Lindenwood’s Ronnie Thomas, Jr., gets tackled by two Austin Peay defenders during last Saturday’s game at Hunter Stadium. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

Seven of the Big South-OVC Association’s 10 teams were in action last weekend, with five of them playing non-conference games. Charleston Southern and Eastern Illinois both earned wins, while Robert Morris, Bryant, and Lindenwood all suffered losses.

Tennessee State and Tennessee-Martin met in a conference affair, which the Skyhawks won 20-10.

Lindenwood hosted its first home game in almost a month against Austin Peay, and was defeated 52-10. The visiting Governors took advantage of four Lion turnovers to jump out to a 35-3 halftime lead.

Here’s a recap of all the league’s action from over the weekend:

AUSTIN PEAY 52, LINDENWOOD 10 | BOX SCORE
the Lindenwood football team dropped a home game against Austin Peay by a score of 52-10 on Saturday afternoon from Hunter Stadium. Robert Giaimo finished the game with 121 all-purpose yards for the Lions while Chase Lanckriet added four catches for 56 yards.

https://twitter.com/LindenwoodFB/status/1708212387268956500

#22 TENNESSEE-MARTIN 20, TENNESSEE STATE 10 | BOX SCORE
Kinkead Dent passed for one touchdown and ran for another to help UT Martin defeat Tennessee State and win its Big South-OVC Association opener on Saturday night.

After Tennessee State (2-2, 1-1) took a 10-0 lead, Dent threw a 15-yard TD pass to DJ Nelson with 4 1/2 minutes left in the half. Then he went 31 yards for the go-ahead score with 48 seconds remaining and a 14-10 halftime lead.

The Tigers’ points came on Draylen Ellis’ 28-yard run and James Lowery’s field goal. But the Tigers ended up punting on its nine other possessions.

Dent was 16-of-25 passing for 230 yards and ran for another 48. Sam Franklin rushed 132 yards on 20 carries while DeVonte Tanksley had 93 yards on six catches.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 19, NORTHWESTERN STATE 10 | BOX SCORE
Blake Ruffin’s interception in the fourth quarter set up a deciding two-score lead for Eastern Illinois as the Panthers improved to 4-1 with a 19-10 win over Northwestern State on Saturday night at Turpin Stadium.  The 4-1 start is the best for the Panthers since the 2013 season. Pierce Holley passed for 274 yards with Justin Bowick catching four passes for 130 yards.

https://twitter.com/BigSouthOVCFB/status/1708271860289310913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1708271860289310913%7Ctwgr%5E69bfc02d01d09bf7546100d99a5a402144accb71%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbigsouthovcfootball.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F9%2F30%2Fbig-south-ovc-football-recap-sept-30.aspx

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 13, KENNESAW STATE 10 | BOX SCORE
Sam Babbush connected on a 48-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to lift Charleston Southern to a win over Kennesaw State. Babbush had hit from 34 yards in the third quarter to put his team ahead 10-3, only to see the Owls tie the game at the end of that quarter.

#24 RHODE ISLAND 49, BRYANT 26 | BOX SCORE
The Bryant University football team fell to No. 24 Rhode Island at Meade Stadium by a score of 49-26. Konor Lathrop caught his second TD in as many games. Matthew Prochaska hauled in his second of the season. Isaiah Schmidtke ran for a career-high 66 yards. Ryan Clark tallied his fifth TD on the ground, and Ridge Docekal threw the first of his career. Sean Hunt registered his first career interception, and Christopher Eaton Jr. posted his first sack of the season.

HOWARD 35, ROBERT MORRIS 10 | BOX SCORE
The RMU football team closed out their 2023 non-conference slate with a 35-10 loss to Howard at Joe Walton Stadium. Anthony Chiccitt completed 25-of-39 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown for the Colonials.

AwayHomeGametimeLocationLinks
Tennessee TechTennessee TechLindenwoodLindenwood1:00 P.M.St. Charles, Mo. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
UT MartinTennessee-MartinEastern Illinois Eastern Illinois2:00 P.M.Charleston, Ill. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
Tennessee StateTennessee StateKennesaw StateKennesaw State2:00 P.M.Kennesaw, Ga.TV: ESPN+ Stats
Robert MorrisRobert MorrisGardner-WebbGardner-Webb3:00 P.M.Boiling Springs, N.C. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
Southeast MissouriSoutheast MissouriCentral ArkansasCentral Arkansas4:00 P.M.Conway, Ark.TV: ESPN+ Stats