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.
