September 28, 2011

Race to recapture Sgt. York Trophy begins Saturday night at UT Martin

While hoping to continue as the league co-leader in the fight for the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference championship, the Tennessee Tech football team will also begin its race to recapture the Sgt. York Trophy with a Saturday night contest at UT Martin.

Tennessee Tech

4-1

UT Martin

2-2

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Tennessee Tech (4-1)	3	10	7	14	34
UT Martin (2-2)	7	10	7	7	31

Game Leaders

UT Martin

Pa: CARR, Derek - 184

Ru: BARKSDALE, Tevi - 87

Rec: SHIVER, Stephen - 95

Tennessee Tech

Pa: Tre Lamb - 227

Ru: Dontey Gay - 83

Rec: Tim Benford - 79

Team Stats

Game Statistics	Tennessee Tech	UT Martin
Passing Yards	227	201
Rushing Yards	180	233
Turnovers	2	3
Time of Poss.	31:45	28:15

Click here to read/download TTU vs. UTM game notes (PDF)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- This might be one week that the Tennessee Tech football team is happy to be on the road when the Golden Eagles visit UT Martin for a game that holds keys to both the Ohio Valley Conference race and the battle for the 2011 Sgt. York Trophy.

In each of the past four meetings between the Golden Eagles and the Skyhawks, the visiting team has come out with the victory.

Last year, it was a 27-24 UTM triumph in Cookeville as the Skyhawks had a huge third quarter, including scoring drives of 99 and 97 yards.

For this year's game, Tech enters as co-leader in the OVC with a 2-0 record while UTM is at 1-1. It's also the first in the Sgt. York Trophy race, which the Skyhawks won last year with a 3-0 record. Tech had won it the previous season.

The two teams rank first and second in the OVC in nearly every single team category, which should make for an interesting encounter. Each team also features three standout players on offense -- a quarterback, receiver and runningback who are all putting up big numbers.

At quarterback, Tre Lamb ranks first in the OVC in passing efficiency, fourth in passing average and fourth in total offense. UTM starter Derek Carr ranks third in efficiency and second in average and total offense. BEtween them, the pair is throwing for 480 yards per game.

Tech's receiver Tim Benford ranks first in receptions per game and receiving yards, while UTM countes with Stephen Shiver who is fifth in receptions and third in yards.

In the backfield, Tech's Dontey Gay is first in the OVC in rushing and touchdowns while Skyhawk Jason McNair is second in rushing and touchdowns.

Both teams are listed among those receiving votes in both the FCS SportsNetwork poll and the FCS Coaches Poll. Expect the winner of this one to climb into the Top 25 when next week's polls are announced.

Records in 2011: Tennessee Tech is 3-1 overall / 2-0 Ohio Valley Conference
                            UT Martin is 2-1 overall /1-1 Ohio Valley Conference
Last Week: Tennessee Tech defeated SEMO 38-31; UT Martin defeated Murray State, 48-26
Last Year: UT Martin won, 27-24, in Cookeville
Series Record: Tech leads, 18-10-2
Tech Radio:
     Golden Eagle Sports Network (Roger Ealey, Buddy Pearson, Brandon Goodwin)
              also Teamline Direct (Dial 216-502-3200 / enter team code 0654) - $5 per game
Internet audio streaming: www.Magic985.com for audio stream
Live Stats: www.utmsports.com
Web sites:
    Tennessee Tech - www.TTUsports.com
    UT Martin - www.utmsports.com
Social Media: TTU Sports (Facebook); @TTUGoldenEagles (Twitter)