Skyhawks Edge Out Charleston Southern For Fifth Consecutive Victory

Saturday, November 15

Martin, Tenn.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

6-5 , 6-1

Charleston Southern

4-7 , 3-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Charleston Southern

UT Martin

Skyhawks Edge Out Charleston Southern For Fifth Consecutive Victory

11/15/2025 6:41:00 PM | Football

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MARTIN, Tenn. – A go-ahead touchdown with just under seven minutes remaining and a late defensive stand lifted the University of Tennessee at Martin to its fifth straight win as the Skyhawks topped Charleston Southern by a 17-14 margin on Senior Day.

After a scoreless first half, both teams swapped touchdowns in a 44-second span in the third quarter. UT Martin (6-5, 6-1 OVC-Big South) split the uprights to reclaim the lead with 10:24 remaining before the Buccaneers took their first lead of the day 80 seconds later with a touchdown. Chris Franklin then gave the Skyhawks the lead for good with a nifty 21-yard rushing score – reversing course in traffic for broad daylight on the left side – with 6:53 to go.

UT Martin produced its second-most passing yards (252) of the season today as part of 402 yards of total offense. Jase Bauer completed 69.2 percent (17-for-26) of his pass attempts for 252 yards through the air and added 54 yards on six carries – including a clutch 18-yard scamper on 3^rd-and-12 with two minutes remaining to ice the victory.

Phaizon Wilson set a career-high with 120 receiving yards and equaled his previous high with seven catches while Scottie Alexander (three receptions, 74 yards) broke free for the first score of the game with a 52-yard catch.

UT Martin's defense was led by Jacob Stevenson's and Tah Mac Bright Banda's eight tackles and Keyshawn Johnson's two sacks – including a massive six-yard loss on 4^th-and-5 for a turnover on downs on Charleston Southern's final possession of the contest. LaMarion Pierce snagged his second interception of the season while Toby Camp (sack) and CJ Cobbins (pass breakup) also made big plays to stall the Buccaneers' final drive.

Cade Hechter made a 34-yard field goal while Jaren Van Winkle averaged 38.6 yards over five punts for the Skyhawk special teams unit.

Charleston Southern saw its three-game winning streak snapped despite a big day from wide receiver Rashawn Cunningham (seven receptions, 216 yards, one touchdown). Zolten Osborne passed for 276 yards and two scores while Ke'Marion Baldwin rushed for a game-high 90 yards on 12 totes. Steve Zayachkowsky wrapped up 10 tackles to pace the Buccaneer defense.

"I'm proud of our kids and coaches for figuring out a way, to keep fighting and stay together," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "I appreciate our fans that came out – they helped us get some stops late and that was fun. We knew coming into this game that Charleston Southern is a good team. When the defense holds a team to 14 points, you need to win the game and this team has a lot of different ways to win. For those seniors to walk off our field with one more win, that means something to me to be a part of that. I can't say enough about what kind of people and teammates that those seniors have been."

Today's win sets up an in-state showdown next week for the OVC-Big South championship as the Skyhawks take on No. 5 Tennessee Tech in Cookeville for the league's automatic bid into the FCS playoffs. Kickoff from Cookeville, Tenn. on Saturday, Nov. 22 is set for noon.