Oklahoma State’s Hejny shines before injury in 27-7 win over UT Martin

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Hauss Hejny threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in one quarter before getting injured, and Oklahoma State defeated UT Martin 27-7 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

Hejny passed for 96 yards and a touchdown and ran for 27 yards and another score before leaving the game late in the opening period with a lower body injury.

“I thought he played good,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “Moved around, was effective, made plays with his legs, which is what he does. So I thought he was pretty effective. He missed a couple throws, but he hit a couple throws. He didn’t get to play long enough to really get in a rhythm, but I thought he started out the game pretty well.”

Gundy did not give an update on Hejny’s health after the game.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I never will know on those until the next day anyway.”

Zane Flores passed for 136 yards for Oklahoma State. Terrill Davis, a transfer from Division II Central Oklahoma, had two catches for 75 yards for the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State linebacker Wendell Gregory had three sacks to lead a defense that held the Skyhawks to 225 total yards and shut them out after the first quarter.

UT Martin running back John Gentry ran for 51 yards and had two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown for UT Martin, a FCS program that reached the second round of the playoffs last season.

The Cowboys led 14-0 when UT Martin receiver Bryce Bailey connected with Gentry for a 39-yard score on a double-pass play. Oklahoma State led 17-7 at halftime.

UT Martin drove deep into Oklahoma State territory early in the fourth quarter before Jacobi Oliphant Jr. intercepted a Jase Bauer pass inside the 10-yard line. Sesi Vailahi’s 9-yard touchdown run for Oklahoma State later in the quarter put the Cowboys up 27-7.

UT Martin coach Jason Simpson said he didn’t make the trip to lose, but he saw reasons for optimism.

“A lot of things to improve on, but the mentality was right,” he said.

Busy debut

Oklahoma transfer Kalib Hicks had 21 carries for 56 yards.

“I thought he ran hard,” Gundy said. “I didn’t think we paved the way for him very well.”

Gundy was unhappy with the way the Cowboys ran the ball overall. The Cowboys had 127 yards on 42 carries.

Stepping up

Oklahoma State’s Gavin Freeman had a career-high five catches for 56 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hejny.

The former Oklahoma receiver had never had more than four catches in a game before Thursday. The redshirt junior had six catches all last season at Oklahoma State.

Cowboy defenders

Oklahoma State defensive end Jaleel Johnson had 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. Linebacker Bryan McCoy led the way with 14 tackles and linebacker Brandon Rawls had 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The takeaway

UT Martin: The Skyhawks, expected to be a strong FCS team, allowed just 359 total yards.

“As I evaluate our team, I thought there were spots where we really played hard,” Simpson said. “I thought there were spots on defense where – really excited me for the rest of the season.”

Oklahoma St: The Cowboys moved the ball with Hejny at quarterback but struggled with Flores, especially in the second and third quarters.

Up next

UT Martin visits UTEP on Sept. 6.

Oklahoma State visits No. 7 Oregon on Sept. 6.

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