The 5-5 UT Martin Skyhawks defeated the 2-8 Tennessee State Tigers 26-7 on Saturday with a relentless running game that went for 292 yards on the day.
UT Martin owned the running game between the two teams for every second of the game. Not only did they rush for nearly 300 yards on 52 carries, but they also held the TSU rushing attack to negative 12 yards for the entire game.
UT Martin’s rushing success was heavily attributed to the running backs. Specifically, sophomores Tommy Ansley with 118 yards and Chris Franklin with 121 yards along with a touchdown. Quarterback Jase Bauer also did his fair share in the run game with 60 yards and two touchdowns.
Franklin, especially, has seen his role increased over the last three games. Over the first 14 games of his career, he never surpassed 47 yards. Now in three straight games he has gone for over 70 yards including the 121-yard performance tonight.
“I think Chris has got a bright future ahead of him,” Simpson said. “He started to run with confidence. He started to run with purpose, and we’ll need that from him.”
However, more important was the effort of the offensive line. UT Martin was down three offensive lineman during practice but had great success that created holes for the running backs to hit. Starters junior Logan Crouch, senior Jai’Lun Hampton and senior Elijah Bowser were all either out for the game or played hurt. Hampton left early in the game with an injury and Bowser would do the same later in the game.
Instead, UT Martin had graduates Mike Moment and Mitch Appleton step up and still perform well.
“I’m glad those guys got to be a part of it,” coach Jason Simpson said. “Big running day for us. I appreciate them. They worked their tail off—coach [Kevin] Bannon and coach [Nate] Stout did a great job with those guys. It matters to them.”
Defensively, UT Martin physically dominated the TSU. UT Martin racked up a total of nine tackles for loss (TFL) against TSU with nine different players that contributed to that number.
Top of the bunch with two, was senior nose tackle Toby Camp who has continued to be a force in the middle of the UT Martin defense. Another defensive standout was the team’s sack leader Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson secured another sack today—now increased to nine total sacks on the season—while he also had a TFL and a pass break up.
Special teams made an impact as well. With TSU backed into their own end zone, UT Martin went for the block and freshman safety Trey Cotton delivered a massive punt block to give UT Martin a safety and put them up 16-0.
After the win today, UT Martin has to win out to claim sole possession of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference championship. The opponents that stand between UT Martin and another trophy are the Charleston Southern Buccaneers and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.
Next week, UT Martin hosts 4-6 Charleston Southern to Hardy Graham Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m.
