Saturday, October 10
Nashville, Tenn.
2:30 p.m.
UT Martin
2-4 , 1-0
42
at
28
Tennessee State
1-5 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT Martin | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Tennessee St. | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Skyhawks Rally Past TSU To Capture Program’s 12th Sgt. York Trophy
10/10/2026 7:36:00 PM | Football
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Four forced turnovers, two defensive touchdowns and a second-half surge powered the University of Tennessee at Martin football team to a 42-28 victory over Tennessee State on Saturday at Nissan Stadium, securing the program's 12th Sgt. York Trophy and head coach Jason Simpson's 100th career Ohio Valley Conference victory.
The Skyhawks (2-4, 1-0 OVC) overcame a 21-7 second-quarter deficit and scored 28 unanswered points to take control of their conference opener. UT Martin outscored the Tigers 28-7 after halftime, using a 97-yard fumble return by Farand Washington and a 23-yard interception return by Joel Castleberry to help deliver the milestone victory behind a pair of defensive touchdowns.
"I'm just proud of the kids," Simpson said. "The weight of not playing very well with how the schedule unloaded on them, I think this win provided relief for that. It wasn't as clean of football as you want, but if you were to ask me if we could play clean and lose or celebrate in that locker room with those guys, I will take the celebration because I think it will unlock some things for us moving forward."
Gallery: (10-10-2026) Football at Tennessee State
The win added another championship to UT Martin's trophy-leading total in the Sgt. York Trophy series while giving Simpson his 100th career OVC victory in his 21st season leading the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks now improve to 39-15 in Sgt. York Trophy games while Simpson joins legendary coaches Roy Kidd (207) and Boots Donnelly (102) as the only coaches to eclipse 100 conference victories in OVC history.
"Winning the Sgt. York Trophy is one of the ingredients of being Martin Made," Simpson continued. "There used to be four teams and it was a bigger deal, but a lot of these guys may only be here for one year and now they can say the won something and left a legacy at UT Martin. Those are things that we needed to speed up the chemistry of this team."
UT Martin's defense intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble, turning Tennessee State's four turnovers into 21 points. LaMarion Pierce, Jamal Mayers and Castleberry each recorded an interception, while Broderick Tommie Jr. forced the fumble that Washington returned nearly the length of the field (97 yards) for the program's longest fumble return for a touchdown.
The Skyhawks also limited Tennessee State to just 15 rushing yards on 21 attempts and stopped the Tigers on all three of their fourth-down tries. Brylan Jordan and Chris Wilson shared the team lead with six tackles apiece, while Duston Chavis recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, including a half-sack.
Offensively, UT Martin generated 193 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Chris Franklin carried the ball 22 times for 82 yards and two scores, while Jaydon Peete added 79 yards on 12 attempts. Makhia Sherrard provided a 34-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Tate Surber also reached the end zone on the ground.
Surber completed 15 of 21 passes for 114 yards without an interception. Kaleb Washington paced the receiving corps with six catches for 53 yards, while Peete added two receptions for 24 yards to finish with 103 yards from scrimmage.
Tennessee State (1-5, 0-2 conference) built an early advantage behind quarterback Daylin Lee, who connected Cam Bullock for three of his four touchdown strikes on the afternoon. Lee finished the day completing 20-of-39 pass attempts for four touchdowns but threw three interceptions in his Nissan Stadium debut. Bullock finished a monster day with seven catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns while Aaron Duncan II added the team's first of four touchdowns on the day.
UT Martin will look to build off the team's momentum next week when returning home to Hardy Graham Stadium for the first time in 42 days when playing host to Gardner-Webb for Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The Skyhawks (2-4, 1-0 OVC) overcame a 21-7 second-quarter deficit and scored 28 unanswered points to take control of their conference opener. UT Martin outscored the Tigers 28-7 after halftime, using a 97-yard fumble return by Farand Washington and a 23-yard interception return by Joel Castleberry to help deliver the milestone victory behind a pair of defensive touchdowns.
"I'm just proud of the kids," Simpson said. "The weight of not playing very well with how the schedule unloaded on them, I think this win provided relief for that. It wasn't as clean of football as you want, but if you were to ask me if we could play clean and lose or celebrate in that locker room with those guys, I will take the celebration because I think it will unlock some things for us moving forward."
