Clarksville, TN –Following its first victory, the Austin Peay State University football team hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game at Fortera Stadium. The game against the Delta Devils is a “Red Out”, it is also Family Weekend and Teacher Appreciation Day.

Last week, the governors ruled out Presbyterian in a 63-0 rout. Mike DiLiello completed 18 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns in only playing the first 34 minutes of the game. Jevon Jackson and CJ Evans Jr. led the rushing offense, rushing for 167 and 106 yards, respectively, with Evans Jr. finding the end zone twice and Jackson hitting it once.

Trey Goodman and Joshua DeCambre both added a pair of receiving touchdowns while James Burns caught a touchdown pass and Drae McCray racked up a team-best 113 yards through the air.

On defense, Josh Rudolph had nine career-best tackles, including seven solo saves. Antoine Williams added five tackles, a sack and a blocked punt while J’Vian McCray made four tackles, two tackles for loss, and forced and recovered a fumble.

Saturday’s game will feature the Blazin’ Vipeay Zone presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, which will be present at all five home football games of the 2022 season. Buffalo Wild Wings will provide unlimited food and beverages – including beer – in the VIPeay Blazin area, which is available to season pass holders in the M section and the Chairback section of the VIPeay area.

The game against Mississippi Valley State is sponsored by Coca-Cola and there will be “For the Peayple” red shirts available to fans while supplies last.

Season, single game and group tickets are available online at LetsGoPeay.com/buytickets or by calling the Austin Peay box office at 931.221.PEAY (7329).

Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+ with Barry Gresham and Ethan Schmidt on the call.

Inside the movie theater

Check the official APSU Governors Youtube channel every week for new Inside The Film Room episodes, game highlights and more!

APSU In particular

good directions

Over the past five seasons, Austin Peay State University’s 35 wins are tied for 15th in the FCS and the most in five years in program history. Awaiting ASUN conference governors, three other teams rank in the FCS top 15 in wins over the past five seasons – Kennesaw State (49, 3rd), Jacksonville State (42, t-7th) and Central Arkansas ( 35, t-15e).

Freshman Monopoly

A week after kicker Maddux Trujillo and wide receiver Kam Thomas were named ASUN Special Teams Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively, Jevon Jackson became the second straight governor to earn ASUN Freshman of the Week honors. the Week.

Jackson rushed for a career-high 167 yards and a touchdown against Presbyterian and his rushing total was the best single-game mark by a Governor since Brian Snead rushed for 227 yards against Tennessee State. (2/28/21).

Scotty Walden; Or, life at Austin Peay State University

In his first 390 days at Austin Peay State University, Scotty Walden coached the Governors through 17 games in 273 days. His ten wins during that span are tied with Watson Brown (10-7, 1979-80) and only College Football Hall of Fame coach Boots Donnelly (11-6, 1977-78) has had more wins in his first 17 games at APSU.

Coming off of his 11th win over Presbyterian, Walden has a shot at the third most wins by an Austin Peay head coach in his first 20 games with a win over Mississippi Valley State.

Pre-season propaganda

In ASUN’s inaugural Football Preseason Coaches Poll, Austin Peay State University received a vote for first place, but was ranked fifth in the league with 15 points. Kennesaw State was picked atop the league with four first-place votes and 34 points, while Central Arkansas — which received just one first-place vote — and Eastern Kentucky tied for second with 25 points. Fourth-place Jacksonville State received 19 points and North Alabama completed the poll with 8 points.

The Gang Earns Pre-Season All-ASUN Honors

Sophomore wide receiver Drae McCray, graduate transfer defensive lineman Chukwuemeka Manning Jr., junior defensive back Shamari Simmons and sophomore kicker Maddux Trujillo have all been named to the ASUN Football Preseason Conference First Team. All-Conference at Media Day in Atlanta.

McCray and Trujillo earned First-Team and Second-Team All-OVC honors respectively last season, while Simmons’ season of four interceptions, 50 tackles and 10-PBU failed to earn All-OVC recognition. . Manning was a 2021 All-MEAC Third Team selection after racking up 5.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks in his final season at North Carolina Central.

New children in Stacheville

50 newcomers and 25 players who wore a red shirt a season ago combine with 40 returning winners to make up Austin Peay State University’s 2022 football slate. The 50 newcomers are made up of 23 transfers – with nine players with Group of Five experience and a pair of players with Power Five experience – and 27 real freshmen.

Last outing

Austin Peay State University improved to 7-1 in home openers at Fortera Stadium when they routed Presbyterian, 63-0, in the second-biggest shutout victory in history from the program. The Governors’ 63-point margin of victory was the largest against any other Division I team this season.

The shutout was the first of the Scotty Walden era and was the first since APSU Govs Presbyterian shutout, 24-0, in 2018.

About the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

This is the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay State University and Mississippi Valley State.

This is APSU’s first-ever game against a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent.

Mississippi Valley State finished fifth in the SWAC East Division after going 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference last season. This season, the Delta Devils finished sixth in the league’s East Division after receiving just 35 points in SWAC’s preseason poll, five points behind Texas Southern, who was picked last in the division. west.

Mississippi Valley State is returning its leading passer, leading rusher and leading receiver starting in 2021 in QB Jalani Eason, RB Caleb Johnson and WR Jacory Rankin. But the Delta Devils ranked 10th in the SWAC in total offense (311.1 yards) and 11th in scoring (19.6 points per game) last season. Eason threw for 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, along with Rankin’s 682 yards and four touchdowns.

The Delta Devils led the SWAC and ranked 26th in FCS with 13 interceptions last season. Kenneth Martin and Caleb Brunson lead defense returns with two picks in 2021. MVSU also ranked 12th in FCS with 7.4 TFL per game last season and will fire the trio of Jalen Bell (9.5 TFL), Ronnie Thomas (8.0) and Deione Reed (7.0). Thomas, Bell and Brunson are all preseason All-SWAC selections.

After rushing for a league-leading 1,018 yards and eight touchdowns last season, MVSU running back Caleb Johnson was named a preseason All-SWAC First-Team selection by head coaches and League SID, HBCU Sports and Phil Steele. Also, a BOXTOROW HBCU Preseason All-American, Johnson rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Tarleton. The redshirt junior averages 14.8 carries per game, which ranks him 10th among active FCS players.

Next step for APSU football

The Austin Peay State University football team hits the road for their second straight game against SWAC when they travel to Alabama A&M for a contest September 17 at 2:00 p.m. at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.

The first-ever meeting between the Governors and the Bulldogs will serve as the final tune-up at Austin Peay State University before hosting Eastern Kentucky for their ASUN conference opener.