Golden Eagle game notes vs. Murray State (pdf)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Nine Golden Eagle seniors will run through
the inflatable helmet Saturday afternoon and onto the turf in
Tucker Stadium for the final time in their careers. They hope to
lead Tennessee Tech in its quest for an overall winning season and
an unbeaten home mark. The Golden Eagles can also finish tied for
second in the Ohio Valley Conference by wrapping up with a victory
over the Racers.
Tech is looking to avenge a 51-21 loss last year in Murray, Ky.,
and rebound from a 55-28 loss last week at Jacksonville State.
The senior class includes Brendon Fisher, Kelvin Quarles, Taron
Ryce, Calvin Smith, Lee Sweeney, Cedric Wilkerson, Derek Dickerson,
Brandon Harris and Derrian Waters.
Tech comes into the contest with a 5-5 overall record and looks to
post a winning record for the first time in five years. A win over
MSU would also leave Tech with just its fourth unbeaten record in
Tucker Stadium since the venue opened in 1966.
Murray State is coming off a 49-13 loss at Southeast Missouri. The
Racers will be under the direction of defensive coordinator Mark
Lister, who took over the reins this week after head coach Matt
Griffin was relieved of his duties.
Tickets for the game are available at the Athletics Ticket Office
in Eblen Center or by calling (931) 372-3940. Ticket may also be
ordered online by clicking here.
THE SENIOR CLASS -- Tennessee Tech’s 2009 roster includes
only nine seniors. Three of them are fifth-year seniors and three
more are in their fourth season as a Golden Eagle. One senior is in
his second season at Tech, and two seniors are newcomers to the
program. Tech’s
2009 seniors (and the number of years on the roster before
2009):
* Linebacker Derek Dickerson (0)
* Defensive end Brendon Fisher (4)
* Tight end Brandon Harris (3)
* Defensive end Kelvin Quarles (0)
* Cornerback Taron Ryce (3)
* Offensive tackle Calvin Smith (4)
* Quarterback Lee Sweeney (3)
* Linebacker Derrian Waters (4)
* Runningback Cedric Wilkerson (1)
HOLD ON TO THE BALL -- The Golden Eagles rank 11th in the nation
and second in the OVC for fewest turnovers lost with 12. The Golden
Eagles have not had a turnover in the last two-plus games, and have
now gone nine consecutive quarters with a turnover. The last TO was
a third quarter interception by Tennessee State.
TURNOVER TURNAROUND -- Last year Tech finished the year with a
minus 20 turnover margin. Through 10 games this season, Tech is a
plus six (+6) in turnover margin, which ranks second in the
conference and 25th in the nation.
CHART WATCHING -- Several Golden Eagles can move up on the career
charts this weekend:
* Henry Sailes needs 131 yards to break the school record for
kickoff return yards
* Henry Sailes needs 97 yards to move to eight in all-purpose
yards.
* Tim Benford needs three catches move to eighth place and four to
reach seventh place in career receptions.
* Tim Benford needs 36 yards to reach 10th in career receiving
yards.
* Taron Ryce needs four tackles to hit the 200-tackle mark.
* Richmond Tooley needs four tackles to hit the 100-tackle
mark.
GIVE ME SIX -- The Golden Eagles are bidding for their sixth win
of the season. It would be the most wins by a Golden Eagle team
since the 2004 team went 6-5 under head coach Mike Hennigan.
A HAPPY HOME -- Tech is the only team in the OVC to be unbeaten at
home in 2009, and the Golden Eagles have a chance to close the year
with a perfect 5-0 mark on their home turf. It would be
Tech’s first unbeaten home mark since going 5-0 in 2001 and
only the fourth time in Tucker Stadium since it opened in 1966. The
other two unblemished home records came in 1971 (5-0) and 1972
(6-0). Tech has posted home wins over Pikeville College, Austin
Peay, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State.
ODD QUARTER BLUES -- The Golden Eagles have outscored their
opponents this year in the second (62-51) and fourth quarters
(69-61). They have been outscored in the first quarter (81-72) and
the third (79-19).
