BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Chris Fletcher rushed for 171 second-half yards and three touchdowns and Austin Peay State University took advantage of a late missed field goal to defeat Samford, 28-25, Saturday, in Ohio Valley Conference football action at Seibert Stadium.

In a game that was 3-0 at halftime, Austin Peay was left standing after Samford kicker Mark Prevost missed a 21-yard field goal with 1:50 left, allowing APSU to improve to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the OVC while the Bulldogs fell to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the OVC.

It was Austin Peay's first win in nine meetings in the series. The five wins are the most wins by an APSU team since the 2002 non-scholarship club went 7-5. The five wins represent the most APSU wins as a scholarship program since the 1991 team went 5-6. The three OVC wins are the most since the 1994 team went 3-5. It also spoiled Samford's homecoming.

The Governors, who were held to less than 50 first-half yards, exploded behind Fletcher in the second half. After rushing for only 25 first-half yards, he finished with 196 (on 24 carries), giving him 998 for the season. His three TDs were the most by the senior since he had three at Indiana State in Week 2.

In the first half, the Governors dodged multiple bullets to only trail 3-0. The Governors, in fact, were outgained by a whopping 212 to 48 (APSU failed to complete a first-half pass) as the Bulldogs held an 18:55-to-11:05 time-of-possession advantage.

But other than a game-opening 64-yard drive that resulted in a Mark Prevost 22-yard field goal, the Governors were able to hold off Samford, thanks to an end-zone interception by Kevis Buckley and then another, right before half's end, by Jason Vanatta at the APSU one-yard line with 36 seconds left.

The Govs only real chance, set by a botched Samford, punt, ended up in a fumble at the Samford 16-yard line.

The second half didn't start much better for the Govs, although Orr did complete his pass first pass for a first down in that drive. Ryan Key punted the ball down to the Samford one-yard line.

That set up the Govs for their first score as Samford quarterback Jefferson Adcock fumbled the snap and sophomore defensive end Nick Clark fell on it to make it a 6-3 game as the point-after was blocked.

But Samford finally responded midway through the quarter as Chris Evans broke to the outside and ran 81 yards for a TD as the Governors were unable to bounce him out of bounds heading down the sidelines. The extra point made it a 10-6 Samford advantage.

Then it was the Governors turn to answer. Orr guided them from the 21- to the 50-yard line. There he handed off to Chris Fletcher, who broke around left end and raced 50 yards for the score. Orr then hit Jon Sanders for the two-point conversion to make it a 14-10 APSU lead.

Then it was left up to the defense and special teams. A Key punt was downed at the Samford six and it eventually led to a Samford punt attempt. However, punter Tyler Baker, with Kelvin Young pressuring him, failed to get off a punt, with Ricky Thomas tackling him and APSU taking over deep in Samford territory. Two plays later, Fletcher, who surpassed 100 yards for the 25th time in his career, scored his second TD of the day.

The second-half scoring fest continued when Samford marched right back, using a long kickoff return, to make it a 21-18 game after a successful two-point conversion.

But it was Fletcher again doing his damage. On a third and four from deep in APSU territory, he ran 50 yards, setting up his third TD score of the day for a 28-18 advantage.

However, a tired APSU defense allowed Samford to come right back and drive for another score with a little more than 5:30 left.

But the Govs couldn't maintain possession. Samford drove the length of the field, finally being stopped at the APSU three-yard line with less than two minutes left. But Prevost, who was 8-of-11 on the season on field goals, saw his 21-yard attempt sail wide right opening the door for the Govs second road OVC win.

For Samford, Evans finished with 212 yards rushing while quarterback Jeff Adcock completed 35 of 52 for 314 yards. Samford, in fact, outgained APSU 517 to 239 but couldn't overcome the turnovers and special team failures.

-AP-