November 30, 2011

2011 Golden Eagle football team established dozens of school records

On the way to winning the OVC championship, the 2011 Tennessee Tech football team set or tied 25 school records.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- On the way to re-writing Tennessee Tech football history with the team's first Ohio Valley Conference championship in 36 years and first appearance in the FCS playoffs, coach Watson Brown's 2011 Golden Eagle squad also did some re-writing of the school's record books.

The Golden Eagles tied or set 25 school records. Beyond that, a large number of entries will also appear in future record books for the second- and third-best marks in many additional categories.

A total of nine team records and 16 individual records have new names or numbers, nearly all by senior wide receiver Tim Benford, senior runningback Dontey Gay and junior quarterback Tre Lamb.

"It's just unbelieveable," said Brown at the close of his fifth season back in his hometown. "Those three guys tore up the record books. I had no idea we were even close to any of that stuff. When you're in the middle of the season, you don't tend to think about those things."

Gay set the school record of 15 rushing touchdowns, and tied marks for most touchdowns overall and most points scored with 90.

Benford tied the school career record with 27 touchdown receptions and posted new career marks for most receptions (216) and most receiving yards (3,097). His 10 100-yard receiving games is the most in school history, and his 932 yards in 2011 is a single-season record.

Lamb directed the offense and set single-game and single-season marks. His new records include most touchdowns responsible for (six rushing and 17 passng) with 23, most plays and yards of total offense, with 422 plays for 2,555 yards. His 204 completions were a new standard, and he also topped the mark for the highest pass completion percentage in a season, hitting 65.2 percent of his tosses.

Freshman placekicker Zach Sharp set a school mark with 46 PAT kicks.

Among the team marks to fall were most points in a season (355), highest scoring average (32.3 ppg) and most offensive yards per game (410.5). The 238 first downs in 2011 is also a record.

"We had a good year," Brown said. "When you have a good team like that, the stats will show it. It was a dominant offense and a dominant defense and a solid special teams. That's why we were able to win a conference championship."

TENNESSEE TECH FOOTBALL RECORDS SET IN 2011

These are records set or tied in 2011. List does not include numerous performances that will be in the record book as the second- or third-best marks in school history

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

RUSHING
Most TDs/season – 15 Dontey Gay

PASSING
Most Attempts/game – 58, Tre Lamb vs. TSU
Most completions/game – 36, Tre Lamb, TSU
Most completions/season – 204, Tre Lamb
Highest completion percentage/season – 65.2, Tre Lamb

RECEIVING
Most yards/ season – 932, Tim Benford
Most receptions/career – 216, Tim Benford
Most yards/career – 3,097, Tim Benford
Most TD receptions/career – 27, Tim Benford
Most 100-yard games/career – 10, Tim Benford

TOTAL OFFENSE
Most plays/game – 69, Tre Lamb vs. TSU
Most plays/season – 422, Tre Lamb
Most yards/season – 2,555, Tre Lamb
Most TD responsible for/season – 23, Tre Lamb (6 rush, 17 pass)

ALL-PURPOSE
Most touchdowns/season – 15, Dontey Gay

SCORING
Most points scored/season – 90, Dontey Gay
Most PATs/season – 46, Zach Sharp

TEAM RECORDS

PASSING
Most attempts/game – 58 vs. TSU
Most completions/game – 34 vs. TSU

SCORING

Most points scored/season – 355
Highest scoring average/season – 32.3 ppg
Most PATs/season – 46

TOTAL OFFENSE
Most yards/game – 410.5

FIRST DOWNS
Most first downs/game – 36 vs. TSU
Most first downs/season – 238
Most first downs passing/game – 20 vs. TSU