GOVS-BLUE HOSE POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 63-0 win in its home opener against Presbyterian at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville.

FROM THE TOP

• Austin Peay opened the game by scoring a touchdown on each of their first six offensive drives, which is one shy of the program record – set against Culver Stockton in 2012.
• The Governors improved to 7-1 in home openers at Fortera Stadium by winning their program-record sixth-consecutive home opener.
• The Governors scored 63-plus points for the sixth time in program history.
• Austin Peay put together its first shutout since its shutout Presbyterian, 24-0, in 2018, marking the first shutout of the Scotty Walden Era.
• Austin Peay's 63-point margin of victory is the largest in Division I football this season.
• The Govs' 63 points scored was their second-most scored in a shutout in program history.
• The Governors' 63 points ties Mercer and Vanderbilt for the most points in a single-game this season.
• The Govs' 609 yards of total offense is the sixth most in DI football this year and the seventh-most in program history.
• Austin Peay picked up its first-ever win as a member of the ASUN Conference. 

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Trey Goodman, Sam Howard, CJ Evans Jr., and Kwame Sutton took the coin toss for the Governors. Ethan Caselberry, Josh Rudolph, and Drae McCray served as alternate captains.
• Presbyterian won the coin toss and deferred. Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.  
• Austin Peay lost the coin toss for the first time this season and the 11th time in the Walden Era. The Govs are 1-0 this season and 6-5 under Walden when losing the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at kickoff: 75, overcast, winds north at 12 mph.

SERIES UPDATE                                           

• Austin Peay now leads the all-time series 2-1, all three games have been played in Clarksville
• After dropping the first meeting in 1955, the Govs have won back-to-back games against the Blue Hose.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay improved to 1-0 this season and 9-3 under Walden when leading at halftime.
• The Governors are also 1-0 this season and 9-3 under Walden when leading at the end of the third quarter.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• The Governors ran for 308 yards, the fourth-best single-game mark in the FCS this season.
• Austin Peay ran 93 offensive plays – the most in college football this season and the second-most in program history.
• The Govs four rushing touchdowns are the most since they punched in five scores on the ground at Murray State last season.
• Austin Peay's five passing touchdowns are the most since it threw six touchdowns in a double-overtime affair at Southeast Missouri (3/14/21).
• Austin Peay played six quarterbacks and five of them – Mike DiLiello, Sheldon Layman, Skyler Locklear, Neyland Jean, and Gerard Bullock – completed a pass.
• The Governors 14 third-down conversions are the most in DI football this season.
• The Govs passed for 301 yards, topping the 300-yard mark for the first time since they threw for 345 yards in the 2021 season finale against Tennessee Tech.
• DiLiello completed 18 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns, he is the first APSU quarterback to throw for four touchdowns in a game since Draylen Ellis against Tennessee Tech (11/20/21).
• DiLiello also ran for 26 yards and rushed for a touchdown for the second-straight game.
• Layman completed one pass, a 13-yard touchdown to Joshua DeCambre.
• Jevon Jackson's career-high 167 rushing yards is the most by a Governor since Brian Snead ran for 227 yards against Tennessee State (2/28/21).
• CJ Evans Jr. also rushed for a career-high 104 yards and two touchdowns, it was the first time he had ran for multiple scores in a game since the Govs played Cincinnati (9/19/2020).
• Jackson and Evans are the first Austin Peay duo to rush for 100-plus yards in the same game since Ahmaad Tanner and Snead ran for 134 and 133 yards, respectively, at Murray State last season.
• Joshua DeCambre caught his first two passes of the season; both went for touchdowns – the first of his Austin Peay career.
• Drae McCray racked up a team-best 113 receiving yards, it was the third time in his career he has topped the century mark – all three occurrences have come in his last five games.
• James Burns caught his first touchdown as a Governor.
• Trey Goodman posted career-highs with four catches, 60 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.
• Jordan Goco, JaQuan Randolph, and Kellen Stewart all recorded their first receptions at Austin Peay.

