Box Score Final Statistics | Postgame Notes

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Jordan Patrick blocked Ryan McCrum's 62-yard field goal attempt and Tennessee Tech (4-6, 3-4) survived with a 27-26 victory over Southeast Missouri (4-6, 3-4) Saturday afternoon at Tucker Stadium.
 
TTU, which pulled ahead by a point on a 32-yard run by Willie Davis with 4:16 left in the game, needed a big defensive stop.
 
Kyle Snyder completed a 10-yard pass to Paul McRoberts and found him again for a 5-yard gain. Ron Coleman's 5-yard run on a crucial third down moved the ball to the TTU 41-yardline.
 
Then, the Golden Eagle defense dug in.
 
Snyder was tackled for no gain and sacked by Patrick and Terrel Rollins for a loss of four yards. On the following play, Snyder was hit as he threw his next pass which fell incomplete leaving Southeast with a 4^th-and-14 at the TTU-45.
 
Southeast called timeout and lined up for a 62-yard field goal try with the wind at its back. McCrum's kick came off low and was tipped by Patrick.
 
Patrick's block ended a fourth quarter that saw a combined 24 points between the two teams.
 
TTU battled back to take its first lead on a 12-yard run by Jared Davis early in the final period.
 
"Our kids can't play any harder," said Southeast head coach Tom Matukewicz. "Our defense played extremely well, but we have to stop turning the ball over and making stupid plays."
 
DeMichael Jackson's 48-yard touchdown run polished off a 3-play, 76-yard drive in 1:01 and quickly regained a 23-20 edge for Southeast at the 13:42 mark.
 
The Redhawks forced TTU to punt after Jackson's score and used a 19-yard field goal by McCrum to take a 26-20 lead with 6:15 remaining prior to the wild finish.
 
Southeast's defense allowed only 17 rushing yards, forced a turnover and pressured the Golden Eagles into punting three times.
 
The Redhawks backed that strong effort by scoring the first 13 points of the game.
 
Southeast used runs of 20 or more yards on three of four plays to set up its first score.
 
Brendan Stewart began the march with a 23-yard run and Jackson picked up first downs on consecutive carries, including 24 and 20 yards. Snyder completed the drive with a 1-yard quarterback keeper on fourth down to give the Redhawks a 7-0 lead with 7:11 left in the first quarter.
 
Travis Sanders forced and recovered a fumble on the third play of TTU's next possession and the Redhawks took over on downs at the Golden Eagle-27. However, Southeast settled for a 43-yard field goal by McCrum to push its lead to 10-0 with 4:19 remaining.
 
After forcing a punt, Southeast covered 63 yards in 15 plays en route to another field goal by McCrum, this time from 32 yards out. The Redhawks chewed up nearly seven minutes before McCrum's kick stretched the lead to 13-0 at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter. Southeast, which leads the Ohio Valley Conference in time of possession, registered its seventh drive that lasted over six minutes this season.
 
The first three TTU drives resulted in a fumble and two punts before the Golden Eagles got on the board late in the second quarter.
 
Davis completed a 40-yard pass to Brock McCoin. McCoin was brought down at the Southeast 4-yardline. Radir Annoor hit paydirt on a 2-yard plunge to narrow the Redhawks lead to 13-7 at the half.
 
TTU changed its gameplan in the second quarter, replacing starting quarterback Darian Stone with Davis. The adjustment was successful as Davis completed 14-of-24 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 51 yards and another score.
 
"They flipped their gameplan and did a great job," commented Matukewicz.
 
McCoin also contributed seven catches for 120 yards, while Cody Matthews had seven receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown to lead TTU.
 
Jackson ran for a season-high 172 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries for Southeast. It was his second 100-yard rushing game this season.
 
Snyder followed with 64 rushing yards and a touchdown, and completed 16-of-22 passes for 132 yards. He became the first Redhawk quarterback to go over 2,000 passing yards since 2008 (Houston Lillard).
 
McRoberts, who returned from a broken foot injury, caught seven passes for 95 yards in his first game since Sept. 20.
 
The Redhawks had four turnovers, as well.
 
"Turnovers lost the game for us," said Matukewicz. "We will look at the film and work to improve those mistakes."
 
Southeast, which outgained TTU, 480-396, posted a season-best 348 yards on the ground.
 
Defensively, Eriq Moore paved the way with 10 tackles and recovered a fumble. Hunter Bledsoe followed close behind with nine stops and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Freshman J.J. Flye, who made his first career start at cornerback, turned in eight tackles and had a pair of pass breakups. Daniel Siehndel made seven tackles in his first start of the season at linebacker.
 
Additionally, starting wide receiver Peter Lloyd and starting linebacker Terrance Hill were injured. Lloyd broke his right leg and Hill left the game with a concussion.
 
Southeast returns home to host Austin Peay on Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT, at Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium.