GAME NOTES | VIDEO | AUDIO | LIVE STATS
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With a big win last week at South Carolina State, the Tennessee Tech football team returns home for a Big South-Ohio Valley Conference showdown with defending OVC co-champ Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. from Tucker Stadium. Saturday is also the team's Gold Rush game with free T-shirts and gold rally towels available while supplies last.
Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 98.5 KISS FM, while Dylan Vazzano and Metz will handle broadcast duties on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Southeast Missouri enters the contest with a 2-4 record with a tough non-conference run. Outside of a 45-0 loss at Kansas State, the Redhawks fell 26-25 to Southern Illinois, 41-38 at Eastern Kentucky and 38-33 at Central Arkansas. SEMO opened Big South-OVC play on Sept. 9 with a 45-7 victory over Lindenwood, then had a thrilling Homecoming win last week as the Redhawks topped Eastern Illinois 35-28.
Tied at 21 at the end of the third quarter, Geno Hess scored on a 44-yard run, then Keveon Robbins extended the Redhawks' advantage on a one-yard run. EIU took 1:14 to cut it back to a one-score contest as Pierce Holley connected with Justin Thomas on a 21-yard pass. SEMO's next series ended with 1:22 left on the clock.
The Panthers faced 4th-and-2 and moved the chains on an M.J. Flowers catch, then got to the Redhawk 26 on a 20-yard pass to Eli Mirza. After two incompletions and five seconds remaining on the clock, Holley fired to the end zone, but Joedrick Lewis knocked the ball down at the goal line to end the threat.
Sophomore quarterback Paxton DeLaurent threw for one touchdown and 257 yards on 19 completions in the contest, while also rushing for a score. Hess, meanwhile, broke the Redhawks' career all-purpose yardage record as he ended the game with 4,962 career yards.
Hess has rushed for 504 yards and six touchdowns this season, averaging 84.0 yards per game. DeLaurent has thrown for 1,608 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He is also the team's second-leading rusher with 85 total yards on the season and four touchdowns.
Damoriea Vick and Ryan Flournoy have been the top two recipients from DeLaurent has Vick has caught 45 passes for 459 yards and four touchdowns, while Flournoy has 372 yards and three scores.
Kicker D.C. Pippin is the Redhawks' leading scorer with 42 total points, hitting seven of eight field goal tries and 21 of 22 PATs.
Defensively, Lawrence Johnson and Bryce Norman lead the team in tackles with 41 for Johnson and 40 for Norman. As a unit, SEMO has recorded just six sacks, but have seven interceptions on the season and recovered two fumbles. Opponents have been the inverse – sacking SEMO quarterbacks 17 times for 116 yards with only two interceptions and three fumbles recovered.
Passing has been SEMO's forte, accumulating for nearly two-thirds of their total offense – and that's even with a dominant runner like Hess. The Redhawks average 389.3 yards per game – 118.8 on the ground and 270.5 through the air.
One thing that has been a thorn in the side of the Redhawks is penalties as SEMO averages 63 penalty yards per game – the most by any team in the Big South-OVC. They have 35 total penalties (the third-fewest in the league) for 378 yards (the second-most in the conference). Conversely, they have also forced the second-highest average from opponents with 59.67 penalty yards per game.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles had a three-touchdown performance from Montana transfer Marcus Knight last week, rushing for 86 yards on 16 carries for a 5.4-yard average. Tech recorded a season-best 401 yards of total offense, including 199 rushing yards and 202 passing yards.
True freshman Jordyn Potts had a great game in his first career start, completing 16 of 22 passes.
South Carolina State scored its lone touchdown 14 seconds into the game, then the Golden Eagle defense clamped down, holding the host Bulldogs to 274 total yards of offense, 224 though the air (and 90 on that one scoring play) while stopping the rush at 50 total yards, the fewest since allowing 23 to Virginia-Lynchburg in 2021.
Tech started conference play with a 23-0 loss at Lindenwood, but, after a much-needed momentum boost last week, will look to cage the Redhawks on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles lead the conference in total defense, yielding a league-fewest 315.0 yards per game, while ranking fourth in scoring defense (26.33 points per game), third in rushing defense (147.5 yards per game) and first in passing defense (167.5 yards per game).
Tech saw its rushing average improve to 128.0 yards per game and average 175.3 passing yards for 303.3 yards of total offense per game.
As a team, the Golden Eagles have thrown for 1,052 yards between six different quarterbacks this season, led by Ethan Roberts with 424 yards on 48-of-82 passing.
Justin Pegues has 342 of the Golden Eagles' 768 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Knight has rushed for 256 yards. Both backs are averaging more than 4.5 yards per carry. Tech has four receivers over 100 yards on the season, led by Brad Clark with 308 yards. Metrius Fleming has 119 with a touchdown, while Pegues has 109 and Jalal Dean 174. Willie Miller has the other receiving touchdown.
Defensively, Aaron Swafford leads Tech with 43 tackles, including 4.5 for-loss and 1.5 sacks. He also has a pass breakup, a QB hurry, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jacquez McGowan is close behind with 36 stops and an interception return for a touchdown. Daniel Rickert leads the team in TFLs with eight for 20 yards, while Rickert and Hudson Tucker each have 3.5 sacks.
As a unit, the defense has 44 total tackles-for-loss for 147 yards and 13 sacks for 66 yards. Tech has also intercepted six passes and recovered two fumbles.
Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or go online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
