CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's football totaled 700 yards of offense, 429 rushing yards, and seven rushing touchdowns in a 56-7 victory against Morehead State in the 2025 home opener, Saturday, at Fortera Stadium.
Austin Peay (2-1) used a balanced rushing attack in its win over Morehead State (1-2), with six Governors rushing for scores and eight eclipsing at least 25 yards on the ground.
The Governors found paydirt on each of their first eight drives of the night and led by as many as 56 midways through the third period following Isaiah Groves' first collegiate score.
Chris Parson was the first Gov to score, with the redshirt sophomore signal caller scrambling for a 60-yard touchdown. Javious Bond was the next Gov to score, taking a handoff 84 yards on APSU's second play of its second drive. A Courtland Simmons eight-yard score gave the Govs a 21-0 lead prior to the end of the first quarter, and Corey Richardson capped off an 11-play, 99-yard drive with a 17-yard rushing touchdown seven-and-half minutes into the second quarter.
After advancing to the Morehead State one-yard-line following a 33-yard completion from Parson to Kamari Maxwell and a 21-yard carry by Groves, starting center Chandler Kirton lined up at fullback out of I-formation and barreled his way into the end zone for the first touchdown by an APSU offensive lineman since 2017.
Simmons scored APSU's final touchdown of the first half with 12 seconds remaining to make it 42-0 in favor of the hometown Governors.
Austin Smith led APSU on a 10-play drive to open the second half, capping off the possession with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Julien Randolph III. After Groves scored the Govs' final touchdown of the game, Morehead State scored its lone touchdown of the evening on the third play of the fourth quarter, resulting in the Govs' 49-point victory in front of 7,152 fans in attendance.
Parson led Austin Peay's passing attack, going 11-for-14 through the air with 199 yards. He also was the Govs' third-leading rusher with six carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Javious Bond led Austin Peay on the ground, with his one carry being the 84-yard rushing score. Groves was second on the team with 63 yards and game-high 12 carries, while Kaden Williams rushed four times for 52 yards.
Simmons led all Govs with 107 receiving yards and five receptions while Randolph III had two catches for 47 yards.
Markell Redding led APSU with five tackles and four solo stops, while Demoris Jenkins had a team-high 1.5 sacks.
Bryce Patterson led Morehead State's passing attack, going 12-for-21 with 80 yards and an interception, while Monterris Engram had a team-high three receptions for 67 yards and the touchdown. Isaac Stopke had six carries for 11 yards with a long rush of five yards.
Linebacker John Purdy led MSU with 11 tackles and was one of four Eagles with half a tackle for loss.
Up next Austin Peay kicks off United Athletic Conference action when it travels to No. 13 Abilene Christian for the first time in program history for a 7 p.m., Sept. 20 contest at Wildcat Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
Scoring Summary
APSU 7, MSU 0 – 4 plays, 80 yards, 1:16
The Governors took over on their own 20-yard line after forcing Morehead State to a punt on the game's opening drive. Nate Garnett Jr. rushed for 15 yards on the games opening drive, and Chris Parson connected with Kaden Williams on a five-yard pass two plays later. Following his five-yard connection with Williams, Parson darted up the right sideline for a 60-yard score and APSU's first of seven rushing touchdowns on the day.
APSU 14, MSU 0 – 2 plays, 83 yards, 0:50
After forcing another Eagles' punt in as many possessions, Parson handed off to Javious Bond, who took bounced to the right side, avoiding a trio of MSU tackle attempts, and scored from 84 yards out on his lone carry of the evening.
APSU 21, MSU 0 – 5 plays, 82 yards, 2:14
After gaining five yards on a pair of rushes to open its third drive, Chris Parson dropped back for a pass, scrambled to his left and spun away from a rushing defender, continued his scramble towards the left sideline, planted his feat, and hurled a ball 50 yards in the air to Courtland Simmons, who gained 10 yards after the grab for a 60-yard completion to set APSU at the MSU 17. After a nine-yard catch-and-run by Alec Pell, Courtland Simmons made it a 21-0 APSU lead after scoring on an inside handoff.
APSU 28, MSU 0 – 11 plays, 99 yards, 5:39
Another drive, another Morehead State punt, and yet another Austin Peay scoring drive – this one the first of 99 yards under head coach Jeff Faris. After the Eagles downed the Govs at their own one-yard line following a 44-yard punt, Austin Peay escaped the shadow of its own goal line following a trio of carries – two by Courtland Simmons and one by Parson – and a 12-yard completion to Kaden Williams. Parson then connected with Nate Garnett Jr. for 22 yards and, following a sack, Williams rushed for 32 yards to advance APSU into Morehead State territory at the 38-yard line. Williams continued the drive with a 16-yard carry following a Morehead State offsides, and Richarson punched it in from 17 yards out two plays later.
APSU 35, MSU 0 – 8 plays, 85 yards, 4:10
Following an Eagles' three-and-out, the Governors carried the ball six times for 48 yards on its fifth scoring drive in as many opportunities midway through the second quarter. After picking up a pair of first downs, Kamari Maxwell hauled in a 33-yard pass, and freshman Isaiah Groves gained 30 yards on back-to-back carries to set APSU up at the one-yard line. The Govs lined up in I-formation with center Chandler Kirton lining up at fullback behind Parson. Parson handed it off the Kirton who barreled his way into the end zone for his first-ever touchdown in five seasons as a Gov.
APSU 42, MSU 0 – 7 plays, 80 yards, 1:27
The Govs took just 87 seconds and seven plays to score the final points of the opening half. Parson connected with Simmons on the opening two plays of the drive for receptions of 11 and 28 yards, respectively. APSU advanced to the MSU 31 following gains of 11 and eight by Kirk and Parson, before Simmons scampered up the right sideline for his second rushing score of the half.
APSU 49, MSU 0 – 10 plays, 85 yards, 4:54
Austin Smith entered the game at quarterback for Austin Peay to begin the second half and led the Govs 85 yards, going 6-for-6 through the air. Smith's second completion of the drive came on a 30-yard reception by Julien Randolph III. The redshirt sophomore tight end caught the ball at the 45 and raced to the Eagles' 29-yard line. After a trio of catches for 12 yards, Smith connected with a wide-open Randolph III for a 17-yard touchdown reception.
APSU 56, MSU 0 – 10 plays, 45 yards, 5:44
The Governors carried the ball on 9-of-10 plays during its final scoring drive of the night which began on the MSU 45-yard-line following a Stephen Ellison II interception. A 12-yard rush by Smith set up APSU with first-and-goal from the five. After two-yard carries by Williams and Groves, Groves punched it in from a yard out, giving APSU a 56-0 lead with 1:41 remaining in the penultimate frame.
APSU 56, MSU 7 – 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:34
Morehead State advanced into Austin Peay territory for the second – and final – time on its lone scoring drive. Eagles' quarterback Davison Parsons connected with Riley Purcell on MSU's third play within the APSU side of the field. Purcell caught it at the APSU 20-yard line and raced into the endzone to cut the deficit to 49 with 14:07 remaining.
