UTM freshman quarterback Brett Hall made his Skyhawk debut against host Arkansas State by completing 20 of 34 pass attempts for 180 yards. His effort at the helm doubled that of two Arkansas State signal-callers.

Unfortunately, Hall’s passing effort wasn’t enough to help the Skyhawks (1-1) overcome Division I-A Arkansas State (1-1) Saturday night in Indian Stadium. The host Indians claimed a 63-6 win over the Skyhawks.

Hall was named the Skyhawks starter before the game. He replaced sophomore Brady Wahlberg who was injured in the season opener against Austin Peay.

Hall hooked up with six receivers in the game and his longest completion of the game went to sophomore Orentheus Taylor. Taylor finished the game with four catches for 47 yards.

Junior college transfer Sanders Trent led the Skyhawk receivers with seven catches for 56 yards. His longest reception was for 20 yards and he caught a touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.

The Hall to Trent completion covered seven yards and capped off a seven-play drive that covered 41 yards in 3:04. The Skyhawks took advantage of four Arkansas State penalties in the drive, including two for pass interference.

The Skyhawk rushing game didn’t have as much success. The ASU defense limited the Skyhawks to 73 yards of rushing on 32 carries. Andrew Staten led the Skyhawks with 35 yards of rushing on 13 carries, while Justin Glover had 12 attempts for 31 yards.

“We came out wide eye Saturday night,” said Matt Griffin, Tennessee-Martin’s first-year head coach. “Our guys were a little nervous, and our young guys played like young guys.”

“That’s the great thing about this game (Arkansas State),” Griffin said. “We have a short week and in five nights we can redeem ourselves from this game if we work hard.”