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HomeSportsAustin Peay Governors Football hosts Southeast Missouri Redhawks for Homecoming

Austin Peay Governors Football hosts Southeast Missouri Redhawks for Homecoming

Austin Peay vs. Southeast Missouri

Homecoming 2012 • October 27th, 2012 • 4:00pm (CT)
Clarksville, TN • Governors Stadium (10,000)

Austin Peay State University GovernorsClarksville, TN – Austin Peay’s football team hopes homecoming can help turn around its fortunes.

After a bye week, the Governors return to Clarksville for the next two weeks, facing Southeast Missouri for homecoming, 4:00pm, Saturday, before Culver-Stockton comes to town next week.

APSU hopes playing at home will allow it to finally gain its footing. A brutal early season schedule and discriminatory injuries have left the Govs still seeking their first victory.

Austin Peay Governors Football.
Austin Peay Governors Football.

This is Austin Peay’s 68th homecoming, with this year’s theme “True Colors.” The Govs hopes to break a three-game homecoming losing streak as well as a 10-game OVC losing skein.

To do that they will have to do it against a Southeast Missouri team that also has struggled of late. The Redhawks come in at 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the OVC. However, they have lost three straight, all OVC games, including a 27-17 homecoming loss to UT Martin last weekend.

The Redhawks’ offense centers around running back Levi Terrell, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each OVC contest. Redshirt freshman quarterback Scott Lathrop moved into the starting lineup in preseason when transfer quarterback Kyle Snyder suffered a knee injury. He has passed for 816 yards, completing 61.5 percent, but also has rushed for 394 yards, the second most rushing yards for the Redhawks.

D.J. Foster (28 catches, 404 yards, 4 TDs) is Lathrops favorite receiver. He and Spencer Davis (17 catches) are the only two Redhawks with double-figure receptions.

Defensively, linebacker Blake Peiffer was preseason All-America and OVC Defensive Player of the Year. He owns a team-leading 82 tackles, including 7.5 for loss.  Safety Tylor Brock has four interceptions along with 58 stops.

The Govs, meanwhile, are led offensively by quarterback Jake Ryan, who has been playing his best football of late. He has completed 67 passes in his last three starts.

Wide receiver Devin Stark continues to be his go-to guy with 39 receptions for 449 yards while running back Terrence Oliver has 20.

Defensively, linebackers Craig Salley (51 tackles) and Josh Carroll (46 tackles) lead the way.

Scouting Southeast Missouri

Running back Levi Terrell has rushed for more than 100 yards in all four OVC contests this season, including 136 yards against UT Martin his last time out.

Senior linebacker Blake Peiffer, son of former NFL offensive lineman Dan Peiffer, was selected the OVC Preseason Player of the Year. He also earned several Preseason All-America honors as well a spot on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List, annually presented to the best defensive player at the FCS level.

A preseason injury opened the door for redshirt freshman quarterback Scott Lathrop. He has thrown for 816 yards while also rushing for 394 more.

Preseason All-American offensive tackle Evan Conrad has made 39 straight starts.

Senior strong safety Tylor Brock has four interceptions to go with 58 stops.

Setting The Scene

The Series: Austin Peay trails the series, 6-10; Govs have lost last two meetings
Last Meeting: October 22nd, 2011; Southeast Missouri 17, Austin Peay 13
Govs Game Captains: TBA

Offensive Notes

Austin Peay enters the game with a streak of scoring in 79 straight games. The last time APSU was shutout was by Drake, 54-0, September 24th, 2005.

Reco WilliamsAPSU finished the 2011 season ranked 13th in the FCS in sacks allowed per game (1.0). It was the second straight year the Governors were ranked in the Top 15 in fewest sacks allowed per game. They were 8th in 2010. However, with a revamped offensive line in the season opener, senior quarterback Jake Ryan was pressured constantly, being sacked twice. Since then he has been sacked just five times. The Govs are tied 12th nationally in sacks allowed this season.

Austin Peay has scored 80 points this season, 46 of them in the second quarter.

Austin Peay has scored just 27 second-half points, being outscored 66-3 in the fourth quarter.

Ean PembertonIn a two-back set, freshman running back Reco Williams made his first career start against Eastern Kentucky. He finished with 48 yards in 11 carries.

After playing sparingly at running back since early in the season and then getting injured (ankle) at Eastern Illinois, sophomore running back Ean Pemberton came off the bench to rush 10 times for 52 yards against Eastern Kentucky.

Senior wide receiver Devin Stark set a career best in receptions (10) and yards (125) against Murray State. It was his third career 100-yard game and second this season (he had 124 versus TSU).

Redshirt freshman running back Reco Williams, helping replace the suspended Wesley Kitts, rushed for 110 yards on 21 carries against Murray State, including his first career TD run of 32 yards.

Senior quarterback Jake Ryan finished with 241 yards passing (25 of 40) against Murray State. The pass yardage was the second most of of 2012. He had 271 at Tennessee State.

Junior running back/wide receiver Terrence Oliver enjoyed a career performance against Eastern Illinois, catching nine passes for 100 yards. He caught his first career TD pass against Murray State.

Devin StarkSenior wide receiver Devin Stark has caught at least two passes in all seven games this season. He has 39 receptions for 449 yards on the season.

With a 12-yard first-quarter pass reception against Tennessee State, Devin Stark reached the 1,000-career pass reception yard mark in his career. He became only the 13th receiver in school history with 1,000 receiving yards. Stark followed up his 1,000 receiving yards with a spectacular one-handed 20-yard TD catch in the right corner of the end zone.

Wes KittsWhen Wesley Kitts finished with 110 yards on 22 carries against Virginia Tech it made it two straight games for the senior running back with 100 yards rushing (he had 104 versus Western Kentucky). Kitts was the first APSU running back to open with two consecutive 100-yard rushing performances since Chris Fletcher opened 2007 with four straight 100-yard rushing efforts.

When Wesley Kitts rushed for 104 yards against Western Kentucky he became the first Governors to rush for more than 100 yards against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. He then eclipsed that yardage figure with 110 yards on 22 carries at Virginia Tech.

Jake RyanJake Ryan’s 271 passing yards against Tennessee State ranked as the second most in the senior’s career. He had 314 yards against TSU in 2011.

Receiver-turned-running back Terrence Oliver recorded his first career TD with a 10-yard run against Virginia Tech.

Senior wide receiver Devin Stark finished 2011 with 53 receptions on the season, the most by a Gov since Lanis Frederick grabbed 77 in the 2006 season. He also had seven TD catches, most by a Govs receiver since Frederick had seven in 2006.

Terrence OliverStark was named second-team preseason All-America by the FCS Senior Bowl.

When wide receiver/running back Terrence Oliver looked up in the second quarter against Western Kentucky, good friend, former prep teammate and now roommate O.C. Brown was blocking for him. In 2009, Brown was the primary subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary “Undefeated” while at Manassas High School with Oliver also make appearances in the production.

Defensive Notes

Although the Governors defense is more experienced in 2012, the depth chart still reveals much youth. In fact, only three seniors, safety Antwaun Majors, tackle Anthony Marion and linebacker Darrick Dillard were listed on the two-deep entering the season. Majors is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL while Dillard has not played since the opener.

Junior linebacker Josh Carroll has led the Governors in tackles in the last two games, tallying 23 tackles. He had an APSU seasonbest 15 stops against Murray State.

Craig SalleyJunior linebacker Craig Salley leads the Govs in tackles with 51, followed by fellow junior lineback Josh Carroll (46) while sophomore safety Steven Rich has 42

Freshman defensive end Corey Teague recorded his first career interception while also recording a sack at Eastern Kentucky.

A trio of sophomore defensive backs– Steve Rich, Montez Carlton and Johnathan Shuler–not only led APSU in tackles against UT Martin with seven but also had interceptions.

Junior linebacker Craig Salley, a former walk-on, recorded his career’s first double-digit tackle performance with 11 against Tennessee State, including 10 solo stops.

Iosua SilivaJunior defensive tackle Iosua Siliva was credited with a career-best five tackles against TSU, all solo stops.

Junior defensive end Earnest Smith produced his career’s best performance against Virginia Tech. Smith finished with eight tackles, including a sack of All-America candidate Logan Thomas. He also was credited with another tackle for loss along with forcing a fumble.

Senior safety Antwaun Majors not only was APSU’s tackles leader (88) in 2011, but finished eighth in the OVC, averaging 8.0 per game. A former walk on, Majors had 80 or more tackles in each of the last two years, finishing with 84 tackles in 2010 and 88 in 2011.

Senior safety Antwaun Majors was named preseason first-team All-OVC by Phil Steele Magazine in its Fall 2012 Preview. Majors, who led Austin Peay in tackles last season with 88, was the Governors only first-team selection.

Special Teams Notes

Stephen StansellSenior placekicker Stephen Stansell became Austin Peay’s all-time leader in field goals made (34) with a pair of 35-yard field goals against UT Martin. He passed the longtime mark held by Tom McMillan, who had 33 from the 1986-89.

Stansell is ranked second all-time in point-after-touchdowns made with 80.

Stansell was the only OVC kicker to be perfect in point-after-touchdown attempts in 2011. He ended the season 22 of 22. In his career he is 75 of 77 (97.4 percent) in extra-point attempts, ranking No. 1 in career extra-point percentage.

Ben Campbell has averaged 40 yards or better per punt in three straight games, the first time it has been done since Ryan Key opened the 2010 season with five straight games averaging 40 yards per punt or more.

Ben CampbellBen Campbell has averaged 42.1 yards per punt over the last three games, with four punts downed inside the 20 and four more in excess of 50 yards, including a career-long 68 yarder. He has had eight punts fair caught in that span.

Stansell has both a new holder and snapper in 2012. After Nick Newsome served as APSU’s long snapper for four seasons, the Govs have turned to redshirt sophomore Michael Dunphy in 2012. In addition, back-up kicker and long snapper Walter Spears now is serving as holder for Stansell after Jake Ryan handled much of the duties a year ago.

Two seasons after losing All-America kick return specialist Terrence Holt, APSU still is seeking a replacement for kickoff and punt returns. Freshman J.J. Rutledge has handled much of those duties in the season’s first half. Meanwhile, Ean Pemberton returned his first career punts at Virginia Tech.

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