Murray State
Tennessee Tech
The fast Lane: Senior has 100 yards by halftime in 34-15 win over Tech
9/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Senior running back Ron Lane had two touchdowns and 107 yards rushing -- in the first half -- as Murray State scored 28 points over a 10-minute span to bolster a 34-15 win over Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech in Murray tonight. The game was the conference opener for both teams.
Lane was part of a first-quarter onslaught as the Racers (2-2, 1-0 OVC) amassed 178 yards of offense to 40 for Tennessee Tech (2-2, 0-1 OVC), including 95 yards rushing to Tech's 17 in the first period.
Lane had 55 yards rushing in the first quarter on five carries and a touchdown. Junior running back Nick Turner had 42 yards on the ground in the first 15 minutes and a TD.
Lane added 52 rushing yards in the second quarter and another touchdown, totaling 107 yards on 14 carries in the first half. He finished the game with 155 yards on 31 carries, and now averages 103 yards per game on the ground thus far this season, including three 100-yard games in the first four games of the season.
Murray State scored on each of its first four drives of the game. The Racers took over on its 26 after a Golden Eagle punt and marched the ball down the field on a 13-play, 74-yard drive that was highlighted by a 19-yard pass from junior quarterback Adam Fisher to senior tight end Jimmy St. Louis that brought MSU to the Tech 16-yard line. Lane capped the drive with a 23-yard scamper into the endzone with &;48 left in the first quarter. Freshman kicker Morgan Riley's extra-point kick made the score 7-0.
On MSU's next drive, the Racers went almost as far on fewer plays, taking six plays to go 73 yards. A 47-yard pass from Fisher to junior wide receiver Erin Milton put MSU on the Tech 4-yard line. Fisher tossed a pop pass to junior tailback Bo Baxter, who took it two yards into the endzone with 3:08 left in the period. Riley's kick made the score 14-0.
The Racers recovered a Tech fumble on the TTU 21-yard line and went to work. Lane took a 16-yard run to the Golden Eagle 9, then Turner ran the ball from there across the goal line with 1:32 left in the first quarter. Riley's kick made it 21-0.
On Murray's next drive, Tennessee Tech was flagged for roughing the kicker on a Racer punt, bringing the Racers to the TTU 32-yard line. On the next play, Lane ran the 32 yards for a score with 13:04 left in the first half. Riley's kick made the score 28-0.
Tennessee Tech got on the scoreboard after recovering a fumble on a punt return at the Murray State 9-yard line. Three plays later, Robert Craft punched the ball across the goal line with 10:22 left in the first half. The extra-point attempt went wide, and MSU led 28-6.
On its next drive, Craft handed off to Ryan Nichols, who threw a toss to Brent McNeal for a 69-yard touchdown play with 8:34 left in the half. The two-point conversion failed, and MSU led 28-12 at the half.
Tennessee Tech claimed the only score of the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal to close to within 28-15.
The Golden Eagles had their moments in the fourth quarter. After intercepting an MSU pass, Tennessee Tech was on the Racers' 25-yard line. Junior linebacker Lucas Holts stepped in front of a Craft pass at the MSU 13 and rambled 87 yards for a touchdown, erasing a play that could have brought TTU to within five points and taking Murray State out of Tech's range, 34-15.
"It's been a long time since I carried the ball 31 times," Lane said. "Yes, I was pretty tired. We got our people into open spaces early and made the plays that we needed to make. It's great to get started with the win in the OVC before going to Jacksonville State."
"I played tailback in high school, so I have had to make a long run like that before," Holts said of his 87-yard interception return, "but this is funny. Last night, I dreamed about scoring a touchdown, and then I did it! I have worked hard and was waiting on my time to get in there. This was my first start, and I'm happy that I stepped up the plate. I wasn't really nervous, but my stomach was a little bubbly, but I had confidence that carried me through.”
"You've got to give our defense a lot of credit," said MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio. "We controlled the game from the start. We had a pretty loss last week, but I'll take an ugly win like this any time.
"I think this is the biggest game we've faced since I've been here. We had to have this one. We just wanted to get off to a good start, and we did, but after that good start, we struggled on offense, but our defense just continued to play big. We tried to do some things in the second half, but once we got into the fourth quarter, we went into a mode of just trying to run the clock out, because we knew they were having trouble with our defense.
"You've got to learn how to win, and maybe this helps," Pannunzio said. "This is such a relief because we knew what kind of team Tech has. I'm actually going to try and enjoy this one, but I know it's a tough team from Jacksonville waiting for us next Saturday.
"I thank the fans from the bottom of my heart for coming out tonight. They all need to know what a difference they make for us. They were into the game, and it was great to have them cheering for us."
Murray State visits Jacksonville State on Oct. 2 in what may be seen as a grudge match, as JSU won the OVC last season with a 7-1 league record, with its sole losing coming at Murray State.
