Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Racers halted by strong Panther 'D'
10/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State football team was halted in its tracks this afternoon at Eastern Illinois, as the Panthers allowed MSU only 231 yards of total offense in the Racers' 24-9 loss in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Instead of one 100-yard rusher -- as Murray State (3-4, 2-2 OVC) has had in each of the last four games -- it took both of MSU's leading rushers, junior running back Nick Turner and sophomore running back Chad Cook, to total 101 yards. Turner had 51 yards rushing, while Cook had 50.
EIU's Vincent Webb had 191 of the Panthers' 214 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Eastern Illinois (3-3, 2-1 OVC) struck first on its second possession of the game when quarterback Matt Schabert hit Ryan Voss for a seven-yard touchdown pass. Steve Kuehn's extra-point kick gave EIU a 7-0 lead with 4:17 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, a Murray State fumble led to a Panther field goal, as Kuehn hit a 42-yarder to expand the EIU lead to 10-0 with six minutes left in the half, and remained there as the teams hit the locker rooms at halftime.
On EIU's first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Webb ran 90 yards for a touchdown, and Kuehn's kick made the score 17-0 with 13:37 left in the period.
Murray State got on the scoreboard when Eastern Illinois began a drive deep in its own territory after a 54-yard punt by senior punter James Gaither put the Panthers on their own 7-yard line. EIU pushed to its 22, but a bad snap on the punt attempt sailed through the endzone for a Racer safety, cutting the EIU lead to 17-2 with 9:18 left in the quarter.
Four minutes later, Eastern Illinois expanded that lead when Webb took an 11-yard run into the endzone. Kuehn's kick made the score 24-2 with 5:06 left in the period.
Murray State was the only team to score in the fourth quarter, when Cook punched the ball across the goal line from a yard out. Freshman kicker Morgan Riley's point-after kick cut the EIU lead to 24-9 with 12:41, but that would remain as the final score.
MSU quarterback Adam Fisher went 16-for-31 in passing for 88 yards, while Schabert was 14-for-25 for 180 yards.
Turner pulled down five passes for 22 yards to lead Murray, while Charles Owens, Alicus Nozinor and Brandon Robinson each had three receptions, with Owens claiming 38 yards, Nozinor getting 34 and Robinson having 25 yards.
Gaither had 11 punts for an average of 44.6 with a long of 55 yards and four inside the 20-yard line, while EIU punter Tom Schofield had seven punts for 35.7 yards, with a long of 43 yards and two inside the 20.
Turner had two punt returns for 26 yards, while Derrick Parrott had two kickoff returns for 20 yards.
Demetrick Westbrook had 12 tackles for Murray State (six solos), while Patrick Schultz had 10 (seven solos). Brandon Dixson and Dory Brown each recorded sacks for the Racer defense.
Jamarr Day had 12 tackles for EIU, while Tristan Burge had 11 and Marcus Lorick had 10.
Murray State returns home to host Southeast Missouri State this Saturday, Oct. 23, at 1:30 p.m. at MSU's Roy Stewart Stadium.
