SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 24, @#18 Eastern Kentucky 7
@#21 Tennessee State 22, Tennessee Tech 21
@Jacksonville State 38, Murray State 35
Southeast Missouri 48, @Austin Peay 27
EASTERN ILLINOIS, #18 EASTERN KENTUCKY
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Illinois moved into a tie for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings as the Panthers picked up a road win Saturday afternoon, 24-7, at No. 18 Eastern Kentucky.
The Panthers improved to 5-3 overall, 4-1 in the OVC beating EKU for the first time since 2006. The Colonels fell to 6-3 overall, 4-2 in the OVC.
With three Walter Payton Award candidates in the game it was Eastern Illinois defense that made a statement in the contest as they limited the Colonels to only 81 total rushing yards while collecting five sacks.
EIU limited to Denham to only 95 yards rushing and one score at the end of the second quarter. Denham was EKU’s Payton Award candidate in the game.
EIU’s two candidates in the game were Jimmy Garoppolo and Erik Lora who connected for the final score of the game. Garoppolo was 32-of-51 for 266 yards with a score while throwing two interceptions. Lora finished with ten catches for 97 yards. His streak of seven straight games with 100-yards receiving was snapped but Lora did break the OVC single season reception record as he now has 93 catches passing Samford’s Efrem Hill.
EIU had two early chances to put points on the board but turned the ball over following a muffed punt by the Colonels on the first drive of the game. EIU’s second turnover was a Sam Hendricks fumble inside the five yard line that would have given the Panthers an early lead. EIU lost the turnover battle for the day 4-1.
The Panthers got on the board first with a Jake Walker short touchdown that capped an 8-play 41 yard drive with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. Walker finished with 119 yards rushing his third straight game over 100 yards.
EKU tied the game at 7-7 with 25 seconds left in the half on a Denham run. The score was set up by a 29-yard completion from T.J. Pryor to Tyrone Goard. Pryor who came into the game ranked third in the FCS in passing efficiency was 19-of-34 for 203 yards with one interception. Goard had seven catches for 118 yards.
The Panthers opened the second half driving the length of the field for a Taylor Duncan 1-yard run. Cameron Berra tacked on a 41-yard field goal with 6:57 left to play in the third to make it a two score game.
EIU’s defense was able to keep EKU at bay the remainder of the game as the lone scoring chance down the stretch was a missed field goal b y Luke Pray with 7:05 left in the game.
That defensive effort was led by Pete Houlihan, LeQuince McCall and Robert Haynes all with double figure tackles. Jerone Williams added eight tackles with a sack while Artavious Dowdell was disruptive with seven tackles and a sack.
The Panthers final touchdown of the game came with 12:08 remaining as Garoppolo hit Lora for the score.
The win was the first on the road for the Panthers this season as they prepare to play at Tennessee Tech next week.
The win over No. 18 Eastern Kentucky was the Panthers first over a ranked team since the 2009 season when they won at No. 12 Jacksonville State, 28-20.
#21 TENNESSEE STATE 22, TENNESSEE TECH 21
NASHVILLE - Another game in the Hole, another TSU comeback in the final seconds as a six-yard pass from Michael German to A.C. Leonard as time expired tied Tennessee Tech at 21. A Jamin Godfrey extra point gave the Tigers the 22-21 victory as they improved to 8-1 on the season.
TSU (8-1, 4-1 OVC) started the game off with a surprise onside kick, which TTU recovered at the Tiger 44 yard line, The Golden Eagles (2-6, 0-5) took advantage of the short field with six straight rushes from three different players. Quarterback Darian Stone, starting for the injured Tre Lamb, scored from one yard out for the early 7-0 lead.
The Tigers answered with points on its opening drive as Godfrey split the uprights from 37 yards out to cut into the TTU lead, 7-3.
The Tech offense was not nearly as effective on its next possession without the short field as TSU forced a three-and-out.
The second TSU drive ended just like the first did, with a Godfrey field goal. This time the junior from Englewood, Tenn., hit from 32 yards away to pull TSU to within one at 7-6.
Second verse same as the first as another TTU three-and-out turns into a Godfrey field (27 yards) to give the Tigers its first lead of the game, 9-7, with 14:12 remaining in the first half.
The Tigers scored on its first four possessions of the game, with each being field goals. The defense forced its third consecutive Golden Eagle three-and-out and put Godfrey in position for a 41-yard field goal to push the TSU lead to 12-7.
On the first play of the next Tech possession, Steven Godbolt picked off his sixth pass of the season at the TSU 26 with 7:56 left in the first half. TSU could not take advantage as running back Trabis Ward fumbled two minutes later at the Tech 29.