DEFENSIVE STANDS                   

• Austin Peay held Presbyterian to just 91 rushing yards, marking the seventh time under Walden and Chris Kappas that they have held a team under 100 rushing yards.
• Austin Peay held Presbyterian to 3-for-15 on third-down conversions, that 20 percent mark is the sixth-best single-game mark in the FCS this season.
• 28 Governors combined to make 58 tackles in the contest.
• Austin Peay's streak of seven-straight games with an interception came to an end.
• Josh Rudolph led the Governors with a career-best nine tackles, including seven solo stops.
• Antoine Williams made five tackles and picked up his first-career sack.
• J'Vian McCray recorded a career-best four tackles and made his first two collegiate tackles foir loss.
• Jau'Von Young posted four tackles and his first tackle for loss of the season.
• Aaron Odom also picked up his first tackle for loss as a Gov.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Antoine Williams blocked punt, he is the first Governor to block a punt since Drae McCray at Tennessee State (11/13/21).
• Maddux Trujillo was 9-for-9 on PATs, which is the second-best single-game mark in program history behind Logan Birchfield's 10 PATs against Morehead State in 2018.
• Trujillo missed his only field goal attempt, ending his streak of nine-straight games with a made field goal.
• James Burns ripped off a 38-yard punt return, which is the longest by a Gov this season and the longest since Kam Thomas' 41-yard return against Morehead State (9/18/21).
• Punter Matt Rigney was held off the field for the first time in his Austin Peay career.
• Kellen Stewart returned one kick for 20 yards, the longest of his career.

GOVS-BLUE HOSE POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden

Overall thoughts… "I am really proud of our fans showing up and showing out. It was a great gameday atmosphere… It was awesome to get started out on the right foot. You are always looking for that first win and which lets you take that deep breath and there is no better way to do it than in your home opener. The biggest message to the team this week was to not waiver in preparation. We have to be up for every team on our schedule. There are a few things to the untrained eye that we need to cleaned up…  but I thought it was great to get guys in that needed to get in. I think Govs fans saw our depth tonight and am proud of that. To have a shutout in college football – no matter the level – is unbelievable."

On the win… "I don't think we could ask for more. As a coach, there are always things that I am critical about… but you really cannot ask for more than we had tonight. We played a team game… The offense and defense dominated today and looked really good at times. For our kickoff unit to pin them deep that many times and for the team to be consistent and physical at the point of attack, I really could not ask for more."

On CJ Evans Jr.… "The biggest problem we have is that we have a one-back offense and three quality running backs with CJ [Evans Jr.], Jevon [Jackson] and Josh [Samuel]…CJ Evans is one of my favorite guys. I mean that because he has the heart of a warrior, which is why he was a captain for us tonight and he played like it. He may be undersized, but he does a lot of things that go unseen like being elite in the locker room with his leadership qualities."

Austin Peay linebacker Josh Rudolph.

On the shutout... "We have been taking pride in our defense since fall camp and throughout the spring. We play fast and physical and go out there to make plays for one another each down.

On the defense… "We are one of the toughest defenses in the nation – FCS or FBS. We will take that mindset going into every game. One thing I know we can continue to get better at is executing the small details every week, because we know we will play hard every week no matter the opposing team's logo."

Austin Peay quarterback Mike DiLiello

On the offense's depth... "It was great to see the backups go in and execute today like the starters did. At the end of the day, it starts with the big guys up front. Our offensive line played great all throughout the depth chart. They were phenomenal and gave us plenty of room to throw the football and we ran for over 300 yards. You're going to have a pretty good day when you run for over 300 yards. It starts with those guys. Our receivers and running backs made great plays too. Everyone was out there making plays for us and it was awesome."

On the run game… "We have a bunch of goals going into every game and one that we have every week is to establish the run for the offense and kill the run for the defense. When you can establish the run, it makes my job so much easier. It makes defenses load the box, which gives the wide receivers one-on-one matchups and the opportunity to do what they do best. We were able to run the ball with hard, physical runs to set the tone and we were like that from the first snap to the last."