GOVS-LIONS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following #9 Austin Peay's 27-21 victory against North Alabama, Saturday, at Bank Independent Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

FROM THE TOP

• Austin Peay captured its 44th win of the 2020s, the most wins in a decade in program history. The Governors' 57.9 winning percentage this decade also is the best in program history, edging out a 55.1% mark (32-26-1) in the 1940s.
• After being held to just two rushing yards in the first half, Austin Peay outgained North Alabama 103-44 in the second half while averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
• Chris Parson threw for 215 yards and two scores, while also rushing for 61 yards on 19 carries with a rushing score.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains David Portu, Chris Parson, Markell Redding, and Courtland Simmons took the coin toss for the Governors.
• North Alabama won the opening coin toss and deferred its option to the second half. Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay improved to 5-0 when losing the coin toss this season and 12-6 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• Weather in Florence at kickoff: 69 degrees, clear skies, winds northeast at eight miles per hour.

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay improved to 11-13 all-time against North Alabama and now has won all five games against the Lions in the 21st century.
• The Governors improved to 5-7 against the Lions in Florence, Alabama and has won three-straight games in Florence.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay improved to 1-0 when tied going into the half this season and 2-2 under Faris.
• The Governors improved to 7-0 this season and 16-3 under Faris when leading at the end of the third quarter.

RANKED GOVS

• Austin Peay improved to 29-20 all-time when ranked and 11-6 under Faris.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Chis Parson's three total touchdowns marked his fifth game with at least a trio of scores this season and his 10th time in 20 games under center for the Governors.
• Parson also paced the Govs with 19 carries for 61 rushing yards. His rushing score – the 23rd of his career – moved him into a tie for sixth all-time in career rushing touchdowns, tying him with Terrence Holt (2007-10).
• Marvin Sims' hauled in his third touchdown of the season on an 11-yard reception in the opening five minutes of the game.
• Denver Harper led the Govs with 98 receiving yards and 119 all-purpose yards.
• Harper's receiving touchdown in the third quarter was his seventh of the season and his 11th total touchdown of the season.

DEFENSIVE STANDS

• Eli Jones recorded his first-career interception on North Alabama's second offensive play of the game.
• Jones' pick made him the sixth Governor with an interception this season, tied for the most since eight Governors intercepted a pass during the 2023 season.
• David Portu had a career-high seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.
• In addition to his career-highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks, David Portu also forced his second fumble of the season and the third of his career.
• Kelton Crisp recorded a sack during his four-tackle performance. He now has at least half a sack in five games this season, while also recording a tackle for loss in 7-of-9 games this season.
• Trevor Hardy led the Govs with nine tackles, the second most of his career and his most since having 10 against Gardner-Webb in the season opener, Aug. 27.
• Austin Peay held North Alabama to 1-of-4 with four yards through the air in the first quarter. It then held the Lions to just 2-for-6 with 19 passing yards in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Hamilton DiBoyan went 2-for-2 on field goals with makes from 43 and 30 yards out.
• DiBoyan's two field goals are his most this season and tied for a career best.
• DiBoyan also improved to 33-for-33 on PATs this season, tying him with David Young (1994) for the seventh-most all-time.
• Logan Leftrick punted five times for 190 yards with two punts downed inside the 20-yard line and a long of 49 yards.

GOVS-LIONS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris 

Opening statement… "We've done some special things at Austin Peay. To go on the road this year and beat West Florida, to score 28 unanswered against UT Martin, and to beat a Conference USA opponent on the road last year by 20. In my opinion, this is as proud as I've ever been of our football team. To think of the resilience that they showed today on the road. We had every bit of adversity this week. Half our team had the flu; half had strep throat. You know, our team is beat up. We're the last team in our conference to have a bye week, but our guys don't flinch. That's who we are, and we represent Clarksville, Tennessee, in an unbelievable fashion, and we're so appreciative for the opportunity to wear the red and white and represent Austin State University. I've never been more proud of an organization, of a group, of a team, and I'm so happy to be a small part of the Austin Peay Govs."

On the defense in timely situations… "They were unbelievable. You think about the first half, we get our touchdown because of the turnover with Eli Jones. I mean, they just put the ball down and played. I think we're the most improved team in the country defensively. Those guys, they never flinch. It's the defensive lines, the linebackers, the secondary. They play as one. Our defensive staff does an unbelievable job. Greg Jones, Darian Moody, Brandon Williams, Ben Thal, I could not be more impressed with our defensive effort. You don't go on the road in this conference and win games like that without a tremendous defense. I think we have the best defense in the country."

On competing against a tough schedule… "We play a tough schedule, and I have to give credit to the opposing defenses. They got great players and coaches, too. We got off to fast starts against Vanderbilt and Tarleton, and we didn't find a way to finish those games. I'm more impressed with the fact that we finished this game, and what matters most is how you finish the fourth quarter, finding a way when things don't go great and perfect, because that's what we want. We want to play meaningful games in October and November, and we're in that position now. And when you play those games. It isn't clean, it isn't pretty, but that's what football is about, and connected teams win. I think you saw a connected team tonight."

Austin Peay defensive lineman David Portu

On being healthy again… "I feel a lot better. I definitely just try to go out there and give them 100 percent. Back from the injury earlier this year, it feels a lot better. My knee feels a lot better week by week. We got a great training staff here, and they get me right, and they get all of us right by the time Saturday rolls around. And so, yeah, just going out there and just playing for the rest of my guys and trying to play free, that's really what Coach Jones allows us to do with the defense he calls, and he's a great guy, and he helps me just get the right opportunities to go make plays."

On the resiliency of the Govs' defense… "The first guy who comes to mind is Justin Collette. We're with that guy every day. He's definitely helping us every day with things like nutrition and getting over sickness. But really, we got a bunch of guys who are just hard-nosed, like a lot of sickness isn't going to put really anybody down on this team. We got a lot of guys that know that we're playing for something bigger, and we're not going to allow something like a little cough or some strep to get in the way of that. So, just being resilient has kind of been the theme of our team since January, honestly. Nothing outside of our program will bring us down, and we need to do the mission we need to do."

Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson

On the offensive switch-up in the second half… "We just understood that for us to win this game, it's all about execution, just trusting our training. We had all the confidence in the world going in at halftime and just coming up with a plan to come out here and execute in the second half. I'm really just proud of the guys. It came down to execution. It's great to get a win going into the bye week."

On earning wins on the road this season… "I just give all the credit to the coaching staff for getting the right guys into this program, and retaining the guys who truly love this team. As teammates, just finding a way to build a championship connection with all the hard work we put in throughout the offseason really means a lot, especially in moments like this."