GOVS-SKYHAWKS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 35-12 victory against UT Martin Saturday, at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville.

FROM THE TOP

• Austin Peay extended its home winning streak to a record nine games. The Governors are outscoring opponents by an average of 26.5 points per game during that span.
• With Ta'Ron Haile's 18-yard pick six in the third quarter, the Governors now have returned an interception for a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time in program history. It also is the Govs' first time with a defensive touchdown in back-to-back games since Sept. 2023.
• With the win, Austin Peay secured a winning record in nonconference play in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018-19.
• Head coach Jeff Faris improved to 15-14 at the helm of Governors football. It is the first time he has been over .500 in his APSU career.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains David Portu, Chris Parson, Markell Redding, and Courtland Simmons took the coin toss for the Governors.
• UT Martin won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball.
• Austin Peay fell to 2-3 at the coin toss this season and 13-16 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• The Governors are 3-0 this season and 10-6 under Farris when losing the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at tipoff: 76 degrees, partly cloudy skies, winds east at five miles per hour.  

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay improved to 28-40-2 all-time against UT Martin in a series that began in 1930.
• The Governors improved to 17-21-1 all-time against the Skyhawks and now are 3-1 against UTM in Clarksville since 2017.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay won its first game when trailing at halftime under Faris, improving to 1-8.
• The win is APSU's first win when trailing at halftime since coming back from a 28-14 halftime deficit at Southern Utah (10/21/23).
• The Governors improved to 4-0 this season and 13-3 under Faris when leading at the end of the third quarter.

RANKED GOVS

• Austin Peay, who entered #14 in both the Stats Perform FCS and AFCA FCS Polls, improved to 26-19 all-time when nationally ranked and 8-4 under Faris.
• The Governors improved to 17-3 all-time at home when nationally ranked.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Chris Parson's 66-yard rushing score in the first quarter is the longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback in Austin Peay's digital record-keeping era. It is the first 60-yard rush by an APSU quarterback since his own against Tarleton State last season (11/22/25).
• Parson's two rushing touchdown performance was the sixth of his career and the first since last season's meeting at Tarleton State.
• Parson brought his career rushing touchdown total to 18, which gives him sole possession of eighth all-time, overtaking Ryan White (2007-11) and Mike Lewis (1985-87, 89). He now is just one from tying JaVaughn Craig for the most rushing touchdowns by an APSU quarterback.
• Parson led the Govs with a season-high 82 rushing yards, it is his third-career game with 80-plus rushing yards.
• Parson went 17-for-21 through the air, his second time this season he has completed at least 80% of his passes in a game.

• Marvin Sims hauled in his first touchdown as a Governor on an eight-yard reception midway through the first quarter. He then recorded his first-career rushing touchdown on an eight-yard carry less than five minutes into the fourth quarter.
• Sims now paces the Govs with 18 catches and 309 receiving yards this season.
• Jaden Robinson led the Govs with five receptions and 65 receiving yards. He his second on the team with 12 receptions, while his 225 receiving yards are third.

DEFENSIVE STANDS

• With Ta'Ron Haile and Keith Charney's interceptions, the Governors now have recorded two interceptions in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 21-28, 2024.
• Haile's interception marked APSU's second defensive touchdown in as many games, the first time the program has accomplished such since Sept. 16-23, 2023.
• The Governors did not allow a second-half point for the second time this season (Morehead State, Sept. 12).
• Austin Peay's two defensive touchdowns are tied for the second most in a single season in program history and the most since having three during the 2021 season.
• Trevor Hardy led the Govs with eight total tackles, while both he and Charney had one tackle for loss.
• Canaan Williams had a season-high and team-best five solo tackles.
• APSU held UT Martin to 5-for-15 on third-down. It now has held 4-of-5 teams to 33.3% or less on third-down conversions.
• The Govs held the Skyhawks to 0-for-2 on fourth down. The Govs now have forced a turnover on downs in eight-straight games, dating back to last season's meeting against Central Arkansas (11/8/25).

GOVS-SKYHAWKS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris 

Opening statement… "I couldn't be prouder of our football team. This is a rivalry. I got a ton of respect for UT Martin. Um, you know, this means a lot to our football team and the community, and for us to come out in the second half and play the way that we did and handle the adversity. I think it says everything about who we are. I couldn't be more impressed. Tons of, uh, respect for UT Martin and the way that they compete, um, but I'm so proud of our football team."

On the team's mentality going into the second half… "We had a real conversation, direct, and this is not who we are. How good do we want to be? We have to respond the right way, take it as a challenge. We didn't anticipate that this would be easy by any means. So, let's go to work and earn this thing in the second half, and they responded the right way. I was proud. I challenged our best players. Our best players have to play like our best players in games like this. They sure did in the second half."

On Parson and his performance up to this point in his career… "He's able to move the sticks on plays that otherwise we'd be punting. The big plays it creates when guys lose discipline and coverage, he can throw it down the field. Then, in the four-minute drill at the end, we call a quarterback run that gets the first down and really puts the game almost on ice. It makes it harder to defend our run game. And then, we've got receivers outside that if you're going to pack the box, stop the run, quarterback or running back, we can beat you over the top. I think Marvin Sims and Jaden Robinson showed that today. So, it adds so many elements. He is such a selfless football player. He doesn't care what it looks like. We could have won this game two to nothing, and he'd be the happiest person in our locker room. I'm just proud of how he's grown as a leader. He was a tremendous leader a year ago, and he's grown by leaps and bounds."

Austin Peay quarterback Chris Parson

On the Governors' defense… "They did a really good job today, man. I'm very thankful for those guys, especially in the first half when we couldn't really get things going on offense. They held it down for us. And then in the second half, we were able to play complementary football, but we kept them on the field way too much in the first half. We have to be better offensively, but I'm extremely proud of the defense. They played lights out, they did a really good job today, and I'm proud of those guys."

On his 66-yard rushing touchdown… "It all starts up front, the offensive line, they did a really good job. We got the perfect look for the play call, and they did a great job of executing and moving guys around. I just wanted to do my job, hit the hole where I was supposed to, and do whatever I could to put us in a good position. And so, I'm really happy that we were able to have success on that play just because we worked it throughout the week. So, big shout out to the big boys up front for creating that lane for me and allowing me to go score."

Austin Peay linebacker Keith Charney

On creating turnovers… "It's a pillar of our defense. It's called TBD. Turn the ball over, we've got to get turnovers. So, we hang our hat on that, and we put a lot of credit in Coach Jones for putting us in the right spots."

On his second-half interception… "Each play is individual in itself, so it's kind of just rolling off the sack and then getting a good call, getting a good open, safety comes through, hits him, ball kind of floats up in the air and lands perfectly in my hands. Kind of sad I couldn't run that one in, but we'll get the next one."