By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Nearing the halfway point of the 2018 season and the Tennessee Tech football team has seen a consistent stream of improvement from week to week.
Now the Golden Eagles just have to find ways to convert that into wins.
Tech (0-5, 0-2 Ohio Valley Conference) will try to find its way into the victory column this week as the Golden Eagles play host to Southeast Missouri (2-2, 0-1 OVC) on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. from Tucker Stadium.
Roger Ealey and Grant Swallows will provide the call on 98.5 KISS FM and the Golden Eagle Sports Network, while Dylan Vazzano, Sam Brooks and Wayne Anderson will broadcast the game on ESPN+ (subscription required) with a simulcast on WCTE.
Saturday's game is also Public Safety and Military Appreciation Day. All military and public safety officials will get in Saturday's contest for free with uniform or ID. There will also be a presentation commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Saturday is also Legends Weekend as Tech football will honor the 65th and 60th anniversaries of its 1953 and 1958 OVC Championship teams, as well as the 1998 Tech women's soccer and 2003 Tech softball teams and their OVC titles.
The 2018 edition of the Golden Eagle football team did show some offensive skill last week against Eastern Illinois as there were several career highs recorded as true freshman quarterback Bailey Fisher threw for the fifth most yards in a single game in program history with 383 yards, while Josh Cunningham threw a touchdown pass for the first time in his career and had a career-high night receiving. Jeremiah Edwards also had a breakout performance, hauling in two touchdowns and 94 yards on eight catches.
Josh Poplar also became the fifth Golden Eagle defender to record 20 tackles in a single game, standing three away from tying Jim Youngblood for the single-game record of 23, set in 1972 against UT Martin.
SEMO, however, will have plenty of weapons across the way. The Redhawks boast the conference's top rusher in Marquis Terry, who is averaging an astounding 162.0 yards per game and 9.7 yards per carry. He has rushed for 648 yards and six touchdowns this season.
The Redhawks also brought in a Football Bowl Subdivision transfer at quarterback as Daniel Santacaterina left Northern Illinois to join the SEMO squad. Santacaterina is currently sixth in the conference in passing, throwing for 696 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 174.0 yards per game.
Fisher ranks just behind him at 836 yards and six touchdowns with an average of 167.2 yards per game.
Zack Smith has been the top beneficiary of Santacaterina's arm, hauling in 19 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 58.5 yards per game.
On defense, SEMO's Zach Hall and Tech's Poplar are the top two tacklers in the conference and they'll square off this weekend. Poplar actually leads in total, 56 to 55, but Hall leads in average – 13.8 to 11.2 – as the Redhawks are coming off of a bye week and has played one fewer game.
On special teams, Nick Madonia continues to be the conference's top kicker in field goals per game, averaging 1.8 per game and holds on to a completion rate of 75 percent with nine made kicks out of 12 attempts. He has the two longest field goals of the season in the Football Championship Subdivision with a 54-yarder against Utah State and a 53-yarder against Jacksonville State.
Madonia, at 54 straight, is also five point-after attempts away from tying the consecutive PATs made mark, set by Zach Sharp from 2011 to 2014. Madonia has not missed a PAT since Sept. 24, 2016, at UT Martin.
Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale now. To order, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, visit TTUsports.com or call (931) 372-3940.