LEADING INDICATORS -- Want an early indication that the Golden
Eagles will win the game? Check the score at halftime. Tech is 5-1
this season when leading at the half.
SGT YORK TROPHY -- The Golden Eagles clinched the 2009 Sgt. York
Trophy with their 20-13 win over Tennessee State, giving Tech a 3-0
record against the three OVC schools within the state of Tennessee.
The award, now in its third year, goes to the Tennessee OVC team
with the top record in the series among the four -- Tech, Austin
Peay, UT Martin and Tennessee State.
FROM KENTUCKY -- The Tech roster features only one player from the
state of Kentucky - sophomore Dontey Gay from Lexington.
ALL-AMERICANS -- Two Golden Eagles have earned the distinction of
All-America status. Junior Taylor Askew is an Academic All-American
and junior Kelechi Ordu is a Strength All-American. Junior Henry
Sailes has earned preseason honorable mention All-America
honors.
YOUTH IN TWO-DEEP -- The two-deep lineup includes 15 freshmen and
20 first-year Golden Eagles.
CAPTAINS APLENTY -- Coach Watson Brown has decided to have his
team elect captains prior to the 2009 season, and the Golden Eagles
have chosen four defensive players. The team captains are Brendon
Fisher, Kelvin Quarles, Taron Ryce and Derrian Waters.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS -- During last Spring semester, the Golden Eagle
football team placed 26 players on the Athletic Director’s
Honor Roll. This season, 14 of those players are back on the
field.
STARTS WITH AN “A” -- Golden Eagle junior offensive
guard Taylor Askew has been named first-team Academic All-District
each of the past three years, and he’s currently on the
ballot for national Academic All-America honors. The CoSIDA
Academic-All-America team is sponsored by ESPN The Magazine. Askew
owns a perfect 4.0 grade average, and last season received the OVC
Academic Medal for posting the highest GPA among all football
players in the league.
CAREER MARKS -- So far this season Lee Sweeney has established new
Tech career records for most passes attempted, most passes
completed, most touchdown passes, most touchdowns responsible for,
most passing yards and most yards of total offense.
PRESEASON HONOR -- Junior Charlie Seivers was named to the
preseason all-OVC team.
SHUTTLE PILOT -- Former Golden Eagle linebacker Barry Wilmore, a
member of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame, is in currently in space as
the pilot of NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis, which had a
successful launch on Monday (Nov. 16). Wilmore is one of just four
former college football players to become an astronaut. One of the
others is John Glenn.
TO PROTECT AND SERVE -- Tech’s offensive line has done a
solid job in pass protection this year, allowing just 16 total
sacks through the first nine games. Georgia recorded six of those
sacks. Through 10 games, Tech has yielded just 19 sacks.
LITTLE TIME OFF -- The starting five in Tech’s offensive
line are seeing the majority of snaps. The workhorses up front
include center Malcolm Jones, guards Taylor Askew and Slade Adams,
and tackles Scott Schweitzer and Calvin Smith. Sophomores Andrew
Higgins and Ryan St. John have seen some time in supporting
roles.
DRIVING LICENSE -- Against Jacksonville State, Tech had three
scoring drives of 65 yards or more, the most against any TTU
opponent this year, and a fourth of 64 yards. So far this year,
Tech has produced 11 long scoring drives of at least 65 yards.
LIGHT THE FUSE -- The Golden Eagle offense has produced 20
“explosions” this season, with 16 passing plays of 25
yards or more and four rushing plays of better than 20 yards.
SEEING RED -- Once Tech reaches the red zone, the Golden Eagle
offense has been very efficient, scoring 23 out of 28 times for 82
percent. Tech has found the end zone for 21 of those 23 scores.
OVC HONOR -- Sophomore receiver Tim Benford was named co-Offensive
Player of the Week after accounting for 122 of Tech’s 265
yards of total offense against Tennessee State (Oct. 31). Benford
had five catches, including the game-winner with a 28-yard TD with
three minutes remaining. It was Benford’s third career
100-yard receiving game, and second of this season.
