GAME NOTES | Game 6 -- vs. Tennessee State (PDF)
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When Senior Day usually rolls around in football season, the skies are gray, the leaves are falling and the weather has turned cooler. Saturday, as the Tennessee Tech football team honors its 2020-21 senior class, it's be the exact opposite – sunny, everything is blooming and spring weather in the air.
The page on the calendar may be different, but make no mistake – it's still football, and there's still plenty to play for.
With Tennessee State coming to town on Saturday, the Sergeant York Trophy is once again in play and the matchup stacks up as an intriguing one.
The Easter weekend special kicks off at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Roger Ealey and Buddy Pearson will broadcast the game on 98.5 KISS FM, while Dylan Vazzano and Sam Brooks will provide the call on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Another thing that makes the matchup intriguing is the parallel between the two head coaches. Rod Reed and Dewayne Alexander – both played for their respective schools, both coach for their alma maters. They even lined up against each other when the two teams faced each other in the 1980s. This season, their sons played against each other, not on the gridiron, but on the basketball court.
With the matchup, the records don't mean anything – it's all about school pride.
Tennessee Tech would probably rather forget the last meeting in November 2019. The Golden Eagles built a 20-0 midway through the second quarter, only to see the visiting Tigers roar back, taking the lead on a DeMarco Corbin three-yard touchdown run, then Jordan Bell returned a blocked punt with 4:44 remaining in the game to take a 37-27 victory on the last Tech Senior Day.
Saturday will see six seniors honored as Adam Browner, Jayquan Coles, Daly Cull, Slater Howard, Luke Maynard and Mike Rhoades will be honored before the start of the contest.
The game is important for both Tech and State as both teams try to build momentum for the fall campaign, but also secure the Sergeant York Trophy for this season. The Golden Eagles at 1-0 have the current lead in the four-team round-robin between Austin Peay, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin. The Governors have completed their slate with a 1-2 mark, while TSU and UTM are both 1-1.
A Golden Eagle victory against one of the two teams will secure at least a share of the trophy and it will return to Tech possession for the first time since 2009. Two wins will give Tech the trophy outright.
To get to that point though, Tech has to snap a four-game losing streak. The last three games have been decided by an average difference of 5.3 points, and that's with Tech's offense pulling together more yards each game and allowing nearly a touchdown and 100 fewer yards less than this point in 2019.
On the ground, Devon Starling has been a great presence so far for TSU, rushing for 514 yards on 94 carries, scoring twice. He currently averages 102.8 yards per game. Quarterback Isaiah Green, meanwhile, has 868 yards and two touchdowns, completing 68 of his 122 passes and averaging 173.6 yards per game. Cam Wyche has two touchdown catches among 18 catches for 365 yards, averaging 73 yards per outing.
Antonio Zita continues to be the Tigers' leading scorer with 42 points on the season, going 12-for-17 on field goals including a career-long 62-yarder against Eastern Illinois, a TSU school record, tying the OVC record, the second-longest kick in Football Championship Subdivision history and was the longest NCAA Division I field goal since Bill Gramatica hit a 63-yarder for South Florida in 2000 against Austin Peay.
A difference in defenses from last week's opponent at Southeast Missouri, the Tigers have collected 12 sacks this season, including four for team leader Davoan Hawkins, who also leads the team in tackles with 27. He also has three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and two fumbles forced. James Green – who also has an interception, three pass breakups and three QB hurries – and Nyle Love each have 26.
The Tigers rank seventh in scoring offense (19.2) and scoring defense (28.8), fourth in total offense (316.4) and eighth in total defense (366.6). The Golden Eagles are fifth in scoring offense (21.8) and sixth in scoring defense (27.2), eighth in total offense (287.4) and fourth in total defense (332.6).
Seth Carlisle leads Tech's defensive effort with 37 tackles, an interception, two pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Jack Warwick has 32 stops, a sack, an interception, three pass breakups and a QB hurry, while Marcus McMeans and Josh Reliford each have 28 tackles – McMeans with a fumble recovery and Reliford with an interception.
Jordan Brown had a big game for the Golden Eagles last week with 135 all-purpose yards and two receiving touchdowns. Metrius Fleming leads the team in average receiving yards with 37.4 yards per game with 187 on 12 catches. On the ground, Willie Miller and Kurt Taylor, Jr., lead the way with 187 and 182 yards respectively, the former with a team-best four rushing touchdowns.
Miller stands as Tech's leading quarterback this season, throwing for 500 yards and three touchdowns on 45-of-82 passing. Bailey Fisher is 37-of-61 with 362 yards and two scores.
Social distancing is encouraged at Tucker Stadium and all fans must wear masks at the game.
Tickets are on sale by calling (931) 372-3940, by visiting the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visiting TTUsports.com. Tickets will also be available the day of game at the Tucker Stadium box office on the west side of the stadium.
