Photo by Tab Brockman
The Murray State football team couldn’t overcome an early 21-0 deficit and fell 48-26 to Eastern Illinois Saturday at O’Brien Field in Charleston.
The Panthers opened the game by marching 75 yards down the field to score on their opening possession. The drive lasted just 2:25 and was capped by a 24-yard run from Shepard Little to give EIU an early 7-0 lead.
On MSU’s opening possession, the Racers (3-6, 1-4 OVC) took the ball all the way down to the three-yard line, thanks in large part to a 55-yard toss from KD Humphries to Janawaski Davis, but fumbled to give EIU (4-5, 4-1 OVC) the ball back. The Panthers capitalized on the MSU turnover with a 97-yard drive that ended with two-yard pass from Jalen Whitlow to Jeff LePak.
Late in the opening stanza, EIU increased the lead to 21-0 on a 46-yard pass from Whitlow to Adam Drake, leaving the Racers struggling to find some sort of offensive foothold. On the ensuing drive, MSU found it, going 64 yards in just over a minute and ending with an eight-yard catch by Davis from Humphries to bring the score 21-6 at the end of the first.
The Panthers began the second where they left off in the first when Taylor Duncan broke away for a 19-yard touchdown run to increase the score to 28-6. However, on the ensuing kickoff, Pokey Harris became the first Racer and 11th OVC player to return a kick-off the full 100 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 28-13.
Following the kickoff return, the MSU defense held the Panthers for two consecutive drives, forcing a punt and a turnover on downs, to give its offense a chance. The Racers took advantage and went 67 yard for a touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Humphries to Griffin, cutting the lead to just one score at 28-20.
However, EIU did not quit as it put together its own 67-yard scoring drive on the very next possession. Duncan reeled off his second touchdown run of the day, this time for nine yards to give the Panthers a 35-20 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Drake pushed the EIU lead to 21 points when he caught a 16-yard pass from Whitlow to cap an 87-yard drive, making the score 41-20. However, on the extra point attempt, Demetrius Mason stopped a rush by Whitlow to prevent any further scoring by the Panthers.
Just when it looked like Murray State would close the gap and make a game of it late in the third quarter, Humphries pass was intercepted in the end zone, to effectively end any chance of a comeback by the Racers.
Humphries ended the game with 300-plus yards for the second consecutive contest and third time this season. The sophomore was 29-for-38 for 306 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
In addition to the kickoff return, Harris ended the day with 204 all-purpose yards with a team-high 47 rushing, eight receiving and 149 return yards. Jeremy Harness and Davis were the leading receivers as they finished with 112 yards and 108 yards, respectively.
Defensively, Jonathan Jackson led the way with a game-high 17 tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss for two yards. Travis Taylor followed with 11 tackles and 1.0 tackle-for-loss, while D’Montre Wade added 10.
On Saturday, the Racers will travel across the Commonwealth for their final road game of the season. Kick-off between Murray State and the 15th-ranked Colonels of Eastern Kentucky at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond is set for 1 p.m. EST.
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