Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Samford
Cook rushes for 187, two TDs as Racers get past Samford 24-21
10/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sophomore running back Chad Cook rushed 34 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns as Murray State got past a diehard Samford team 24-21 at the Racers' Homecoming game tonight in Ohio Valley Conference action.
The Racers (3-3, 2-1 OVC) led 17-0 at halftime behind Cook's 116 yards. In the second half, however, Samford (1-5, 0-3 OVC) turned two MSU fumbles into Bulldog touchdowns.
Murray State scored on its opening drive, capping a 70-yard drive on a seven-yard pass from junior quarterback Adam Fisher to junior wide receiver Daniel Rumley with 11:39 left in the first period. A 16-yard run by Cook and a 14-yard pass from Fisher to Rumley helped set up the score. Freshman kicker Morgan Riley's extra-point kick gave MSU an early 7-0 lead.
On its next drive, the Racers used 15 plays to go 74 yards, including a 15-yard rush by junior running back Ron Lane. Riley kicked his first career field goal, a 23-yarder, to put Murray State ahead 10-0 with 14:12 left in the second quarter.
After a missed Samford field goal, Murray State used 11 plays to go 80 yards for its next score, set up by a 15-yard Cook run and a 12-yard pass to senior tight end Jimmy St. Louis. Cook took a two-yard romp into the endzone with 56 seconds left in the half for the touchdown. Riley's kick made the halftime score 17-0.
Early in the third quarter, Samford's Sam Grogan recovered a fumble at the MSU 44, and 10 plays later, quarterback Ray Nelson ran 17 yards to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with 10:26 left in the third quarter. Hal Hughston's kick made the score 17-7.
Samford again took advantage of a Racer miscue when the Racers fumbled a punt return and Samford took over on the MSU 3-yard line. Two plays later, Nelson ran three yards in for the score with 5:50 left in the period. Hughston's kick closed the gap to 17-14.
On its next drive, Samford attempted a fake punt, but the pass fell incomplete, and the Racers took over on the Bulldogs' 32. Two plays later, Cook rambled 32 yards in for the score with 3:18 left in the third quarter. Riley's kick made the score 24-14.
On Murray State's second drive of the fourth quarter, Samford blocked a punt, taking over on the MSU 34. On the first play from scrimmage, Nelson found Efrem Hill on a 34-yard TD pass with 6:42 left. Hughston's kick brought SU to within 24-21.
On its last drive of the game, Samford took over on its 15-yard line with four minutes left. Nelson guided the Bulldogs downfield, using 11 pass plays for seven completions in the drive. With 26 seconds left and running a play from the MSU 29, Nelson's pass was batted, bobbled and caught by senior cornerback Onsha Whitaker at the 25-yard line, sealing the game.
Cook led all rushers with 187 yards on 34 carries. Fisher was 14-for-24 in passing for 127 yards and a touchdown. Rumley caught four passes for 49 yards and a TD, while St. Louis caught four passes for 39 yards.
Senior punter Matt Gaither averaged 42.5 yards per punt, while freshman Derrick Parrott ran up 125 yards on four kickoff returns, with a long of 63 yards.
For Samford, Nelson took over the top spot on the Bulldogs' career passing yardage list, now with a total of 6,748 career yards.
Nelson completed 28 of 60 passes tonight for 249 yards and led Bulldog rushers with 95 yards on 18 carries. Only 10 of the Bulldogs' 88 plays from scrimmage did not involve a Nelson pass or rush.
Hill caught six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Phillip Hyde had five catches for 33 yards, Freddy Young had four catches for 38 yards and Ossie Buchannon had four catches for 32 yards. Chris Hicks had five punts for 40.6 yards per punt, while Bryan Hassel had four kickoff returns for 75 yards.
"I thought we were really ready to get after them from the start," said MSU head coach Joe Panunzio. "We had a great week of practice, so I wasn't surprised with the start. To hold Samford to no points in the first half was huge. They are so good with the ball, so I knew we wouldn't be able to shut them down the whole game.
"I'm really disappointed with the way we were so careless with the ball. Two fumbles and an interception, plus we fumbled a punt. I mean, we are very fortunate to win this game. Most of the time, if you make mistakes like that, you get beat. We've got to do better at protecting the ball."
Murray State visits Eastern Illinois on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
