Jacksonville State loss, UTM win were weekend surprises

To simply say that the most surprising day of the Ohio Valley Conference football season so far took place Saturday would not even be doing justice to what transpired.

Quite a few people thought defending champion Jacksonville State would not lose a league game after the Gamecocks breezed through the first half of their OVC schedule.

And probably even more people figured perennial OVC doormat Tennessee-Martin would not win a conference game. After all, the Skyhawks had posted just two league victories in the previous eight years.

But both of those theories went up in a cloud of smoke Saturday.

Tennessee Tech (5-2, 2-1) handed visiting Jacksonville State (6-1, 4-1) its first loss of the season, 16-13, when Josh Foster kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired.

"We responded really well," Tennessee Tech coach Mike Hennigan said during Tuesday's weekly OVC teleconference. "It was a very physical football game, and we knew that going in."

Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe, whose squad dropped from 12th to 20th in this week's Division I-AA poll and also is now one of six OVC teams with either one or two conference losses, praised the Eagles after the Gamecocks failed to protect a 13-3 third-quarter lead.

"We were playing a very inspired Tennessee Tech football team," Crowe said. "Credit to Coach Hennigan for having them ready to play. I thought they had a great game plan for us."

Tennessee-Martin (2-6, 1-4) picked up its initial OVC win by scoring 26 consecutive fourth-quarter points to stun visiting Eastern Illinois (3-4, 2-2) 32-14.

"It's just a good win. It's naturally good to get on that side of it," Tennessee-Martin coach Matt Griffin said. "The kids played hard through four quarters."

Griffin slowly but surely seems to have the Skyhawks on the upswing in his second season as their coach.

Last year, the Tennessee-Martin ended a 43-game OVC losing streak dating back to 1996 by beating Tennessee Tech 30-23 in overtime. The Skyhawks proceeded to drop another 10 consecutive OVC contests before wiping out a 14-6, fourth-quarter deficit Saturday.

Although it may seem like a small accomplishment, Tennessee-Martin has already equaled its overall win total in any season since 1995. The Skyhawks have finished in the OVC basement eight straight years, although they tied Tennessee Tech last year. Since moving to Division I-AA in 1992, their lone winning season was a 6-5 mark in 1993.

While Griffin said programs never develop as fast as coaches would like, he admitted to at least being a bit satisfied with the progress the Skyhawks are making.

"You've got to, more so with the positive attitude we're going to keep here," Griffin said. "But there isn't a coach on this call who is satisfied with their record."

Said Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo: "These aren't the Martin teams of the past. Matt Griffin has done a great job."

In another down-to-the-wire finish Saturday, Samford (3-5, 2-3) slipped past host Tennessee State (3-4, 1-2) 42-36 in overtime even though the Bulldogs blew a 34-7 first-half lead. It was Samford's third overtime game in its five conference contests; the Bulldogs lost the first two.

The game featured incredible performances by arguably the top two offensive players in the league.

Samford quarterback Ray Nelson passed for 349 yards and rushed for 109 yards, including a game-winning 5-yard touchdown run in overtime. Nelson is second nationally in total offense in Division I-AA, with 2,147 yards passing and 701 yards rushing.

Tennessee State tailback Charles Anthony piled up a career-high 285 yards and scored four touchdowns. The nation's leading I-AA rusher has 1,156 yards this season.

Saturday's other OVC game saw Murray State (4-4, 3-2) ease past visiting Southeast Missouri State (1-6, 1-3) 28-13.

In a non-league contest, Eastern Kentucky (3-4, 3-1) played host Vanderbilt tough before falling to the I-A squad 19-7.

Players of the week

Nelson was the OVC offensive player of the week.

Tennessee Tech linebacker Brett Vavra was the OVC defensive player of the week after making a career-high 16 tackles.

Foster, Tennessee Tech's kicker, garnered special teams honors. He made all three of his field goals, including the game-winner.

EKU quarterback Josh Greco won the newcomer award. He passed for 262 yards in defeat.