Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Racers' road woes end at EKU with 19-16 overtime win
10/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Any thoughts that it was impossible for Murray State to win a football game on the road vanished this afternoon, as the Racers claimed a solid 19-16 win at Eastern Kentucky, spoiling the Colonels' Homecoming.
The win was the first road victory for MSU since Nov. 13, 2003, and the first at Eastern Kentucky since Nov. 4, 2000. It was the first road win that was not at Southeast Missouri State or Tennessee-Martin since Sept. 22, 2001.
Murray State has won four of its last five games at Eastern Kentucky.
At the start of the game, it appeared that Murray State (5-4, 4-2 OVC) was on its way to its fifth straight road loss, as Eastern Kentucky (3-5, 3-2 OVC) took a 13-0 halftime lead on a blocked punt return by Jason Gray on the fourth play of the game and a 17-yard run by Josh Greco with 49 seconds left in the half. The extra-point kick was blocked by the Racer defense to keep the score at 13-0 at the half.
Eastern Kentucky took possession to open the second half, but ran only three plays before punting the ball to the MSU 49-yard line.
An eight-yard rush by junior running back Nick Turner gave the Racers a first down at the EKU 36, and a 26-yard pass from junior quarterback Adam Fisher to junior wide receiver Daniel Rumley on fourth down brought the Racers to the EKU 4.
On the next play, sophomore running back Chad Cook plowed it into the endzone for the first of his two touchdowns on the day. Freshman kicker Morgan Riley missed his first point-after attempt of the season after making 25 straight, and MSU cut the Colonels' lead to 13-6 with 10:06 left in the third quarter.
The ball stayed on the Eastern Kentucky side of the field for the rest of the third quarter. Murray State got to the EKU 28 on its next drive, but had to punt the ball away, then reached the EKU 3 but lost the ball on downs when Cook pushed the ball to the EKU 1.
On the Colonels' next drive, senior cornerback Onsha Whitaker picked off a Greco pass at the EKU 24-yard line with 1:07 left in the third quarter. A pair of runs by Cook brought the Racers to the 19-yard line at the end of the quarter.
On fourth and 1 from the EKU 15, Cook punched through for two yards for another MSU first down. A six-yard run by Cook got Murray State to the 7-yard line, and a two-yard run by Turner got the Racers to the 5.
On third down, Fisher again found Rumley on a five-yard TD pass with 13:17 left in regulation. Riley's extra-point kick tied the game at 13-13.
Eastern Kentucky was able to get to the MSU 25-yard line on the next drive, but a 42-yard field-goal attempt failed. Murray State pushed to the EKU 6, but lost the ball on downs.
EKU's next drive was short, as junior defensive back Ronny Delusme intercepted a pass at the EKU 39. The Racers then pushed to the EKU 18, but its own field-goal attempt failed.
The Colonels fumbled the ball on its third play from scrimmage on the following drive, and senior linebacker Patrick Schultz fell on it at the EKU 33-yard line with 2:18 left in regulation. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Colonels brought Murray State to the 18, but a personal foul call against the Racers pushed them back to the EKU 32. MSU was forced to punt the ball away with one minute remaining. Eastern Kentucky was unable to get past the MSU 40-yard line, forcing overtime.
Eastern Kentucky took the first possession of overtime at the MSU 25, but was held for three plays to a loss of one yard. Phil Kuhl's 42-yard field goal was good, giving the Colonels a 16-13 lead.
On Murray State's possession from the EKU 25-yard line, Fisher opened the drive with a deep pass to junior wide receiver DeSean Hammonds, but he was unable to hold onto the ball.
Fisher then found Rumley on a 22-yard completion to the EKU 3. After Cook was caught for a loss of two yards, Fisher passed to Rumley again, Rumley missed the pass, but the Colonel defender was flagged for pass interference, giving the Racers the ball at the EKU 2. Cook pounded the ball up the middle across the goal line for the game-winning score.
Cook finished the day with 77 yards rushing on 25 carries, scoring two touchdowns, while Turner had 56 yards on 21 carries.
Fisher completed 11 of 18 passes for 104 yards, and Rumley had five receptions for 90 yards and a TD.
Turner also had a punt return for 40 yards, while junior Dione Hampton had a kickoff return for 11 yards.
Senior free safety Demetrick Westbrook had 10 tackles (six solo), while junior safety Tony Ryan had nine (five solo). Schultz recovered two fumbles.
For Eastern Kentucky, C.J. Hudson ran 95 yards on 28 carries, while Greco had 60 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown.
Greco completed 12 of 24 passes with two interceptions for 135 yards, while Hudson had four catches for 45 yards and Patrick Bugg had two catches for 57 yards.
Allen Evans had two punt returns for 78 yards (with a long of 63 yards), while Kyle Barber had one kickoff return for 23 yards.
Jerome Jones had 16 tackles (eight solo), four for loss, while Pierre Wright had 12 tackles (one solo).
"I'm proud of these kids," said MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio. "This was a game like a heavyweight fight. This was a true college football game. Both teams played hard and gave every ounce of energy both teams had.
"To win it up here was huge. We've been playing good on the road in the first half, but not in the second half, and we were determined not to lose it like that again."
Murray State is off next Saturday, and will host Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 13 in its final home game of the season.
