Murray State
Jacksonville State
Racers Overcome Late Deficit, Knock Off JSU 23-17 In Overtime
10/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State football team used timely defense and a pair of late touchdowns to overcame a fourth quarter deficit en route to a thrilling 23-17 overtime win over Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State today at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Ky.
Trailing 17-10 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter, MSU (2-4, 1-1 OVC) regained possession at its own 29-yard line. The Racers marched down the field behind senior quarterback Stewart Childress, who entered the game in the second quarter after missing last week's game with a torn ACL.
MSU covered 71 yards on seven plays and tied the game at 17-17 as Childress found senior wide receiver Deandre Green in the back corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Childress was 3-of-5 passing for 45 yards and ran for 11 yards on two rushes on the drive.
In overtime, MSU won the toss and elected to play defense first. JSU was held to just three yards on three plays on its possession, and place kicker Steven Lee, who was 3-of-5 on field goals on the day, missed from 39 yards out to keep things even at 17-17.
The Racers took over on offense, and after an incomplete pass on first down and a offsides call on the Gamecocks (2-3, 1-1 OVC), MSU junior tailback Ulysses Odoms rumbled into the end zone from 20 yards out on 2nd-and-5 for the game-winning score.
Childress, MSU's second-leading career passer, was 14-of-28 passing for 192 yards and one touchdown. Many of those completions were to Green, who finished the day with nine catches for 129 yards and the late touchdown.
MSU, in the first-ever meeting between with new OVC member Jacksonville State, opened the scoring in the game as senior place kicker Jesse Ohliger connected from 32 yards out with 13:02 left in the first quarter and a 3-0 lead.
JSU bounced back from the score with its rushing attack to score the game's next 12 points. The Gamecocks put their first points on the board with 14:44 left in the second quarter as Lee connected from 52 yards out to even things up at 3-3.
JSU took its first lead of the game with 7:23 left in the second quarter when quarterback Mauric Mullins rumbled to the end zone from 42 yards out. Brett Rushing's PAT was no good, but JSU still held a 9-3 lead.
The Gamecocks made it 12-3 with 4:14 to go as Lee connected on a 26-yard field goal, but the Racers answered the score with an impressive drive leading into the half.
MSU marched 80 yards on 10 plays and used 3 minutes, 53 seconds of the game clock, while freshman tailback Chad Cook capped the drive when he rumbled into the end zone from 1-yard out with :21 seconds left before halftime to cut the JSU lead to 12-10.
A blocked punt through the MSU end zone by JSU's Darrell Prater for a safety, and a 35-yard field goal by Lee increased the MSU deficit to 17-10 by the end of the third quarter.
After the teams exchanged offensive possessions in the fourth quarter, the MSU defense came up with a huge stop on 3rd-and-5 from the JSU 38-yard line inside the final two minutes of the game to set up the Racers' late offensive drive to tie things up and send it to overtime.
JSU outgained the Racers 357-305 in total yardage, led by tailback Kory Chapman who rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry, while Odoms' led the MSU rushing attack with 64 yards on nine carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry.
Senior defensive back Josh Catlett led the Racers' defense with nine tackles, including six solo stops, while senior linebacker Bobby Sanders and junior linebacker Patrick Schultz added eight tackles each.
Up next, the Racers take to the road to play Samford in OVC action on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. in Birmingham, Ala.
POST GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio:
""It was a helluva football game. Our kids just fought and fought all day."
"I can't say enough about Stewart Childress. Our offense was really stagnant until he came in. It really seemed like he jump-started us at the end of the first half. The only chance I thought we had to win the game was to get Stewart in the game."
"With (Childress), it might be just a week or two. He's such a tough kid you never know with him."
"Our defense has disappeared at time this season, but they were tough today. I'm proud of the way they hung in there and kept us in the game until we could get something going offensively. It looks like we're starting to come around on defense."
"We couldn't run the ball much at all, which is really a problem, but I think they deserve a lot of credit for taking that away from us."
"This was not only a big game for us as far as the OVC standing are concerned, but this team really needed a win. They've played so hard all season and haven't had anything to show for it."
Senior quarterback Stewart Childress:
"It just felt so good to be back in the huddle again, first of all. It was tough last week sitting on the sidelines and not being able to help your teammates."
On the TD pass to Green..."Whatever we call, if no one's open, I'm going to number eighty-six. He's such a big-time player and I have a lot of confidence in him."
