Football Recaps - Sept. 17

Football Recaps - Sept. 17

SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 58, Tennessee State 27
*Tennessee Tech 31, @Eastern Illinois 20
@#16 Jacksonville State 37, Georgia State 21
#14 Chattanooga 23, @Eastern Kentucky 14
@Memphis 27, Austin Peay 6
@Purdue 59, Southeast Missouri 0


MURRAY STATE 58, TENNESSEE STATE 27
MURRAY, Ky. - Quarterback Casey Brockman threw for 600 yards and seven touchdowns, while also catching another, as Murray State jumped out to an early lead and handed Tennessee State a 58-27 defeat in front of 10,031 fans Saturday night at Stewart Stadium.

Brockman finished the day by going 45-of-67 for 600 yards and seven touchdowns.  He also caught one pass for 15 yards.  He established new single-game records for attempts, completions and yards, while tieing the record for touchdowns.  All four records broken or tied were set by Brockman in 2010.

Brockman did the majority of his damage in the first half as he tossed for 422 yards and five touchdowns.  He connected with five different receivers on the scores.

The Racers got on the board on their opening possession as Brockman hit Dexter Durrante for 47 yards on the first play from scrimmage.  MSU drove down to the three-yard line before the drive stalled and Kienan Cullen kicked a 20-yard field goal.

The Racer defense was put in a bad spot as in interception gave the Tigers the ball on the MSU 24-yard line.  Darrian Skinner broke free for a sack on the first play, and Tyler Evans registered a tackle in the backfield on the next play.  The Tigers line up for a 48-yard field goal, but Darrell Davis broke through the line for the block.

MSU needed six plays to capitalize on the momentum as Brockman connected with Ricky Mitchell on a 17-yard touchdown.  After another three-and-out by the defense, Brockman and Walter Powell connected on a 34-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-one.

The second quarter was much of the same as Brockman threw touchdown passes to Patrick Robertson, Ja-Vonta Trotter and Nevar Griffin, before hauling in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell.

Robertson scored both of the Racer touchdowns in the second half as he caught a seven-yarder in the third quarter, and a 26-yarder in the fourth quarter.  Robertson finished the game with seven catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns.

He was not the only receiver to have a big day as Powell finished with nine catches for 147 yards.  Barnett added seven grabs for 88 yards.  Durrante, Trotter and Hannibal Beauford each had four catches.

As a team, the Racers amassed 707 yards on 99 plays, an average of 7.1 yards per play.

Sam Small led the defense with 11 tackles.  Darrian Skinner added eight tackles, a sack, and three pass break-ups.  

TENNESSEE TECH 31, EASTERN ILLINOIS 20
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Tennessee Tech defense forced four turnovers and the offense, fueled by big efforts from Tim Benford and Dontey Gay, scored 31 unanswered points as the Golden Eagles opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 31-20 victory at Eastern Illinois Saturday night.

It was just the third time Tech has claimed a win in O'Brien Stadium, the first time since 1999. The win was the second consecutive for Tech over the Panthers.

Down 7-0 early, quarterback Tre Lamb led the offense to a 31-7 lead by early in the third quarter on 22-for-27 passing for 240 yards. Benford grabbed eight passes for 124 yards and Gay rushed for 96 yards and a career-best three touchdowns on 24 carries.

Junior Will Johnson had two of the turnovers with a fumble recovery and one of three Tech interceptions. Corey Watson and Caleb Mitchell also intercepted passes. Richmond Tooley topped the tackle chart with 10 and also broke up three EIU passes. The Tech defense limited EIU to minus six (-6) rushing yards. It was the second-lowest rushing total against Tech in school history behind a minus-41 yard effort against Morehead State in 1975.

EIU quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 301 yards, going 29-for-52 with three touchdown tosses, but the sophomore was sacked four times and picked off three times.

