GOVS-BEARS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 45-17 loss to No. 7 Central Arkansas in its 2024 United Athletic Conference opener at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.

FROM THE TOP

• Jaden Barnes scored on a 36-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard touchdown reception, he is the first Governor with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game since Baniko Harley had two rushing scores and one touchdown catch at Sacramento State (12/7/19) in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
• Jaden Lyles led the Govs with 11 tackles, it is his second-straight game with double-digit stops.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Garrett Hawkins, Chandler Kirton, Hosea Knifeley Jr., and Harrison Wilkes took the coin toss for the Governors.
• Central Arkansas won the coin toss and deferred its option until the second half. Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay lost the opening coin toss for the first time this season. The Govs are 2-1 at the coin toss in 2024.
• The Govs are 0-1 this season when they lose the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Conway at kickoff: 77 degrees, overcast, winds southeast at 6 mph.

SERIES UPDATE            

• The Governors fall to 1-5 all-time against Central Arkansas and are 0-2 in Conway, Arkansas.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay drops to 0-3 when trailing at halftime.
• The Govs are 0-3 when trailing at the end of the third quarter.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Austin Smith completed 15 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.
• Jake Johnson had a career-best two completions for 27 yards. 
• Barnes led the offense with 52 receiving yards and a 36-yard touchdown reception.
• Barnes also posted his first-career rushing touchdown. 
• Romon Copeland Jr. had a team-high four receptions.
• Jade Kneeland recorded career-highs with three receptions for 46 yards.
• La'Vell Wright had a career-high 11 carries for a season-best 57 rushing yards.

DEFENSIVE STANDS      

• Ellis Ellis Jr. totaled a career-best three tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
• Dion Hunter recorded eight tackles, he has at least six tackles in all three games he has played as a Gov.
• Sammy Anderson Jr. had two tackles for loss and recorded an interception for the second-straight game.
• KT Owens and Jakari Patterson each had a tackle for loss while Davion Blackwell and Christian Lewis shared a TFL.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Carson Smith connected on his second field goal of the season from 39 yards out.
• Romon Copeland Jr. totaled 91 kickoff return yards and finished with 121 all-purpose yards.
• Dominik Stadlman punted six times for a 44.3-yard average with a long of 50 yards.

GOVS-BEARS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris

On missed tackles… "Number 27 [ShunDerrick Powell] is a really, really good player and we knew that going into the game, he is hard to bring down. We have to swarm to the football and get 11 hats on the ball, so that if one guy misses, there are 10 other guys there. He was a tremendous difference-maker in this one. Their offensive line played well too. We cannot allow that kind of rushing and expect to win. That was the challenge going in. They are a good football team, and they did a heck of a job."

On negating third-and-long offensively… "The third down numbers were not good enough, but a big part of that is first and second-down production. We have to avoid negative plays, holding calls, and that kind of things to get us in third and manageable, where we could be a very good third-down team. Anybody that lives in third-and-seven-plus makes it hard on themselves to get open, create separation, and protect and we did not do that tonight."

On Jaden Barnes…  "It has been our focus all season to get him involved more. He is a special player when you get the ball in his hands… He is a dynamic player that works really hard, and we have to find more ways for him to touch the ball."

On takeaways from the game… "We are going to learn from these things. These last three teams have all been high-quality football teams. Especially these last two weeks, how many times has Austin Peay been beating itself? If we can sure up those things and grow from them, and I thought we did in some ways tonight, we could be a really good football team. Our goal is not to be the best team in September, but we want to get better every single weekend and grow through the season."