GOVS-BEARS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 41-38 win over Central Arkansas in United Athletic Conference action on Stacheville's Salute to Service day at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

FROM THE TOP

• Chandler Kirton made his 45th-consecutive start on the offensive line, breaking the Austin Peay career record for consecutive games started.
• Chris Parson rushed for two touchdowns and broke the Austin Peay single-season quarterback rushing touchdown record, which was previously held by Sonny Defilippis, who rushed for 10 touchdowns in 1980.
• Austin Peay totaled 480 yards of total offense, its fourth-best single-game output this season and the sixth time this season it has topped 450 yards.
• Charles Crews III had a season-high and led the Governors with seven tackles and a tackle for loss.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Jackson Head, Chandler Kirton, Chris Parson, and Myles Wiley took the coin toss for the Governors. Javious Bond and Davion Blackwell also served as captains for Austin Peay.
• Central Arkansas won the coin toss and deferred its option until the second half. Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay is 4-6 at the opening coin toss this season and 11-11 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• The Governors are 3-3 this season and 6-5 under Faris when they lose the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at kickoff: 68 degrees, fair skies, winds south at 5 mph.

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay improved to 2-5 all-time and 2-2 in Clarksville against Central Arkansas.
• The Governors have won back-to-back meetings with the Bears in Fortera Stadium.

DEFEND THE FORT

• Austin Peay improved to 34-14 at Fortera Stadium since 2017.
• The Governors improved to 5-0 at Fortera Stadium this season and 6-6 under Faris.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay improved to 5-1 this season and 9-3 under head coach Jeff Faris when leading at halftime.
• The Governors improved to 1-3 this season and 1-9 under Faris when trailing at the end of the third quarter.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Austin Peay did not allow a sack in the contest.
• Chris Parson recorded a career-best 374 yards of total offense and has topped 355 yards of total offense in five of APSU's 10 games this season.
• Parson led the Govs with 19 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns – his 11th and 12th rushing touchdowns of the season.
• Parson also went 23-of-32 for 301 yards and two touchdowns; it was his fourth 300-yard passing game this season.
• Kaden Williams rushed 10 times for 39 yards and a touchdown – his first of the season and the second of his career.
• Williams also had a career-best four receptions for 41 yards.
• Shemar Kirk had nine receptions – the best single-game mark by a Gov this season – for 144 yards – the second-best single-game by a Gov this season – and one touchdown.
• Nate Garnett Jr. posted a season-best five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown – his first as a Governor.
• Jase Skoglund also had one catch for a career-high 25 yards.
• Parson has passed for 2,445 yards this season, which is the sixth-best single-season total in APSU history, and is two yards behind Mike DiLiello's 2,447 yards in 2022 for the fifth-best season in program history.
• With two passing touchdowns, Parson tied Jake Ryan's 18 passing touchdowns in 2012 for the seventh-best season in program history.
• Parson was responsible for four touchdowns against Central Arkansas and now ranks third in program history with 30 touchdowns responsible for this season; he is seven touchdowns behind JaVaughn Craig's single-season record of 37 in 2019.
• Parson also now has 2,941 yards of total offense this season, which ranks third in program history and leaves him 59 yards shy of becoming the third quarterback in program history to top the 3,000-yard mark.
• Parson's 12 rushing touchdowns this season also rank as the sixth-best single-season total in program history.
• Parson's 12 rushing touchdowns also are tied with Jeremiah Oatsvall (2017-19) for the fourth-best career total by a quarterback in APSU history.

DEFENSIVE STANDS      

• Austin Peay's defense held Central Arkansas to 3-of-12 on third-down conversions and 0-for-1 on fourth-down conversions.
• Crews III also recorded a tackle for loss and ranks second on the team with 7.0 tackles for loss this season.
• Chase Allen also had three tackles, a pass breakup, a fumble recovery, and recorded a tackle for loss for the second-straight game.
• Trevor Hardy and Jake Stonebraker each added five tackles for the Governors.
• Ellis Ellis Jr. had two tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
• Raylyn Manley, Deandre Creary, and Jalon Williams each added a pass breakup for the Govs as well.
   

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Javious Bond returned six kicks for a career-best 136 yards – that is the best single-game total by a Gov since Kentel Williams returned five kicks for 139 yards against Tennessee State (10/6/18).
• Bond also returned three punts for 16 yards and led the Governors with 194 all-purpose yards.
• Carson Smith went 2-for-2 on field goals – connecting for 25 and 37 yards – and is 10-for-12 on field goals this season, he now is tied for the 10th-best single-season field goal total in APSU history.
• Smith also is now tied with Justin Deardorff (1999-03) for fifth in program history with 23-career field goals made
• Smith also went 5-for-5 on PATs and is 45-for-45 on PATs this season, which give him the third-best single-season total in program history.
• Smith also now ranks fifth in program history with 77-career made PATs.
• Smith also kicked off eight times for a 55.5-yard average with four touchbacks.
• Logan Leftrick punted five times for a 39.2-yard average with two punted downed inside the 20-yard line and a long punt of 46 yards.

GOVS-BEARS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris

Opening statement… " I've never been so proud of a team or organization that I have ever been a part of than this group. You talk about grit… You talk about embodying Clarksville, Tennessee… fighting for one another… Not being easy, but finding a way to get it done. That's this Austin Peay football team, and I'm better as a result of being around it… Everybody is beat up after tonight, but we never flinched, and that's the happiest locker room I have been in. They deserve it."

On Central Arkansas… "They're a good football team, and they are going to make plays. You talk about the start of the game, we go for it on fourth, and we come up short; they have a good defense. They score, they beat us on a double move on the very next play, and we go down 14-3. The thing I'm most proud of is that when it mattered most, we were at our best."

On the belief in his team… "It's earned by them; it has nothing to do with Coach Faris. We went for it early in the game, which probably led to us going down 7-0 and then 14-3. There's one way to do this thing, and that's to be aggressive. If we hadn't worked our tails off, the aggressiveness wouldn't have been warranted. These guys have warranted that; I believe in them. We aren't going to be one hundred percent, but we're going to swing for the fences, and that's the only way to do it."

Austin Peay defensive lineman Charles Crews III

On the Govs' defensive line… " It was great to get this win today. All we've been hearing this week as the defensive line is that they have a big offensive line, and we took that to heart. We wanted to show that we could battle with them because we're the best defensive line in the conference, and we just went out there and executed."

On transferring to Austin Peay… " The opportunity has been great to come here to Austin Peay. It's been the best thing to happen to me, and I'm really grateful for it."

Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson

On breaking the single-season quarterback rushing touchdown record… "I think that record is just a good testament to our team. I'm a firm believer that you can't be great without the greatness of others. I'm humbled and I'm thankful that I was able to do that. I just want to give all the credit to my teammates, and I wouldn't be able to accomplish something like that without them."

On battling back… " For us as a team, we always talk about starting fast. Obviously, there have been some games throughout the year where we have not done that. We wanted to start fast tonight, and unfortunately, we were unable to do that. But it's all about responding. We've been through too much as a team to sit here and lie down."