After the Panthers had struck first on a 28-yard TD pass from Garoppolo to Chris Wright five minutes into the contest, Benford made one of the greatest catches in Tech history. He leaped over his defender and made the catch, kept his balance and carried tackles to the one-yard line for a 65-yard pickup. Gay hit paydirt on the next play to tie the score.

Watson's interception on the final play of the first quarter gave the offense the ball at the EIU 39, and Lamb's 25-yard pass to Zack Ziegler set up a 25-yard field goal by freshman Zach Sharp for a 10-7 TTU lead.

Pinned down at their own 19 following a 60-yard, bouncing punt, Tech drove 81 yards in 10 play as Lamb hit Demetrous Garrett for a four-yard TD and a 17-7 lead midway in the second quarter.

Ziegler hauled in a 25-yard pass to the two-yard line minutes later, setting up Gay's second touchdown of the night, a two-yard run with 49 seconds to play to increase the lead to 24-7 before halftime. That scoring drive covered 53 yards in seven plays.

On the opening kick of the second half, Kedrick Towles jarred the ball loose and Johnson recovered at the EIU 36, and Lamb needed eight plays to move his team into the end zone. Gay's two-yard run gave him his third TD of the night.

Tech appeared firmly in control but Garoppolo got the EIU offense moving, and the Panther defense stopped Tech on four consecutive possessions to make things interesting. First, EIU moved 65 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown on a 21-yard pass to Wright, his second of the game. The two-point conversion was broken up by Tooley and Tech's lead was 31-13.

After forcing Tech three-and-out, the Panthers rode Garoppolo's arm through a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive to make it 31-20. Sam Hendricks caught a four-yard TD pass for the score.

EIU stopped Tech again and got the ball back, but this time the Golden Eagle defense forced four consecutive incomplete passes. The Tech offense took over with 4:54 to play and an 11-point lead, and earned three first downs to run out the clock.

#16 JACKSONVILLE STATE 37, GEORGIA STATE 21
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Coty Blanchard scored three touchdowns after rushing for two and passing for another to lead No. 16 Jacksonville State to a 37-21 win over Georgia State on Saturday.

The Gamecocks improve to 2-1 on the season and has now won 15 of their last 16 regular-season home games after rolling up 401 yards of total offense. Georgia State falls to 1-2 on the season.

Jax State took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Blanchard connected with Kevyn Cooper on a 28-yard and James Esco kicked the point after with 9:56 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers answered and tied the game with 3:10 left in the first after Albert Wilson caught an 11-yard pass from Bo Schlechter.

Clarence Jackson, who was just cleared to play for the Gamecocks on Wednesday, made an immediate impact after he returned a blocked punt 34 yards for a touchdown to give JSU a 14-7 lead with 11:09 left in the second quarter.

Georgia State tied the game at 14-14 after Donald Russell scored on a one-yard run with 7:47 left in the second quarter to knot the game at the half.

The Gamecocks had their best half of the season during the final 30 minutes as JSU scored on all five possessions and had the ball for 22:31 in the second half.

James Esco kicked a 23-yard field goal to give JSU a 17-14 lead with 10:33 left in the third quarter, then Blanchard scored his second touchdown of the night after racing 17 yards as the Gamecocks built a 24-14 lead with 4:16 left in the third.

Georgia State scored its final touchdown of the game after Travis Evans scored on a three-yard run to cut the lead to 24-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Jax State took the kickoff and went 74 yards in 13 plays and Washaun Ealey scored on a four-yard run as the Gamecocks built a 30-21 lead with 8:02 left in the game.

Blanchard then scored his third touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run with just 1:39 left for the final margin.

Jax State finished with 246 rushing yards, as Calvin Middleton had 89 yards on 20 carries, while Ealey had 82 yards on 21 carries. Blanchard added 77 yards on 12 carries for the Gamecocks.

Kevyn Cooper led six Gamecock receivers with a career-high 75 yards on three catches.

