By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The No. 15 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team opened the season with an impressive offensive showing, tallying 577 yards of total offense on the way to a commanding 42-25 home victory over Western Illinois on Thursday evening.
The Skyhawks (1-0) scored on their opening offensive drive and never looked back in their 2022 season debut in front of a large crowd eclipsing 5,000 fans at Hardy M. Graham Stadium. UT Martin presented a balanced offensive attack which featured 317 yards through the air and 260 yards on the ground while its defense forced two turnovers and blocked two kicks on special teams.
UT Martin boasted several impressive individual performances led by running back Zak Wallace who tallied 20 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns. The contest marked the second time in his career that he recorded three touchdowns in a single game, matching his feat against Murray State last season, posting just the 14th such performance in school history. Along with his three touchdowns, he jumped up the career rushing touchdown leaderboard into seventh place with 21.
Quarterback Dresser Winn also commanded the offense with an efficient night, completing 22-of-37 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. The contest marked the third 300-yard passing performance of his career. Meanwhile his top receiving target Colton Dowell hauled in seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Dowell notched his seventh 100-yard receiving contest of his career while moving into sixth place on the program’s all-time receiving yards list with 1,860 yards and jumping into 10th on the all-time receiving touchdowns leaderboard with his 14th score.
Other top performances included redshirt-freshman Sam Franklin nearly reaching the century mark on the ground with 89 rushing yards – averaging 8.9 yards per carry – while DeVonte Tanksley and EJ Smoot excelled in the passing game. Tanksley – who missed most of last season with an injury – tallied five receptions for 98 yards while Smoot recorded three catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, it was Preseason OVC Defensive Player of the Year John H. Ford II who paced the team with 13 tackles – including six solo stops – while fellow graduate linebacker Rob Hicks also eclipsed double figures with 10 total tackles. Cornerback Shaun Lewis had a big debut for the Skyhawks as he recorded a pair of interceptions while also tallying three tackles and an additional pass breakup. Then on special teams, Oshae Baker and Ty Woods each blocked kicks to keep points off the board for the Leathernecks.
“Those wins are hard to come by against a quality opponent, a Missouri Valley Conference team, at home,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “We’re excited about it. I was just telling the team that – they know that we didn’t play well in spurts. They know that there were some plays that we gave up that we have to improve on. But we practiced enough to where we overcame those things so that was good to see. I’m excited for the win – 1-0 tastes good, especially after coming off a long, hard camp. It was good to look at the stats and see Zak Wallace with 20 carries and 141 yards. Seeing Dresser Winn with 22-of-37 for 300 yards. Seeing Colton Dowell with seven catches for 100 yards. Those are players that have done it up to this point, knowing that they continue to be reliable – I’m real proud of that.”
Western Illinois (0-1) tallied 405 yards of total offense as the quarterback tandem of Henry Ogala and Nick Davenport combined to throw for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Davenport did most of the damage by going 9-for-19 with 180 yards and three touchdown strikes while Naseim Brantley hauled in six receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile on defense, Anthony Quinney tallied a game-high 15 tackles in the loss.
The Skyhawks got on the board first with a nine-yard touchdown from Winn to Smoot on the team’s opening offensive drive of the game. After WIU tied it up in the opening minutes of the second quarter on a 31-yard pass from Ogala to Jafar Armstrong, UT Martin retook the lead for good on Winn and Smoot’s second connection of the game – this time going for a 34-yard touchdown to put the host on top 14-7. The Skyhawks then added to their margin in the final seconds of the half when Winn scrambled to his left and found Dowell in the endzone as he leapt over three defenders to haul in a 48-yard touchdown reception to take a 14-point lead into the break.
Wallace then started his scoring barrage midway through the third quarter as he punched in a six-yard rush for his first touchdown of the night. The sophomore tailback added two more touchdowns on the night with a four-yard carry to close out the third quarter before breaking loose for a 38-yard scamper with five minutes to play in the game.
While the Leathernecks strung together big scoring drives capped by touchdown connections between Davenport and Brantley of 51, 44 and 32 yards, respectively, the final decision was never in doubt as the Skyhawks cruised to the 17-point victory.
UT Martin will hit the road for its next matchup with another member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference when traveling to No. 5 ranked Missouri State on Thursday, Sept. 8
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information