Golden Eagles edged by Skyhawks in Tucker Stadium, 27-24

Posted: Sep 30, 2010

Tim Benford caught two touchdown passes, but on this catch (at right and in lower photo) he was ruled out of bounds.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – UT Martin pieced together second half scoring drives of 99 and 97 yards, and also turned a midfield interception into a touchdown march on the way to a 27-24 comeback victory at Tennessee Tech Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference action.

Tevis Barksdale rushed for 134 yards on 23 carries to pace a Skyhawk offense that piled up 270 yards on the ground and 450 in total offense. Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 151 yards and a touchdown and also added 44 rushing yards for UT Martin (2-3) that improved to 2-1 in OVC play.

Golden Eagle sophomore quarterback Tre Lamb passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Tech offense, hitting all-OVC receiver Tim Benford for six catches and 122 yards, including two scores.

Tech (1-4) slipped to 0-2 in conference play and lost at home for the first time since the 2008 season after six consecutive wins.

After a 28-yard field goal by Cody Sandlin gave UTM a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter, Tech answered early in the second period with a 54-yard scoring drive capped by an eight-yard TD pass from Lamb to Benford. Midway in the second quarter Matthew Barker's 40-yard field goal made it a 10-3 Tech lead.

The Skyhawks added a 23-yard field goal by Sandlin to trim Tech's lead to 10-6 with 1:30 to play, before Lamb directed Tech on a 67-yard, nine-play TD drive in 1:06. Lamb hit Tremaine Hudson from the eight with 18 seconds remaining in the half to send Tech to the break with a 17-6 lead.

After Nick Campbell's punt was downed inside the one-yard line, Carr moved his squad 99 yards in five plays to make it 17-13. Barksdale ran for 23 on the first two downs, Carr scrambled for 12, and Maurice Taylor broke off a 14-yard run to move the ball to the Skyhawk 45. From there, Carr found Stephen Shriver alone behind the defense and they hooked up for a 55-yard TD.

On Tech's first play from the 39, Lamb's pass over the middle was intercepted by Jonathan Utley at the 50, and eight plays later Carr rushed the final yard for a go-ahead touchdown, lifting UTM to a 20-17 lead.

Tech reached the UTM 25 on a 34-yard pass from Lamb to Benford, but on the second play of the fourth quarter, Lamb's pass was deflected and Kendal Harper picked it off at the UTM three to halt the Tech scoring chance.

Once again, the Skyhawks ground out a scoring drive the length of the field on the strength of their running game, this time moving 97 yards in nine plays. Barksdale has runs of 24 and 27 on the drive, and pushed into the end zone from the one for the score. The drive featured 82 yards on the ground.

Down 27-17, Tech battled back with a 68-yard scoring drive in 10 plays, with Lamb hitting Benford for a 20-yard TD to close the margin to 27-24 with 8:59 remaining in the game.

Tech's defense came up with a big stop on the next possession, forcing a punt, but the Golden Eagle offense was stymied and had to punt. Again the Golden Eagle defense halted UTM and forced a punt, but this time Tech was called for roughing the kicker and the Skyhawks were able to chew up valuable time.

Tech's defense stopped UTM on fourth-and-two at the Tech 29 with 1:25 to play, but the Golden Eagle offense couldn't connect and ran out of downs.

Defensively, Josh Bey led UTM with 12 tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a fumble forced and a pass defended. Tech's defense was topped by Kelechi Ordu with 13 tackles.

Tech fumbled five times and lost one, and was also intercepted twice, giving up three turnovers while the Skyhawks didn't have any turnovers.

Tech will regroup and head to Clarksville, Tenn., next week to play at Austin Peay at 4 p.m.

Pre-game notes:

* Tech is 1-3 (0-1 OVC) on the season thus far, having come up short in their late rally against SEMO last week, 23-21. UT Martin is also 1-3 overall, 1-1 in the OVC. The Skyhawks are coming off of a tough 52-16 loss to Murray State.

* The Golden Eagles picked up a win over Lane College in their home opener two weeks ago, defeating the Dragons 43-0 in an abbreviated 24:59 minute game, called due to inclement weather.

* TTU owns the lifetime series over Martin with an 18-9-2 record. The last time the two teams met, Tech took the 35-28 win. This meeting marks the 30th meeting between the two opponents, the first being in 1927.

* Thursday's game is the first one that the Golden Eagles will play in defense of the Sgt. York trophy, and the only one that Tech will play at home. The traveling trophy is awarded to the OVC team from the state of Tennessee with the best record. In addition to Martin, Tennessee State and Austin Peay are competing for the trophy.

* Tech is riding a six-game winning streak at home coming into tonight's game.

* One hour prior to kick-off, the temperature is 78 degrees with a slight 10 mph breeze from the north.

* With kick-off scheduled for 7 p.m., the temperature is expected to have dropped to 72 degrees. It's likely that it will fall 10 more degrees over the course of the game.

* The low humidity makes chances of rain slight, unlike the last Tech home game against Lane college. The chance of percipitation is hovering at 10 percent for the majority of the evening.

* Tech has earned a +2 turnover margin over the first four games played.

* Despite the loss to SEMO, first-year starting quarterback Tre Lamb passed for a career-high 246 yards, while wide receiver Tim Benford had eight catches for a career-high 177 yards.

* Receiver Henry Sailes is just 12 yards away from earning 3,000 all-purpose yards in his career. He currently also ranks second in Tech history in punt return yards with 1,359, needing just 59 yards to tie Gerald Bently for the top spot.

First quarter notes:

* UT-Martin won the coin toss and deferred to the second half; Tennessee Tech will defend the south goal line.

* No. 81, Cody Sandlin, is kicking for the Skyhawks. His kick was punched low on the ground and is returned by no. 49, Dwight Evans to the Tech 39 yard line.

* Two fumbles by Tre Lamb induced a change in possession for the Golden Eagles. After a 12-yard drive by Dontey Gay, Lamb fumbled the first time but was saved by a recovery by wide receiver Demetrous Garrett. Lamb completed a 20-yard pass to Benford, but fumbled again for a loss two plays later at the Martin 39.

*UT-Martin then put together a 14 play rushing drive the was halted at the Tech 11 after a false start on the offense. Sandlin returned to the game and put one through the uprights to put the Skyhawks on the board 3-0 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

* Gay returned Sandlin's 54 yard kick to the Tech 46 to start Tech's drive downfield. Lamb rushed for 15 and a 1st down at the UTM 39, but shouldered his third fumble of the game, which he recovered himself at the UTM 42. Garrett caught a 23-yard pass, but a delay of game and rushing loss left the Golden Eagles on the UTM 25 and the end of the first quarter.

Second quarter notes:

* Lamb and Benford combined for the first Golden Eagle points of the evening, as Benford earned a 19-yard reception and Lamb rushed for four to get to the UTM 8. The 10 play, 54 yard drive ended with an 8-yard pass to Benford in the end zone with 5:18 left on the clock, posting a score of 7-3 after Matthew Barker's extra point.

* UTM put together a three play, six yard drive before being halted at their own 26-yard line. Skyhawk punter, no. 83 Joe Hook, lofted a 40-yard punt to Henry Sailes, who signaled for a fair catch at the Tech 34.

* Pass interference on no. 6 Derek Welch against intended receiver Tim Benford brought TTU to their 49-yard line on Lamb's first play. Lamb's next pass to no. 81, wide receiver Collin Allen, brought Tech to the 38. Golden Eagle runningbacks Donte Gay and Cody Forbes then rushed for a combined 15 yards to bring Tech to the UTM 23-yard line.

* An incompletion by Lamb intended for Benford brought the special teams back onto the field, and Barker notched the longest field goal of his Tech career at 40 yards to make the score 10-3 with 8:14 left in the half, ending the eight play, 43-yard drive.

* Following Barker's 70-yard kickoff, UTM rushed for a total of 49 yards between Tevi Barksdale, quarterback Derek Carr and Jason McNair. Carr also contributed an 11-yard pass to Bryan Milligan, bringing the Skyhawks to the TTU 4.* Golden Eagle outside linebacker no. 88 Charlie Seivers was injured on the second rushing play and was taken off the field with a right knee injury. He was replaced by defensive lineman no. 5, Jamere Hogue, who paired with Dedrick Miley to end the Skyhawk drive, leaving Sandlin with a 23-yard field goal to give UTM their second field goal of the game. Score 10-6 TTU.

* At the conclusion of the drive, the time of possession was nearly an even split, with UTM holding the ball for 15:16 and earning 119 yards, and Tech for 13:14 and 122 yards.

* TTU linebacker no. 44 Blake Adams returned the kick for 7-yards at the Golden Eagle 33-yard line. Lamb fumbled for the fourth time and recovered, following up with a 21-yard scramble pass to no. 2 Alden Olverson at the Tech 46. A 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness brought Tech to the 39 yard line, where Lamb induced another 21-yard gain with a pass to Benford at the UTM 18. An incomplete pass and a sack for a loss of 7 leaves Tech on third down with 17 to go. Lamb launched a 16-yard pass to Olverson to leave the Golden Eagles at 4th and one, and rushed for the first down. The drive ended in an 8-yard pass complete to no. 22, Tremaine Hudson, for a touchdown with 18.5 seconds left on the clock. Barker's extra point put the Golden Eagles ahead, 17-3, ending the nine play, 67 yard drive the took just over one minute (1:06).