Jackson also led the team with seven tackles as JSU limited Georgia State to 116 rushing yards. Nick Johnson and Rodney Garrott each added five tackles and the Gamecocks had six tackles for loss.

Schlechter led Georgia State with 145 passing yards, while Wilson had 146 receiving yards on six catches.

#14 CHATTANOOGA 23, EASTERN KENTUCKY 14
RICHMOND, Ky. - Holding on with a three-point cushion, No. 14 Chattanooga scored a late touchdown to secure a 23-14 victory over the Eastern Kentucky University football team Saturday evening at Roy Kidd Stadium.
 
A 55-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback T.J. Pryor to sophomore Matt Lengel with 16 seconds left in the first half sent Eastern to the locker room with a 14-10 lead at the break. The Mocs took the lead for good on a 17-yard run by Marquis Green with 7:36 left in the third.
 
The margin remained at three points until Chattanooga added a touchdown on a one-yard rush by Taharin Tyson with 54 seconds left in the game.
 
Chattanooga quarterback B.J. Coleman completed 26-of-40 pass attempts for 277 yards and one touchdown. The Mocs out-gained Eastern, 377-233.
 
The Colonel offense was stymied by third down conversions, finishing just 2-for-15 on the night. Pryor went 15-for-28 for 164 yards. He tossed two touchdown passes, but also tossed a pair of interceptions. Junior Tyrone Goard caught six passes for 65 yards, including one touchdown.
 
EKU got on the board late in the first quarter on Pryor's 29-yard pass to Goard. After reaching 1st-and-goal at the four-yard line, Chattanooga had to settle for a 23-yard field goal with five minutes left in the second quarter. On UTC's next possession, Coleman found Joel Bradford from 13 yards out to give the Mocs their first lead of the game, 10-7.
 
The Colonels answered on the second play of their next possession. Pryor found his tight end on the left side.  Lengel caught the pass, broke a tackle, dodged a defender and had nothing but open field ahead to finish off the 55-yard touchdown play with 16 seconds remaining before the half.
 
One week after running the ball for 245 yards against Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky was limited to 69 yards on the ground against Chattanooga.
 
MEMPHIS 27, AUSTIN PEAY 6
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University was unable to cash in on some early scoring opportunities and then watched Memphis rip off 20 straight points as the Governors fell, 27-6, Saturday night in a non-conference game played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The loss drops the Govs to 0-2 on the season extended their losing streak to 10 games. Memphis snapped an 11-game losing streak to push its record to 1-2. It also was the Governors  10th straight loss to Football Bowl Subdivision teams. APSU's last win came in 1987 when it defeated Kansas State.

It was a frustrating first half for the Govs, who moved the ball with regularity but came away empty on two occasions deep into the red zone.  On the game's first drive the Governors moved the ball from their own 30 to the Memphis 16, but junior placekicker Stephen Stansell shanked a 33-yard field goal attempt.

Later in the half with the game still scoreless, the Governors drove from their own 17 to the Memphis 26-yard, only to see another Stansell field goal go wide on the second quarter's initial possession.

Memphis took advantage of the opportunity to drive 74 yards, the last 42 coming on a Taylor Reed pass to Tannar Rehrer for a 7-0 advantage with 8:14 left in the half.

The Tigers then took advantage of a Jake Ryan interception to boot a 30-yard field with 25 seconds remaining in the half to take a 10-0 lead heading into halftime.  That margin quickly increased early in the second half.

In fact, the Tigers good fortune continued on their first possession of the third quarter when Kevin Wright picked up a fumble of a completed pass to Andrew Ene-Ita and ran it the final 22 yards for a 17-0 lead.

The Tigers benefitted from another kicking game issue when they were able to take advantage of a 21-yard APSU and turned into another Paulo Henriques field goal, this one from 44 yards out to make it a 20-0 contest.

