By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Charleston Southern made things interesting in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers returned an intercepted two-point conversion for two points of its own to make it a two-point contest.
But Tennessee Tech persevered. The defense came up strong on a couple of short-field situations created by a fumble and a punt as the Buccaneers missed a field goal on the first try, then Tim Coutras snagged the ball out of the air off of a tip by Theron Gaines on the second run at the end zone.
With Dom LeBlanc's 32-yard field goal with 1:47, the Golden Eagles forced Charleston Southern to score a touchdown in the final possession. Once again, Tech's defense held strong, limiting the Bucs to a last-ditch fourth-down try on the Golden Eagle 44, but Kaleb Jackson's pass fell incomplete, giving Tech a fresh set of downs in victory formation to close the contest with a 28-23 victory.
The Golden Eagles improve to 3-5 on the season, 3-2 in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association. Tech hosts Lindenwood next week for Homecoming.
Dylan Liable, in his second start after returning from injury, had a solid outing, completing nine of his 16 passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns. The biggest recipient was D.J. Linkins, who caught three of his four targets for 106 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put the Golden Eagles up 16-7.
After a couple of games limited in the rushing department, Tech was able to move the ball on the ground against the Buccaneers with 168 yards on 38 carries. Jalen Mitchell had a team-high 94 yards on 15 carries, averaging 6.3 yards a tote.
Defensively, Aaron Swafford had double-digit tackles with 11, including three solo stops, eight assisted and 1.5 for-loss. Cayman Spaulding continued his consistent pace, collecting seven tackles, while Jalin Shephard had six.
Tech held CSU to 122 rushing yards on 34 carries, while the Bucs passed for 213 yards. Jackson completed 14 of his 29 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions. In addition to Coutras' third pick of the season, Omari Philyaw also wasn't fooled by Jackson, pulling one down for his second interception of the year.
Tyson Greenwade rushed for 95 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown to lead CSU's rushing attack, while Chris Rhone had 129 yards and a 70-yard touchdown on three catches. Defensively, Darrius Bell and Joshua Hill each had five tackles to lead the Bucs.
Tech scored on its opening drive, getting a 30-yard LeBlanc field goal at 10:01 in the opening quarter to complete a 10-play, 63-yard campaign. Just before the quarter ended, CSU took a 7-3 lead as the quarterback called his own number on a three-yard rush.
The second quarter was all Golden Eagles with Tech scoring 16 unanswered points before the intermission. Tremel Jones opened up the quarter on a 20-yard breakaway rush for a score to give Tech a 9-7 advantage, but the PAT was blocked. Following a CSU punt, Laible threw a 69-yard pass to Linkins at 10:06, then LeBlanc wrapped up the half's scoring with a 36-yard field goal to give Tech a 19-7 lead at the half.
The Buccaneers scored twice in the third quarter to retake the lead. Rhone caught the 70-yard hook-up from Jackson at 12:20, then Greenwade wrapped up a six-play, 76-yard series with a 12-yard rush. The extra points made it a 21-19 CSU lead at the end of the third quarter.
Tremel Jones added to his rushing touchdown as he caught a 33-yard pass from Laible early in the fourth quarter. The two tried to connect once more on the two-point conversion, but the pass was intercepted by Ja'Kobe North, who raced up the right sideline and kept finding ways to stay in. He was brought down near the five-yard line, but he lateralled to Champ Brantley – who rushed it in for the two-point play to make it a 25-23 Tech lead with 12:33 remaining.
The Golden Eagles saw the next series end on their own 20 with a fumble, but the defense stood tall, holding Charleston Southern to a 35-yard field goal try, which sailed wide right. Tech's next series went three-and-out and the punt took an unlucky bounce back toward the Tech end zone, giving CSU the ball at the Golden Eagle 32. With the Bucs trying to push into the red zone, Gaines tipped Jackson's pass into the waiting arms of Coutras to end the scoring threat.
Tech took advantage of the takeaway, moving up 39 yards on six plays and eating up clock. The Golden Eagles had a chance on 3rd-and-10 at the 14 as Laible threw to the end zone to J.D. Dixon, but the pass fell incomplete.
Instead, LeBlanc lined up for a 32-yard kick and split the uprights to give Tech the 28-23 lead with 1:47 remaining.
CSU tried hard to drive down the field, moving the chains twice in four plays to get the ball to midfield. After a Jackson scramble, he threw an incompletion on second down, then connected on a short pass on third-down to make it 4th-and-4 on the Tech 44. Jackson aimed for Greenwade at the Golden Eagle 24, but the 20-yard pickup failed to materialize, turning the ball over on downs to give Tech time for one kneel to end the ball game.
Tickets for next week's Homecoming contest are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