The win added another championship to UT Martin's trophy-leading total in the Sgt. York Trophy series while giving Simpson his 100th career OVC victory in his 21st season leading the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks now improve to 39-15 in Sgt. York Trophy games while Simpson joins legendary coaches Roy Kidd (207) and Boots Donnelly (102) as the only coaches to eclipse 100 conference victories in OVC history.
"Winning the Sgt. York Trophy is one of the ingredients of being Martin Made," Simpson continued. "There used to be four teams and it was a bigger deal, but a lot of these guys may only be here for one year and now they can say the won something and left a legacy at UT Martin. Those are things that we needed to speed up the chemistry of this team."
UT Martin's defense intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble, turning Tennessee State's four turnovers into 21 points. LaMarion Pierce, Jamal Mayers and Castleberry each recorded an interception, while Broderick Tommie Jr. forced the fumble that Washington returned nearly the length of the field (97 yards) for the program's longest fumble return for a touchdown.
The Skyhawks also limited Tennessee State to just 15 rushing yards on 21 attempts and stopped the Tigers on all three of their fourth-down tries. Brylan Jordan and Chris Wilson shared the team lead with six tackles apiece, while Duston Chavis recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, including a half-sack.
Offensively, UT Martin generated 193 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Chris Franklin carried the ball 22 times for 82 yards and two scores, while Jaydon Peete added 79 yards on 12 attempts. Makhia Sherrard provided a 34-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Tate Surber also reached the end zone on the ground.
Surber completed 15 of 21 passes for 114 yards without an interception. Kaleb Washington paced the receiving corps with six catches for 53 yards, while Peete added two receptions for 24 yards to finish with 103 yards from scrimmage.
Tennessee State (1-5, 0-2 conference) built an early advantage behind quarterback Daylin Lee, who connected Cam Bullock for three of his four touchdown strikes on the afternoon. Lee finished the day completing 20-of-39 pass attempts for four touchdowns but threw three interceptions in his Nissan Stadium debut. Bullock finished a monster day with seven catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns while Aaron Duncan II added the team's first of four touchdowns on the day.
UT Martin will look to build off the team's momentum next week when returning home to Hardy Graham Stadium for the first time in 42 days when playing host to Gardner-Webb for Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Players Mentioned
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QB
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/ FootballTeam Stats
UTM
TSU
Total Yards
307
391
Pass Yards
114
376
Rushing Yards
193
15
Penalty Yards
105
53
1st Downs
19
18
3rd Downs
3
4
4th Downs
3
0
TOP
34:22
25:38
1st Quarter
UTM 0, TSU 7
TSU - Duncan II,Aaron 21 yd pass from Lee,Daylin (Hurless,Preston kick) 4 plays, 37 yards, TOP 02:09
UTM 0, TSU 14
TSU - Bulluck,Cam 99 yd pass from Lee,Daylin (Hurless,Preston kick) 1 plays, 99 yards, TOP 00:15
2nd Quarter
UTM 7, TSU 14
UTM - Surber,Tate 8 yd run (Sims,Brandon kick), 7 plays, 68 yards, TOP 03:37
UTM 7, TSU 21
TSU - Bulluck,Cam 20 yd pass from Lee,Daylin (Hurless,Preston kick) 7 plays, 86 yards, TOP 03:43
UTM 14, TSU 21
UTM - Franklin,Chris 8 yd run (Sims,Brandon kick), 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 04:07
3rd Quarter
UTM 21, TSU 21
UTM - Washington,Farand 97 yd fumble recovery (Sims,Brandon kick)
UTM 28, TSU 21
UTM - Sherrard,Makhia 34 yd run (Sims,Brandon kick), 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:36
4th Quarter
UTM 35, TSU 21
UTM - Franklin,Chris 4 yd run (Sims,Brandon kick), 1 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:05
UTM 35, TSU 28
TSU - Bulluck,Cam 29 yd pass from Lee,Daylin (Hurless,Preston kick) 7 plays, 72 yards, TOP 02:56
UTM 42, TSU 28
UTM - Castleberry,Joel 23 yd interception (Sims,Brandon kick)
Game Leaders
CMP
15
TD
0
YDS
114
INT
0
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