The Govs finally responded, going 80 yards on 12 plays, with Devin Stark's 25-yard and Darryl Clack's five-yard catches being key-Clack's being a third-down reception that gained a first down by inches, only after APSU asked for a measurement. After a penalty, Ryan hooked up with Ryan White with a pass near the eight yard line and the preseason All-OVC selection picked his way to the goal line. But the kicking game woes continued when Ryan was unable to handle the extra-point snap, leaving the game at 20-6 with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

The Governors threatened to make a game of it in the fourth period, driving down to the Memphis one-yard line with just under four minutes left. But the Govs were unable to push the ball across with a trio of passes and one run, the last incomplete all but snuffing out the Govs' bid to win its first game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in 24 years.

A short pass from Taylor Reed to Billy Foster turned into a 93-yard catch and run for the game's final score.

The Governors finished with 368 yards total offense, including a career-best 245 passing yards from quarterback Jake Ryan, who completed 24 of 44 passes.  Fellow junior Devin Stark led the receiving corps with a career-best nine catches for 107 yards-his first career 100-yard receiving contest.

White, the Governors senior back, finished with 87 yards rushing on 16 carries and added another 37 in receptions, including his first career TD catch.

Meanwhile, the freshman Reed for Memphis, in just his second start, threw for 332 yards, completing 20 of 30 passes. The Tigers ended the night with 445 yards in total offense.

PURDUE 59, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri (0-2) saw its streak of 47-straight games without being shutout come to an end with a 59-0 loss to Purdue (2-1) in front of a crowd of 46,116 Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Southeast made it past midfield once and had just 57 yards of total offense in the first half.

Purdue put up 17 points in the first quarter with all three of its scores coming in less than two minutes.

Carson Wiggs gave the Boilermakers an early 3-0 lead when he kicked a 19-yard field goal at the 9:15 mark.

Purdue's next two scoring drives culminated in rushing touchdowns by Akeem Shavers. Shavers' 8-yard run capped a 7-play, 61-yard strike with 5:45 left. He followed that up with a 1-yard run to polish off a 7-play, 59-yard march (1:01).

The Boilermakers continued to pour it on in the second quarter, adding 21 more points to their lead.

Ralph Bolden scored a pair of rushing touchdowns from one and six yards out, respectively. Former Miami quarterback Robert Marve's 5-yard pass to Gary Bush also helped extend Purdue's lead to 38-0 at the half.

Marve completed each of his first six passes and threw for 91 yards and a TD on 7-of-8 attempts in his first game this season.

Purdue owned a 396-57 advantage in total offense over the game's first 30 minutes.

The Redhawks did manage to build some momentum in the first 3:02 of the game.

Bryan Blanfort delivered a big hit on wide receiver O.J. Ross. Ross fumbled the ball and Ben Kargbo recovered and ran 24 yards to the Southeast 36-yardline. However, the Redhawks drive ended at their own 45.

Purdue added three more rushing touchdowns in the second half, including two by Akeem Hunt, to complete its first shutout victory since 2004.

The Boilermakers used a balanced offensive attack with 10 different players finishing with at least one rushing attempt and eight players catching a minimum of one pass.

Caleb TerBush completed 14-of-17 passes for 143 yards. Shavers, Bolden and Hunt led the Boilermakers ground game with two TDs apiece. Shavers added a game-high 75 yards on 11 carries.

Justin Stiller led Purdue's receiving corps with five catches for 61 yards.

The Boilermakers piled up 627 total yards to Southeast's 153. Purdue held Southeast under 100 (87) yards rushing on the day.

Levi Terrell led the Redhawks with 33 yards on nine carries.

Matt Scheible completed 7-of-16 passes for 61 yards and had Southeast's longest play, a 16-yard rush.

Defensively, Blake Peiffer and Bryan Blanfort paved the way with eight tackles each. Blanfort also forced a fumble. Peiffer has led Southeast in tackles during both of his starts this season.