Tennessee State capitalizes on mistakes and breaks for 41-14 win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A pass play with six minutes to play in the
game was typical of Tennessee Tech's luck Saturday afternoon as
guests in Tennessee State's Homecoming game.
With the host Tigers leading 28-7, TSU quarterback Dominic Grooms
picked up a low, bouncing snap, fired a pass through the arms of
leaping linebacker Charlie Seivers, and the ball went through all
six arms of three Golden Eagle players in the end zone into the
hands of Tiger receiver Chris Johnson for a touchdown.
Tennessee State (7-2/4-1 OVC) took advantage of some Tech mistakes
and a lot of huge breaks to claim a 41-14 Ohio Valley Conference
victory in front of 24,361 fans at LP Field. The win clinched the
Sgt. York Trophy for the Tigers for the second consecutive year.
Tech (3-7/1-5 OVC) now prepares to host Jacksonville State next
week for Homecoming in Tucker Stadium.
Tennessee State didn't suffer a turnover in the contest, and scored
touchdowns following two of Tech's three turnovers.
"Tennessee State played solid. They didn't make mistakes, they had
no turnovers and not many penalties, and they took care of the
ball," said TTU head coach Watson Brown.
"It was the little things that hurt us. We played better than it
looks, but we just made critical mistakes. We had them stopped all
four times in the second half, and just made a mistake in a
critical situation.
"We had the ball four times in the second half, and we stopped
ourselves the first three times with mistakes," Brown
continued.
Tech tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter, but the Tigers
scored the next 34 points to build a 41-7 lead. Josh Lowery hit Tim
Benford for a 21-yard touchdown late in the game to finish the
scoring. It was the ninth TD catch of the year for the freshman
from Chattanooga.
With the catch, Benford tied the school record for most receptions
in a season (55), and pulled to within one of the school mark for
most TD catches in a season.
Javarris Williams rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns to pace
the TSU attack, which scored four times on the ground. Quarterback
Dominic Grooms was 15-for-19 for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
For Tech, freshman Dontey Gay was the leading rusher with 49 yards
on 11 carries, while freshman Tremaine Hudson had 47 yards on five
carries. Hudson finished the game with 145 all-purpose yards.
Cedric Wilkerson scored Tech's first score, a one-yard run in the
first quarter.
Lee Sweeney was 9-for-19 for 94 yards, while Lowery went 1-for-2
for 21 yards.
On defense, Corey Reed topped Tech with 12 tackles, including two
tackles-for-loss. It was his ninth career game with double figure
tackles.
Maurice Smith also had double figures in tackles with 10, his 13th
career double-digit effort.
PREGAME NOTES
It's Homecoming for Tennessee State in LP Field. The last time Tech
played at the Tigers' Homecoming drew an OVC record 41,000
fans.
Tennessee State has won four straight over the Golden Eagles, and
owns a 13-8 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers won last
year's game, 45-28, in Cookeville.
The Golden Eagles are without the services of center Malcolm Jones,
moving junior Peter Taylor back into the starting role with Scott
Eller to back him up.
Tech is 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the OVC. Tennessee State is 6-2
overall and 3-1 in the league.
Tech won the coin toss and elected to defer, allowing TSU to
receive the kickoff.
FIRST QUARTER NOTES
The Golden Eagle defense came out strong and held TSU to
three-and-out, but returner Tim Benford fumbled the punt and TSU
recovered. The Togers took advantage of the turnover and drove in
for a touchdown two minutes later for a 7-0 lead. It turned out to
be a five-play, 24-yard scoring drive after the turnover.
The Golden Eagle offense got things rolling late in the first
quarter and cobbled together a 17-play, 70-yard scoring drive that
chewed up 5:45 from the clock and tied the game at 7-7 jusst second
before the end of the opening period. Cedric Wilkerson bulled into
the end zone from the one-yard line for the score and Justin
Kraemer converted the PAT to knot the score.
The drive was Tech's longest drive of the year in number of plays,
and was the team's 12th scoring drive of 70 yards or more this
season.
SECOND QUARTER NOTES
The Golden Eagle defense appeared to make a sensational goal line
stand, halting the TSU ball carrier on fourth-and-goal from the
one. However, when quarterback Dominic Grooms was stopped short of
the goal line, he reached the ball close to the line and it was
ruled a TD, putting the Tigers on top, 14-7, four minutes into the
second quarter.
Antonio Robinson made a diving grab of a pass from Lee Sweeney to
get Tech's next possession started with a 25-yard gain, and the
offense marched all the way to the TSU nine, but stalled. Justin
Kramer attempted a 29-yard field goal but missed, leaving the score
at 14-7.
The Tigers answered with a drive of their own that took nearly five
minutes. TSU went 80 yards in 11 plays and 4:53, with Williams
going the final five yards for the touchdown and a 21-7 lead with
2:57 to play in the half.
THIRD QUARTER NOTES
A pass interference call against the Golden Eagles aided TSU on the
Tigers' first possession of the second half. On third-and-25,
Grooms pass was well overthrown, but the receiver tripped and the
penalty was called. TSU used that impetus to drive 86 yards in 14
plays, using 7:49, to make it 28-7 on a nine-yard pass from Grooms
to JaJuan Spillman.
FOURTH QUARTER NOTES
Tennessee State made it 35-7 with 6:11 remaining on a six-yard TD
pass from Grooms to Chris Johnson (see above). The score capped an
eight-play, 47-yard scoring drive that lasted 3:51.
Junior Josh Lowery took over at quarterback in the final six
minutes for the Golden Eagles. It was his first action since
suffering a rib injury at Murray State (Oct. 11).
Anthony Levine intercepted a Tech pass and returned it about 25
yards, then flipped a lateral to Eugene Clifford, who took it
another 25 yards to the Tech 22. TSU was able to push that turnover
into the end zone on a 12-yard run by Preston Brown with 2:18
remaining to make it 42-7.
A 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration after the scored forced
TSU to kickoff from its own 15-yard line. The Golden Eagles started
their final possession at the 43 following the kickoff return, and
Tech moved 57 yards in just five plays for a touchdown. Lowery
fired a strike to Tim Benford for a 21-yard score to make it
41-14.
The TD catch by Benford gave him 55 receptions for the season,
tying the TTU school record for most catches in a season. It was
his ninth TD catch of the year, putting him one short of the school
record for most touchdown receptions.
