61.4 F
Clarksville
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeSportsAPSU Football holds Red and White Spring Game

APSU Football holds Red and White Spring Game

APSU Sports Information

APSU FootballClarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team held its Red and White Spring Game presented by Echo Power, Saturday, at Fortera Stadium, as the Red Team defeated the White Team, 39-31.

The Red Team was made up of the Governors’ defense and the Red Alumni Team, while the White Team consisted of the Govs’ offense and the White Alumni Team.

Austin Peay Football held their Red and White Spring game Saturday at Fortera Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Football held their Red and White Spring game Saturday at Fortera Stadium. (APSU Sports Information)

The day’s festivities started with the Austin Peay Alumni Game. Ret. Lt. General Ronald Bailey got the scoring started with a pass to Tyreon Clark, who took the short pass and turned into a 60-yard catch and run.

The Red team answered on the ensuing possession, as Terrence Holt found Robert Lemon Jr. for a short touchdown.

The final scoring from the alumni game came on a pick-six from Javier Booker to give the Red Team a 14-7 “halftime” advantage.

The Govs offense and defenses took the field for two regulation quarters after the Alumni Game, with the offense as the White Team and defense as the Red Team.

The defense put the first three points on the board with a three-and-out, but the offense responded as quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall hit Kentel Williams along the left sideline and the All-American took it 65 yards for the score.

“From last season, I hadn’t thrown a touchdown in about three or four months, so it felt good to get back out here and get it to our playmakers and score touchdowns,” Oatsvall said. “That’s what we want to do for the fans in the stands is score touchdowns and make it exciting.”

The White Team would tie the score at 17 apiece with a field goal from Cole Phillips before the Red Team added six points on consecutive three-and-outs.

The White Team took a slim 24-23 advantage after a goal line touchdown run by Tre Nation, but the Red Team would storm back into the lead, 31-24, with a five-point interception by Isaiah Norman – who returned it inside the 10-yard line before being shoved out of bounds – followed by another three-and-out.

“I played my key, saw the ball, got up in the air, got it in my hands and took off,” Norman said. “I wanted to get it in the endzone, though.”

A little trickery by the offense would tie the score up at 31 apiece as Baniko Harley took the lateral on a reverse and hit DeAngelo Wilson for a 49-yard score down the left side.

The defense put the Red Team back on top for good after a defensive line tag-team effort led to a turnover, as Elijah Rawlins tipped a screen pass attempt and Jaylen Moore came down with the pick. The Red Team added another three points after stopping the offense on 4th down in the red zone to give the final margin of victory.

Oatsvall finished the day 13-of-24 for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He added another 24 yards on six carries, including a first-down scamper where he reversed the entirety of the field to keep the offense on the move.

Nation led the way in the backfield with four carries for 34 yards, and Wilson finished the afternoon with four receptions for 87 yards and a score.

Defensively, Jack McDonald – transitioning this season to linebacker from tight end – led the way with seven tackles, followed by safety Evan Beddoe’s five stops.

Overall, head coach Mark Hudspeth was pleased with the effort of the team during the Spring Game and was happy that some younger guys received some game-speed experience.

“We’re getting better, we’re making progress, but we’re still a work in progress,” Hudspeth said. “We have a lot of guys that didn’t practice today, and I think once we get all the injured guys back, our team dynamic will change a little.

“But the guys that are working are getting much better and we’re creating a little more depth then we might have been if all the starters were out here.”

The Governors have three more practices next week before putting a bow on five solid weeks of spring practice.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles