Wild fourth quarter sees Tech come up short

By TTU Sports Information

September 28, 2002

WILD FOURTH QUARTER SEES EAGLES FALL SHORT
AGAINST JACKSONVILLE STATE, 35-29

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech passed for a school-record 420 yards Saturday night, but the Golden Eagles misfired on the final play of the game in a wild, 35-29 loss to visiting Jacksonville State in non-conference college football action. 

Tech got career performances by quarterback Robert Craft and wide receiver Anton Thomison, and three field goals by freshman Nick Hodges but saw its nine-game home field winning streak come to a halt when Jacksonville capped a fourth-quarter shootout with the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. Tech marched the length of the field and had a chance to win with an untimed down from the 11-yard line after time had expired. Craft, who threw for a career-high 410 yards, saw his last-ditch attempt sail through a crowd in the end zone.

Tech owned a 13-0 lead late in the first half after dominating the first 30 minutes, but Jacksonville scored two touchdowns in the final 43 seconds of the half to take a 14-13 lead into intermission. 

Jacksonville built a 28-13 lead in the third quarter, setting the stage for an explosive fourth quarter. The first five drives in the final quarter resulted in scores, until Tech came up just on the final possession. Receiving the ball with just 28 seconds remaining, Tech moved 59 yards to the Gamecock 21-yard line on three consecutive pass completions. JSU was called for defensive holding penalty on an imcomplete pass into the end zone as time expired, and the Golden Eagles had one last chance from the 11.

The Eagles tied a school record with 14 penalties in the contest, including three whistles on Jacksonville's game-winning drive. A pass interference penalty put Jacksonville on the TTU 15, and an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball to the seven and set up the game's final touchdown on a run by Kory Chapman.

After holding their last two opponents under 100 yards rushing, the Golden Eagle defense gave up 244 yards to a balanced Gamecock ground game.  The three rushing touchdowns in the second half by JSU broke Tech's string of twelve consecutive quarters without allowing a rushing touchdown.

John Ruff led topped defense with 12 tackles, including two quarterback sacks. Daniel Wentzel had eight tackles, forced two fumbles, recovering a fumble and broke up two passes. All-American D. J. Bleisath returned to the defensive lineup and contributed five tackles, including one sack and another tackle for loss.

Craft passed for 410 yards, his third 200-yard performance of the season.  His favorite target was Thomison, who caught seven passes, one for a touchdown, and totaled 178 receiving yards.  Eight other Golden Eagles caught passes, including Drew Hixon and Kevin Huggins with their first career catches.

Craft’s 410 yards came within two yards of the school single-game passing record (412) set by Grant Swallows last year at Jacksonville. Freshman Lewis Kuffour’s two completions added 10 yards to the team total and allowed the offense to set a school record with 420 passing yards.

Jason Ballard led the ground game with 90 yards on 23 carries, including two touchdowns.

Tech finished with 565 yards of total offense, the second successive 500-yard performance following last week’s 644 yards against Valparaiso.

Tech fell to 2-3 on the season, sustaining their first loss to a I-AA opponent.  Jacksonville State evened its record at 2-2.  The loss snapped a nine-game home winning streak in Tucker Stadium, stretching back to the 2000 season.

PREGAME NOTES 

·        Tech bids for its third straight victory and 10^th in a row in Tucker Stadium, the second longest in school history.

·        Jacksonville State is in its final season as a member of the Southland Conference, and will join the Ohio Valley Conference (along with Samford) next year.

·        Tech comes into the game with a 2-2 overall record while JSU is 1-2.

·        Tech won last year’s meeting, 35-27, in Jacksonville in a game that featured more than 1,100 yards of combined total offense.

·        Tech has held its last two opponents to 113 rushing yards, an average of just 56.5 yards per game on the ground.

·        Career streaks: Fullback Ronnie Sidler makes his 36^th consecutive start. The next longest current streak for starts belongs to Stevland Sills and Greg Hunnicutt with 25 each.

·        Back-to-back times two: Tech has had a ball carrier rush for over 100 yards in each of the last two games, and a receiver with more than 100 yards in each of the last two games.

·        The Tech defense has not allowed a rushing touchdown in 10 consecutive quarters and recorded a school record 19 tackles for loss against Valparaiso last week.

·        All-American and Buchanan Award candidate D. J. Bleisath returned to the starting line-up as a defensive end after recovering from ankle injury.

·        The Golden Eagles’ opponents have only suffered one fumble this season – and they recovered it.

