UT Martin held Charleston Southern to 209 yards of offense en route to a 40-14 victory over the Buccaneers.
The win moved the Skyhawks to 7-3, 5-1 in the conference, and tied for first in conference with SEMO.
The Skyhawks had their way on both sides of the ball against the Buccaneers with 491 yards of total offense.
Led by QB Kinkead Dent, who stays in a rhythm as the Skyhawks make a push for the Big-South OVC title. Dent’s 271 total yards and three total touchdowns powered the Skyhawk offense to their fifth 40-point performance of the season.
A massive part of the offensive production was graduate WR DeVonte Tanksley who put up a season-high 128 yards and a career-high two touchdowns.
Other contributors include RB Patrick Smith who took one pass for 50 yards and WR Trevonte Rucker with three catches for 38 yards.
RB Patrick Smith tallied his sixth 100-yard game of the season for the Skyhawks with 128 yards on just 15 carries. Joining Smith on the ground was freshman RB Chris Franklin who broke a 43-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to get the Skyhawks to 40 points.
Dent also joins them on the ground, tallying a rushing touchdown of his own near the end of the first quarter. This was Dent’s fifth game in a row with a rushing touchdown. Dent currently sits at fourth in the Big-South OVC in rushing touchdowns with six.
The Skyhawks’ defense continues to stop the run and get the ball back to the offense.
Graduate Tevin Shipp exemplified this, leading the team in tackles with seven while taking an interception to the house. Shipp moves to second in the Big-South OVC in interceptions, tied with teammate Oshae Baker and behind teammate Chris Hunter Jr.
Senior S Oshae Baker also moved to tie for second with an interception of his own against the Buccaneers.
Graduate Michael Pleas Jr. dominated in the trenches for the Skyhawks with four total tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss and a strip sack.
Next week the Skyhawks welcome the 5-5 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles to Hardy M. Graham stadium in another big conference matchup. The Skyhawks and Golden Eagles face off on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.
