GOLDEN EAGLE FOOTBALL Game #3
Golden Eagles snare road victory at EIU to open OVC slate September 17, 2011
O’Brien Field / Charleston, Ill. / Attendance: 6,157 CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Tennessee Tech defense forced four turnovers and the offense, fueled by big efforts from Tim Benford and Dontey Gay, scored 31 unanswered points as the Golden Eagles opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 31-20 victory at Eastern Illinois. It was just the third time Tech has claimed a win in O’Brien Stadium, the first time since 1999. The win was the second consecutive for Tech over the Panthers. Down 7-0 early, quarterback Tre Lamb led the offense to a 31-7 lead by early in the third quarter on 22-for-27 passing for 240 yards. Benford grabbed eight passes for 124 yards and Gay rushed for 96 yards and a career-best three touchdowns on 24 carries. Junior Will Johnson had two of the turnovers with a fumble recovery and one of three Tech interceptions. Corey Watson and Caleb Mitchell also intercepted passes. Richmond Tooley topped the tackle chart with 10 and also broke up three EIU passes. The Tech defense limited EIU to minus six (-6) rushing yards. It was the second-lowest rushing total against Tech in school history behind a minus-41 yard effort against Morehead State in 1975. EIU quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 301 yards, going 29-for-52 with three touchdown tosses, but the sophomore was sacked four times and picked off three times. After the Panthers had struck first five minutes into the contest, Benford made one of the greatest catches in Tech history. He leaped over his defender and made the catch, kept his balance and carried tackles to the one-yard line for a 65-yard pickup. Gay hit paydirt on the next play to tie the score. Watson’s interception on the final play of the first quarter gave the offense the
Tennessee Tech (2-1) Eastern Ill. (1-2)
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ball at the EIU 39, and Lamb’s 25-yard pass to Zack Ziegler set up a 25-yard field goal by freshman Zach Sharp for a 10-7 TTU lead. Pinned down at their own 19 following a 60-yard, bouncing punt, Tech drove 81 yards in 10 play as Lamb hit Demetrous Garrett for a four-yard TD and a 17-7 lead midway in the second quarter. Ziegler hauled in a 25-yard pass to the two-yard line minutes later, setting up Gay’s second touchdown of the night, a two-yard run with 49 seconds to play to increase the lead to 24-7 before halftime. That scoring drive covered 53 yards in seven plays. On the opening kick of the second half, Kedrick Towles jarred the ball loose and Johnson recovered at the EIU 36, and Lamb needed eight plays to move his team into the end zone. Gay’s two-yard run gave him his third TD of the night. Tech appeared firmly in control but Garoppolo got the EIU offense moving, and the Panther defense stopped Tech on four consecutive possessions to make things interesting. First, EIU moved 65 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown on a 21-yard pass to Wright, his second of the game. The two-point conversion was broken up by Tooley and Tech’s lead was 31-13. After forcing Tech three-and-out, the Panthers rode Garoppolo’s arm through a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive to make it 31-20. Sam Hendricks caught a fouryard TD pass for the score. EIU stopped Tech again and got the ball back, but this time the Golden Eagle defense forced four consecutive incomplete passes. The Tech offense took over with 4:54 to play and an 11-point lead, and earned three first downs to run out the clock.
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1 09:48 Eastern Ill. - WRIGHT 28 yd pass from GAROPPOLO. (BERRA kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards in 3:27. 0-7 1 06:13 Tennessee Tech - GAY, Dontey 1 yd run. (SHARP, Zach kick is good). Drive: 2 plays, 66 yards in 0:24. 7-7 2 13:45 Tennessee Tech - SHARP, Zach 25 yd field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 31 yards in 1:15. 10 - 7 2 04:46 Tennessee Tech - GARRETT, Demetr 4 yd pass from LAMB, Tre. (SHARP, Zach kick is good). Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards in 4:33. 17 - 7 2 00:49 Tennessee Tech - GAY, Dontey 2 yd run. (SHARP, Zach kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards in 2:45. 24 - 7 3 11:20 Tennessee Tech - GAY, Dontey 2 yd run. (SHARP, Zach kick is good). Drive: 8 plays, 36 yards in 3:26. 31 - 7 4 12:48 Eastern Ill. - WRIGHT 21 yd pass from GAROPPOLO. (2pt conversion pass by GAROPPOLO failed). Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards in 2:35. 31 - 13 4 07:51 Eastern Ill. - HENDRICKS 4 yd pass from GAROPPOLO. (BERRA kick is good). Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards in 2:42. 31-20
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Team Statistics..........EIU.................TTU First Downs......................16....................... 17 Yards Rushing................. -6....................... 117 Com-Att-Int.................29-52-3............. 22-27-0 Yards Passing..................301..................... 240 Total Offense..................295..................... 357 Punts/Avg..................... 6/44.8............... 6/41.0 Possession Time..........24:05................. 35:41 Leading Rushers EIU: Woodson (20 yards on 8 carries) Tech: Gay (96 yards on 24 carries) Leading Passers EIU: Garoppolo (29-of-52 for 301 yards) Tech: Lamb (22-of-27 for 240 yards)
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