Junior tailback Don Chapman surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season as the Skyhawk football team rallied to beat Austin Peay 20-10 Saturday night in Clarksville.

With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 4-1 on the season. This is the fourth time since 1982 that the team has won four of its first five games.

Chapman led all rushers with 155 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

His score came with 11:39 remaining in the third quarter when he scampered 31 yards to paydirt to give the Skyhawks a 13-10 lead.

As a team the Skyhawks collected 263 yards on the ground while holding the Governors to a mere 44 yards.

The Skyhawks struggled in the first half before coming from behind late in the game to claim the road win.

The Skyhawks struck first with a field goal by Taylor Brown on the game’s opening drive.

The drive began at midfield after a short kickoff by the Governors’ Ross Coffee.

Quarterback Greg Preston completed a 19-yard pass to Taurean Stephens to start the game. A few plays later, he connected with E.J. Daniel at the APSU 21-yard line.

After a few runs by Marcus Dawson, Brown connected from 35 yards out to give the Skyhawks a 3-0 lead.

The Skyhawk defense forced the Governors to go three-and-out on their first possession of the game. Unfortunately, Daniel fumbled the punt by Coffee.

The miscue set up the APSU offense at their own 38-yard line for what would prove to be a short scoring drive.

After a two-yard run on first down, Governor quarterback Mark Cunningham completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Chris Fletcher.

The Skyhawks’ struggles continued on their next possession as they failed to get a first down after three plays. Adam Ivey’s punt was then blocked by APSU’s Kevis Buckley.

The ensuing drive resulted in three Governor first downs and ultimately put three more points on the board.

Brown ended the half with a second field goal to pull his team to within 10-6 at the halftime break.

The half saw Cunningham complete 14-of-21 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.

In the locker room, the coaches remained calm despite their team’s poor performance.

“There was no need to rant and rave at halftime,” said head coach Jason Simpson.

“We simply said we are still in this game because we are a good football team and now we have a sense of urgency about ourselves,” he said.

The Skyhawk defense made a comeback possible by showing the quality of play that has been its staple this season.

The defensive unit limited the Governors to 24 rushing yards and 119 passing yards in the second half while holding them scoreless over the game’s final three quarters.

Skyhawk quarterback Dexter Anoka led a 52-yard scoring drive on the first possession of the second half.

Beginning at midfield, Anoka completed an 11-yard pass to Daniel for a first down and followed it with an 8-yard completion to Jamaal Akbar.

Chapman then registered the play of the game with his go-ahead touchdown run.

The touchdown would prove to be all the Skyhawks would need to record the victory.

Preston completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Roren Thomas with 10:21 remaining in the game to stretch the Skyhawk advantage to its final margin of 20-10.

The game ended with the Skyhawks holding the ball on the APSU 1-yard line, ready to score again.

Preston and Anoka combined to throw for 15 completions on 23 attempts without an interception in the game.

The Skyhawks registered a total of 166 yards through the air. Thomas led the team with 73 yards on two receptions while Daniel caught five passes for 29 yards. Six Skyhawk receivers combined for the team’s 15 catches as part of a truly balanced offensive attack.

The Skyhawks’ road trip continues Thursday when they pay a visit to Cookeville for a 7 p.m. contest with Tennessee Tech.

The Golden Eagles are alone atop the OVC standings despite a 2-3 overall record. The Skyhawks are currently tied for second place with Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State at 1-0.

Both of Tech’s wins have come against OVC foes.