ADDING UP -- Senior quarterback Lee Sweeney has passed for 1,615
yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Sweeney ranks third in the OVC
in passing efficiency, fifth in passing yards and seventh in total
offense. He has hit the 300-yard mark passing six times, including
318 at UT Martin (Oct. 17). Sweeney has 13 games of 200 yards or
more passing. Tech is 7-6 in games when Sweeney hits the 200-yard
mark. He is averaging 161.5 yards per game this season.
SENIOR GUNSLINGER -- Lee Sweeney entered his senior season as the
starter at quarterback, something that hasn’t happened too
often through the years. Since 1990, it is only the fifth time that
a senior came into the year as the starting quarterback. The others
have been Mike Jones (1994), Andre Cabalero (1997), Grant Swallows
(2001) and Robert Craft (2004).
ON OVC LADDERS, TOO -- Lee Sweeney is climbing the charts among
the all-time top quarterbacks in OVC history. He is third for
career completions (608) and seventh in career passing yards with
7,004. He needs 60 to catch Kelly Holcomb in sixth place.
OVC CAREER COMPLETIONS
1. Chris Swartz, MOR (1987-90) 774
2. Stewart Childress, MUR (2000-03) 649
3. Lee Sweeney, TTU (2006-) 608
4. Tony Romo, EIU (1999-02) 584
Brady Wahlberg, UTM (2002-05) 584
6. Michael Proctor, MUR (1986-89) 578
7. Jefferson Adcock, SAM (2004-07) 505
8. Kelly Holcomb, MTSU (1991-94) 501
9. Ray Nelson, SAM (2003-04) 500
10. Josh Greco, EKU (2004-07) 478
OVC CAREER PASSING YARDS
1. Chris Swartz, MOR (1987-90) 9,028
2. Michael Proctor, MUR (1986-89) 8,682
3. Tony Romo, EIU (1999-02) 8,212
4. Stew Childress, MUR (2000-03) 7,581
5. Leon Murray, TSU (1997-99) 7,201
6. Kelly Holcomb, MTSU (1991-94) 7,064
7. Lee Sweeney, TTU (2006-) 7,004
8. James Wade, TSU (1989-92) 6,613
9. Justin Fuente, MUR (1998-99) 6,394
10. Brady Wahlberg, UTM (2002-05) 6,247
CAREER TD MARK TO LEE -- With two TD passes against UT Martin, Lee
Sweeney broke the career record. He has now thrown 47 career
touchdown passes. He passed the career record, which was originally
set at 38 by Robert Craft (2001-2004).
LEE FOR THREE -- Lee Sweeney has thrown three touchdown passes
five times in his career:
2009 - Austin Peay
2008 - Austin Peay
2007 - Samford
2006 - Murray State
2006 - Tennessee State
FINDING PAYDIRT -- Sweeney has thrown TD passes in 24 of his 39
career games and has thrown for at least two touchdowns in 16
games.
NATIONAL CHARTS -- Among all active quarterbacks, Lee Sweeney
ranks in the Top 16 in four different career categories:
10th - attempts with1,007
12th - completions with 608
14th - yards with 7,004
16th - touchdown passes with 47
IN EVERY SINGLE GAME -- Tim Benford has caught passes in all 21
games of his Golden Eagle career. He has made four or more catches
in 14 of those 21 contests. Benford enjoyed a sensational start to
his career last year, leading Tech in receptions (school-record
68), receiving yards (782) and touchdowns (10) on his way to
earning 2008 OVC Freshman of the Year honors. This season, Benford
leads Tech with 31 catches for 554 yards. He ranks third in the OVC
in receiving yards per game and seventh in receptions per game.
BENFORD IN TOP 10 -- Sophomore Tim Benford has climbed to ninth in
career receptions. He comes into the game with 99 receptions,
needing three to catch Anton Thomison and four to match Jack
Kelley.
HE’S PASSED 1,000 -- Sophomore Tim Benford has raised his
career total to 1,336 receiving yards.
