MARTIN, Tenn. – It was a rough start to the 2017 Clarion University football season, as the Golden Eagles stepped up in competition and lost 36-0 on the road at Tennessee Martin, an FCS school.
(Photo: Myles Edmonds. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
The Skyhawks outgained Clarion 457 yards to 146 and scored 23 second-half points after taking a 13-0 halftime lead, with all 13 first-half points coming in the first quarter.
Troy Cook threw a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes before the ground game took over in the second half with Ty Brown, Ladar Galloway and Deashun Fields each scoring rushing touchdowns with a 27-yard Rya Courtwright field goal thrown in for good measure.
Cook was 13 of 28 for 192 yards and also tossed an interception (Myles Edmonds), while Galloway went over 150 yards on the ground rushing 17 times for 157. The Skyhawks had 265 yards rushing.
While Clarion’s defense played well, the Golden Eagles offense had a rough go of it.
FBS transfer quarterback Asiantii Woulard (UCLA and South Florida) completed as many passes to Tennessee Martin (two) as to his own teammates going 2 of 22 for 53 yards. Both completions went to Seneca Williams.
Clarion couldn’t run the ball either mustering 93 yards on 37 carries led by Kyle Evans’ 50 yards on 24 totes.
The offensive woes were magnified on third downs where Clarion was 0-for-13 in the game – the Golden Eagles also went 0-for-3 on fourth down.
The Skyhawks broke open a scoreless game with a pair of Cook touchdown passes 44 seconds apart in the first half.
The first was a 3-yard hookup with Londell Lee that gave UT Martin a 6-0 lead with 9:14 left in the opening quarter.
After three straight incomplete passes and a 20-yard punt return by Lodell, the Skyhawks were back in business at the Clarion 32-yard line, and it took just one play to score when Cook hit Jaylon Moore from 37 yards out following a five-yard penalty to make it 13-0.
The score remained the same at the half, but the Skyhawks broke the game open in the second half.
A 1-yard scoring run by Brown made it 20-0 before the field goal pushed the advantage to 23-0 at the end of three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Galloway galloped in from 29 yards out and Fields scored on a 15-yard run with 1:51 left to set the final score.
Clarion is back in action at 1 p.m. Sept. 9 when it hosts Bloomsburg in the home opener. UT Martin hits the road Sept. 9 at Ole Miss.