October 2, 2009

Golden Eagles, Govs clash to begin quest for York Trophy

The third annual battle for the Sgt. York Trophy gets underway Saturday night in the Ohio Valley Conference when the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles host the Austin Peay Governors in Tucker Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Tech vs. Austin Peay game notes (PDF)
Click here to order tickets

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The third annual battle for the Sgt. York Trophy gets underway Saturday night in the Ohio Valley Conference when the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles host the Austin Peay Governors in Tucker Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

It’s the first of three games for Tech in the quest for the York Trophy, an award that goes to the Tennessee team in the OVC which posts the best record againt the other three in-state teams.

Tennessee State has won the York Trophy in each of the first two years. After the game with Austin Peay on Saturday, Tech visits UT Martin next week (Oct. 10), then wraps up by hosting Tennessee State on Homecoming (Oct. 31).

Tech (1-2/0-1 OVC) is coming off a 49-7 loss at Big 12 opponent Kansas State. Austin Peay (1-3/0-1 OVC) lost a home game to Eastern Illinois last weekend.

The Govs have won both meetings against Tech during the Watson Brown era (also the York era), and both in similar fashion and by nearly identical scores. In 2007, APSU won 30-27 by making a field goal on the final play of the game. Last year, Tech rallied to pull within three but missed a field goal on the final play that would have forced overtime. APSU prevailed, 31-28.

It’s Parent and Family Night for the Golden Eagles, as well as Football Alumni Reunion. Tech will recognize the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Golden Eagle team that shared the OVC championship.

TICKETS: Available day of the game at the Tucker Stadium Ticket Booths, beginning at 6 p.m.

MAGIC 98.5 Tailgate Park: Opens at 4 p.m.

Records in 2009: Tennessee Tech is 1-2 overall / 0-1 Ohio Valley Conference
                            Austin Peay is 1-3 overall / 0-1 Ohio Valley Conference
Series Record: Tech leads 25-17-1
Last Meeting: Austin Peay 31, Tennessee Tech 28 (2008 in Clarksville)
Radio: Golden Eagle Sports Network (Roger Ealey, Buddy Pearson, Brandon Goodwin)
             also Free Teamline (Call 1-800-846-4675 - team code 0654)
Web Streaming: OVCsports.TV (produced by WCTE TV and TTU)
Television: Live WCTE TV
Live Stats: TTUsports.com
Last Week: Tech lost at K-State, 49-7; Austin Peay lost to Eastern Illinois, 30-20
Websites:
     Tennessee Tech - www.TTUsports.com
      Austin Peay - www.apsugovernors.com

FINAL UNDER THE LIGHTS -- The game with Austin Peay is Tech’s final night game of the year. All seven remaining games will be daytime starts.

FOOTBALL ALUMNI -- Golden Eagle football players are invited back to the game as Tech celebrates its annual Football Alumni Day in Tucker Stadium. In addition, the University will also recognize the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tech team that shared the Ohio Valley Conference championship. The ‘59 Golden Eagles were unbeaten in the OVC with a 5-0-1 record, tying Middle Tennessee, 21-21, in the regular season finale.

ONE TO BREAK IT -- Senior quarterback Lee Sweeney comes into the game with 38 career touchdown passes, tied with Robert Craft (2001-04) for the school career record. He needs 205 yards to break the total offense school record and 238 passing yards to snap that school standard.

STARTS WITH AN “A” -- Golden Eagle junior offensive guard Taylor Askew has been named first-team Academic All-District each of the past two years. The CoSIDA Academic-All-America team is sponsored by ESPN The Magazine. Askew owns a perfect 4.0 grade average, and last season received the OVC Academic Medal for posting the highest GPA among all football players in the league.

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES -- Jordan Adams celebrated his birthday on Wednesday (Sept. 30), and senior co-captain Brendon Fisher had a birthday Friday (Oct. 2).

SHUTTLE PILOT -- Former Golden Eagle linebacker Barry Wilmore, a member of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame, will be the pilot of the next NASA Shuttle, set to launch Nov. 12.
Notes on OFFENSE

WELCOME BACK? -- Sophomore Henry Sailes and sophomore Tremaine Hudson both missed the K-State game with injuries, but both are expected to return to action against the Governors.

MISSING SCHWEITZER -- Starter tackle Scott Schweitzer missed the game at K-State with an injury, but is probable for the game against Austin Peay.

OVER 2,000 -- Henry Sailes has climbed over the 2,000-yard mark in his career for all-purpose yards. He now has with 2,286. He needs 397 to climb into Tech’s career Top 10.

HITTING 1,000 -- Henry Sailes has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in kickoff returns for his career. He has 1,014 yards to rank second in school history behind Gerald Bentley with 1,418.

GRIN AND BLAIR IT -- Sophomore Jimmie Blair made his Golden Eagle debut against Pikeville and took Tech on a four-play, 53-yard fourth quarter scoring drive. Blair had all four carries in the drive, including a 35-yard run and a 15-yard touchdown. He finished with seven carries for 62 yards.

HOGUE TIED -- Sophomore Jamere Hogue moved from defense to tight end, and at Kansas State he made his first career reception --a 19-yard touchdown for the Golden Eagles’ only score. Hogue had two catches for 26 yards at K-State.

TWO MORE FIRST-TIMERS -- Sophomore fullback Charlie Stevens and sophomore tight end Cory Powers also recorded their first career reception in the game at Kansas State. Stevens hauled in a pass and rambled 16 yards for a first down. Powers had a catch good for five yards.

CAREER-HIGH -- Sophomore Howard Griffin leads Tech with 27 tackles to rank fourth in the OVC with 9.0 tackles per game. He is also 12th in the league in tackles-for-loss. A sophomore, Griffin had a career-best 11 tackles against Eastern Kentucky and also caused a fumble. He made eight stops at K-State. One of the team’s most improved players in the spring, Griffin is the starter at BULL linebacker. Last season he made a total of 17 tackles, with a career-high of six.

OH, CHARLIE -- Charlie Seivers had four tackles and caused a fumble at K-State. Last season, Seivers led Tech and ranked sixth in the OVC with five quaraterback sacks. He was 27th in the league in total tackles with 65, and also led Tech with 10.5 tackles-for-loss for 47 yards. He had a career-best 12 tackles against Eastern Kentucky, along with 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack. Seivers was voted to the preseason all-OVC squad for 2009.

IT’S TOOLEY TIME -- Sophomore Richmond Tooley had his first career interception at Eastern Kentucky, halting an early Colonel drive with a pick in the end zone. Tooley also broke up three passes in the contest. He started eight games last year as a true freshman. Against Jacksonville State, Tooley had nine tackles. He ranked fifth on the team, finishing with 56 total tackles.

NEW KIDS ON THE TACKLE - Several true freshmen saw extended playing time at Kansas State, including Jerry King and Marty Jones, who had five tackles each.