A 39-yard run for Stone on 2nd-and-13 put the ball in TSU territory. Tack on an extra 15-yards for a personal foul at the end of the run and the Golden Eagles had its best chance to score since the opening drive. A pair of TTU false starts and an eight yard sack by Samquan Evans pushed Tech back to the TSU 41 and set up a third-and-28. Stone would find Eric Belew in the middle of the field for a 41-yard score to retake the lead 14-12 heading into halftime.
The only points for either side in the third quarter was a 22-yard field goal from Godfrey after a TSU drive fizzled out inside the Tech 10 to give the Tigers the one point edge, 15-14. His fifth field goal on the day broke the school record of JJ. Flournoy who went 4-for-4 at Austin Peay on Oct. 6, 1990.
The back-and-forth battle would continue into the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles put together a nine play, 61-yard drive culminating with a six-yard touchdown pass from Stone to Cody Matthews to regain the lead 21-15 with 13 minutes remaining in the game
Both teams had numerous opportunities to put the game away (TTU) or retake the lead (TSU) in the final quarter. On the TTU drive, Zach Sharp lined up for a 45-yard field goal to clinch the game with just over a minute remaining. Sharp, who entered the game 3-for-6 on the season with a long of 28 yards, missed the kick wide left to give the Tigers one last chance.
With 1:01 on the clock, one time out remaining and 73 yards to go to find the end zone, TSU converted on a pair of third downs and one huge fourth down.
German found Travis James for a 27-yard gain on third-and-10 from the TSU 27 to put the ball near mid-field. Another third-and-10 conversion three plays later, this time to Weldon Garlington for 23 yards, kept the Tigers hopes alive.
On a fourth-and-one at the Tech 14-yard line, German ran for eight yards. After the ball was spiked to stop the clock, one second remained as TSU was still six yards shy.
On the final play of the game, German rolled to his right and found A.C. Leonard in the back of the end zone. Godfrey came on to break the 21-21 tie with the extra point, his 16th point of the game, to give TSU the 22-21 conference win.
German finished the game 24-of-40 for 294 yards and one touchdown. Leonard set career-highs with eight catches for 102 yards to go along with the game tying score. Ward continued his great season with 129 yards on 28 carries.
Nick Thrasher once again led all defenders with nine tackles, six solo.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 38, MURRAY STATE 35
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - A homecoming crowd of 17,087 at Burgess-Snow Field saw Jacksonville State continue its all-time dominance of Murray State and give head coach Jack Crowe his 100th career victory.
Washaun Ealey ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks beat the Racers 38-35 Saturday for their fourth victory in the last five games. Jacksonville State is 5-3 overall and remains in the hunt for the Ohio Valley Conference title at 4-2.
Ealey's 37 carries were the second-most in a game in school history.
Griffin Thomas kicked the go-ahead field goal with 8:51 left and the Gamecocks' Rashod Byers intercepted record-setting quarterback Casey Brockman with just over two minutes remaining to halt the Racers' final realistic threat.
Murray State blocked a later Thomas field goal try and took over deep in its own territory with 10 seconds remaining. But the game ended when DiMetrio Tyson sacked Brockman as time expired.
JSU became the first OVC team to hold Murray State (3-5, 2-3) below 36 points.
The Racers came in averaging 57.5 points and 458.2 passing yards in their first four OVC games – the Gamecocks allowed just 255 through the air.
Jacksonville State limited Murray State to only 93 total yards after halftime. The Racers' streak of having scored in 23 consecutive quarters ended when they failed to put points on the scoreboard in the fourth, a mark dating back to Sept. 15.
Ealey's 2-yard run on the first possession after halftime finished off a 65-yard, eight-play drive to put JSU ahead 35-28.
Murray State, however, pulled even late in the third quarter after pouncing on Jacksonville State's third fumble. The Racers quickly moved 55 yards in five plays and forged the fifth tie of the day, 35-35, when Duane Brady scored on a 4-yard run.
The teams combined for 56 points and 472 total yards during the frenetic first half that ended deadlocked at 28-all and saw Brockman become the OVC's all-time passing leader. The game was tied four times in the first 30 minutes.
Each team committed two first-half turnovers and all four miscues were converted into touchdowns.
The first of Brockman's two interceptions, this one by freshman cornerback Jermaine Hough on Murray State's second possession, set up the Gamecocks' first score. Hough returned the interception – his third in two games – 15 yards to the Racers 29.
Ealey ran to the end zone on first down and Thomas kicked the first of his five extra points for a 7-0 Jax State lead at the 11:13 mark of the first quarter.
The Racers came back with a 74-yard drive to pull even. Brockman finished off the eight-play march by scrambling two yards and Jordan Benton added the PAT to make it 7-7 with 8:41 left in the first.
Murray State grabbed its first lead after the Gamecocks were forced to punt. Brockman had completions of 16 and 36 yards and Brady ran in from the 12 with 5:54 on the clock for a 14-7 Racers lead.
