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Skyhawks comeback fails against Missouri State





31




winner

State of Missouri
Moscow State

2:2, 0:0

24




UT Martin
UTM

1-3, 0-1

winner


State of Missouri
Moscow State

2:2, 0:0

31

24





















Score after quarters
team 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place F

Moscow State
State of Missouri 		0 10 14 7 31

UTM
UT Martin 		7 0 7 10 24


Match Summary: Football |





MARTIN, Tenn. – A fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the University of Tennessee at Martin football team fell short tonight as the Skyhawks suffered a narrow 31-24 loss to Missouri State at Hardy Graham Stadium.

UT Martin led 7-0 for one quarter before the Bears scored 24 unanswered points. The Skyhawks scored again late in the third quarter, scoring 10 straight points in a five-minute span in the final quarter, but Missouri State (2-2) held on for the win.

Chris Hunter, Jr. recorded 11 tackles, the most of the game, and 1.5 tackles for loss, a team-best, for UT Martin (1-3). Charles Perkins And Keyshawn Johnson everyone had a sack, while JaMichael McGoy, Jr. fended off a pair of pass breakups for the Skyhawks, who recorded seven tackles for loss as a unit tonight.

In his first start this season, quarterback Kaiya Sheron completed 20 of 27 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Patrick Smith (64 rushing yards, the highest of the game), Tyler Dostin (four pass catches for 41 yards) and Max Dowling (three catches for 21 yards) each scored a touchdown, while Trevonte Rucker scored the most passes of the game with six catches for 73 yards.

In special teams, Jaren Van Winkle averaged 42.2 yards on four punts and kicked a 31-yard field goal to bring UT Martin within one point in the final seconds, but the Skyhawks were unable to get the ball back for a potential tying drive.

“Missouri State is a good team and we knew that beforehand,” said UT Martin, head coach Jason Simpson said. “They didn't lose it and we lost it twice, so we were probably lucky to make it a game at the end. It was a disappointing loss, but when you play against good teams, the margin for error is very slim. Third attempts have continued to bother us on offense and the defense was unable to get off the field on third attempts tonight. We need to coach them better – the guys played hard, but we need to be more detailed on both sides of the ball.”

Gallery: (09/21/2024) Football vs. Missouri State

The Skyhawks allowed just 33 total yards of offense in the first quarter. Sheron completed his first seven throws, including a nine-yarder with 6:28 left that gave UT Martin a 7-0 lead.

The Bears took the lead with a 33-yard field goal at 11:01 of the second quarter. Missouri State went into halftime with a 10-7 lead thanks to a touchdown after a seven-play, 90-yard drive in 48 seconds that ended five seconds before halftime.

The Bears scored on their first two drives of the third quarter, using the first drive of the first half to score a five-yard touchdown and then completing a 35-yard touchdown pass on the first play after a turnover in Skyhawks territory.

Smith's eight-yard touchdown capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive and cut UT Martin's deficit to 24-14 at the end of the third quarter.

A Skyhawks turnover gave Missouri State another short field play, which the Bears took advantage of and extended their lead to 31-14 by the 12:50 mark of the fourth quarter.

UT Martin marched 75 yards in 10 plays on its ensuing possession, finishing with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Sheron to Dostin. The Skyhawk defense followed with a three-and-out and the UT Martin offense did its job when Van Winkle broke through the goal posts from 31 yards out, cutting the Skyhawks' deficit to 31-24 with 2:24 left.

The UT Martin defense forced a 3rd-and-6 from the Bears 39-yard line with 2:14 remaining, but Missouri State was able to secure the win on a 58-yard pass.

The Skyhawks will travel on the road in Week 5, taking on Football Bowl Subdivision member Kennesaw State on Saturday, September 28 at 5:00 p.m. CT.

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