After a weeklong build up to their homecoming game UTM falls to Jacksonville State, 41-27.
The Skyhawks (3-2, 1-1 OVC) made several mistakes in the first half that allowed for the Gamecocks to take an early lead. Center Tyler Eady and quarterback Dylan Favre failed to connect on two snaps, one of which resulted in a recovery by Jacksonville State (5-1, 1-1 OVC).
āEady has been a great player for us,ā said head coach Jason Simpson. āHeās played over 3,000 snaps and he just picked a bad time to have a poor snap, but nobody feels worse about it than he does.ā
Fumbled snaps aside, Favre went 15-of-20 for 155 yards with one touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremy Butler in the half. Favre and running back DJ McNeil totaled 98 yards on the ground on 18 carries, but failed get the ball into the end zone enough to match the Gamecocks.
āI just felt like the whole day we were rushing things and a lot of that is [Jacksonville State] coached well and they played well,ā said Simpson. āWe just couldnāt get control of the game to make the stop, or make the play, and you canāt beat good teams by doing that.
Jacksonville State took a 24-10 lead to the half, but UTM would strike first with another Favre to Butler touchdown, this one for 17 yards, with 8:54 left in the third quarter.
Shortly after forcing Jacksonville State to punt, Favre tossed an interception giving the Gamecocks the ball in UTM territory where the quickly convert a 35-yard field goal, extending their lead, 27-17.
The Skyhawks answered with a field goal from 44 yards out to make it a one possession game with 2:03 left in the third.
After keeping the game within two scores for the majority of the game, UTM gave up 24 points in the fourth quarter.
The bulk of the Redhawks offense came from tailback DaMarcus James. James carved up the Skyhawksā defense for 189 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.
Favre finished the day 24-of-36 for 290 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Butler tallied a team-high eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Favre also led the team in rushing with 77 yards on 17 carries. The only rushing touchdown for the Skyhawks came on a 29-yard scramble by Jarod Neal late in the fourth.
On a short week, UTM will travel to Tennessee Tech on Oct. 10 for their second Thursday night game of the season.
