In a fourth quarter showdown that kept all fans on the edge of their seats up until the last few seconds of the game, the Skyhawks narrowly edged their way to victory, defeating the Austin Peay Governors 21-20.

The first game of the season proved to be a showdown between two new coaches, UTM's Matt Griffin, who was hired in December, and APSU’s new head coach Carroll McGray. Interestingly, Coach Griffin was the UTM offensive coordinator during the last Skyhawk/Governor battle in 1997, which the Skyhawks won 36-26.

From the beginning of the game, UTM was elected to receive and the Skyhawks’ offense came out swinging. Quarterback Brady Wahlberg threw to sophomore Orentheus Taylor for 22 yards of completions in the first quarter as well as rushing out of the pocket for 41 yards.

Wahlberg’s big rush set up a completion to freshman Justin Glover for seven yards, which in turn set up another pass to Taylor for a gain of five. Glover rushed in on first and goal for the first Skyhawk touchdown of the night, with Brent Harris’ point-after attempt good to give the Skyhawks seven points with 10:43 left in the first quarter.

UTM incurred the first of several penalties that would plague the team all night beginning with a flag for an offside on the kickoff to APSU.

The penalty gave APSU a five-yard head start as they began a four-and-out drive that ended with an APSU fourth-and-two punt. UTM and APSU would go back and forth for another series of possession each.

The Skyhawks would surprise the crowd late in the first with a fourth-and-two punt fake with freshman Markeseo Jackson rushing for 14 yards and the first down. There was a flag down on the play for holding as senior Lee was injured while attempting to block the punt.

As Lawrence was being loaded onto the ambulance, he gave a thumbs-up to the crowd, who in turn began applauding.

Preliminary reports told that Lawrence had sustained a “stinger to the head area,” with numbness in the leg. He was taken to Volunteer Hospital for further testing. It is worthy to note that this was Lawrence’s first time playing center, as he has been accustomed to playing other offensive positions. UTM and APSU continued their back-and-forth dance late into the second quarter, with both sides racking up unwarranted penalties until the Skyhawks began their drive with 3:05 left in the half.

Walhberg completed a 16-yard pass to Damien Harris. APSU committed a personal foul that marched UTM up the field another 15 yards. Walhberg connected with Harris for another four yards.

Walhberg would find Taylor downfield two more times for 22 yards, ending the drive in the end zone as Wahlberg found Glover for a 21-yard completion. Harris nailed the point-after, bringing the score to 14-0, UTM leading at the end of the first half.

The second half started with UTM kicking off to the Governors.

APSU would go out on a fourth and 25, which led to a UTM fumble forced by the Governors’ sophomore Robbie Brooks, which was subsequently recovered by APSU’s sophomore Todd Avery.

APSU and UTM would battle through penalties through the third quarter, leading to five quick turnovers. As the Skyhawks began their fourth possession of the third with 2:58 left on the clock. On fourth and seven, Harris’ punt was blocked, being recovered by APSU senior Demaro Isom.

The Governors would start their drive with 1:25 left in the third.

After a rushing loss of two yards, APSU quarterback Jesse Kellogg would complete a eight yard pass to sophomore Pat Curran.

APSU’s Quea Williams then rushed for the remaining seven yards to put the first Governor points of the night on the board. APSU kicker Justin Deardorff would add on the extra point, bringing the score to UTM 14, APSU 7.

The fourth quarter began with the Skyhawks receiving the ball on the 32-yard line. Walhberg would rush for a gain of four and completed a pass to freshman Cole Duncan for the first down.

UTM’s Andrew Staten would rush for a total of 14 yards in two downs, as Walhberg sandwiched two pass completions between a Glover run.

UTM’s Andrew Staten would rush the remaining 23 yards to the goal line in four plays. As Harris kicked the point-after, the score stood UTM 21, APSU 7.

UTM and APSU traded a series apiece to no avail, until APSU began a points-producing drive as the clock read 3:38. APSU quarterback Kellogg started an onslaught of passes for a whopping 63 yards, ending with a completion to APSU junior Yuri Howard to put six on the board. As APSU kicker Justin Deardorff sailed his kick through the uprights, the score was UTM 21, APSU 14.

Things got worse for the Skyhawks as APSU recovered an on-side kick at the 45-yard line. Kellogg completed passes for 55 yards to find Pat Curran in the end zone with 36 seconds left in the game.

With the score at 21-20, Deardorff missed the extra point attempt, leading to the Skyhawks kneeling to let the clock run out, and the first victory of the season under new head coach Matt Griffin.

Coach Griffin told the Pacer that the one thing that he attributed the win to was luck. “The Irish was with us. We definitely didn't deserve to win,” said Griffin. He went on to comment on what he felt held the Skyhawks back. “There were so many things penalty-wise that caused us to sputter. We should have scored 50 points. We stopped ourselves with silly penalties. We are very lucky.”

Skyhawk quarterback Brady Wahlberg threw 23 of 28 attempts and zero interceptions for a total of 176 yards and had 76 yards rushing on the night. The Pacer asked Walhberg how he felt the team performed.

“Overall, I thought we were well-balanced. We did an excellent job throwing and running the ball. We were able to get first downs and get into the end zone,” said Wahlberg. He added that in the future the Skyhawks will have to “stay away from mental penalties, or that's gonna hurt us.”

Sophomore outside linebacker Russell Gambrell summed the game up: “Yeah, it’s a W, but really I’m not satisfied with this win - I’m trying to show people what this team can really do.” The UTM Skyhawks (1-0) will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Arkansas State University.