Although it certainly would not win any beauty contest for its offensive execution, the Skyhawks’ 10-6 victory over Samford added another favorable result to their 2006 schedule.

The win, which extended the team’s current streak to six games, guaranteed a second consecutive winning season for the Skyhawks. This is the first time since 1976-77 that the team has accomplished such a feat.

It also marked the first victory for the Skyhawks against the Bulldogs since 1988, when few current Skyhawk players had a good idea of what football was.

Once again, the defense provided the spark for the Skyhawks by keeping the Bulldog offense from reaching the end zone, an accomplishment that drew great praise from head coach Jason Simpson.

“The most obvious thing about today was we kept them out of the end zone,” said the Skyhawks’ first-year head coach. “I was very proud we didn’t give up a touchdown today. I thought we played well. We gave up some runs here and there.”

The Skyhawk defense kept the Bulldog offense from scoring on its first three possessions of the game.

Led by Marcus Rice, who rushed the ball 12 times for 67 yards, the Bulldogs managed to gain 97 rushing yards on 33 carries against the Skyhawk defense. The Bulldogs outgunned the Skyhawks through the air as quarterbacks Jefferson Adcock and Alex Mortensen combined to complete 12-of-33 passes for a total of 141 yards.

Whatever advantage the Skyhawks gave the Bulldogs through the air, they more than accounted for on the ground, outgaining their opponent by the whopping margin of 208 yards to 97 yards on only six more carries. The Skyhawks ran the ball 39 times as opposed to the Bulldogs’ 33.

Skyhawk freshman quarterback Dexter Anoka completed 7-of-10 passes for a total of only 63 yards but did not throw an interception. His longest completion came in the second quarter when he found Jesse Burton on a 19-yard completion that set the Skyhawks up near midfield. However, the possession would result in one of two turnovers for the Skyhawks as Anoka fumbled the ball after being hit by Samford’s Steve Tennin.

Although the Skyhawks gave up more passing yards than they posted, their defense also came away with two interceptions on the day. Dontrell Miller prevented a Samford touchdown on the final play of the first half by picking off an Adcock pass at the Skyhawk 3-yard line and returning it 74 yards to the Samford 23 before finally being tackled.

The Skyhawks got off to a positive start by posting a touchdown on their first drive of the game. The odds seemed to be against a quick score when the Skyhawks began the drive deep in their own territory at the 16-yard line, but Anoka turned things around with one play.

After two Chapman runs gained a net total of one yard, Anoka took matters into his own hands and dashed for a 66-yard carry that instantly transformed a difficult situation into a legitimate scoring opportunity. With the ball on the Samford 17, the Skyhawks kept the ball in the trusty hands of their junior tailback Chapman, who carried the ball three straight times and found the end zone with a 12-yard burst that made the score 7-0.

Senior kicker Taylor Brown had a perfect day, punctuating Chapman’s score with an extra point and connecting on a 21-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 10-0 with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter.

Despite facing a two-possession deficit, the Bulldogs refused to go down quietly in front of an enthusiastic Homecoming crowd. After stopping the Skyhawk offense on a fourth down play at their own 23, the home team marched down the field and scored on a 14-play drive that ate 6:31 off the clock. Adcock completed a 35-yard pass to Jeff Moore to set up his offense in Skyhawk territory. After a few unsuccessful rushing attempts, the Bulldogs got a break when the Skyhawks were called for a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty that placed the ball on the UTM 17. From there, the Bulldogs continued to pound away at the Skyhawk defense with the run but the visitors refused to crack, holding them to a field goal.

“For the most part I think our defense had a good scheme today,” Simpson said.

The Skyhawks entered the game ranked No. 5 in the nation in rushing defense, seventh in the nation in pass efficiency defense, sixth in total defense, 11th in scoring defense and 15th in pass defense.

The defense put the finishing touches on the win with 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when Kevin Rondo intercepted Mortensen’s pass at the Skyhawks’ 21 yard line.

Linebacker Markeseo Jackson led the Skyhawk defense with eight total tackles, including seven solo tackles. Jackson received OVC defensive honors for his performance. Also coming up big in the Skyhawks’ defensive effort were senior cornerback Jack Greenwood and freshman defensive end Nate Wilson with five solo tackles each. Sophomore linebacker Tirrdell Byrd recorded the Skyhawks’ only sack of the game when he dragged down Adcock at the Samford 7 yard line in the first quarter.

This latest victory boosted the team four spots to No. 12 in The Sports Network’s I-AA College Poll, released on Monday. The CSN Coaches Poll released on the same date also listed the Skyhawks at No. 12.

The team is ranked at or near the top of the conference in several statistical categories.

The Skyhawks are currently ranked first in the OVC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 12 points per game. Their rushing defense, which is allowing an average of 88.1 yards per game, is the best in the conference. They are allowing an average of 143.6 passing yards per game, second only to Samford in the conference. They are also second in rushing offense, averaging 215.1 yards per game.

The Skyhawks, who have now won three consecutive road games since opening the season with a 29-3 loss at Division I-A opponent Ohio, will return home for the Homecoming game against No. 14 Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

The Skyhawks will enter Saturday’s game in search of their second straight Homecoming win.

Last year’s game resulted in a 46-16 Skyhawk victory over OVC foe Tennessee Tech.

The Skyhawks have an all-time record of 28-26-0 in Homecoming games dating back to the 1952 season. EIU’s last visit to Martin for Homecoming Weekend came in 1996, when the Panthers shut out the Skyhawks 38-0.