Western Kentucky 38, Austin Peay 27
Associated Press
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Austin Reed threw four touchdown passes in his Western Kentucky debut and the Hilltoppers defeated Austin Peay 38-27.
Reed's first three TD throws went to Malachi Corley, a sophomore who caught 73 passes last season. Western Kentucky recovered a fumble near midfield after Corley's third touchdown catch and Reed quickly found All-American candidate Daewood Davis deep over the middle for a 48-yard score and a 35-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
After forcing a punt on the Governors' next possession, Western Kentucky was driving again before Reed threw his only interception of the game, a pickoff by Shamari Simmons. Austin Peay then closed the gap to 35-27 when Mike Diliello hit Drae McCray for 24 yards and a touchdown.
The Hilltoppers regained a two-score advantage, driving 70 yards in 11 plays for a 23-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson. Austin Peay fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, the Hilltoppers recovered and ran the final three minutes off the clock.
Upton Stout's 34-yard pick-6 in the second quarter put Western Kentucky ahead 21-10 and the Hilltoppers went on to lead 21-17 at halftime.
Reed, who transferred from West Florida, the team he led to the 2019 Division II national championship, completed 19 of 33 passes for 276 yards. Davis caught six passes for 124 yards and Corley had five receptions for 61 yards.
Diliello finished 15 of 21 for 156 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both touchdowns went to McCray, who had six catches for 90 yards.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
APSU | WestKy |
| WestKy |
TD |
10:39 |
Malachi Corley 16 yard TD pass from Austin Reed (Brayden Narveson Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| APSU |
FG |
5:58 |
Maddux Trujillo 41 yard field goal |
3 |
7 |
| APSU |
TD |
1:35 |
Drae McCray 44 yard TD pass from Mike DiLiello (Maddux Trujillo Extra Point) |
10 |
7 |
| Second Quarter |
APSU | WestKy |
| WestKy |
TD |
13:16 |
Malachi Corley 11 yard TD pass from Austin Reed (Brayden Narveson Extra Point) |
10 |
14 |
| WestKy |
TD |
4:27 |
Upton Stout 34 yard interception return for TD (Brayden Narveson Extra Point) |
10 |
21 |
| APSU |
TD |
0:18 |
Mike DiLiello 1 yard TD run (Maddux Trujillo Extra Point) |
17 |
21 |
| Third Quarter |
APSU | WestKy |
| APSU |
FG |
8:12 |
Maddux Trujillo 49 yard field goal |
20 |
21 |
| Fourth Quarter |
APSU | WestKy |
| WestKy |
TD |
12:56 |
Malachi Corley 25 yard TD pass from Austin Reed (Brayden Narveson Extra Point) |
20 |
28 |
| WestKy |
TD |
11:34 |
Daewood Davis 48 yard TD pass from Austin Reed (Brayden Narveson Extra Point) |
20 |
35 |
| APSU |
TD |
8:09 |
Drae McCray 24 yard TD pass from Mike DiLiello (Maddux Trujillo Extra Point) |
27 |
35 |
| WestKy |
FG |
3:18 |
Brayden Narveson 23 yard field goal |
27 |
38 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Austin Peay |
Western Kentucky |
| First downs |
18 |
19 |
| Rushing |
12 |
6 |
| Passing |
4 |
11 |
| Penalty |
2 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
5-18, 28% |
5-14, 36% |
| 4th down efficiency |
3-3, 100% |
1-1, 100% |
| Rushes-Yards |
50-172 |
32-108 |
| Passing Yards |
156 |
276 |
| Return Yards |
48 |
65 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
15-21-2 |
19-33-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
5-25 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
5 |
6 |
| Fumbles Lost |
3-2 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
7-63 |
8-91 |
| Austin Peay Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| M. DiLiello |
14 |
20 |
117 |
2 |
2 |
| T. Goodman |
1 |
1 |
39 |
0 |
0 |
| Western Kentucky Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| A. Reed |
19 |
33 |
276 |
4 |
1 |
| Austin Peay Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| J. Samuel |
21 |
77 |
3.7 |
0 |
| C. Evans Jr. |
10 |
47 |
4.7 |
0 |
| M. DiLiello |
17 |
31 |
1.8 |
1 |
| D. McCray |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
0 |
| J. Burns |
1 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
| Western Kentucky Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Ervin-Poindexter |
15 |
49 |
3.3 |
0 |
| J. Moses |
8 |
22 |
2.8 |
0 |
| K. Robichaux |
5 |
18 |
3.6 |
0 |
| D. Davis |
1 |
15 |
15.0 |
0 |
| A. Reed |
2 |
6 |
3.0 |
0 |
| Austin Peay Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. McCray |
6 |
90 |
15.0 |
2 |
| J. Burns |
3 |
51 |
17.0 |
0 |
| T. Goodman |
3 |
14 |
4.7 |
0 |
| J. Samuel |
2 |
7 |
3.5 |
0 |
| K. Thomas |
1 |
-6 |
-6.0 |
0 |
| Western Kentucky Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Davis |
6 |
124 |
20.7 |
1 |
| M. Corley |
5 |
61 |
12.2 |
3 |
| J. Hall |
1 |
30 |
30.0 |
0 |
| M. Mathison |
4 |
21 |
5.3 |
0 |
| D. Ervin-Poindexter |
1 |
19 |
19.0 |
0 |
| C. Burt, Jr. |
1 |
18 |
18.0 |
0 |
| K. Robichaux |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| Austin Peay Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| K. Thomas |
1 |
0 |
| Western Kentucky Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| U. Stout |
1 |
34 |
| A. Brathwaite Jr. |
1 |
0 |
| Austin Peay Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. Rigney |
5 |
217 |
43.4 |
| Western Kentucky Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| T. Ellard |
6 |
282 |
47.0 |
| Austin Peay Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| K. Thomas |
2 |
32 |
16.0 |
| Western Kentucky Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| U. Stout |
2 |
31 |
15.5 |
| C. Burt, Jr. |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Austin Peay Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. McCray |
1 |
16 |
16.0 |
| Western Kentucky Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Austin Peay Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Western Kentucky Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