SAILING ON -- Henry Sailes has climbed into ninth place in career
all-purpose yards. He had 179 yards at Jacksonville State, and now
has 2,703. He jumped ahead of Lorenza “Chicken” Rivers
and needs 97 more to catch Gerald Bentley in eighth place.
HITTING 1,000 -- Henry Sailes has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in
kickoff returns for his career. He has 1,288 yards to rank second
in school history. He is 130 yards from Gerald Bentley’s
record of 1,418 KO return yards.
MAN WITH A PURPOSE -- Last year, Dontey Gay finished third on the
team in all-purpose yardage with 776 yards. This season, he is tops
on the squad with 708 all-purpose yards. He has a team-best 454
yards rushing, along with 87 receiving and 167 on kickoff returns.
In 21 games, Gay has accounted for 1,484 all-purpose yards with 643
rushing, 112 receiving and 729 in kickoff returns
PAYDAY FOR NO. 24 -- Senior Cedric Wilkerson has carried the ball
25 times this season and five have been for touchdowns. At JSU, Ced
had four carries for eight yards and another score.
NUMERO UNO -- Antonio Robinson had the biggest game of his career
against Austin Peay (Oct. 3), posting career-high numbers with nine
catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks second behind
Tim Benford in number of receptions with 15 for 217 yards and two
touchdowns. For his career, Robinson has 39 catches for 532
yards.
CALLING COLIN -- Junior Colin Allen earned a start at wide
receiver against Eastern Illinois and responded with a team-leading
six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. He caught his third TD of
the year in the first quarter against Tennessee State. Allen has 12
catches for 226 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, Allen
has 35 receptions for 621 yards.
TWO FOR ALDEN -- Sophomore Alden Olverson has caught eight passes
for 137 yards, with two going for touchdowns.
SPREADING THE WEALTH -- Fifteen different receivers have caught
passes, two more than all of last season. Six of the 15 are wide
receivers, two are tight ends, two are fullbacks and six are
backs.
GRIN AND BLAIR IT -- Sophomore Jimmie Blair made his Golden Eagle
debut against Pikeville and took Tech on a four-play, 53-yard
fourth quarter scoring drive. Blair had all four carries in the
drive, including a 35-yard run and a 15-yard touchdown. He finished
with seven carries for 62 yards. He had six carries for 38 yards
against Tennessee State. Blair ranks fourth on the team in rushing
with 102 yards.
A NICE CHANGE -- Sophomore Jamere Hogue moved from outside
linebacker to tight end following his freshman season and has been
a solid contributor as the starter in 2009. At Kansas State he made
his first career reception, a 19-yard touchdown for the Golden
Eagles’ only score, finishing the game with two catches for
26 yards. Against UT Martin, Hogue had his third reception of the
year, a five-yard TD pass from Lee Sweeney. He has seven catches
for 58 yards and two are for touchdowns.
NO PASSING ZONE - The Golden Eagles rank 36th nationally and
second in the Ohio Valley Conference in passing defense, allowing
176.4 yards per game through the air.
PICKING UP PICKS -- After getting six interceptions all of last
season, the Golden Eagles have 14 interceptions this year. Tech
ranks first in the OVC and 16th nationally in interceptions per
game.
CAREER LEADERS - Senior Taron Ryce is tops on the team in career
tackles with 196. Ryce, Dustin Dillehay, Brendon Fisher and Jake
McIntosh have each topped 100 in career tackles. Here is how the
returnees rank in total tackles:
Active Player (yr) Tackles GP
Taron Ryce (Sr.) 196 44
Dustin Dillehay (Jr.) 128 32
Brendon Fisher (Sr.) 108 41
Jake McIntosh (So.) 104 19
Richmond Tooley (So.) 96 22
Kelechi Ordu (Jr.) 94 28
Charlie Seivers (Jr.) 83 31
Dedrick Miley (Jr.) 83 32
Howard Griffin (So.) 70 15
Caleb Mitchell (Fr.) 68 12
Justin Vann (So.) 66 18 Corbin Miles (Jr.) 65 30
Justin Hilliard (Jr.) 60 29
Dwight Evans (So.) 46 21
Travis Adkins (So.) 43 22
Kedrick Towles (So.) 37 12
Brandon Harris (Sr.) 26 28
MUCH IMPROVED - In his first two seasons combined, Dustin Dillehay
had 35 total tackles. So far this year, he has 73 to lead Tech.
