Lindenwood punter Patrick Turner was named Big South-OVC Specialist of the Week. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

Another exciting week of Big South-OVC football featured conference wins for Bryant, Charleston Southern, and Southeast Missouri State, and a big road win for Tennessee Tech.

Lindenwood took its longest road trip of the season in that game at Charleston Southern, but wasn’t able to get much offense goingm, especially without injured starting quarterback Cole Dugger and running back Robert Giaimo.

Receiver Jeff Caldwell did score his league-leading seventh receiving touchdown for Lindenwood, but it wasn’t enough, as the Lions lost to the Buccaneers, 24-10.

Here’s a recap of what went on all around the league last Saturday:

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 24, LINDENWOOD 10 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern football earned its third win in just four tries this season at Buccaneer Field, as a convincing 24-10 victory over visiting Lindenwood opened Big South-OVC play in front of a homecoming crowd.  CSU freshman quarterback Zolten Osborne continues to have good showings under center, with Saturday’s performance against Lindenwood being the best to date. The Bucs came into the contest without a passing score all season, but Osborne changed that quickly, tossing one to Landon Sauers on the opening drive to open the scoring. Osborne would then toss his second of the game in the closing seconds of the first stanza as Will Kakavitsas was the beneficiary of the second.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 35, EASTERN ILLINOIS 28 | BOX SCORE
 Geno Hess ran for 129 yards and one touchdown, had 53 receiving yards and broke his program’s career all-purpose yardage record as Southeast Missouri (2-4, 2-0) hung on for a dramatic 35-28 win over Eastern Illinois (4-3, 0-2) Saturday.  SEMO, which ended a three-game losing skid (three losses by a combined nine points), outlasted EIU in front of a Homecoming crowd of 7,263.  Tied, 21-21, the Redhawks scored 14 fourth-quarter points and made it a two-touchdown game when Keveon Robbins plunged into the end zone for his second career touchdown extending SEMO’s lead to 35-21 with 8:06 left to play.

https://twitter.com/OVCSports/status/1713364786430255508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713364786430255508%7Ctwgr%5E72c3912ede353c542c00ffcbb329ed6aab27f04e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbigsouthovcfootball.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F10%2F14%2Fbig-south-ovc-football-recap-oct-14.aspx

BRYANT 43, ROBERT MORRIS 24 | BOX SCORE
The Bryant University football team defeated Robert Morris at home 43-26 during homecoming in the conference opener.  The defense forced four turnovers, and Zevi Eckhaus threw for 283 yards (22-36) and three TDs, while running for 86 yards and a rushing TD.  Simi Bakare ran for two TDs, while Jalen Powell, Javin Dames, and Gary Cooper all caught TDs.  Ben Silver had two sacks and a forced fumble on the defensive side. Kenny Dyson Jr. and Michael Otty had a sack, while Lake Ellis recorded an interception. 

TENNESSEE TECH 28, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 7 | BOX SCORE
South Carolina State scored 14 seconds into the game and it looked like the Bulldogs were going to set the pace with that early score.  However, that wasn’t the case at all. Tennessee Tech scored 28 unanswered points as the host Bulldogs never saw the end zone again as the Golden Eagles got a boost from true freshman quarterback Jordyn Potts and the rushing attack from Justin Pegues and Marcus Knight as Tech prevailed 28-7.  Knight rushed for 86 yards on 16 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per tote, as he had three touchdowns in the contest. He is the first Golden Eagle to rush for three scores in a game since Bailey Fisher against Western Illinois in 2019.

https://twitter.com/BigSouthOVCFB/status/1713290822488080877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713290822488080877%7Ctwgr%5E72c3912ede353c542c00ffcbb329ed6aab27f04e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbigsouthovcfootball.com%2Fnews%2F2023%2F10%2F14%2Fbig-south-ovc-football-recap-oct-14.aspx

TENNESSEE STATE 24, NORFOLK STATE 17 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee State put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in an 18-yard rushing touchdown from Draylen Ellis with 5:13 left in the ballgame to give the Tigers a 24-17 win over Norfolk State on Saturday night at Nissan Stadium.  The win improved Tennessee State’s record to 4-2 on the season while the Spartans fell to 2-4.  Jordan Gant totaled 84 yards to lead the Tigers’ ground attack in the game, picking up 4 yards per carry along the way. Jalen Rouse also tacked on 68 yards on the ground, picking up 4 yards per carry. Ellis chipped in with 57 yards and one touchdown as well, picking up 7.1 yards per carry.  Gerand Turner pulled in one catch for 34 yards and one score.  Bryce Phillips led the Tennessee State defensive effort, totaling five tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one interception. Terrell Allen added seven tackles, 4.0 TFL, and two sacks and Lathun Snipes had 1.0 TFL and one sack in the win.

AUSTIN PEAY 41, GARDNER-WEBB 14 | BOX SCORE
Austin Peay outscored Gardner-Webb, 28-7, in the second half to pull away for a 41-14 victory on Saturday, Oct. 14.  Austin Peay took an early lead with a 13-play, 79-yard drive to open the game, punctuated by a three-yard touchdown run by Jevon Jackson. Gardner-Webb answered on fourth down on their next drive, as Jaylen King rushed 56 yards to the endzone, tying the game at seven at the end of the opening stanza.  APSU went ahead, 10-7, and later found its way down to the GWU goal line. Brice Bass and Charlie Jackson came up with a big sack, and forced another Austin Peay field goal, keeping the deficit down to 13-7 with 7:19 left in the 2nd quarter.  Gardner-Webb put together a 16 play, 71-yard drive to end the first half, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs missed a field goal attempt in the red zone, and went into the half down 13-7 at the break.

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Week 9 – Big South-OVC Football Association Schedule

AwayHomeGametimeLocationLinks
Southeast MissouriSoutheast MissouriTennessee TechTennessee Tech1:30 P.M.Cookeville, Tenn. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
Charleston SouthernCharleston SouthernUT MartinUT Martin2:00 P.M.Martin, Tenn. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
BryantBryantEastern Illinois Eastern Illinois2:00 P.M.Charleston, Ill. (Conf.)TV: ESPN+ Stats
LincolnLincolnTennessee StateTennessee State2:00 P.M.Nashville, Tenn.TV: ESPN+ Stats
Eastern KentuckyEastern KentuckyGardner-WebbGardner-Webb5:00 P.M.Boiling Springs, N.C.TV: ESPN+ Stats

BigSouth-OVCFootball.com contributed to this story.