November 11, 2012

Stone, Sharp receive Player of the Week honors from OVC

Golden Eagle sophomores Darian Stone and Zach Sharp have each been recognized with Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for their crucial roles in Tennessee Tech's 45-44 overtime victory Saturday over No. 23 UT Martin.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Golden Eagle sophomores Darian Stone and Zach Sharp have each been recognized with Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for their crucial roles in Tennessee Tech's 45-44 overtime victory Saturday over No. 23 UT Martin.

Stone was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week while Sharp earned Special Teams Player of the Week after the Golden Eagles stunned the Skyhawks in overtime in Tucker Stadium.

Stone tied a school record for most rushing yards by a quarterback when he galloped for 190 yards on 27 carries. He also passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for 466 yards of total offense, the second-most in school history behind Tre Lamb's 474-yard game earlier this year.

Stone's passing attack included a 79-yard bomb to Ryan Tilghman that completed a fourth-quarter comeback from a 31-17 deficit in which he guided the Golden Eagles on scoring drives of 80, 79 and 80 yards. The TD pass to Tilghman lifted Tech to a 38-31 lead with 1:10 remaining. He also hit Cody Matthews twice for 20-yard touchdowns.

It was just the third start of Stone's career as he rushed for more than 100 yards for the second consecutive game. Stone has rushed for 395 yards in his three games as a starter, an average of 132 yards per game.

He helped Tech account for 575 yards of total offense, the most by a Golden Eagle team in Watson Brown's six seasons at the helm.

Sharp, meanwhile, was perfect in the game, kicking a 39-yard field goal and making all six of his PAT kicks, including an overtime point that proved to be the winning margin. Sharp accounted for nine points.

Two other OVC weekly honors went toplayers from UT Martin and Jacksonville State. The Defensive Player of the Week was Rashad Smith of JSU, while UT Martin receiver Jeremy Butler was voted the OVC Newcomer of the Week.