DILLIGENT DILLEHAY - Dustin Dillehay leads the Golden Eagles with
73 tackles, ranking him 10th in the OVC. He picked off his third
pass of the season against SEMO (Oct. 24), returning it 29 yards.
Against Tennessee State (Oct. 31), he tied for team honors with 13
total tackles. Dillehay made a career-high 14 tackles at UT Martin
(Oct. 10). The former walk-on stepped forward to see extended
playing time in the secondary last year and is the starter at rover
this fall. Against Pikeville, Dillehay had his first career
interception and returned a punt 27 yards. He then added a 41-yard
INT return for touchdown at UT Martin on his way to...
NATIONAL HONORS -- Junior defensive back Dustin Dillehay was named
National Defensive Player of the Week by the Sports Network and a
National All-Star by College Sporting News on Oct. 12 after his
outing against UT Martin. Dillehay had 14 tackles (10 solo) and
intercepted a pass that he returned 41 yards for what proved to be
the game-winning touchdown in the Golden Eagles 35-28 road victory.
With his team leading 28-21, Dillehay picked off UTM quarterback
Cade Thompson and returned the ball 41 yards for a score to put the
Golden Eagles up 35-21 with 8:11 to play.
IT’S TOOLEY TIME -- Sophomore Richmond Tooley has emerged as
a leader in the Tech secondary and ranks as one of the most
effective defensive backs in the OVC. He ranks third in the OVC and
22nd in the nation in passes defended with 12 including three
interceptions. He had his first career interception at Eastern
Kentucky, halting an early Colonel drive with a pick in the end
zone. Tooley also broke up three passes in the EKU contest. Against
Austin Peay, Tooley had 12 total tackles and broke up three passes.
His second pick of the year came against Southeast Missouri and
turned the momentum in Tech’s favor. Against Tennessee State,
he got his third interception of the year. He started eight games
last year as a true freshman and ranked fifth on the team with 56
total tackles with three passes defended.
QUITE NICE, RYCE -- Senior Taron Ryce ranks fifth on the team with
51 total tackles, second on the squad with seven passes defended,
and third in interceptions with two. Ryce had eight tackles,
including a tackle-for-loss, broke up three passes and claimed his
fifth career interception in the game at Eastern Illinois (Oct.
17). Ryce has 196 career tackles and six career interceptions, both
tops among active players.
WELCOME BACK, CALEB - Redshirt freshman Caleb Mitchell,
Tech’s second-leading tackler, had a sensational game against
Tennessee State (Oct. 31) and was named the OVC Defensive Player of
the Week, as well as the Newcomer of the Week. He forced a pair of
first quarter turnovers that led to Tech’s first two
touchdowns, and finished the game with 13 total tackles, 2.5
tackles-for-loss, two passes defended, an interception, a fumble
caused, a fumble recovered and two quarterback sacks. Mitchell had
eight tackles against Southeast Missouri. He currently ranks second
on the team with 60 tackles, and is 18th in the OVC. He is third on
the team with 4.5 tackles for loss, and third in interceptions with
two. He played the first couple of games last year as a true
freshman before suffering an injury at Louisville and missed the
rest of the year, earning medical redshirt status.
HOWARD’S RETURN -- After missing several games, sophomore
linebacker Howard Griffin returned to the lineup against Southeast
Missouri in a reserve role and made five tackles. Griffin had eight
stops against Tennessee State and seven at Georgia. Griffin was
leading the team with 29 tackles when he was sidelined with the
injury. He missed most of the Austin Peay game and the entire UT
Martin and EIU games. Griffin had a career-best 11 tackles against
Eastern Kentucky and also caused a fumble. He made eight stops at
K-State. He currently ranks fourth on the team with 53 total
tackles. One of the team’s most improved players in the
spring, last season he made a total of 17 tackles (with a
career-high of six).
PLENTY OF POLISH -- Jake McIntosh made eight tackles in the win
over Tennessee State and added seven tackles at Georgia. The
sophomore currently ranks third on the team and 19th in the OVC in
tackles, making 59 stops. Last year he finished with 45 total
tackles in eight games. Earlier this year he tied his career-high
with nine tackles to lead Tech in the game at Kansas State. He
started eight games and ranked among the top tacklers in the OVC
last year, and was second in tackles among all OVC freshmen. He set
his career-high last year with nine tackles against both Eastern
Kentucky and UT Martin.
JUSTIN TIME - Sophomore Justin Vann moved into the starting spot
at BANDIT linebacker when Derrian Waters suffered a knee injury
earlier in the year, and has become a stalwart performer. Vann had
four tackles against both Pikeville and Eastern Kentucky, then made
a career-best eight stops at K-State. He was in on five stops
against Austin Peay, UT Martin and Southeast Missouri. He ranks
seventh on the team with 45 total tackles, including 4.0
tackles-for-loss.
HE’S A FORCE - Junior Dedrick Miley tops Tech’s
defensive linemen with 35 total tackles to rank 10th on the team.
He is tied for third on the squad with 5.0 tackles-for-loss and
leads the Golden Eagles with four quarterback sacks. The junior
from Valdosta, Ga., had a strong game against Austin Peay (Oct. 3)
with six total tackles including a tackle-for-loss and one
quarterback sack, and he also blocked a fourth quarter PAT attempt
that preserved a 24-23 Golden Eagle lead.
FILLING IN JUST FINE - Junior linebacker Kelechi Ordu filled in
well for injured starter Howard Griffin for four contests. He made
six tackles including one tackle-for-loss against Austin Peay and
two tackles with a half tackle-for-loss against UT Martin. At
Eastern Illinois (Oct. 17), Ordu led the Golden Eagles with 12
tackles, one less than his career-best (13 against Concordia in
2007) and equal to his entire 2008 tackle total of 12. He notched
his second consecutive double-digit game with 10 tackles against
Southeast Missouri (Oct. 24), including two tackles-for-loss and a
quarterback sack, while also causing a fumble. He had six stops
against the Georgia Bulldogs and five at JSU. For the season, Ordu
has 51 total tackles to rank sixth on the team. He is second on the
team in tackles-for-loss with 5.5.
DEEP UP FRONT -- The Golden Eagle defensive front boasts loads of
depth. At BEAR, Charlie Seivers and Brendon Fisher are both listed
as co-starters. Justin Hilliard and Dedrick Miley are sharing time
in the middle at the ANCHOR spot, and each has started. On the
other end, at the ROCK position, sophomore Travis Adkins is back
and is joined by freshman LaDarrius Verge. That group combined for
175 total tackles last year, led by Seivers (65), Miley (33),
Fisher and Hilliard (32 each). So far this season, those six
players have combined to make 163 total tackles, led by Miley with
35, Fisher with 32 and Adkins with 29.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES -- True freshman Marty Jones saw extended
playing time at Georgia and had his top game of the year. He led
Tech with nine total tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone
to halt a first half UGA scoring chance. It was his second
interception of the year. Jones has made 15 tackles in the last two
games and ranks ninth on the team with 38 tackles.
NEW FACES -- Several first-year players are having an impact on
the defense, led by freshman Marty Jones with 38 tackles and senior
Kelvin Quarles with 34 tackles. Also showing up among team leaders
in tackles among the newcomers are LeDarrius Verge (24) and Matt
Moran (23). Jerry King had 21 tackles in five games, but is lost
for the season with a knee injury.
THREE OF TOP FIVE -- Three of Tech’s top five tacklers at
Jacksonville State were rookies (or first-year in their position
players), led by safety Josh Paz with a career-high six. Freshman
Marty Jones had six and freshman Barry Lenon had five.
