| 
                 | 
            
                 | 
        
| SEMOST | 
| TNST | 
Draylen Ellis accounts for 3 TDs, Tennessee State beats SE Missouri State 28-21
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Draylen Ellis threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score to help Tennessee State Tigers beat Southeast Missouri State 28-21 Saturday for a share of the Big South-OVC title.
The Redhawks (9-3, 6-2), No. 11 in the FCS coaches poll, and No. 25 Tennessee State (9-3, 6-2) finish the regular season tied atop the conference standings with Tennessee Tech and UT Martin. Southeast Missouri State won the tiebreaker to earn an automatic spot into the FCS playoffs - for the fifth time in program history and fourth time under coach Tom Matukewicz - while the Tigers must hope for an at-large berth.
Tennessee State has its most single-season wins since 2013 and clinched a share of its first conference title since the Tigers won the OVC crown in 1999.
Ellis was 20-of-31 passing for 232 yards with no interceptions.
CJ Evans returned the opening kickoff 47 yards to near midfield before Ellis, on third-and-5, threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jalal Dean to open the scoring. Meonta Kimbrough's strip-sack of Paxton DeLaurent was scooped up by Keandre Booker and returned 46 yards for a TD with 7:08 left in the first quarter and Evans caught a screen pass from Ellis and raced 57 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 with 2:35 until the second quarter.
DeLaurent threw TD passes of 31 yards to Dorian Anderson and 13 yards to Payton Brown to make it a 7-point game at halftime but Ellis ripped off a 42-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give SEMO a 28-14 lead.
Brown added a 1-yard TD run with about 6 minutes left to cap the scoring.
---
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 0 | 0 | 
| Rushing | 0 | 0 | 
| Passing | 0 | 0 | 
| Penalty | 0 | 0 | 
| 3rd Down Conv | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| 4th Down Conv | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Total Net Yards | 0 | 0 | 
| Total Plays | 0 | 0 | 
| Avg Gain | 0 | 0 | 
| Net Yards Rushing | 0 | 0 | 
| Rush Attempts | 0 | 0 | 
| Avg Rush Yards | 0 | 0 | 
| Yards Passing | 0 | 0 | 
| Comp. - Att. | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Yards Per Pass | 0 | 0 | 
| Penalties - Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Touchdowns | ||
| Rushing TDs | 0 | 0 | 
| Passing TDs | 0 | 0 | 
| Other | ||
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 | 
| Fumbles - Lost | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Int. Thrown | 0 | 0 | 
| Punts - Avg | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Return Yards | ||
| Punts - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Kickoffs - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Int. - Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 | 
| Safeties | 0 | 0 | 
                                            
        
                        
        
        
  | 
                                    
| Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | 
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG | 
| 
                                         
                                                P. Brown 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    P. Brown | 63 | 310 | 5 | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                B. Epton Jr. 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    B. Epton Jr. | 61 | 223 | 1 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                C. Ruble 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    C. Ruble | 46 | 219 | 2 | 65 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                S. Lewis 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    S. Lewis | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                K. Downing 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    K. Downing | 3 | 9 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                C. Pedro 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    C. Pedro | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 
| Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG | 
| 
                                         
                                                C. Pedro 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    C. Pedro | 0 | 84 | 897 | 4 | 46 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                D. Cheers 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    D. Cheers | 0 | 24 | 254 | 1 | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                K. Downing 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    K. Downing | 0 | 18 | 173 | 2 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                P. Brown 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    P. Brown | 0 | 15 | 152 | 1 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                C. Ruble 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    C. Ruble | 0 | 11 | 111 | 0 | 37 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                B. Epton Jr. 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    B. Epton Jr. | 0 | 20 | 94 | 1 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                A. Civey 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    A. Civey | 0 | 9 | 88 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                J. Clinkenbeard 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    J. Clinkenbeard | 0 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 
                                         
                                                A. Westervelt 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    A. Westervelt | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 
| Defense | T-A | SACK | INT | 
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS | 
| Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG | 
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD | 
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD | 
| Passing | CP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | 
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG | 
| Receiving | TAR | REC | YDS | TD | LG | 
| 
                                         
                                                J. Hoath Jr. 
                                                 
                                             
                                                                                        
 
  | 
                                    J. Hoath Jr. | 0 | 8 | 73 | 0 | 16 | 
| Defense | T-A | SACK | INT | 
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS | 
| Punting | NO | AVG | IN20 | LG | 
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD | 
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | LG | TD |