MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin football program scored early and often on the way to the squad’s third straight victory after cruising past new Big South-OVC Football Association member Western Illinois with a 45-17 margin.
The Skyhawks (4-3, 2-1 Big South-OVC) scored just 63 seconds into the game and never looked back. UT Martin racked up 27 first downs and 541 yards of total offense en route to a dominating performance on the road.
UT Martin was especially dangerous on the ground where it racked up 306 rushing yards. Running back Patrick Smith tallied the bulk of the carries with 17 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown – including a 63-yard scamper. Fellow tailback Glover Cook III also had a nice day with seven carries for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Quarterback Kinkead Dent was efficient for the Skyhawks with four total touchdowns in the victory. Dent completed 16-of-21 pass attempts for 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also found the endzone on the ground with a pair of rushing touchdowns – scoring on carries of one yard and five yards to complete his impressive afternoon.
12 different players tallied receptions in the game with the trio of Max Dowling, Trevonte Rucker and Asa Wondeh pacing the team with three receptions each. Dowling had a big party in the endzone after scoring a pair of touchdowns on catches of 48 and 21 yards, respectively. The tight end also tallied a multi-touchdown effort in an appearance in the state of Illinois last season with a pair of scores in an overtime thriller at Eastern Illinois.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Skyhawk starters limited Western Illinois to just three points before the young reserves gave up a pair of late touchdowns to the Leathernecks in their Homecoming affair. Mid-season All-American Jaylon Sharpe paced the team with seven total tackles while also registering a tackle for loss to remain atop the Big South-OVC leaderboard. Davonte Murray tallied a strip sack in the fourth quarter while Taylor Burton also registered a sack of his own in the blowout victory.
“I am proud of our team,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “The coaches designed a good game plan on both sides of the ball and built out a 28-3 lead heading into halftime. We were able to capitalize on that, got the stop coming out and were able to add a couple touchdowns and a field goal to take them out of the game. The kids prepared well and played well early. Total team win. To be able to go on the road and get a win is something to be proud of.
A resurgent Western Illinois (2-4, 1-1 Big South-OVC) came into the contest in a high after winning back-to-back contests but the three-time defending league champions were too much to handle for the new association foe. The Fighting Leathernecks were limited to just 294 yards of total offense – with 120 of those yard coming in mop-up time in the fourth quarter against Skyhawk reserves. Running back Cameren Smith scored the team’s first touchdown with a two-yard carry in the fourth quarter before WIU added another score with a passing connection from Chris Irvin to Demari Davis with 31 seconds to play.
The Skyhawks will now head back to Martin and enjoy their bye week before returning to Big South-OVC action with Family Weekend against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 26. Kickoff from Hardy Graham Stadium is slated for 2 p.m.
