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HomeSportsAustin Peay Governors set to face Eastern Illinois in Homecoming Clash

Austin Peay Governors set to face Eastern Illinois in Homecoming Clash

APSU Sports Information: APSU Football

Austin Peay State University GovernorsClarksville, TN – It’s homecoming for Austin Peay-with the theme of Jurassic Peay-as the Govs are set to host Eastern Illinois in 4:00pm, Saturday, Ohio Valley Conference contest at Governors Stadium.

More importantly, the Governors are seeking a much-needed win after dropping their third straight contest, 17-13, at Southeast Missouri last week. It was a game that saw the Governors impressively drive 95 yards on the game’s first possession to jump out to a 7-0 lead.

APSU Men's Football (Keith Dorris/Dorris Photography)
APSU Men's Football (Keith Dorris/Dorris Photography)

However, the Govs could not maintain that offensive momentum and then saw junior quarterback Jake Ryan go down with a knee injury early in the second half.  Freshman Landon Curtis came off the bench showed flashes in replacing Ryan-he led the Govs to a fourth-quarter field goal. 

Ryan White rushed for a season-high 148 yards at Southeast Missouri to move into second place on the program’s career rushing list behind predecessor Chris Fletcher. 

On the flip side, the Governors defense, which permitted more than 100 points the previous two weeks, held Southeast Missouri to 17 points in last Saturday’s loss.

Ryan WhiteThe Governors will be facing an Eastern Illinois team that is struggling even more so than APSU. After winning impressively in the season opener against Illinois State, the Panthers have lost seven straight games-meaning their winless in OVC play in the final year of head coach Bob Spoo’s illustrious career at EIU.

This is the second straight year EIU has entered its game with the Govs seeking a first league win. The Panthers beat the Govs, 28-10, last season.

The numbers don’t quite add up to EIU’s struggles this season. In fact, the Panthers held second-half leads against both Murray State and UT Martin in recent weeks, losing last week to the Skyhawks, 24-23.

Landon CurtisQuarterback Jimmy Garoppolo already has throw for more than 2,000 yards this season, with 17 TDs. It was his passing as a freshman that did in the Govs a year ago. His favorite deep threat is junior Chris Wright, who has eight TD receptions in his 29 catches.

But the Panthers’ running game has been near non-existent while on the reverse side EIU has been allowing 246 yards per game.

This is Austin Peay’s 67th homecoming, with the Govs owning a 28-37-1 record in those events. After winning homecoming games in both 2007 and 2008, the Govs have lost the last two homecomings, including a 34-21 defeat to Tennessee Tech a year ago.

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