By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The No. 11 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team protected its home turf of Hardy Graham Stadium on Saturday afternoon, knocking off Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State to not only cap off the home portion of the 2021 schedule with an unblemished record but tie the program’s longest winning streak with its eighth consecutive victory by a final score of 41-20.
With the win, the Skyhawks (8-1, 4-0 OVC) remained atop the league standings as the only unbeaten program for another week while picking up their eighth win of the season – becoming just the ninth team in the program’s 92-year history to accomplish the feat. The victory also tied other historic teams (1936, 1988 and 2006) by winning eight straight games – a streak which ranks as the second-longest active winning streak in FCS.
UT Martin also took a big step in returning the coveted Sgt. York Trophy back to Martin. After sharing the trophy last season with Tennessee Tech, the Golden Eagles claimed the physical trophy due to tie-breaker rules. With wins over Austin Peay and Tennessee State, the Skyhawks now hold a 2-0 record in this season’s York series heading into next week’s matchup against Tech.
In a matchup which featured the OVC’s top offense (UT Martin) against the league’s top defense (Tennessee State), the Skyhawks lived up to their billing on both sides of the ball. Entering the contest, the Skyhawks led the league and ranked ninth in the country with their rushing attack and followed that up by recording a season-high with 298 yards on the ground while scoring four touchdowns – well above the Tigers 155.3 yards allowed per game.
“Like I told them, I can always count on this team to be ready to play,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “Up to this point, they have done that – they’ve prepared, they have energy and they’re physical. The game unfolds multiple ways each week. Today we rushed 41 times for 298 yards. It is a different headed monster each week and this week Zak had 14 carries for 128 yards. But I think the big thing today for us on offense was Keon with crucial runs – eight carries for 75 yards. Those were big plays that he extended for us. I appreciate him so much – he does not worry about his stats, he’s just a competitor who wants to win. I’m very proud of him and how he leads our team.”
While the Skyhawks did not garner top billing in the league’s defensive statistics but rather ranking second in several major categories, the team showed their grit by holding the Tigers to just six points through the first three quarters while forcing a pair of turnovers – including an interception returned for a touchdown in the closing seconds. UT Martin especially flexed in the run game where it held its fourth opponent below 100 yards on the ground this season, limiting the Tigers to just 96 yards on 26 carries.
“Defensively, at times we were very, very good – we held their rushing attack to 96 yards,” Simpson continued. “I also thought that one of the big plays in the game – and I can’t even remember if we scored on it – was the fake punt. That was a good job by our coaches and Coach Butcher in putting that together and the kids executed it. I have been here 16 years and I think we’ve faked one punt maybe in 16 years. But never say never.”
Running back Zak Wallace continued his breakout season for the Skyhawks by tallying 14 carries for 123 yards while scoring two touchdowns. The redshirt-freshman averaged 8.8 yards per carry while scoring on touchdown runs of 22 and 36 yards, respectively. His two-touchdown performance pushed his season total up to 11 and into the program’s single-season top-10 – tying Don Chapman (2007) and Wilbur Edmiston (1960) for sixth place.
Quarterback Keon Howard also cemented his spot in the UT Martin record books with his three-touchdown performance on Saturday. On the same day in which he was honored pregame as one of 18 graduating players, Howard showed his dual-threat ability by compiling 199 yards of total offense while scoring three touchdowns – including two rushing and one passing. With his two rushing touchdowns, he not only set the program’s single-season rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks with his 10th – surpassing Leon Reed’s previous record of eight set in 1988 – but joined Wallace in the program’s overall single-season top-10 by joining Larry Shanks (1967), Marcus Dawson (2007) and Tim Beattie (1998) in a tie for ninth place.
Defensively, the Skyhawks were led individually by linebacker John Ford who equaled his career-high with 12 tackles while tallying a pass breakup and his team-best third interception of the season – returning it 75 yards for his second career pick-six. Fellow linebacker D’Carrious Stephens and safety Oshae Baker ranked second on the team with seven tackles each while Daylan Dotson paced the team with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Meanwhile, reigning FCS National Defensive Player of the Week Eyabi Anoma added to his OVC-leading sack total with his sixth of the campaign.
UT Martin found a couple key contributors on special teams this afternoon. Multi-purpose specialist Tyler Larco contributed heavily in the punting game, tallying two punts for 46.0 yards per attempts – including a game-long 51-yarder. He also made five point after attempts. The team’s other highlight was graduate defensive end David DuBose who took a direct snap off a punt and rushed 29 yards for a first down to pick up a key fourth down conversion to set up the game’s first touchdown.
It took a bit for either team to find its groove on the offensive side of the ball until the Skyhawks used its bit of trickery in their final drive of the first quarter to jump start their initial scoring drive. With a fresh set of drives and in TSU territory, Howard put the Skyhawks on the board just two plays into the second quarter by finding Randy Fields, Jr. for his first touchdown in a Skyhawk uniform with a 13-yard strike to put the home squad up 7-0 – capping off a 9-play, 69-yard drive.
After Tennessee State responded with a scoring drive of its own on the ensuing drive, resulting with a 28-yard field goal by Antonio Zita to cut the margin to 7-3, UT Martin looked to add to its margin in the second. The drive started with a 38-yard carry by Peyton Logan to move into TSU territory. Following big carries by both Wallace and Howard to secure first downs, it was Howard to would add the next touchdown as he punched it in from one-yard for his ninth score of the year to make it a 14-3 contest.
The fireworks were not over yet, as Jay Rogers and Daylan Dotson strip-sacked quarterback Geremy Hickbottom on Tennessee State’s first play of the following possession with Dotson coming up with the fumble to give the Skyhawks possession on the TSU 26. The Skyhawks would not waste their prime scoring position as Wallace found the endzone just three plays later on his first touchdown of the day on a 22-yard carry over the left side to give UT Martin a 21-3 lead heading into halftime.
Despite being held to just 23 yards in the quarter, Tennessee State tallied the lone points of the third quarter as place kicker James Lowery made a 26-yard attempt midway through the period to trim the deficit to 15 points.
Action would pick up on both sides in the fourth quarter. Looking to get back in the game, TSU pieced together a lengthy eight-play drive which traveled 85 yards resulting in a five-yard touchdown by Devon Starling to cut the margin down to a one-score margin at 21-13.
The only time wasted answered TSU’s scoring drive came on a methodical scoring drive by the home team. With the clock on their side, the Skyhawks milked nearly five minutes off the scoreboard by tallying four first downs on a nine-play drive before a 21-yard rushing touchdown by Howard pushed UT Martin’s lead back out to 27-13 with a little over six minutes to play.
Tennessee State did not go away quietly as the visitors came back once again with another 10-play drive to march down the field and into the red zone. The drive was highlighted by a key 23-yard pass completion from Hickbottom to Dayton Johnson on 4th-and-13 from the TSU 32 to extend their comeback attempt. Once in the red zone, Hickbottom found Johnson again – this time in the endzone – for a 12-yard touchdown connection to make it a 27-20 contest with 1:47 to play.
After recovering an onside kick attempt, many figured the Skyhawks would just try to run out the clock with a first down or two to use up TSU’s remaining timeouts. After an initial timeout following an eight-yard rush by Wallace, the powerback found a seam and kept running all the way towards the endzone for a 36-yard touchdown to pad the home team’s lead out to 34-20. Then a few plays later with TSU making a final push, Ford intercepted a deep pass attempt by Hickbottom and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown with 11 seconds to play to bring the final score to 41-20.
UT Martin will now shift its focus to life on the road following three straight home contests to close out the regular season. The Skyhawks will travel to Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Nov. 13 with kickoff from Tucker Stadium scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information