·        Jacksonville’s Rondy Rogers is the last opponent to rush for 100 yards against the Golden Eagles, gaining 199 in the contest last November.

·        After nearly three days of constant rain, the weather cleared up for Saturday. Conditions at game time were perfect, with clear skies, a light Southerly breeze and temperature around 72.

·        Golden Eagle game captain for the coin toss was senior Defensive End Robby Sills.

·        The Golden Eagles won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half.  Tech will kick off and defend the south endzone.

FIRST QUARTER NOTES

·        Tech opened with a 60-yard completion from Robert Craft to Anton Thomison, his longest catch of the season. Nick Hodges connected on a 28-yard field goal, his third of the season, to cap the drive and open the scoring for the Eagles.

·        A 44-yard kick return by Kory Chapman gave the Gamecocks the ball at midfield on their next possession. On fourth and one at their own 28-yard line, the Eagles recovered their first fumble of the season when Rondy Rogers lost his handle on the ball.  Daniel Wentzel recovered the ball for Tech.

·        Again, the Craft to Thomison connection opened Tech’s drive with a 31-yard completion. Stevland Sills went over 1,000 career receiving yards with a 25-yard catch. Jason Ballard rushed five yards for his second touchdown of the season and Nick Hodges converted the extra point, giving Tech a 10-0 lead.

·        Tech’s first two scoring drives used 1:38 and 1:34.

·        Brandon Shelby returned to the field after missing two games with a knee injury.

·        John Ruff sacked Jax State Quarterback Anthony Mayo to give him a tackle-for-loss for the 11th game in his fifteen career appearances. On Jax State’s next possession, Rondy Rogers suffered his second straight fumble, caused by Daniel Wentzel and recovered by D. J. Bleisath.

·        Freshman Lewis Kuffour was the Tech quarterback on the Eagles’ next possession.  He keyed the drive with a 22-yard run for a first down.

·        The Tech offense recorded 213 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Tech’s defense limited the Gamecocks to 46 yards of total offense and zero passing yards. 

SECOND QUARTER NOTES

·        Nick Hodges’ 26-yard field goal, his fourth straight of the season, capped a 12-play, 56-yard drive and gave Tech a 13-0 lead.  Jason Ballard carried six times for 37 yards on the drive.

·        Daniel Wentzel caused Jax State’s third fumble of the game.  However, the Gamecocks recovered and scored on the next play as Mayo completed a 29-yard pass across the middle to Ralph Jenkins for the touchdown.  Steven Lee converted the extra point and cut the Eagle lead to 13-7, with less than a minute before halftime.

·        On the ensuing kickoff, Perry Kyles was hit hard and fumbled and the Gamecocks recovered on the Tech 25-yard line.  Jax State took advantage of the turnover to score a sudden, go-ahead touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Anthony Mayo to Jarvis Houston with only one second remaining in the half.  The extra point conversion sent the Gamecocks to the locker room with a 14-13 lead.

HALFTIME NOTES

·        The Golden Eagles outgained the Gamecocks by a 285-149 margin in the first half, including a 161-46 edge through the air.

·        Jason Ballard recorded 72 rushing yards in the half.

·        Six receivers caught passes for the Eagles, led by Anton Thomison with 91 yards on two catches.

·        Tech’s defense did not allow Jax State to convert any third-down attempts, stopping them five times.  However, the Gamecocks did convert a fourth-down attempt, leading to their first touchdown.

·        Tech’s defense held Rondy Rogers to 40 yards rushing on 10 carries.  However, quarterback Anthony Mayo recorded 55 yards to lead the Gamecocks.

·        Having deferred in the first half, the Eagles chose to receive the second half kickoff and defend the north end zone.

THIRD QUARTER NOTES

·        JSU attempted an onsides kick to start the half but the ball went just nine yards before Matt Lollar fell on it. However, Tech didn’t take advantage of the opportunity as the Gamecock defense stopped three rushing plays and forced a punt.

·        D.J. Bleisath and John Ruff shared a sack on the next drive to stop the Gamecocks. For Bleisath, the sack was his first of the season.

·        Freshman wide receiver Kevin Huggins caught his first career pass with a six-yard reception from Craft. Sophomore Drew Hixon also had his first career catch during the drive with an 11-yard reception.

·        Jax State drove 74 yards in 13 plays to build a 21-13 lead.  Rondy Rogers scored on a two-yard run to cap the drive.  This was the first rushing touchdown that the Eagle defense had conceded in more than 12 quarters.

