CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. ? Mark Cunningham connected with Darryl Miller on a 25-yard touchdown pass on the Governors' first play of the second overtime to lead Austin Peay State University to a 34-31 Ohio Valley Conference win against Southeast Missouri, Saturday afternoon, in Houck Stadium.
The victory assured the Governors, now 6-3 (4-2 in the OVC) of the season, of their first winning season since 2002 and only their second since 1984, also the last time the Governors had a winning season as a scholarship program.
Southeast Missouri, meanwhile, falls to 2-7 on the season, 0-6 in the OVC.
The Governors winning play came after APSU was able to hold Southeast Missouri to just a Doug Spada 33-yard field goal on its overtime possession.
On the play, the Redhawks challenged the Governors passing game by placing nine men near the line of scrimmage in hopes of stopping Chris Fletcher, who ran 25 yards for a TD on the first play of the first overtime. Cunningham instead ran a play fake to Fletcher and found Miller in the back half of the end zone, ending the contest.
It was sort of redemption for Cunningham, who came off the bench in the fourth quarter to lead the Governors offense. The senior quarterback, who was 4-of-12 for 43 yards on the day, has been bothered by elbow tendinitis most of the year and was forced to turn over the starting job at midseason first to freshman Trent Caffee and most recently Gary Orr. However, Orr struggled on this day, completing just 8-of-17 passes for 94 yards before head coach Rick Christophel turned to Cunningham.
However, It was another senior, Fletcher, who again was forced to carry much of the offensive load. He finished with 162 yards on 30 carries and three TDs. It was 27th career 100-yard rushing performance.
It didn't take Fletcher long to be a factor. On the opening kickoff, Chip Rhome's boot bounced off the facemask of Elton Peterson inside the Redhawks' 10-yard line. Spencer Gulmire picked it up and ran in for an apparent Governors' TD. However, the miscue was ruled a muff and the Governors were awarded the ball at the nine-yard line.
The Governors didn't take long to get that TD back. On first down, Fletcher swept right and skirted in for the Govs' score. The carry put Fletcher above the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career?he became only the second Govs running back in history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons. The Isaac Ziolkowski extra point made it a 7-0 contest.
SEMO later in the first quarter took advantage of a Governors turnover, a Fletcher fumble, deep in APSU territory. Quarterback Houston Lillard hooked up with Miles Edward for an 18-yard score to tie the game.
The two teams then battled scoreless much of the rest of the first half. But right before halftime, with 2:27 remaining, Walter Peoples made a spectacular catch in the end zone of a Lillard 25-yard pass. The extra point made it a 14-7 game.
It appeared the Redhawks, in fact, were going to own a larger lead heading into half. SEMO drove in the final two minutes inside the Govs' 30. Doug Spada, one of the nation's top field goal kickers who missed a short attempt earlier, had his 40-yard field goal attempt blocked by Chris Haynes, Kevis Buckley scooped it up and ran 67 yards for a TD with 19 seconds left in the half. Ziolkowski's extra point made it a 14-14 game entering halftime.
The two teams struggled offensively through much of the third and fourth quarters before Fletcher struck again with his first 25-yard scoring run. Sophomore cornerback Ladarius Davis set up the TD by picking off a Lillard pass. The Redhawks' junior quarterback, under heavy pressure, threw it up for grabs. Davis intercepted the ball inside his own 20 and returned it back into Redhawks territory at the 41. It was the sixth straight game the Governors had picked off a pass. At the time, it appeared Fletcher's subsequent TD run, with 3:57 left, was going to be the game winner.However, SEMO, taking advantage of long kickoff return, came right back. Lillard bailed out the Redhawks by completing a third-and-17 play before hitting Edwards with a 25-yard game-tying TD catch with 1:27 left.
The Redhawks then missed a chance to win it in regulation. After the Govs failed to move the ball, SEMO got great field position on the APSU side of the 50 after a short Govs' punt. SEMO drove the ball to the APSU 21 before Spada missed a 39-yard field goal with 4.2 seconds left, setting up overtime.
In the first overtime, Fletcher ran 25 yards on the first play to give APSU a 28-21 advantage. But SEMO again attacked the Govs through the air, with Edwards catching a 25-yard TD pass from Lillard. It was his third TD catch of the day. The extra point sent it to a second overtime.
Lillard finished the day for SEMO with 265 yards passing and four TDs, completing 17 of 31 passes. Edwards enjoyed a huge day, catching eight balls for 131 yards.
Elton Peterson, meanwhile, had 80 yards rushing for SEMO on 19 carries.
Defensively, freshman linebacker Ricky Thomas, playing the place of starter Kit Hartsfield, led the Govs with 10 tackles while fellow linebacker Chris Haynes had seven. Freshman defensive tackle Antonio Faulkner had two sacks.
-AP-
