GOVS-BULLDOGS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 30-16 win over Samford in its regular-season home finale on Senior Day at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

FROM THE TOP

• The Govs finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1964 (5-0) and 6-0 at home for the first time since 1949.
• Quarterback Chris Parson recorded 318 yards of total offense and finished the game with 3,259 yards of total offense this season; he joins JaVaughn Craig (3,922 yards in 2019) and Mike DiLiello (3,367 yards in 2023) as the third player in program history with 3,000 yards of total offense in a season.
• Carson Smith connected on three field goals and now has 13 made field goals this season, which matches his total from the 2024 season and Maddux Trujillo's 13 field goals in 2023 for the second-best single-season total in program history.
• Antori Hamilton led the Govs and matched his career-high with six tackles; he also recorded a strip sack, which was recovered by the Govs, and half a tackle for loss.
• Austin Peay's defense totaled a season-best 11 tackles for loss, its first double-digit TFL game since it had 10.0 tackles for loss against Eastern Kentucky (11/16/24).

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Davion Blackwell, Jackson Head, Chandler Kirton, and Chris Parson took the coin toss for the Governors. Javious Bond and Myles Wiley also served as captains for Austin Peay.
• Samford won the coin toss and deferred its option until the second half; Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay is 4-7 at the opening coin toss this season and 11-12 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• Austin Peay improved to 4-3 this season and 7-5 under Faris when it loses the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at kickoff: 75 degrees, fair skies, winds southwest at 18 mph.

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay improved to 2-8 all-time and 1-3 in Clarksville against Samford.
• The Governors have won their last two games against the Bulldogs.

DEFEND THE FORT

• Austin Peay improved to 35-14 at Fortera Stadium since 2017.
• The Governors improved to 6-0 at Fortera Stadium this season and 7-6 under Faris.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay improved to 6-1 this season and 10-3 under head coach Jeff Faris when leading at halftime.
• The Governors improved to 5-0 this season and 9-2 under Faris when leading at the end of the third quarter.
• The Govs' six-game winning streak at Fortera Stadium is their longest since winning the final two home games of the 2021 season and the first four of the 2022 season.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Chris Parson led the Govs with 12 carries for 53 yards, while going 16-of-30 for 265 yards and one touchdown; he has recorded 300-plus yards of total offense in 6-of-10 games this season.
• Kaden Williams also rushed seven times for 31 yards and an 11-yard touchdown – his second rushing touchdown of the season and his second-straight week with a rushing touchdown.
• Nate Garnett Jr. had two catches for 80 yards and a 70-yard touchdown reception – his second touchdown catch of the season and his second-straight week with a touchdown catch.
• Garnett Jr.'s 70-yard touchdown catch is the third-longest of the season by a Gov and the longest of his APSU career.
• Shemar Kirk also had a team-leading five catches for 44 yards, and Jaden Robinson added four catches for 67 yards.
• Parson finished the game with 2,710 passing yards this season, which is the fourth-best single-season total in program history; he is 99 yards behind Brian Baker (1999) for the third-best mark in program history.
• With 19 passing touchdowns this season, Parson tied Draylen Ellis (2021) for the sixth-best season total in program history; he is one touchdown pass behind Jeremiah Oatsvall (2018) for the fifth-best season in APSU history.
• Parson also finished the game with 31 touchdowns responsible for this season and is two behind Mike DiLiello (2023) for the second-best single-season total in program history.
• With 549 rushing yards this season, Parson has the third-most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single-season in program history; he is 32 yards behind Sonny Defilippis (1980) for the second-best single-season mark in APSU history.
• Parson's 549 rushing yards are also the eighth-most career rushing yards by a quarterback in program history; he is 100 yards behind Mike DiLiello (2022-23) for the seventh-most career rushing yards by a quarterback.

