Johnny Weber throws 2 TD passes, Southeast Missouri State beats Tennessee State 28-12

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Redshirt freshman Johnny Weber made his first career start for Southeast Missouri State and threw two touchdown passes, Brandon Epton Jr. ran for two TDs and the Redhawks beat Tennessee State 28-12 on Saturday night.

Weber, who finished the UT Martin game last Saturday after starting quarterback Jax Leatherwood and backup Patrick Heitert sustained knee injuries, was 24-of-39 passing for 283 yards with two interceptions. Cole Ruble finished with 93 yards rushing on 12 carries for Southeast Missouri State (2-4, 1-1 OVC-Big South).

Weber threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Cheers to open the scoring with 5:57 left in the first quarter and Epton added TD runs of 36 and 2 yards, the latter of which capped a 10-play, 99-yard drive and made it 21-0 midway through the second.

Freddy Perez made 36-yard field goals just before halftime and about three minutes into the third quarter before Zack Simmons-Brown ran for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 21-12 with 13:22 to play.

The Redhawks responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that capped the scoring with Weber hit Kalvin Gilbert for a 10-yard TD with 10:23 left.

Byron McNair was 15-of-32 passing for 175 yards for Tennessee State (1-5, 0-3) before he left the game with about five minutes to play due to an injury.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football