Saturday, November 5, 2016

Tennessee State Tigers Travel to Austin Peay for OVC Matchup

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Game 9: Tennessee State (5-3, 2-2) vs. Austin Peay (0-8, 0-6)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016
Location: Clarksville, Tenn.
Venue: Fortera Stadium
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. CT
TVOVCDN
Audio102.1 FM The Light

The Series: This is the 19th meeting with the Tigers leading the series, 12-6, while the Governors lead 5-4 in Clarksville. The teams first met in 1988, a 16-12 victory for the squad from Clarksville. TSU earned its first win in the series a year later, 38-10. The last ten meetings have run in streaks for the teams. TSU won a trio of games from 1996-2008, only to see the Governors reel off three of their own from 2009- 11. The Tigers are currently on a four game run over the past four seasons, including a 20-6 win at Hale Stadium in 2015.

Last Meeting: Tennessee State used a 97-yard drive; lasting 8:44 during the final quarter to earn secure a 20-6 win. Erick Evans broke through for a 25 yard touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the game. Austin Peay marched 66 yards on 11 plays on the opening drive of the game to took a 3-0 lead on a Logan Birchfield 35-yard field goal. Ty Law blocked a punt allowing Gabe Terry to pull down the deflected setting up a Lane Clark 47-yard field goal. Telvin Hooks jump started the Tiger offense with runs of 23 and 13 yards before O’Shay Ack­erman-Carter found Joshawn Bowens for a three yard touchdown pass to give TSU a 10-3 lead. Clark and Birchfield traded field goals to close out the first half with the Tigers leading 13-6 at the break. Evans finished the game with 13 rushes for a game high 83 yards; Hooks added 76 yards on 18 carries. The Tiger defense would hold the Governors to 46 yards of total offense during the second half. Linebacker Blair Edwards entered midway through the first quarter due to an injury to Van Williams and went on to lead the Tigers defense with 13 tackles, six solo.

Head Coach: Rod Reed is in his seventh season at the helm of the Tigers. During his time at TSU, he has compiled a 41-37 record, including a 33-22 mark since 2012. Reed is 20-29 in Ohio Valley Conference play and is 4-2 versus Austin Peay, 1-1 at Fortera Stadium.

Tennessee State: The Tigers dropped an OVC contest, 38-31, at Murray State to fall to 5-3, 2-2 in conference play. TSU entered halftime with a 20-17 advantage, only to be outscored 14-0 in the third quarter. Ronald Butler set career bests in passing (329 yards) and rushing (109 yds) while tossing three touchdowns and was on the receiving end of a two-point conversion. Butler is ranked 17th nationally in passing efficiency (149.1) and 14th in yards per completion (14.11). The senior moved into TSU’s career top 10 for completions (339) and passing touchdowns (34). Patrick Smith hauled in six catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Smith has 10 touchdowns on the season, matching his 2015 total. The junior wide receiver now has 20 scores in 18 career games and is ranked sixth on the TSU Career List. Lane Clark made three field goals (31, 25, 20) to move into a tie for second place in school history (28). Chris Collins leads the defense with 63 tackles and is tops in the OVC and 13th in the FCS averaging 5.8 solo tackles per game. Ebenezer Ogundeko is 10th in the country in sacks (0.92 pg) and 16th in tackles for loss (1.7 pg).

Scouting Austin Peay: The Governors are under first year head coach Will Healy. APSU fell to 0-8, 0-6 in the OVC, after a 41-21 loss at Southeast Missouri. JaVaughn Craig completed 12-of-17 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball 12 times for 126 yards (10.5 ypc) and a touchdown. Jared Beard caught nine passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. Beard leads the OVC and ranks eighth nationally in receptions/game (7.3). The junior wide out leads the OVC in receiving yards (752) and receiving yards/game (94.0). Linebacker Gunnar Scholato collected 18 tackles, including 3.0 for loss, helping his per game average rise to 13.0, which leads all FCS players.

Radio: 102.1 FM The Light will carry the game live with Greg Pogue (play-by-play), Albert Dawson (analyst) and Gary Dawson (sideline). Pregame will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT.



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