The Austin Peay State University football team (5-3, 1-2 ASUN) dropped their final home game against Jacksonville State (7-2, 3-0 ASUN) snapping the undefeated streak at Fortera Stadium with a 40-16 loss on Senior night.
Ten senior players from the team were honored before the games, as well as multiple members of the Governors Marching Band during halftime for Senior Night.
The Govs received the first possession of the game and established the run early on as running back Josh Samuel and quarterback Mike DiLiello both picked up a first down, but the drive stalled after a failed fourth down conversion.
The Gamecocks put points on the board first with a huge 48-yard pass delivered to wide receiver Perry Carter down the sideline for the score. The Gamecocks ultimately missed the point-after-attempt putting them up by six late in the first quarter.
The Govs then answered back on a methodical 10-play, 75-yard drive where DiLiello connected with James Burns and Trey Goodman to put the Govs in scoring position. Running back CJ Evans capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
It was a tale of two halves discussing the third phase of the game for the Govs. The “special” moment came from the special teams during the closing seconds of the first half. Maddux Trujillo tied the game, and a school record, with a 55-yard-long field goal to end the half.
“You know special teams wise, they made some big-time plays, game changing plays,” said Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden.
On the other side of the coin, the final nail in the coffin was during the fourth quarter when Trujillo’s field goal attempt was blocked and returned 69-yards for a touchdown by Jacksonville State’s Jamari Jemison.
“Bottom line is if we got games left on the schedule, we’re gonna play hard,” said Walden. “We got to focus on beating UNA and finishing against Kennesaw State,” said Walden.
The Govs look ahead to finish their season on a three-game road trip capped off with a game against the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Austin Peay’s next opponent is North Alabama and kick off will be Saturday at 4 P.M.
