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2018 Ohio Valley Conference Football Report Austin Peay | Eastern Illinois | Eastern Kentucky | Jacksonville State | Murray State | Southeast Missouri | Tennessee State | Tennessee Tech | UT Martin October 22, 2018 Ohio Valley Conference FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 215 Centerview Drive, Suite 115 Contact: Kyle Schwartz Brentwood, TN 37027 Phone: (615) 690-6685 OVCSports.com Email: [email protected] Twitter: @OVCSports OVC STANDINGS (In games through October 20) OVC OVERALL W L PCT. PF PA W L PCT. PF PA Home Away Neutral Streak Murray State 4 0 1.000 172 106 4 3 .571 205 229 2-1 2-2 0-0 W4 Jacksonville State 4 1 .800 215 118 5 2 .714 303 138 4-0 1-1 0-1 L1 Southeast Missouri 3 1 .750 152 102 5 2 .714 261 215 3-0 2-2 0-0 W3 Tennessee State 2 2 .500 137 148 3 3 .500 198 182 2-0 1-3 0-0 W1 Eastern Kentucky 2 2 .500 71 138 3 4 .429 171 235 2-2 1-2 0-0 L1 Eastern Illinois 2 3 .400 179 197 2 6 .250 250 355 1-3 1-3 0-0 W1 Austin Peay 1 3 .250 115 150 3 4 .429 217 235 2-0 1-4 0-0 L1 UT Martin 1 3 .250 130 111 1 6 .143 205 257 1-2 0-4 0-0 L3 Tennessee Tech 0 4 .000 110 211 0 7 .000 142 367 0-3 0-4 0-0 L7 THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE LAST WEEK’S RESULTS Saturday, October 27 Saturday, October 20 *Eastern Illinois at Eastern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+) *@Southeast Missouri 37, #4 Jacksonville State 14 *Southeast Missouri at UT Martin, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+) *@Eastern Illinois 24, UT Martin 21 (OT) *#12 Jacksonville State at Murray State, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN3) *Murray State 34, @Eastern Kentucky 6 *Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+) *@Tennessee State 41, Tennessee Tech 14 * Indicates OVC Contest ALL TIMES CENTRAL THIS WEEK’S OVC HIGHLIGHTS/STORYLINES Murray State now holds sole possession of fi rst place in the OVC with a 4-0 Conference record...It is the fi rst time the Racers have been 4-0 in OVC play since 1996, a year the Racers went 8-0 and won the OVC Championship...Southeast Missouri ended a 10-game losing streak to Jacksonville State, topping the nationally-ranked Gamecocks 37-14 to end JSU's 36-game OVC winning streak (dating back to the 2013 season)...The win was the fourth for SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz against nationally-ranked opponents...Despite its loss, JSU still ranks third nationally in both total off ense (533.9 yards/game) and total defense (251.6 yards/game allowed)...JSU's Josh Pearson caught his 12th receiving touchdown of the season, establishing a new school single-season record just seven games into the season...JSU is ranked No. 12 in both Top 25 polls while Southeast Missouri is just outside the Top 25 and Murray State is also receiving votes...Eastern Illinois wide receiver Alexander Hollins continues to lead the FCS in touchdowns (13) and was added to the Walter Payton Award Watch List last week; SEMO's Marquis Terry is also on the Payton Watch List...The OVC currently ranks fi rst nationally among all FCS conferences in total off ense per team (411.48 yards/game) and scoring average (30.98 points/game)... Murray State's Kenney Wooten had three sacks against Eastern Kentucky and now ranks fourth nationally in that category (1.14 sacks/ game)...This week's games include Jacksonville State at Murray State in the OVC Game of the Week on ESPN3...Southeast Missouri will travel to UT Martin, Eastern Illinois travels to Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech plays at Austin Peay...Tennessee State has a bye this week...This season 36 OVC football games will be streamed on ESPN+, after the OVC agreed to an extension on its media rights deal with ESPN; the ESPN+ broadcasts replace games formerly on the OVC Digital Network. 2018 OVC Football Weekly Release - October 22 • 1 OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK OVC MEDIA INFORMATION OFFENSIVE Kyle Schwartz Asst. Commissioner/Strategic Communications Micheal Hughes, QB • 6-2, 230, R-Jr. • Nashville, Tenn. • Tennessee State Phone: (615) 690-6685 Hughes completed 22-of-27 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns (with no Cell: (615) 775-1937 E-mail: [email protected] interceptions) as Tennessee State defeated Tennessee Tech 41-14 on Homecom- Web: http://www.OVCSports.com ing. It marked the second-straight game Hughes reached the 300-yard plateau. The junior threw a 33-yard touchdown pass on the team's fi rst play from scrimmage and ONLINE PRESS BOX: The OVC Football Online Press Box is a one-stop shop for gathering information about the OVC and its added a seven-yard score in the second quarter and a 20-yard