October 4, 2010

Tech football looks to rebound with its second in-state rivalry of 2010 on Saturday

With their backs against the wall in the fight to defend the Sgt. York Trophy, the Golden Eagles find themselves in a must-win situation in Saturday’s 4 p.m. road game in Clarksville against the Austin Peay Governors.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- With their backs against the wall in the fight to defend the Sgt. York Trophy, the Golden Eagles find themselves in a must-win situation in Saturday's 4 p.m. road game in Clarksville against the Austin Peay State Governors.

Golden Eagle receiver Tim Benford and first-year quarterback Tre Lamb combined for 122 passing yards and two touchdowns to fuel Tech last Thursday, but the team was handed the short end of a rallying effort by UT Martin. The Skyhawks edged out TTU with a comeback score of 27-24 in both teams' first match-up for the 2010 York trophy.

APSU joins UTM as the second York hopeful with a 1-0 record. In their first bid to reclaim the trophy, which they have not held since the 2007 season, the Govs rallied to knock off Tennessee State University in the second week of the season. Austin Peay was idle last week, but suffered a 70-3 loss to the University of Wisconsin in its most recent game.

"As far as the state championship is concerned, we're not out of it yet," said head coach Watson Brown. "A win this weekend could throw things up in a tizzy.

"There's still a whole lot left to play for, we just have to get back on track," Brown continued.

Tech and Austin Peay have split their last four games with Tech winning the last meeting, 31-23 last season.

Wide receiver Tim Benford had a solid game against the Govs a year ago, catching three passes for 61 yards including a 46-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter. He'll be looking to add to his resume on Saturday, needing only 14 yards to move into the eight spot in all-time yards receiving, and only 28 to move into the six spot. Benford notched his career-best in catches against Austin Peay in the 2008 season with 10.

Defensive back Dustin Dillehay also turned in a big performance as he led the Golden Eagles in tackles with 13, two of which were solo tackles. Tech will be looking to Dillehay as a captain, as well as Benford, as team motivators for Saturday's game.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Governors Stadium. The game will mark the OVC home opener for APSU this season.

Fans who are unable to make it to the game can follow the Live Stats here.