BUIES CREEK, N.C. — Sophomore wideout Christian Robinson scored on a two-yard run from the wildcat formation with 14 seconds left to lift the Morehead State football team to a come-from-behind 31-27 Pioneer Football League victory at Campbell Saturday.
Robinson, who also scored on a three-yard run earlier in the fourth quarter, helped the Eagles improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the league. The Camels, who had defeated MSU in Morehead last season on a late score, fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
“We had a lot of bumps and bruises and some guys go down, and we had other guys step up tonight,” Head Coach Rob Tenyer said. “Our discipline in the end was paramount. We made some plays to put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
MSU pushed ahead 24-20 with 6:31 remaining on Robinson’s run, before Campbell drove 12 plays for the go-ahead score. The Eagles took over at their own 36-yard line and marched seven plays before a third-down pass was batted down in the end zone. However, a Campbell defender was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty, giving the Eagles a first down at the three-yard line. Robinson went off right-tackle and punched it in for the win.
“Honestly, if they had not committed that penalty, I think we would have kicked the field goal and gone to overtime. But, who knows, Campbell may have gotten momentum in overtime.”
The MSU defense only allowed two Camel touchdowns, with the other two coming on a 95-yard kickoff return and 50-yard interception return, and gave up just 253 total yards. The Eagle offense piled up 512 yards, including 328 through the air by junior quarterback Austin Gahafer. Senior receiver Justin Cornwall hauled in a career-best 14 passes for 123 yards.
Freshman running back Brent Holman churned up 76 yards on 10 carries and scored the games’ first touchdown, a 10-yard scamper in the first quarter. Gahafer added a nine-yard scoring rush, his third of the season, in the third period. Sophomore kicker Shavi Bash nailed a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to bring the Eagles to within 13-10.
On defense, senior corner back Justin Grier picked off his league-best sixth pass of the season, and junior lineman Dustin Casey also nabbed an interception. Eric Pugh and Ryan Bennett tied for the team-lead with nine tackles.
“Tonight was maybe the first time this season we didn’t tackle quite as well at the point of attack, but our confidence and our ability are making up for a lot of things,” Tenyer said. “I told the team, and especially the defense, before the game that Campbell thought they could just run it down our throats, but I told them let’s go prove ourselves and get a win. That is exactly what we did.”
The Eagles limited the PFL’s top rusher, DeShawn Jones, to only 51 yards on 11 carries. CU Quarterback Kameron Bryan was 8-of-17 for 74 yards.
Morehead State returns home for its next two games. Drake visits Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
Comments