DEFENSIVE STANDS      

• Austin Peay's defense held Samford to 330 yards of total offense, its fourth-best performance of the season.
• Austin Peay's defense held Samford to 1.7 yards per carry on 33 attempts, which is its best single-game mark since holding Morehead State (9/13/25) to 0.3 yards per carry on 19 attempts.
• The Governors' defense also held Samford to 57 rushing yards, its third-best performance of the season and the fifth time it has held a team under 100 yards on the ground this season.
• The Governor's defense recorded its fifth multi-turnover game with an interception and a fumble recovery.
• The Govs' four sacks are their second-best single-game total this season.
• Montreze Smith Jr. recorded a 35-yard pick-six; it was the Govs' second pick-six of the season and marks the first time they have had two pick-sixes in a season since 2023.
• Smith Jr.'s pick-six was his team-leading third interception of the season.
• Smith Jr. is the first Austin Peay linebacker with a pick-six since Jack McDonald's 32-yard pick-six against Morehead State (9/18/21).
• Smith Jr. recorded a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack; that is the best single-game TFL total by a Gov this season, and the best since single-game mark by a Gov since Davion Hood had three TFLs against Eastern Kentucky (11/16/24).
• Hamilton had a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss, including a sack, and his first-career forced fumble.
• Smith Jr., Deandre Creary, Ellis Ellis Jr., Jalon Williams, Will Middleton, and Jake Stonebraker all recorded five tackles for the Govs, with Creary recording all solo stops.
• Kendyle Ball recorded one tackle and his first-career fumble recovery on Hamilton's strip sack.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Carson Smith connected on a season-long 50-yard field goal, which was the third-longest of his career and is tied for the ninth-longest field goal in Austin Peay history.
• Smith also made a pair of 42-yard field goals and improved to 7-for-9 on field goals of 40-or-more yards this season.
• Smith also went 3-for-3 on PATs, and with 48 PATs made this season, he is tied with Maddux Trujillo (2023) for the second-most PATs in a season in program history.
• With three made field goals, Smith has 26-made field goals in his career and passed Logan Birchfield for the fourth-most made field goals in program history; he is seven field goals behind Tom McMillan's (1986-89) 33 field goals for the third-most in APSU history.
• With three made PATs, Smith has 80 PATs in his career and is the fifth player in program history with 80-career made PATs.

GOVS-BULLDOGS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris

Opening statement… " I'm proud of this group. To make history at a place that has tremendous history and tradition, the credit goes to all the players. This community has been unbelievable. As we've said all along, we're just getting started. We're going to celebrate this one tonight, but I'm proud of this group. The ability to send the seniors out the right way, something that we talked about all week, and I'm just happy we're able to do that for those guys. Their commitment and the impact they have on our program, I can't put into words. They did not inherit an easy situation, but they fought through it every single day. I love that group."

On going undefeated at home… "That's one of our preseason goals, defend The Fort, win at home, to go 6-0, and, you know, we've had ranked teams in here, really, really good teams. None of them have been easy, but we've learned a lot about ourselves. This team is very, very in love with this community, and it's a mutual relationship. This community's been unbelievable. Gov Walk, the environment today, man, we're so fortunate, and we're so happy to represent Clarksville and Austin Peay State University. You know, you make great memories here at The Fort, and it means a lot, and those guys, they take it seriously. I think that's one of the reasons why we play so hard, other than the love for one another."

Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson

On translating success at home to next week's finale on the road… " We just have to play our game. We have to take care of the football and execute at a high level. We can't have setbacks as far as penalties and not being aligned properly. We have to be better in that aspect. The defense played lights out today. We put them in some bad positions, but they played a great game, and we have to do a better job of playing complementary football on offense. We'll be able to learn from this film, but we have to be better on offense, and we have to play to the standard and execute at a high level."

On preparing for the season finale at Tarleton State… " Coach Faris does a great job elaborating to this team that we have to find a way to go 1-0 every single day. And with that, going 1-0 every single day, we have to go 1-0 every single week. And so, our only focus this week is doing our job and locking down on details so we can go out there and go 1-0 next Saturday. This is a must-win for us. Like I said last week, this is the biggest game of our season, because it's the game that we have this week."

Austin Peay defensive lineman Antori Hamilton

On the Govs' success at home… " I believe it's how close we are as a team. This is the closest team I've ever been a part of, and we are constantly hanging out with each other. We're constantly making fun, joking together, having fun in the locker room. I really think we have a deep bond as a team, and I think that shows on the field."

On going undefeated at home… " It means a great deal. I came here wanting to be a player that people remember, this team, who I am, how we play, and it means a great deal to the program."