Another Brockman interception, this one by JSU freshman Raheam Buxton, helped the Gamecocks tie it for a second time, with Ealey getting his second touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:41 to go in the first quarter.
Marques Ivory threw touchdown passes of 41 and 4 yards to Telvin Brown and Alan Bonner, respectively, during the second quarter. Ivory completed 15-of-31 passes for 205 yards and was not intercepted during the contest.
Murray State's second-quarter scores came on a 6-yard run by Jaamal Brown and Brockman's 1-yard quarterback sneak.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 48, AUSTIN PEAY 27
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (3-5, 2-3) had two 100-yard rushers and used a big 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown to secure a 48-27 victory over Austin Peay (0-8, 0-6) Saturday at Governors Stadium.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Scott Lathrop ran for a game and career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns, while Levi Terrell rushed for 137 yards and two scores. Lathrop and Terrell helped lead Southeast to a season-high 399 rushing yards.
However, it was the Redhawk defense which rose to the occasion to make a huge difference late in the game. Southeast led, 41-27, when APSU threatened to score its second-straight touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Governors had a 1st-and-Goal at Southeast's 2-yardline when Joe Malolo jarred the ball loose from Reco Williams. Branden Spann scooped up the ball and ran 98 yards for a touchdown to nail down the win with 3:05 on the clock. Spann, who ran back an interception 100 yards for a touchdown earlier this season, set a school record with his game-changing fumble return.
Southeast snapped a 10-game losing streak on the road and earned its first victory away from home since beating the Governors, 41-24, on Oct. 16, 2010. The Redhawks outgained the Governors, 259-47, in a run-dominated first half which saw Southeast score on all five of its possessions.
Terrell's 3-yard run capped a 14-play, 72-yard opening drive to give Southeast a 7-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter. APSU was flagged for a personal foul on a 3rd-and-17 midway through that drive. On the fifth play of the Redhawks next possession following a APSU punt, Lathrop broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run to push Southeast's lead to 14-0. The 67-yard rush was the longest by any Redhawk this season.
The Governors used some trickery at the start of the second quarter to cut Southeast's lead in half. Jake Ryan completed a pass to Devin Stark behind the line of scrimmage. Stark then threw the ball back to Ryan who tossed it 39 yards downfield to a wide open Jamaar Embry. The triple pass narrowed the gap to 14-7 with 14:50 left. That would be all the scoring for APSU in the first half, as Southeast added 17 unanswered points to take a 31-7 lead at the intermission.
Ron Coleman scored his first touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run at the 9:01 mark. Drew Geldbach then kicked a season-long 49-yard field goal to cap a drive that started at the APSU 29-yardline following a 12-yard punt by Ben Campbell. A 23-yard run by Lathrop and a 25-yard pass from Lathrop to Spencer Davis helped set up Southeast's other touchdown. Lathrop, who fumbled at the 1-yardline, recovered to cross the goal line just before the half ended.
Lathrop established his new career-high in rushing yards with 159 in the first half alone. He averaged nearly 11 yards (10.6) per carry on his 15 attempts.
Back-to-back APSU turnovers led to seven more points for Southeast in the third quarter. Andrew Montgomery fumbled on his first carry of the game and Ben Kargbo recovered at the Southeast 26-yardline. The Redhawks later punted for the first time, but Tyler Clendenen fumbled after signaling for a fair catch. Darrick Borum fell on the ball at the Governors 19-yardline.
Terrell took the handoff on the play after Clendenen's mishap and ran 19 yards for a touchdown, giving Southeast a 38-7 lead with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Ryan threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Stark and Stephen Stansell missed the point after with 7:01 left to play. Following a Vucic punt, APSU marched 55 yards in two minutes before turning the ball over.
Southeast's season-high 48 points were the most in an OVC game since the Redhawks scored 49 against Murray State on Nov. 14, 2009. It was also the first time Southeast scored more than 40 points in an OVC road game since 2003 (at Eastern Kentucky, Oct. 18).
Lathrop posted his second 100-yard rushing game this season, as his 176 yards marked the second-most in a game by a Southeast quarterback. He finished with an average of 8.9 yards on 20 carries.
Terrell inched his way closer to 1,000 rushing yards. He ran for over 100 yards for the fifth-straight game and sixth time in eight starts this year. Terrell currently has 981 yards.
Defensively, Taylor Ramsey paved the way with a career-high seven tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. The Redhawk defense forced three turnovers, marking the fifth time it finished with multiple takeaways in a game.
Williams ran for 133 yards and one touchdown, while Stark had nine catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns to lead APSU. Ryan completed 23-of-38 passes for 304 yards and three TDs, as well.