 13, Tech used three rushes from Pegues and Oatsvall to get the ball to the four, then the Golden Eagle QB caught Jayvian Allen on a route into the end zone. Olsen's PAT was good, putting Tech back within five with 3:19 remaining in the contest.
The Golden Eagle defense stepped up once again as Long ran twice for a net loss with Daniel Rickert, Seth Carlisle and Aidan Raines stopping him from breaking off another big run, then Hudson Tucker and Raines stopped LaRoe on the Lion 18, forcing Mitchell McGarry to punt on 4th-and-11. Jyron Gilmore got the ball and tried to make a return happen, but was only able to get back to the Golden Eagle 49.
So there was the situation – down five with 2:11 remaining in the contest with 51 yards to go to potential victory.
With completions to Ross and Fleming, Tech moved to the Lion 40 in three plays, but back-to-back penalties pushed the Golden Eagles backward, facing 1st-and-30 from the Golden Eagle 40. It was no problem as Oatsvall found Fleming for 32-yard pickup to move the chains and get to the Lion 28.
Going no-huddle, Oatsvall had two consecutive four-yard rushes, then completed a seven-yard pass to Gist to get to the 13, followed by a seven-yard completion to Ashton Maples. On the catch, the ball came loose after the hit by Michael Noble, but Nate Hodnett saved the day by recovering the fumble at the Lion 8 with six seconds left on the clock.
With ice in his veins and under pressure, Oatsvall watched his receivers take flight and fired. As the remaining seconds ticked away, Miller made the catch and dove over the line for the touchdown. Tech had its first lead of the game, 26-25.
With two seconds remaining, Oatsvall took a knee on the two-point try to prevent any chance of the Lions returning any kind of mistake for more points. Devin Parker kicked the ball off for 32 yards with Josiah Kennard returning it for a one-yard loss before lateralling to Austin Samaha, who fumbled the ball. Ross came away with the fumble and celebrated as the final buzzer sounded.
Tech ended the game with 454 yards of total offense to Commerce's 386. The Golden Eagles rushed for 228 yards, led by 67 yards for Gist and 65 for Oatsvall. The Tech quarterback completed 20 of his 26 passes for 226 yards, with Miller catching four passes for 93 yards and Fleming five for 75 yards.
Penalties also proved to be a factor in Tech's resurgence as the Lions were whistled 14 times for 117 yards, compared to Tech's 50 yards on five flags.
Darius Williams and Daryion Taylor led Commerce in tackles with 12 and 11.5 respectively, while Carlisle led the Golden Eagles with eight, Josh Reliford, Gilmore and Raines with five.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 34, #17 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 31
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Paxton DeLaurent threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns including the game-winning 2-yard pass to Damoriea Vick with 11 seconds left leading Southeast Missouri (1-1) to a 37-34 win over #17 Southern Illinois (0-2) Saturday.
In a back-and-forth game that featured nine lead changes, SEMO never let up en route to claiming its first win of the season. The Redhawks also reclaimed the War for the Wheel trophy that has resided in Carbondale each of the last two years.
After Justin Strong's 4-yard touchdown run gave SIU a 31-27 lead with 2:50 on the clock, SEMO went to work at its own 24-yard line.
DeLaurent completed a 28-yard pass to Ryan Flournoy to get the Redhawks into SIU territory at the Saluki 23-yard line.
Four plays later, SEMO faced a fourth-and-9 at SIU's 22-yard line. DeLaurent's pass intended for Flournoy was incomplete, but the Salukis were penalized with a pass interference giving the Redhawks an automatic first down at the 11.
SEMO again faced a fourth-and-2, this time at the SIU 3-yard line when the Salukis committed another pass interference on an incomplete pass. That penalty gave the Redhawks a first down at the 2-yard line.
On the ensuing play, DeLaurent rolled to his right and found Vick open in the end zone for the game-winner. Vick played SIU three times during his previous tenure at Missouri State, but never scored a touchdown against the Salukis until tonight.
