COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Trailing by 14 points with under nine minutes to play in regulation, the University of Tennessee at Martin football squad rallied for a 44-41 overtime triumph at Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech today.
The No. 18 ranked Skyhawks (7-2, 4-1 Big South-OVC) led 21-14 at the halftime break but found themselves trailing by a 38-24 margin in the fourth quarter. Kinkead Dent hit Sam Franklin with a 21-yard touchdown throw and followed with a game-tying seven-yard scoring strike to DJ Roberts with 1:57 to go in regulation.
The UT Martin defense shut down a potential game-winning Golden Eagles drive to send the game into overtime. The Skyhawks won the coin toss and elected to play defense first, only yielding a 47-yard field goal.
Roberts, who hung tough for a nine-yard catch up the middle on 3rd-and-6 earlier in overtime, came through with another clutch play. Facing 3rd-and-7 from the Tennessee Tech 9-yard line, the junior from Perry, Fla. made another acrobatic snag – hauling in a tipped pass from a Golden Eagle defender while reaching behind him on his way down to the ground for his second score of the day.
With the win, UT Martin earned the Sgt. York Trophy for the sixth consecutive season and 11th time overall since the series was originated in 2007. The Skyhawks had previously defeated Tennessee State (20-10 on Sept. 30) to claim the annual series between the three Big South-OVC universities located in the state of Tennessee.
“What an exciting game,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “It’s just really cool to watch a guy like Zoe who works so hard and sometimes just hasn’t had those opportunities for a game-winner and today he makes it – that’s a great memory for him and Kinkead. Tennessee Tech played really well – we have plenty of things to clean up but these kids get all the credit in the world. The energy changed once it got to be a one-score game late – we had some bigtime players step up and make bigtime plays.”
Dent (318 yards) passed for five touchdowns and eclipsed the 300-yard plateau for the second time this season. He spread out his 24 completions to six different receivers, led by game-highs of seven catches and 115 yards out of Skyhawk junior DeVonte Tanksley.
Sam Franklin accounted for 151 all-purpose yards (78 rushing, 73 receiving) and a pair of touchdowns as UT Martin outgained Tennessee Tech by a 419-323 margin in total offensive yards.
Defensively, Jack Lucas accumulated a game-high 10 tackles (eight solo) for the Skyhawks. Daylan Dotson had five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry while JaMichael McGoy registered five tackles and a game-high three pass breakups for a UT Martin defense that held the Golden Eagles to just 40 yards with three punts in the fourth quarter.
On special teams, Aidan Laros successfully booted his lone field goal try from 25 yards out to open the scoring in the fourth quarter. He also punted five times for 192 yards while sending six of his seven kickoffs for touchbacks.
Tennessee Tech (3-6, 1-3 Big South-OVC) was led by freshman quarterback Jordyn Potts’ five touchdowns and 209 passing yards. Marcus Potts (game-high 79 rushing yards) guided the Golden Eagle rushing attack while Metrius Fleming and Justin Pegues both generated two touchdown catches apiece. Hunter Barnhart (receiving touchdown) and Hayden Olson (field goals from 54 and 47 yards out) completed the scoring as Tennessee Tech took advantage of short field position and scored 21 points off three Skyhawk turnovers (two muffed punt returns and an interception). Tim Coutras (nine tackles), Kanstin Brooks (forced fumble) and Theron Gaines each had a tackle for loss while Jyron Gilmore had an interception for the Golden Eagles.
UT Martin’s home finale is set for Saturday, Nov. 11 as Southeast Missouri travels to Hardy Graham Stadium in a battle of two of the three Big South-OVC leaders. Kickoff for Senior Day is set for 2 p.m.
