Haddix, playing in the final game of his four-year career, finished 16-of-24 passing for 173 yards as WKU improved to 6-5.
Chris Fletcher rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Lanis Frederick added 102 yards on 11 receptions to pace the Governors, who fell to 3-8.
“The main thing we wanted was to send our seniors out with a winning season,” said WKU head coach David Elson. “I’m really proud of this class, and that we were able to do that for them.”
Haddix, who ended up with 182 yards of total offense, opened the scoring early in the first quarter as he found Curtis Hamilton for a 5-yard score after moving the Toppers 59 yards in eight plays on the initial drive of the contest. He connected with Hamilton again, this time from 30 yards out, to give WKU a 17-7 advantage with just over nine minutes to go in the second period, and he closed out the scoring when the Hilltoppers used a trick play for the only points after halftime. Tyrell Hayden took a pitch from Haddix and headed left before tossing the ball to Brandon C. Smith coming back the other way, then Smith found Haddix in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard score and a 24-14 advantage just over five minutes after the break.
It was Haddix’ first-ever touchdown catch — he had caught four balls in the previous three seasons, but did not reach the end zone — while it was the first scoring pass of Smith’s career.
Hamilton would finish with six receptions for 55 yards, as he became just the second player in school history to catch 10 touchdowns in a season. Jessie Quinn added four catches for 64 yards, while six other players collected at least one reception.
The Governors also scored on their first possession, evening the score with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening quarter on Fletcher’s 18-yard scoring run.
However, special teams play would help the Toppers take the lead for good early in the second quarter as Clay Stephens ran for 30 yards on a fake punt on the first snap of the period. Five plays and one first down later, Chris James hit a 27-yard field goal to make the score 10-7.
Although APSU would never take the lead, it did need barely over a minute to make it a three-point contest again. Fletcher rushed for one first down, then Mark Cunningham found Frederick for 18 yards before a 47-yard run down the left sideline by Emmanuel Yancey made the score 17-14 midway through the quarter.
The Govs had a chance to at least draw even before the break after stopping WKU on fourth down at the APSU-40, but Marion Rumph intercepted Cunningham at the WKU-8 with a half-minute remaining.
The two teams combined for 430 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes.
“In the first half, it seemed like we were trying too hard, we were pressing, we just didn’t play very well at times,” Elson said. “But, things got better for us later in the game and we got the win that we wanted.”
The second half was a different story, though, as the Govs missed opportunities to cut their deficit when the Hilltopper defense stopped Otis Spivey on 4th-and-1 at the WKU-17 late in the third quarter and Ross Coffee missed a 29-field goal attempt on the third play of the final period. APSU’s final three possessions ended in a 3-and-out, a turnover when Blake Boyd intercepted Cunningham and losing the ball on downs when Cunningham’s final attempt on 4th-and-5 at the APSU-40 fell incomplete with less than a minute to go.
Dennis Mitchell collected 10 stops, including an assist for loss, while Travis Watters and Jon Hedges made nine tackles each. Dusty Bear recorded a pair of sacks among his seven stops and L.J. Harbison collected six tackles.
The Governors finished with 327 yards of total offense. Cunningham completed 23-of-38 attempts for 185 yards, and Yancey added five receptions for 37 yards to his scoring run.
WKU gained just three more yards than APSU, as Daniel Becker paced all players with 12 tackles — including a pair of sacks — and Tremayne Townsend finished with 10 stops.
Lerron Moore led the Hilltopper rushing attack in his final collegiate contest with 62 yards on 19 carries, and Andrew McCloud added 11 attempts for 40 yards.