strike in the third member schools. Media can access it at www.OVCSports.com/ quarter. Hughes ranks 12th nationally in completion percentage (65.9%) and 23rd footballpressbox or through links at OVCSports.com. in passing effi ciency (146.8). SOCIAL MEDIA: Get breaking news about the OVC by follow- ing the OVC through Social Media. Check out the OVC sites Others Nominated: Drew Anderson, Murray State; Marquis Terry, Southeast Missouri. at http://www.twitter.com/OVCSports and http://www.facebook. com/ovcsports. Also check out www.YouTube.com/ohiovalley- conference and the league’s blog at OVCExtra.com. DEFENSIVE Justin Swift, OLB • 6-0, 220, Jr. • Memphis, Tenn. • Southeast Missouri WEEKLY NOTES: The OVC will release its Players of the Week each Sunday afternoon throughout the season. The full Swift had 11 tackles (7 solo), 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and weekly notes report will be released each Monday throughout pass breakup as Southeast Missouri ended No. 4 ranked Jacksonville State's 36- the season by 5 p.m. CT. The report is available via e-mail, and game Conference winning streak with a 37-14 victory. The win was the fi rst for the is posted on the league’s Web site in text and PDF versions. Redhawks against the Gamecocks since the 2007 season. Swift keyed a defense Statistics are updated after each gameday on the OVC Web site. that forced a season-high fi ve turnovers and held JSU to just 99 yards rushing (after they entered the contest ranked 11th nationally with 257.5 rushing yards/game). 2018 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Swift intercepted Zerrick Cooper late in the second quarter with Southeast leading OFFENSIVE Sept. 2 Alexander Hollins, Eastern Illinois 14-7. With the Redhawks leading 16-7 beginning the third quarter, Swift sacked Sept. 9 Daniel Santacaterina, Southeast Missouri Cooper, forcing the fumble which was recovered at the JSU 14-yard line. Two plays Dresser Winn, UT Martin later SEMO scored to make the score 23-7. His second forced fumble came late in Sept. 16 Marquis Terry, Southeast Missouri Sept. 23 Josh Pearson, Jacksonville State the fourth quarter, allowing Southeast Missouri to take a knee and end the game. It Sept. 30 Zerrick Cooper, Jacksonville State marked his fourth double-digit tackle performance of the season. Swift currently ranks Oct. 7 D.J. Penick, Murray State Oct. 14 Drew Anderson, Murray State eighth in nationally in forced fumbles (0.43/game) and 29th in tackles (9.3/game). Oct. 21 Micheal Hughes, Tennessee State Oct. 28 Others Nominated: Dytarious Johnson, Eastern Illinois; Kenney Wooten, Murray Nov. 4 Nov. 11 State; Dajour Nesbeth, Tennessee State. Nov. 18 DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST Sept. 2 Zach Hall, Southeast Missouri Jake Reynolds, P • 5-10, 175, So. • Wildwood, Mo. • Southeast Missouri Sept. 9 Leodis Moore III, Eastern Kentucky Reynolds averaged 45.3 yards on seven punts as Southeast Missouri downed No. Sept. 16 Steven Crowder, Eastern Kentucky Sept. 23 Garrett Wall, UT Martin 4 ranked Jacksonville State 37-14, ending the Gamecocks 36-game OVC winning Sept. 30 Quincy Williams, Murray State streak which dated back to 2013. The sophomore twice pinned the Gamecocks inside Oct. 7 Nate Howard, Austin Peay Oct. 14 Gavin Bryant, Eastern Kentucky their 3-yard line and had a third punt inside the 20-yard line. In the second quarter Oct. 21 Justin Swift, Southeast Missouri one of his punts was downed at the 1-yard line and two plays later the Redhawks Oct. 28 recorded a safety that put them ahead 16-7. Reynolds later added a 71-yard punt, Nov. 4 Nov. 11 the longest in the OVC this season, the 10th-longest punt in the FCS this season Nov. 18 and the ninth-longest in SEMO history. Reynolds currently ranks fi rst in the OVC and SPECIALIST 25th nationally in punting (42.1 yards/punt). Sept. 2 Samuel Hayworth, Eastern Kentucky Antonio Zita, Tennessee State Sept. 9 Jason Pierce, Jacksonville State Others Nominated: Nick Bruno, Eastern Illinois; Gabriel Vicente, Murray State; Nicholas Litang, Southeast Missouri Antonio Zita, Tennessee State. Sept. 16 Matt Reyna, Eastern Illinois Sept. 23 Samuel Hayworth, Eastern Kentucky Sept. 30 Nick Bruno, Eastern Illinois CO-NEWCOMER Oct. 7 Nick Madonia, Tennessee Tech Bryce Dewberry, SAF • 5-10, 180, Fr. • McDonough, Ga. • Eastern Illinois Oct. 14 Matthew Jackson, Eastern Kentucky Gabriel Vincente, Murray State Dewberry had seven tackles and intercepted a pass that he returned 61 yards for a Oct. 21 Jake Reynolds, Southeast Missouri touchdown as Eastern Illinois topped UT Martin 24-21 in overtime. With the game Oct. 28 tied late in the third quarter, Dewberry picked off the pass on third-and long and Nov.