Murray State University Athletics
Turner rakes in the hardware after amazing game with Indiana State
9/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
To use a baseball term, Nick Turner nearly "hit for the cycle" Saturday when the Murray State Racers won their ninth straight home-opener with a 27-15 victory over Indiana State.
Turner, the Racer senior from Atlanta, Ga., notched his second career kickoff return touchdown with a 91-yard return in the first quarter and followed that with a 71-yard touchdown pass to teammate Maurice Marchman. Turner topped it off with a five-yard touchdown run, meaning he had scored three different ways.
Turner was close to a fourth different touchdown when he caught a pass, but was stopped at the 2-yard line. He is the first Racer to account for three touchdowns in a game since 2003 when Stephen Hatchell threw for two and ran for another in a game against Tennessee-Martin.
In all, Turner rolled up 299 all-purpose yards. For his effort, Turner has been named the Specialist of the Week by both the Ohio Valley Conference and The Sports Network, and weekly all-star by 1-AA.org.
Turner's teammate Michael Sturgis, a junior from Fort Myers, Fla., was named the OVC's Defensive Player of the Week after he tallied 11 total tackles -- including seven solo stops -- a sack and one tackle-for-loss. During a defensive stand when the Racers were leading in the fourth quarter, Sturgis made a tackle-for-loss and a sack on successive plays.
The 1-1 Racers travel to Illinois State Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. game.
