Chris Parson's 5 total touchdowns power Austin Peay in 44-30 win over West Georgia

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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chris Parson threw three touchdown passes and ran for two others, leading Austin Peay to a 44-30 win over upstart West Georgia on Saturday in a key early season matchup in the United Athletic Conference.

Parson completed 16 of 27 passes for 346 yards. He had two TD passes to Jaden Robinson in the first half, the second of which tied the score at 16-all.

The score remained tied at 16 at halftime, then Parson hit Shemar Kirk for a 41-yard score and a 23-16 lead in the third quarter.

West Georgia, in its second year in Division I, entered the game ranked No. 16 in the FCS coaches' poll. The Wolves led 30-23 after TJ Lester's 26-yard touchdown run followed a Parson interception in the middle of the third quarter. But Parson finished off two drives with short touchdown runs for a 37-30 lead in the fourth.

The No. 21 Govs (4-2, 2-1) went up by two scores when Will Middleton intercepted a Colton Fitzgerald pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring.

West Georgia (5-1, 2-1) reached the Govs 8-yard line late in the game but failed on a fourth-down pass.

In a matchup that featured UWG's top 10 FCS defense and Austin Peay's No. 7 run defense, there were 74 points and more than 800 yards of total offense.

The loss dropped West Georgia out of first place and into a third-place tie with Austin Peay.

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