Murray State
Kentucky
Racers Fall 37-6 At Kentucky
9/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Playing its seventh Division I-A opponent in the last six seasons, the Murray State Racers could not overcome a tough stretch of six minutes in the first half dropping a 37-6 decision to the Kentucky Wildcats in front of 63,306 fans tonight at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Racers (1-1) and Wildcats (1-1) played a tight first quarter before UK opened the scoring with :22 seconds left on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lorenzen to Derek Abney and a 7-0 lead.
Kentucky added to its lead moments later as Lorenzen found Chris Bernard for a 60-yard touchdown exchange and a 14-0 lead with 13:10 left in the second quarter.
Following a poor kick-off return by the Racers, MSU senior quarterback Stewart Childress was sacked in the Racer end zone for a safety and a 16-0 UK lead with 13:00 to go in the half.
The lead increased to 23-0 with 9:21 to go in the half following a 12-yard touchdown pass from Lorenzen to Glenn Holt.
MSU cut the UK lead to 23-6 with 3:13 left in the half after a 5-yard touchdown run by true freshman Chad Cook. The Racers' scoring drive covered 70 yards on nine plays and used up 2:40 off the game clock, while MSU went to the halftime break trailing by 17.
The Racers opened the third quarter with ball, but a Childress fumble after a strong rush up the middle turned the ball back over the 'Cats at the MSU 12 yard line.
UK used three plays to push the lead to 30-6 after a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lorenzen, his fourth of the night, to Alexis Bwenge with 12:13 to go in the third quarter.
A 27-yard touchdown run by UK's Shane Boyd with 3:48 left in the game closed out the scoring.
MSU's defense held Kentucky to just 308 yards of total offense, including only 103 yards rushing on 29 attempts, while the Racers gained 189 total yards on the night. Three of the Wildcats' five scoring drives covered less than 30 yards after a series of bad breaks for MSU gave UK great field position.
Childress finished the night 13-of-27 for 100 yards passing, while junior tailback Ron Lane had 67 yards rushing on 16 carries for an average of 4.2 yards per carry.
The Racers denied UK senior return specialist Derek Abney's attempt to tie the NCAA record of eight kick returns for touchdowns in a career.
Up next for MSU, the Racers step back into Division I-AA at Southern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill.
POST GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio:
"I'm proud of the way our team stayed in the game and fought. The main thing we were worried about coming into the game was how we would handle adversity. We played well in the first quarter, but then (Derek) Abney got us. Our kids didn't quit, and they played hard until the end."
On the keys to the loss:
"We had the ball inside the five-yard line for the entire second quarter. That put our defense in some bad situations. After the first half, we felt the stars would have to align for us in the second."