BLOCK PARTY -- Sophomore Justin Vann blocked a punt against
Tennessee State, Tech’s fifth blocked kick of the year and
the 13th in three seasons under Watson Brown. Senior Dedrick Miley
has blocked three kicks this season. The Golden Eagles blocked a
pair of field goals at Eastern Illinois. Miley has blocked field
goals against both Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky, and a PAT
attempt against Austin Peay that possibly turned the game in
Tech’s favor in the fourth quarter. Tech blocked three kicks
in 2008, two on PAT attempts and one on a field goal try. The six
current players who have blocked kicks are:
2009
Justin Vann (Punt vs. Tennessee State)
Dedrick Miley (FG at Eastern Illinois)
Dedrick Miley (FG at Eastern Kentucky)
Dedrick Miley (PAT vs. Austin Peay)
2008
Travis Adkins (PAT at Louisville)
Justin Hilliard (PAT at Austin Peay)
Kedrick Towles (field goal vs. EIU)
2007
Taron Ryce (PAT against Austin Peay)
ANOTHER RETURN MAN -- As if Tech doesn’t already have a
handful of dangerous kick returners, sophomore Mauricio Wallace has
emerged as yet another weapon. He had an 81-yard return against
Eastern Illinois, and is averaging 29.2 yards in 11 returns, which
ranks second in the nation.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS -- Henry Sailes has two kickoff returns for
touchdowns.
Tech’s Kickoff Return TDs since 1960:
Player Year Opponent Yds
Henry Sailes 2008 UT Martin 87
Larry Shipp 2007 Samford 88
Henry Sailes 2007 Murray State 76
Larry Shipp 2007 Concordia 97
Larry Shipp 2007 Cumberland 87
Lorenza Rivers 1987 Youngstown 99
Billy Blaylock 1982 NE Missouri 83
Mike Vise 1977 UN-Omaha 90
Lamar Mike 1977 East Tennessee 93
Lamar Mike 1976 East Tennessee 96
Dickie Fulton 1973 East Tennessee 100
Larry Schreiber 1967 Middle Tenn. 90
Jim Schaeffer 1961 Eastern Kentucky 95
WHO WILL PUNT -- Just when it appeared that junior Jason Lennartz
had taken over the punting duties, he ran into trouble at Georgia
and was replaced by sophomore Nick Campbell. For the year, the two
are fairly even. Campbell has 30 punts and a 36.5 average. Lennartz
has 32 punts and a 37.9 average. Lennartz stepped in as a mid-game
replacement at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 17) and averaged 50.8 yards
in five kicks, including two bombs of 69 yards each.
WORKING OVERTIME — Of the 13 games in which Tech has gone to
overtime, three have been against Murray State and the Golden
Eagles have won all three times. The most recent was a 20-14
victory in Murray in 2006. The Golden Eagles are 8-5 all-time in
overtime games.
GOLDEN EAGLES IN OVERTIME
The Golden Eagles are 8-5 in games that reached extra periods:
W - Tech 16, Murray State 13 (1 OT) - 10/1/88
W - Tech 20, Austin Peay 14 (1 OT) - 11/10/90
W - Tech 21, UT Martin 14 (2 OT) - 10/5/96
W - Tech 16, Murray State 13 (1 OT) -11/1/97
W - Tech 31, UT Martin 24 (1 OT) - 10/17/98
W - Tech 31, Eastern Ky. 29 (3OT) - 10/24/98
L - Eastern Ky. 23, Tech 20 (2OT) - 11/13/99
L - UT Martin 30, Tech 23 (1 OT) - 10/4/03
W - Tech 40, Eastern Ill. 37 (2 OT) - 11/6/04
L - SE Missouri 31, Tech 28 (1 OT) - 11/13/04
L - Chattanooga 30, Tech 23 (1 OT) - 9/3/05
W - Tech 20, Murray State 14 (1 OT) - 9/30/06
L - Jax State 17, Tech 10 (1 OT) - 10/28/06
COMING UP:
The 2009 season is finished for Tech after the MSU game. Up next
is the signing of another outstanding recruting class.