CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – There were many firsts that occurred Saturday at Fortera Stadium, as Austin Peay football hosted Furman in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Not only did it mark the Governors’ first-ever postseason appearance of all time, but after routing the Paladins 42-6, APSU also secured its first-ever playoff win in school history.
After an OVC championship, playoff berth and now a postseason victory, Austin Peay football coach Mark Hudspeth relayed that this season’s success may have even surpassed his initial expectations he had for year one when first arriving to campus.
“You know a lot of people have asked me that,” Hudspeth said. “When I first got here in January maybe not. But after our spring football practice was over and I saw the work our players put in, I felt like we had a chance to be pretty dang competitive. We’ve got an outstanding group of seniors and some really good young players that have gelled and accepted the culture. I told them after the game that the win tonight and the conference championship were both won last spring in those early mornings in January, February and March when nobody was watching. I’m just really proud of our guys.”
Governor quarterback JaVaughn Craig was sharp right out of the gate in rather poor weather conditions. He capped off a 13 play, 77-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Brown on Austin Peay’s first possession of the game. After the successful PAT from Logan Birchfield, the Govs led Furman 7-0.
The senior signal caller finished the contest 18-of-23 with 264 passing yards, 33 rushing yards and three touchdowns through the air.
After missing last week’s conference title-clinching win over Eastern Illinois with a shoulder injury, Governor running back Kentel Williams was back in and running with reckless abandon.
Williams, an All-OVC first-team running back, took his first carry of the game for 17 yards.
Furman’s offense got off to a sluggish start and finally moved the chains for the first time of the game with 14:18 on the clock in the second quarter due to an offsides penalty.
The Paladin drive would eventually stall out inside the Austin Peay 10-yard line, forcing Furman to settle for a Grayson Atkins 23-yard field goal.
With 10:29 remaining in the first half, the game would go under a one-hour, 32-minute weather delay with thunder and lightning each making an appearance at Fortera Stadium.
Later in the first half after play resumed, Paladin quarterback Hamp Sisson found Ryan Miller over the middle of the field for 22 yards, moving Furman into Governor territory. On the same drive, Atkins narrowly missed a 59-yard field goal attempt wide left, as Austin Peay clung to a 7-3 lead at the break.
The Governors absolutely owned the third quarter, scoring 28 unanswered points to pull away.
Williams got it started by ripping off a 21-yard gain before 15 more yards were tacked on after a horse-collar tackle penalty was called on the Paladins.
On the very next play, DeAngelo Wilson hauled in the Craig pass attempt and fought his way across the goal line, extending the Austin Peay lead to 14-3.
It didn’t take long for the Governors to pour it on in the second half. After forcing another Paladin three-and-out, Williams took a screen pass 73 yards for a touchdown, as Austin Peay padded its lead to 21-3.
The tide turned for good shortly after when Kordell Jackson forced a fumble and recovered it for a takeaway. It’s no secret that the Governor defensive back has a knack for making big plays and accredits the Gov coaching staff for putting him in the right positions to help change games.
“Basically, coaching for putting us in the proper places at the right times,” Jackson said. “And God of course for giving me the ability to make the plays. The coaches watch film consistently, we get together and talk about it and I just envision myself playing it out on the field.”
Prince Momodu immediately cashed in on the Paladin miscue, ripping off a 29-yard gain to get the Govs inside Furman’s 5-yard line. On the very next play, Momodu found pay dirt on a 4-yard touchdown run.
With 4:48 remaining in the third quarter, the Paladin returner couldn’t field the Devin Stuart punt attempt and Tyriq Arties recovered, as Furman gave the ball right back to the Govs.
A few plays later, Williams leaped over the goal line and into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
In the fourth quarter, Baniko Harley took the direct snap and made two Paladins miss on his way to a 24-yard touchdown run for the final score of the game.
Austin Peay (10-3) will soon hop on a flight and head west to take on Sacramento State (9-3) in the second round of the FCS playoffs Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. Williams discussed what the overall mood is right now inside of the Governor locker room.
“There’s just a lot of joy,” Williams said. “For a lot of guys, it’s going to be their first trip to California. Of course, we’re going to take this trip and enjoy it, but we also know it’s a business trip at the end of the day. We’re going to come out, compete, continue to work and move forward.”