Football

Football Recap - September 26

Against a tough slate of opponents on Saturday, OVC football teams suffered a trio of losses by three points or less.
 
SATURDAY'S SCORES
 #20/20 West Florida 20, @Southeast Missouri 17 Box Score
 @Marshall 36, Gardner-Webb 35 Box Score
 @North Alabama 23, Western Illinois 20 Box Score
 @#2/2 South Dakota State 42, Eastern Illinois 7 Box Score
 @#13/11 Austin Peay 35, UT Martin 12 Box Score
 @Eastern Michigan 29, Lindenwood 3 Box Score
 
 
#20/20 WEST FLORIDA 20, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 17
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -  Southeast Missouri (2-3) turned the ball over six times in a 20-17 setback to #20 West Florida (3-1) Saturday night in front of a Family Weekend crowd of 5,286 at Houck Field.

SEMO held a 10-6 advantage at halftime before UWF recorded a takeaway on back-to-back drives to take a two-score lead. Jamari Dickens sacked Braylen Ragland and Christian Ware-Terry scooped up a fumble and ran five yards for a touchdown to put the Argonauts ahead, 13-10, with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.

On the Redhawks' next drive, A'Khoury Lyde intercepted Ragland's pass and sprinted 36 yards to the SEMO 20-yard line.  Two plays later, Donovan Leary threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jake Robinette extending UWF's lead to 20-10 with 14:52 left in the fourth period.

SEMO answered with a nice 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Jobe Bryant's first career touchdown on a 2-yard reception that to trim UWF's lead to 20-17 with 8:32 to go. SEMO and UWF exchanged field goals in the first quarter.

Braylen Ragland completed a 45-yard pass to Tristin Purnell to help set up Justin Keller's 42-yard field goal giving the Redhawks a 3-0 edge with 11:20 remaining. After the Argonauts recovered a fumble, UWF settled for a 32-yard field goal by Reid Grek to tie the game at 3-3 at the 6:57 mark.

UWF pulled ahead for the first time of the night on a 46-yard field goal by Grek with 6:39 left in the second quarter.  SEMO moved the ball to UWF's 1-yard line where it was in field goal formation on a fourth-and-8. 

Holder Teagan Cobb instead took the snap and ran six yards to his right into the end zone regaining a 10-6 advantage. The fake field goal capped a 7-play, 75-yard drive for the Redhawks who carried a 10-6 lead.

SEMO fumbled three times and threw three interceptions. The Redhawks finished with 268 total yards for the game.

Ragland completed 14-of-25 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. Tristin Purnell caught four passes for 80 yards and Khyair Spain ran for 77 yards on 16 carries.

Josiah Raven paved the way for SEMO's defense with six tackles. The Redhawks limited UWF to just 39 rushing yards.


MARSHALL 36, GARDNER-WEBB 35
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Giovanni Adopte turned in a career performance Saturday afternoon, but the Gardner-Webb football team fell just short in a 36-35 loss at Marshall at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Adopte hauled in seven passes for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns, while the Runnin' Bulldogs recorded a defensive touchdown for the third consecutive game.

Pennington finished the afternoon 22-of-33 passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Kory Jones added four receptions for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Christian Vann led the Runnin' Bulldogs on the ground with 99 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The Runnin' Bulldogs jumped out to a fast start, taking the opening drive as Jones caught his first touchdown pass of the season from Pennington to jump out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

After Marshall scored on its opening drive, it took all of one play for the Runnin' Bulldogs to answer as Adopte hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass from Pennington to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 14-7 lead. The junior receiver continued to make an impact throughout the afternoon, adding a 44-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter to give Gardner-Webb a 35-27 advantage.

After a Thundering Herd field goal in the quarter to make it 14-10, the Runnin' Bulldog defense continued its recent playmaking ways as Shawn Battle intercepted a pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson to keep the score at 14-10.

Marshall took a 21-17 lead early in the second quarter and after a missed field goal, the defense delivered once again. Ruben Tshilombo scooped up a Marshall fumble and raced 36 yards for a touchdown, marking the third straight game in which the Runnin' Bulldogs have scored a defensive touchdown. The defense was also led by a trio of double-digit tacklers, with Jamarion Ravenell recording 12 stops while Tre Yanez and Nigel Lucas each added 11 tackles. The defense also had four sacks with Trey Weems picking up two and Yanez and AJ Mebane each recording a sack.

Marshall took a 27-21 lead into halftime but Gardner-Webb captured it back in the third quarter with Jone's second touchdown catch with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Adopte added another touchdown catch with 9:24 remaining in the contest to extend the Runnin' Bulldogs lead to 35-27.

Marshall rallied with a pair of fourth-quarter scores, however, The Thundering Herd's final points came on a 32-yard field goal with just three seconds remaining, giving Marshall the narrow 36-35 victory.

Gardner-Webb finished the afternoon with 458 yards of total offense, including 298 through the air and 160 on the ground.

Adopte's seven receptions and 179 receiving yards both marked career highs, highlighting one of the most productive performances of his Gardner-Webb career.


NORTH ALABAMA 23, WESTERN ILLINOIS 20
FLORENCE, Ala. - Western Illinois football fell to North Alabama, 23-20, Saturday afternoon in its final nonconference game of the season. The Leathernecks held a 20-16 lead late in the fourth quarter, but North Alabama scored with 51 seconds remaining to take the lead before holding off a final WIU drive.

Western Illinois opened the scoring with a touchdown pass from Kennedy McGill to David Hargro, as the two connected for a nine-yard score. North Alabama answered with a punt return touchdown before taking a 13-7 lead on a two-yard touchdown run from Destin Wade.

The Leathernecks continued to find success through the air, with McGill connecting with Ihson Jackson-Anderson for a 62-yard completion. Jackson-Anderson also added a 23-yard rush during the first half. Defensively, Christian Garrett intercepted Wade to give the Leathernecks possession, but WIU was unable to turn the takeaway into points. North Alabama took a 13-7 lead into halftime.

Western Illinois regained the lead in the third quarter after putting together a 75-yard scoring drive. McGill found Hargro for a five-yard touchdown, giving the Leathernecks a 14-13 advantage. North Alabama responded with a 46-yard field goal, but WIU answered with a 31-yard field goal from Ronan Culkin to take a 17-16 lead. Culkin added another field goal early in the fourth quarter, connecting from 37 yards to extend the Leathernecks' advantage to 20-16 with 1:57 remaining. The WIU defense then forced a turnover when LeBron Morgan recovered a North Alabama fumble at the UNA 15-yard line. The Leathernecks were unable to capitalize, and North Alabama regained possession.

The Lions drove 75 yards on their next possession, with Wade scoring on a one-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds remaining to put North Alabama ahead, 23-20. Western Illinois had one final opportunity and moved the ball deep into North Alabama territory. McGill connected with David Hargro for 11 yards before finding Ihson Jackson-Anderson for 26 yards to move the Leathernecks to the UNA 1-yard line.

North Alabama stopped the final WIU attempt with a sack as the Lions held on for the 23-20 victory.


#2/2 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 42, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7
BROOKINGS, S.D. - A tale of two halves for Eastern Illinois football on Saturday night as the Panthers played at No. 2 South Dakota State.  EIU trailed 14-7 at the half before suffering a 42-7 loss to the Jackrabbits.

A solid first half for the Panthers involving some big defensive plays, a little trickery on special teams and a rushing touchdown by Cole LaCrue put EIU down just 14-7 at the half to SDSU.

Josiah Johnson started the scoring in the first quarter for the Jackrabbits as he scored on an 18-yard run to cap the first drive of the game.

EIU’s defense would stop two more SDSU drives in their tracks with stops on fourth down.  Nick Vecchiarelli helped make the stop on the first fourth down stop while Dillon Conway had a pass break-up on the other fourth down stop.

On special teams EIU extended a drive with a successful fake punt as Cade Cox threw to Mahki Wilson to convert and keep the Panthers drive going.  LaCrue made the conversion pay off as he scored on a 9-yard run with 12:11 to play in the second quarter.

SDSU answered on its next drive to go back up 14-7 as James Basinger scored on a 39-yard run with 8:29 to play in the half.   The Jackrabbits would have a final first half scoring opportunity fail as Tristan Alvano had a 41-yard field goal attempt bounce off the upright.

