For just the second time in 10 years, the Skyhawk football team is heading into week four with a winning record. And for the first time in 10 years, they did it by defeating Tennessee State.

The Skyhawks took down OVC rival TSU, 42-20, Saturday afternoon in Martin.

“Our kids earned this win,” said third-year head coach Matt Griffin. “This was a great way to bounce back from last week’s game at Arkansas State.”

The Tigers struck first, just 1:47 into the game, to take a 6-0 lead. Two drives later, UTM put its first points on the board on a 62-yard drive capped off with a seven-yard TD pass from Brady Wahlberg to wide receiver Jamal Akbar to go ahead 7-6.

The Skyhawks scored three more unaswered touchdowns in the half, one each coming from Wahlberg, wide receiver Taurean Stephens and tailback Donald Chapman, and went into the break leading 28-6.

Reminiscent of the first half, the Tigers scored early in the second, closing the gap to 28-13.

But the Skyhawks turned right around and scored again on a seven-yard run by Wahlberg to bring the UTM lead back, 35-13. Trying to end the third TSU scored it’s last points with just 43 seconds left to put the score at 35-20.

The Skyhawks padded their lead with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Wahlberg to Stephens to put the final score at 42-20.

One of the bigger plays by the Skyhawks happened after all points were scored when defensive end Zach Kleinfelder recovered a TSU fumble at the UTM one-yard line, most likely preventing a Tiger TD. “Kleinfelder is ... one of the greatest character kids we have on this team,” Griffin said.

“[He] will never stop fighting until the fighting is done. He dug himself in that pile and took the ball away.”

Offensively, Wahlberg put up OVC leading numbers for the second time in three weeks, throwing for 214 yards and rushing for 62 more with two touchdowns.

Wahlberg’s 19-for-25 completion performance puts his efficiency rating at 153.78, best in the league. He is also currently eighth among leading rushers in the conference.

“Brady was on his read,” Griffin said. “This was the kind of game where the pass was going to open the run and not vice versa. He’s just distributing the ball like he is supposed to.”

For his efforts, Wahlberg was once again named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in 2005.

Wahlberg also broke the school’s all-time passing record with a total of 4.988 yards.

Not to be out done, Chapman rushed for 221 of the team’s total 291 rushing yards on 36 carries.

Chapman currently leads the OVC in rushing yards, 149 yards ahead of second place.

Stephens is also leading his respective category in the OVC, after connecting with Wahlberg for 11 receptions on Saturday. That puts his season total at 20, and puts him second in career receptions for Skyhawks with 151.

Stephens also climbed to sixth in total career receiving yards with his 103 against TSU putting his total at 1592.

“Stephens is a touch kid for anyone to cover. He’s a smart receiver,” Griffin said.

The Skyhawk offensive line gave up only one sack on Saturday and allowed UTM to rack up an impressive 505 offensive yards. Defensively, linebacker David Gilmore lead the team in tackles with 10. Gilmore is currently ranked 14th in the conference among all positions in tackles. Behind him Saturday was rover Jack Greenwood with seven tackles and the Skyhawks’ lone sack on the day. Greenwood is also eighth in the OVC in sacks, behind two other Skyhawks, defensive ends Andre Plummer and Craig Worthen who are tied at second. With Saturday’s game being the only OVC contest played this season, UTM sits atop the conference with a 2-1 record. The Skyhawks will travel to North Carolina this weekend to take on their last non-conference opponent, Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs. GWU is currently leading the nation in D-IAA schools offensively with an amazing average of 582.5 yards per game. “It’s a long trip for us,” Griffin said. “When you play on the road you have to play well to win. It’s tough to play on the road and it’s even tough to win on the road.” The Skyhawks will then return home on Oct. 8 for homecoming against Tenn. Tech. UTM played Tech two years ago for homecoming and pulled out one of the most memorable wins in Skyhawk football history. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.