CLARKSVILLE – The Governors football team opens its 2016 home and Ohio Valley Conference season schedule with Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 in Fortera Stadium as part of Family Day weekend festivities on the campus Austin Peay State.
Saturday's meeting is the earliest contest between the two teams in the all-time series. It is only the second time the matchup has been in the month of September with the only other meeting in the month happening on Sept. 26, 1987.
The Golden Eagles hold an advantage in the all-time series at 26-17, and hold a slim advantage in games played in Clarksville with a record of 11-8
Despite falling behind 13-0 early in the 1st quarter in the Govs' season opener against FBS Troy, APSU rallied back to take a 14-0 lead with 11:07 showing on the clock in the second quarter. The Govs surrendered the lead on the next Troy possession, and went on to drop the opener 57-17.
The Golden Eagles come into the meeting at 0-1 after suffering a 21-7 home loss to Wofford College out of the Southern Conference.
The Opening Drive
APSU 17 points was the highest points total in the contest, the most against an FBS opponent since Sept. 11, 2010 at Middle Tennessee when the Govs scored 33 points.
In his debut game as a Gov, sophomore quarterback Tommy Hays came off the bench and passed for his first two touchdowns. Hays connected with Coleman for both TD passes the second giving the Govs a 14-13 lead with 11:07 left in the second quarter. Hays hit on 8 of his 12 passing attempts for a 66 percent completion percentage. It was the first time since Oct. 18, 2014 that a Govs QB connected on at least 65 percent of their passes.
As a team, APSU finished 14-of-22 through the air for a 68 percent completion percentage. It is the first time since Oct. 18, 2014 against Murray State that the Govs completed over 65 percent of their passes.
After the opener, the Govs are ranked 34th in the NCAA in completion percentage at 63.6 percent.
Senior tight end James Coleman scored both touchdowns for the Govs. He accounted for 65 yards on six catches with both TDs. All three are career-highs. Coleman is ranked fourth in the NCAA in receiving TDs and leads the OVC.
After going 3-for-3 on scores in the redzone, APSU is one of 52 teams tied for first in the NCAA at 100 percent on scores in the red zone.
Defensively, freshman Trent Taylor is sixth in the NCAA in solo tackles with nine. He also leads the OVC. Gunnar Scholato is seven in the NCAA and second in the OVC with 14 total tackles after the Troy game.
Fans can also follow all the action from the 2016-17 season on www.LetsGoPeay.com, on Twitter @LetsGoPeay & @AustinPeayFB and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LetsGoPeay.