* UTM returned the kick to their own 30-yard line before taking a knee to end the half.

Halftime notes:

* At the half, the score sat in favor of Tech 17-3, with all of Tech's points coming in the second quarter.

* Lamb went 10-13 in passing for 145 yards, while the Golden Eagle defense held UTM to only 31 passing yards.

* On the other hand, Tech rushed for 29 yards in comparison to the Skyhawk's 88 yards.

* After going 4-68 in the first half, Benford moved into the five spot in Tech record books in career receptions.

* Other receivers for Tech included Olverson (2-37) Garrett (1-23) Allen (1-13) and Hudson (1-8).

* Tech went 5-8 in third down conversions, 2-2 in fourth down, while UTM went 4-7 in third down conversions.

Third quarter notes:

* Barker's 70-yard kick was returned to the UTM 27. From there, the Skyhawks put together a seven play, 34 yard drive that ended in a sack on Carr by no. 13, outside linebacker Marcus Edwards. From the 39-yard line, UTM punted the ball in-bounds to the Tech 0, putting the Golden Eagles on their own 20-yard line.

* Unable to put together a cohesive offensive movement, the Golden Eagles were only able to move 30 yards in 4:11 minutes. Forced to punt from the 50, Campbell launched a 49-yarder that was downed at the Martin one by Tech.

* Unshaken, the Skyhawks put together a five play, 99-yard drive to score their first touchdown of the game in two minutes and seven seconds, making the score 17-13 with 5:01 on the clock. The drive ended with a 55-yard pass to no. 88, wide receiver Stephen Schiever.

* After Hudson returned the 58-yard kick-off to the Tech 12, Lamb's pass was intercepted by Jonathan Utley at the 50-yard line and returned for one to the Tech 49.

* Starting at the Tech 49, 2-yard loss, Marcus Edwards got his second sack of the game on Martin's third down, inducing an 8-yard loss and leaving UTM with 4th and 20. A fake punt play by Hook earned him 29 rushing yards, bringing Martin to the Tech 30. Schiever caught another 10-yard pass to put Martin at 1st and goal from the 10. A scramble for a five-yard gain and a rush by no. 21 Barksdale left Carr to rush for the touchdown. The extra point gave Martin their first lead of the game at 20-17.

* Charles Stevens returns the kick to the Golden Eagle 41-yard line, and Lamb launched a 34-yard pass to Benford under double coverage.

Fourth quarter notes:

* At 3rd and 10 from the Martin 35 yard line, Lamb's pass intended for Garrett was intercepted by no. 7 Kendal Harper at the Martin three yard line.

* The Skyhawks put together a nine play, 97 yard scoring drive for another touchdown by Barksdale. The extra point made the score 27-17 in favor of the Skyhawks with 12:05 left in the game.

* To the Tech 32 yard line. Lamb threw an 8-yard pass to no. 16 Zack Zieglar before the offense rushed for 18 to the Martin 42. Lamb was sacked for a loss of eight before he tossed a long pass downfield intended for Benford, who drew the pass interference penalty, putting the Golden Eagles on the UTM 34. A pitch to Gay for a 14-yard gain brought the offense to the 20, where Lamb connected with Benford for a 20-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 27-24 after Barker's extra point with 8:59 left on the clock.

* Martin returned the kick to their 22 yard line, where the Golden Eagles held the Skyhawks to 4th and four. Hook's punt sailed for 39 yards, putting Tech on their own 33 with 6:42 left to play.

* Lamb's fumble, forced by no. 3 T.J. Drakeford, was recovered by Gay at the 23. Held to fourth and 20, Campbell's punt found no. 25 Jason McNair, who was mauled by defensive back Corbin Miles and linebacker Will Johnson on the Martin 32. Tech held the Skyhawks again to 3rd and eight, and the Golden Eagles stopped the Skyhawks on the 35, forcing them to punt.

* However, a roughing the punter penalty gave Martin an automatic first down on the 50 yard line, starting a new series for the Skyhawks. Tech stopped UTM, forcing a 4th and two play at the 29, where the Golden Eagle defense came up with a huge stop on no. 25 McNair.

* With 1:21 left on the clock, the Golden Eagle offense took over on their own 27. On a 4th and 14 play, Lamb's pass intended for Olverson was broken up by no. 6 Derek Welch.

Final notes:

* UT Martin wins with a final score of 27-24.

* Tim Benford posted his second consecutive game with 100+ receiving yards and 2+ touchdowns.

Some photos of the night's activities (photos by Tony Marable and Dean Carothers)