Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Turnovers hamper Racers' effort as EIU gets past MSU 35-28
10/22/2005 5:00:00 AM | Football
"It's frustrating; it hurts," Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio said. "I thought our kids really played hard. In yardage, we outgained them 433 to 254, and we converted 32 first downs to their 12. It's tough, considering that was the No. 1 team in the OVC. I told the guys at halftime that if we didn't give up any big plays, we would beat them. But we're not beating anyone if we give up five big plays."
Eastern Illinois struck first on a 56-yard pass from quarterback Mike Donato to Ryan Voss, putting the Panthers up 7-0 with 11:16 left in the first quarter.
Murray State answered right back, capping off an eight-play, 75-yard drive on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Ken Topps to Maurice Marchman, evening the score at 7-7 after the point-after kick by Gary Crass with 7:53 left in the first quarter.
Murray State then got the first of their three interceptions on the day by Derrick Parrott on Eastern Illinois's next drive, but any momentum from that turnover was short-lived, as a fumble from Topps was returned 68 yards for a touchdown, to put Eastern Illinois back on top 14-7 with 5:51 left in the opening quarter. Murray State entered the game with just one interception on the season.
Murray State's next offensive series stalled, and the Racer defense had Eastern Illinois on the ropes with a 3rd-and-seven from its own 17-yard line, but running back Vincent Webb broke free for an 83-yard touchdown run with 1:55 left in the first quarter to give the Panthers the 21-7 lead.
The Racers then put together a few impressive drives on offense in the second quarter, with one resulting in a touchdown, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Topps to Jonathan Eiland with just 16 seconds left in the first half to make the score 21-14 in Eastern Illinois's favor going into halftime.
The Racers then came out hot to begin the second half, despite an injury to Topps that sidelined him two separate times in the third quarter. His replacement, Ryne Salyer, completed all four of his passes for 54 yards to finish off a nine-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Rod Harper to tie the score at 21-21 with 11:38 left in the third quarter.
The defense then held the Panther offense to a three-and-out with zero yards gained, forcing the Panthers to punt to the always-dangerous return man Nick Turner.
