After falling 33-6 to Tusculum Thursday night, the Skyhawks are looking to redeem themselves as they play host to Kentucky Wesleyan, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.

KWU fell to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in its opening game, 78-0. The Panthers will play Southwest Baptist tomorrow night in Bolivar, Mo.

The Skyhawks beat Southwest Baptist 19-18 in the first game of the season.

UTM and Kentucky Wesleyan last met on Sept. 13, 2001 with the Skyhawks pulling out a 54-14 victory over the Panthers. Tyrell Barner leads KWU in rushing. Barner rushed for 33 yards, on 12 attempts, in the SIU game.

The Panthers utilized three quarterbacks in the opening game. Haven Mosley saw the most action, completing eight of 18 passes for 77 yards. Mosley also gave up two interceptions in the game. Keith Nelson also saw some time behind the line. He completed four of 12 passes for 47 yards. Nelson also threw two interceptions.

Chad Skelton rounds out the Panther quarterbacks. He was 4 for 11 in the opening game for 23 yards.

The KWU quarterbacks had four main targets in the game. Nathan East caught five passes for 38 yards while Erik East caught four for 29 yards. Jason Simpson and Ryan Denton each caught three passes with 29 and 21 yards respectively. John Warren caught one pass for 30 yards in the game.

Shane Williams currently leads UTM in passing and is tied for first in rushing. Williams is averaging 45.5 yards per game rushing and 41.5 yards per game passing for the Skyhawks.

Sam Barrien is also averaging 45.5 yards per game rushing. Marcus Ross and Carlos Lattimore fill out the top rushers with 40 and 39 yards per game, respectively.

Russell Gambrell is the top receiver for the Skyhawks, picking up 42 yards per game.

Brent Harris leads the team in scoring. Harris has 13 points on the season from four field goals and one PAT. Harris came close to breaking the UTM record for longest field goal Thursday night as he nailed a 51-yard attempt.

On the defensive side of the ball, Perez Boyd is making the biggest impact for the Skyhawks. Boyd currently has 16 tackles, 12 of which are solo. Kendrick Triggs and Kidane McBride each have 14 tackles for the season.

Levi Duncan has the only sack so far for UTM while Boyd and Ralph Hines each have an interception.

UTM has dominated its opponents in rushing with a 429 to 224 difference in rushing yardage for the season. But the scales tip the other way in the passing game. UTM’s opponents have tallied 396 yards in the air to the Skyhawks’ 117.