Eastern Illinois had the opening drive of the second half driving the ball to midfield with South Dakota State making a big fourth down stop at midfield on a tackle by Jes Krcil.

The Jackrabbits then scored on their first two offensive plays of the second half to open up a 28-7 lead.  Basinger had a 48-yard touchdown run after the fourth down defensive stop.   Corey Blair broke a 61-yard run for a touchdown on the second SDSU play of the second half.

Johnson broke loose for a third touchdown of the third quarter for SDSU on a fourth and one, breaking a 55-yard run for his second rushing score of the game.   The Jackrabbits final score came on a short touchdown pass to tight end Ben Brooks.

Vecchiarelli led the EIU defense with 12 tackles.  Alex Koulovatos was just behind with 11 tackles.  Brandon Worsley had a fourth quarter interception for the Panthers.

LaCrue finished with 85 yards passing and ran for 24 yards with the score.

SDSU improved to 4-1 on the season while EIU dropped to 1-4. 


#13/11 AUSTIN PEAY 35, UT MARTIN 12
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin football team carried a five-point lead into halftime, but No. 11 ranked Austin Peay scored 28 unanswered points after the break to hand the Skyhawks a 35-12 setback Saturday at Fortera Stadium.

Big plays proved to be the difference in the game for both teams. The Skyhawks (1-4) struck first when Malik Brown sacked Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson in the end zone for a safety on the opening defensive drive of the game. After a 66-yard Parson touchdown run put the Governors ahead, Tate Surber found Kaleb Costner for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give UT Martin a 9-7 lead late in the first quarter.

Brandon Sims added a 24-yard field goal with 3:29 left in the second quarter, sending the Skyhawks into the locker room up 12-7.

From there, the nationally ranked Governors took control. Austin Peay retook the lead on an 18-yard Parson run on its opening possession of the second half. Eight seconds later, Ta’Ron Haile returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown. The Governors added another touchdown in the third quarter and one in the fourth to close out the scoring.

Surber completed 20 of 27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Makhia Sherrard led UT Martin’s receivers with five catches for 85 yards, including a 42-yard reception, while Chris Franklin rushed 12 times for 63 yards and caught five passes.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brown finished with two sacks, including the safety, as the Skyhawk defense totaled four sacks on the afternoon. Jamarcus Smith and Zamaryion Farmer-McCray shared the team lead with seven tackles apiece, and Joel Castleberry recorded six tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.

Austin Peay was led by Parson who accounted for three touchdowns and 336 yards of total offense, including two touchdowns on the ground and one through the air. Marvin Sims also found the endzone twice via an eight-yard rush and an eight-yard reception.


EASTERN MICHIGAN 29, LINDENWOOD 3
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Lindenwood football team (1-3, 1-0 OVC) fell to FBS Eastern Michigan (2-3, 1-0 MAC) by a score of 29-3 on Saturday afternoon from Ypsilanti, Mich.

After a Lindenwood three and out to begin the game, Eastern Michigan went on a eight-play 64-yard drive to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead with 9:58 to play in the first. EMU added one more score before the end of the quarter and led 13-0 after one.

On the first possession of the second quarter, the Eagles drilled a 51-yard field goal to extend the lead to 16-0. The Lindenwood defense would go on to settle in, limiting EMU to 86 yards in the second quarter, but the offense struggled to get anything going and Lindenwood trailed 19-0 at the break.

Eastern Michigan missed a field goal on its opening possession of the second quarter to remain in front by the same score. The Lions were able to get some offensive momentum going after that as Hoyt Gregory connected with Aiden Grote for a big play to get into EMU territory, Gregory used his legs multiple times on the drive, but the Black and Gold had to settle for a 44-yard field goal from Will Graham to get on the board and cut the deficit to 19-3 with just under seven minutes to play in the third. EMU answered back with a field goal of their own late in the third to regain a 22-3 lead which would be the score after three.

Lindenwood held the ball for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter but were denied on a fourth down in EMU territory and the eagles took over. On the ensuing drive Eastern Michigan found the end zone to go up 29-3 with 5:19 remaining in the fourth. The Lions went on to put one of its best drives of the game together, getting the running game going with Robert Giamio who got Lindenwood inside the redzone. However, the Black and Gold ran out of time and fell by a score of 29-3.