DeLaurent put together a strong first half for SEMO completing 16 passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns to grab the Redhawks their first halftime lead of the season. At one time, DeLaurent threw 16-consecutive completions.
After SIU scored the game's first points on a 30-yard field goal by Jake Baumgarte, SEMO put together an 8-play, 75-yard march culminating with a 6-yard touchdown pass from DeLaurent to King to put the Redhawks ahead, 7-3, with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter.
The Salukis reclaimed the lead on a 16-yard pass from Nic Baker to Avante Cox less than a minute into the second quarter.
Following a SIU punt, the Redhawks engineered their longest drive covering 86 yards in 15 plays to grab a 14-10 advantage at the intermission. King caught his second touchdown pass, this time from three yards out, with 3:01 left in the second quarter. SEMO's final drive of the first half consumed 6:50.
The see-saw battle carried into the second half and SIU wasted no time regaining the lead.
Ro Elliott broke free for a 42-yard run to finish off a 76-yard drive on the Salukis first possession in the third quarter. Elliott's touchdown gave SIU a 17-14 edge at the 9:02 mark.
DC Pippin kicked field goals from 50 and 45 yards, respectively, to give SEMO a 20-17 advantage before both teams scored a pair of touchdowns in the last 8:40 of the contest.
SEMO scored 17 fourth-quarter points and outgained SIU, 390-385.
DeLaurent completed 33-of-44 passes and did not throw an interception. His 332 yards were the most in a game by a SEMO quarterback since Daniel Santacaterina threw for 386 yards at UT Martin on Oct. 27, 2018. DeLaurent completed passes to nine different receivers.
Flournoy and King each had huge 100-yard receiving performances. Flournoy caught 10 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown, while King added a game-high 14 receptions for 125 yards and two TDs. SEMO finished with a pair of 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time in four years.
Geno Hess ran for a game-high 65 yards on 19 carries.
Defensively, Joedrick Lewis and William McCall each led SEMO with six tackles. Keandre Booker had two sacks and Christian Fuhrman turned in five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in his first career start at linebacker.
Tonight was the 90th meeting between longtime rivals SEMO and SIU separated 45 miles apart.
The Redhawks knocked off a ranked opponent for the eighth time under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. Matukewicz has the most wins over ranked opponents of any head coach in program history. Three of Matukewicz's four career wins over the Salukis came in the final 25 seconds.
LINDENWOOD 21, HOUSTON BAPTIST 20
HOUSTON - The Lindenwood football team (1-0) earned its first win as a NCAA Division I program over Houston Baptist (1-1) on Saturday in Houston, Texas. The Lions blocked a punt with 28 seconds left, and recovered the ball in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
The Lindenwood defense set the tone on the first drive of the season, forcing a three-and-out. The Lions worked methodically on offense by gaining yards on the ground and in the air. The drive stalled out, but the Lions got on the board first with a 41-yard field goal by Logan Seibert. The defense again forced a fourth down, but a big play by the Huskies made it a 7-3 score. Lindenwood continued to find success on offense, which led to another field goal by Seibert, this one from 44 yards near the end of the first quarter.
Houston Baptist built its lead back up to four points after hitting a field goal, and extended the lead to 17-6 with another touchdown on fourth down. The Huskies held the 11-point lead going into the half. The second half started slow, but Lindenwood stayed the course on a drive late in the third frame. After a big fumble recovery by Sterlin Williams, the Lions took hold of the momentum. Lindenwood drove down the field, and Andrew Martin scored the first touchdown of the game for the Lions at the 5:11 mark to cut the deficit to 17-12.
The Huskies made it an eight-point game once again, but Seibert was locked in as his 44-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter kept the Lions in the hunt in a 20-15 ballgame. At the 5:10 mark, Lindenwood punted the ball away to flip the field, as it put the weight of the game on the defense. The Huskies killed more than four minutes of game clock, but the Lions forced the Huskies to punt the ball with 28 seconds left. On the punt, Jalen Bethany found a lane to block the kick to send the ball into the end zone which was recovered by Martin for the game-winning touchdown. The Lions earned their first win as a NCAA Division I program, and its first win over a Division I team since 2011.