·        Daniel Wentzel had another drive-stopping play when he broke up a pass with a near-interception.

·        Anton Thomison hauled in a 30-yard catch in the last minute of the quarter, his third reception of greater than 30 yards in the game.

FOURTH QUARTER NOTES

·        The Eagles went to the air as they drove 91 yards in 10 plays, their longest drive of the year.  Anton Thomison had three catches in the drive, including a 26-yard catch that moved the Eagles to the three-yard line.

·        Jason Ballard got Tech into the endzone with a one-yard carry, his second rushing touchdown of the game.  A two-point conversion attempt was not successful so the Eagles pulled within two of the Gamecocks at 21-19.

·        Jax State responded with an 84-yard drive on 11 plays.  Fullback Marcus Mitchell carried the final 26 yards into the endzone on his first carry of the season. The extra point gave the Gamecocks a 28-19 lead with 7:41 remaining in the game.

·        With his longest gain of the season, Beau Fullerton caught a 31-yard pass from Robert Craft to move the Eagles to midfield. Drew Hixon followed with a 27-yard catch to place the Eagles on the Gamecock 22-yard line. Anton Thomison finished the drive with a 13-yard reception and Nick Hodges converted the extra point to bring the Eagles with two points at 28-26.

·        Tech got the ball back with an onsides kick to set up a drive that lifted Tech into a short-lived, 29-28 lead. Chris Cummings looped a short kick that speedster Trey Perry caught on the fly for the Eagles at the JSU 41.  This was the second successful onsides kick by the Eagles, including a recovery a week earlier against Valparaiso.

·        Ronnie Sidler had a 34-yard reception to move the Golden Eagles to the JSU three-yard line, setting Nick Hodges for a go-ahead 23-yard field, his third of the game. That lifted the Eagles back into the lead at 29-28 with 2:06 remaining.

·        Moving 72 yards in 1:25, the Gamecocks finished what proved to be the game-winning drive with a seven-yard run by Kory Chapman.  The extra point by Steven Lee moved Jax State ahead 35-29 with 28 seconds remaining. Tech fueled the drive with three penalties in the series, including pass interference call and an unsportsmanlike conduct call that put JSU at the Tech eight.

·        The Golden Eagles almost pulled out a last-ditch miracle, moving the length of the field in the final 28 seconds. Tech raced to the JSU 21-yard line in three plays. Craft hit freshman Kevin Huggins for 15 yards, Derek Lee for 17 yards and Lee for another 27. The clock expired during a pass attempt into the end zone, but the Gamecocks were called for holding on the play. That gave Tech one untimed down from the 11 with no time remaining. Craft’s pass into the end zone sailed incomplete.

POSTGAME NOTES

·        Anton Thomison set a career high with 178 receiving yards on his seven receptions, his second century performance this season and a total exceeded only by Derek Lee’s 183 yards against Valparaiso last week.  It was the fourth highest single-game total by a Tech receiver.

·        Anton Thomison’s receiving yardage total gave the Eagles three straight games with a 100-yard receiver and four for the season.

·        Derek Lee jumped up to eighth in career receiving yardage with 1,201, passing Flavious Smith.

·        With his 410 passing yards, Robert Craft recorded the second- best single-game performance by a Tech quarterback.  Last season Grant Swallows passed for 412 yards against Jacksonville State to set the school record. However, with 10 passing yards by Lewis Kuffuor, the Golden Eagles broke the team single-game record with 420 passing yards.

·        Craft recorded his third 200-yard passing performance and went over 1,000 yards for the season. He has 1,237 for the year, already the 11^th best season in school history.

·        With 565 yards of total offense, Tech broke the 500-yard mark for the second straight game.

·        The Eagles have recorded three touchdown drives of 90 yards or more this season.

·        Redshirt freshman Nick Hodges has converted all five of his field goal attempts this season.

·        Tech’s last loss at home was in 2000 to Eastern Illinois, next week’s homecoming opponent.

Quotes from Doug Malone, Offensive Coordinator

·        “This tells us a lot about our poise under pressure and what it is going to be like in the OVC.  I thought (Anton) Thomison and (Robert) Craft had very good games tonight.  Robert has handled himself well in pressure situations this season.”

·        About the last play:  “We were looking to flood the zone over there for Robert (Craft) sand give him several options.  Running the ball was certainly one of those options.  However, the defense was very close and he would have had to go 11 yards.”