Golden Eagles back in their own house to host Central Methodist Thursday night

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Just as Tennessee Tech has done twice already this season by squaring off against a couple of FBS opponents, Central Methodist, an NAIA program, will jump to a higher division to challenge the FCS Golden Eagles Thursday night in Tucker Stadium. Both teams are coming off a short week of preparations for the first meeting between the two schools.

Tech is hosting two special groups at the game Thursday night. It's Military Appreciation Night, with all current and past military personnel and their immediate families invited as guests of the Athletics Dept. The other group is persons who work in the field of Public Safety (police, fire, emergency, etc), who are also invited guests.

Tech dropped a 41-7 game Saturday night at Western Michigan, and brings a 2-2 overall record into the game. Central Methodist lost to Evangel College, 27-17, Saturday afternoon, and is 1-2 coming into the game.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m., with the Regions Bank Tailgate Park opening at 4 p.m. For tickets, visit the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 372-3293.

Some of the items in this week's game notes (download the PDF for complete notes):

BACK AT HOME -- The Golden Eagles return to Tucker Stadium to host Central Methodist, after three consecutive games on the road at Louisville, Southeast Missouri and Western Michigan. Tech is 1-0 this season at home, opening the year with a 28-12 victory over Gardner-Webb.

NEW FACES -- Several new faces appear on the depth chart this week, including three true freshmen moving into starting roles on defense. At the "renegade" linebacker position, freshman Jake McIntosh is listed as the starer with freshman Howard Griffin as backup. At the Bandit linebacker spot, freshman Justin Vann is scheduled to start, with freshman Jamere Hogue as his backup. And, at the "boundary" cornerback, freshman Richmond Tooley will start, with freshman Alden Olverson second on the charts.

SOMETHING SPECIAL -- Tim Benford is having a sensational start to his career, leading Tech in receptions (24), receiving yards (279) and touchdowns (2) after four games. He has caught at least four passes in each of his games as a Golden Eagle. Just for kicks, in a comparison to Larry Shipp (Tech's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards and touchdown catches), Benford is slightly ahead in all three categories. After four games in his freshman season, Shipp had 18 catches for 133 yards and no scores. Shipp finished his first year with 41 catches for 448 yards and one touchdown.

LOWERY LOWDOWN -- Josh Lowery started and played the entire game at Western Michigan, in place of Lee Sweeney (ribs). Lowery produced career-highs of 19 completions, 33 receptions and 151 passing yards. He threw a 24-yard TD to freshman Tim Benford for Tech's firsts quarter points.

MULTI-PURPOSE MAN -- Sophomore Henry Sailes had 171 all-purpose yards in the opening game against Gardner-Webb and 164 all-purpose yards at Southeast Missouri. He currently ranks sixth in the OVC in all-purpose yards with 473 yards, an average of 118.2 per game. Last season he earned a spot on the OVC All-Freshman team after ranking third in the league in kickoff returns with 26.4 yards per try. He was second on the team in rushing yards (222) while averaging 10.9 yards per carry. He was also third in receiving with 20 catches for 119 yards. He finished with 919 all-purpose yards. He had a 76-yard touchdown scamper and a 67-yard return against Auburn. He accounted for 183 all-purpose yards against Murray State, then topped that with a career-best 212 all-purpose yards ? on only six plays ? against Tennessee State. In that game, he had 98 yards on three rushing attempts, caught one pass for 23 yards, and returned kicks for 45 and 46 yards. His 71-yard run against TSU was Tech's longest run of the 2007 season.

STEPPING IN and UP -- Redshirt freshman Scott Schweitzer has moved into the starting spot at tackle, jumping ahead of Calvin Smith. Meanwhile, true freshman Malcolm Jones played most of the game at center in place of injured starter Peter Taylor at both Southeast Missouri and Western Michigan.

ONE SHY OF A DOZEN -- Through the first four games, 11 different receivers have caught passes for the Golden Eagles, including seven who have made their first career receptions.

ANOTHER WRINKLE - Freshman Richmond Tooley posted a career-high 10 tackles to lead the Tech defense at Western Michigan. Tooley has emerged as the starter at the "boundary" cornerback position. He ranks seventh on the team with 16 total tackles.

NEARING 250 -- Senior Maurice Smith is inching closer to 250 career tackles, coming into the CMU game with 241. He could also become only the 11th player in school history to reach 300 career stops.

AND, HITTING 100 -- Juniors Jake Kiser and Taron Ryce each hit the 100-mark for career tackles during the game at Western Michigan.

SAY HEY, DILLEHAY - With injuries to both Xavier Purdy and Caleb Mitchell, sophomore Dustin Dillehay is seeing extended time at strong safety. He made a career-high six tackles at SEMO. Dillehay is slated to start at the position against Central Methodist, which would be his first career start for the Golden Eagles.

THAT'S THE WAY, DONTEY -- With just 18 seconds to play before halftime and the game tied at 17-17, true freshman Dontey Gay returned a SEMO kickoff 63 yards from his own four-yard line, giving the Golden Eagles the opportunity to take the lead into intermission after Justin Kraemer's 51-yard field goal. Gay leads Tech and ranks third in the OVC in kick returns, averaging 26 yards per carry.