#10 CHATTANOOGA 38, EASTERN ILLINOIS 20
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois built a 10-7 lead after one quarter of play during Saturday night’s home opener but trailed No. 10 Chattanooga 14-10 at the half. The Mocs were able to control the game in the second half picking up a 38-20 win over EIU.
The Panthers fell to 0-2 on the season while Chattanooga improved to 2-0.
Stone Galloway knocked home a 36-yard field goal to cap the Panthers second drive of the game as an interception by Colin Bohanek set up the Panthers offense. It was one of two field goals in the game for Galloway. Bohanek would be active on defense leading the Panthers with ten tackles.
Each team would answer the others score the reminder of the first half. Preston Hutchinson had the Mocs first score with 20-yard run with 6:17 to play in the first. EIU answered with a long drive of their own capped by a Nile Hill 31-yard touchdown pass from Jonah O’Brien with 26 seconds left in the quarter.
Chattanooga would have the only score in the second quarter taking a 14-10 lead to the half after Ailym Ford scored on a four-yard run.
The Mocs gave themselves some breathing room on the opening drive of the second half as Hutchinson hit Javin Whatley for a 51-yard pass to jump out to a 21-10 lead. Hutchinson passed for 278 yards for Chattanooga while rushing for two scores.
EIU was able to trim the lead to one score twice in the second half but could not get the big score to tie the game. Galloway hit from 44-yards to make it 21-13 with 10:13 to play in the third quarter. O’Brien hit DeAirious Smith in the final minute of the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-20.
A field goal by Andre Southard pushed the Mocs lead back to 11 points with 13 minutes to play and a turnover inside the EIU ten yard line set up Hutchinson’s second touchdown run for the insurance score. The turnover was a fumble forced by Ben Brewton. Ty Boeck led the Mocs defense with 11 tackles.
O’Brien would pass for 183 yards and two scores. Justin Thomas the top target with six catches for 39 yards. Markenzy Pierre rushed for 66 yards. Nick Coates had eight tackles.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 34, MURRAY STATE 3
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State football team showed flashes of brilliance Saturday, but ultimately it was not enough, as the Racers fell, 34-3, to Jacksonville State at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
Murray State forced three turnovers in the game Saturday, two interceptions and a fumble. Quinaz Turner got both picks for Murray State in the game, while Chris Hill, Jr. forced the fumble.
Preseason All-OVC selection Erica Samuta proved why he is one of the best defensive players in the league by racking up 13 tackles, 11 of which were solo stops. Jamari Dailey also had a big night defensively with eight tackles and 2.0 tackles-for-loss, while Lawaun Poweel had six tackles, 1.0 sacks and two pass breakups.
With a 45-yard field goal in the second quarter, Aaron Baum tied Stan Watts for 10th on MSU’s all-time made field goals list with 21. He is now 21-for-30 in field goal attempts with the Racers for a career percentage of 70.0-percent.
#13 JACKSON STATE 16, TENNESSEE STATE 3
MEMPHIS - Tennessee State fell 16-3 to No. 13 Jackson State in the 33rd Southern Heritage Classic at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening.
TSU falls to 0-2 after the loss.
Devon Starling totaled 70 yards to lead the TSU's ground attack in the game. Cam Wyche reeled in two catches for 52 yards, while Zack Dobson hauled in three passes for 26 yards. Jalen Rouse added 33 yards on one reception.
TSU had three players finish with nine tackles, as Gleson Sprewell, K'Vaughan Pope, and Jahsun Bryant all tallied nine. Sprewell added in a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Boogie Trotter pitched in five tackles and one recovered fumble, while Davion Nash added one forced fumble. Tadarrius Patterson had 2.0 TFL and one sack in the loss.
TSU won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers.
Defensively, Tennessee State held up fairly well against the Jackson State rushing attack, holding the JSU to 142 yards on the ground.