Murray State
Southeast Missouri State
Jordan, Ehrhardt Lead Racers to Victory over SEMO
10/20/2007 5:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State red-shirt freshman Jeff Ehrhardt overcame a less than impressive first half performance to lead four second half scoring drives and sophomore Charlie Jordan rushed for a career-high 157 yards as Murray State put an end to an 18-game Ohio Valley Conference losing streak with a 31-17 victory over Southeast Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium.
Jordan and the rest of the Racers offense did their damage in the second half as Jordan accounted for 127 of the team's 190 second-half rushing yards. Likewise, Ehrhardt passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns after intermission.
The theme of the first half was defense and special teams as the two teams combined for 11 punts and only 260 yards total yards in going into intermission with neither team getting on the scoreboard.
The Racers (2-5, 1-3 OVC) had the best opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the first half as midway through the first quarter, Sean O'Brien's 55-yard punt was fumbled by Vincent Anderson and recovered by Derrick Townsel at the SEMO two-yard line. For Townsel, it was his third fumble recovery on special teams in the last two games. Unfortunately for the Racers, Jordan got the handoff on the first play and put the ball on the carpet and it was recovered by the Redhawks.
SEMO (2-5, 0-4 OVC) would have a shot to crack the scoring column on their first drive of the second quarter after Victor Anderson connected on a 28-yard pass to 6-8 tight end Joseph Tuineau down to the Racers' 17-yard line. MSU's defense would stiffen as Zach Kutch would make a stop on a third-and-short and Tamar Butler would stop Victor Anderson on a sneak on fourth down.
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Ehrhardt's third-down pass was intercepted by Eddie Calvin at the MSU 16-yard line. After a four-yard pickup on first down, Derrick Parrott came on a third-down corner blitz to record a sack and a loss of 11 yards back to the 23 yard line. That sack would prove costly as Doug Spada's 40-yard field-goal attempt sailed left as time expired on the half.
The second half looked like it was going to be a mirror of the first half as the Racers fumbled the kickoff before recovering it on their own 35-yard line. The Racers offense, however, did not look the same as it did in the first half as MSU put together a six-play 62-yard drive that resulted in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Ehrhardt to Rod Harper. For Harper, it was his first catch of the game and extended his consecutive game streak with a catch to 23 games.
SEMO () had an answer to the Racers' opening drive as Mike Jones broke loose on a 59-yard run on the second play of the drive. Quarterback Victor Anderson would scramble down inside the five-yard line and Jones capped off the six-play drive with a run from three yards out.
MSU was able to regain the lead on their next possession as Ehrhardt connected with a 29-yard pass to DeAngelo Nelson down to the SEMO 16-yard line. Tyler Weiss would come on and connect on a 32-yard field goal with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.
After the Racers defense forced a three-and-out, the offense put together its third-straight scoring drive of the quarter. Charlie Jordan started things by racing 29 yards on a screen pass from Ehrhardt. A pass interference call on the Redhawks set up the Racers at the 25-yard line and Ehrhardt connected on his second 25-yard scoring pass of the quarter, this time to Lee McKinnis.
SEMO would once again make it a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter as they turned a Racers' interception into three-points on a 50-yard field goal from Spada that just narrowly crept over the crossbar.
Jordan would close out the scoring and seal the victory with a 20-yard scamper to finalize a six-play drive with just over six minutes remaining.
Defensively, Derrick Parrott led the team with 10 tackles, one sack and an interception late in the fourth quarter. Tamar Butler, Will Werner and Will Roach each added a sack. As a team, MSU recorded 10 tackles for loss.
The Racers return to the field on Oct. 27 as they welcome Eastern Kentucky to Roy Stewart Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
