Murray State
Tennessee-Martin
Murray State Battles UT Martin in Old Fashioned Shootout
11/10/2007 6:00:00 AM | Football
The UT Martin offense was on top of their game on Saturday afternoon as the Skyhawks handed Murray State a 76-34 defeat at Graham Stadium.
The MSU offense was no slouch in the contest as they recorded 505 yards, including 378 through the air. Those numbers failed in comparison to the 821 yards overall and 531 on the ground by the Skyhawks.
The first quarter was completely one-sided as UT Martin scored touchdowns on four of their first six possessions to take a 28-0 advantage at the end of the first period.
Senior running back Don Chapman shouldered the load for the Skyhawks as he carried the ball nine times for 97 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 22, 50 and one yards. The Skyhawks other scoring strike came on a 79-yard pass from Cade Thompson to Roren Thomas on the second drive.
The offensive onslot continued for the Skyhawks at the start of the second quarter as they took their opening possession and marched 41 yards in four plays and capped it off with a 13-yard strike from Thompson to tight end Linzy Patterson.
The Racers finally got on the scoreboard with 9:50 remaining in the first half as Jeff Ehrhardt connected with Marcus Harris on a 45-yard TD pass down the seam.
After the MSU defense forced a three-and-out, the Racers offense got back on the board as Derrick Townsel took and end around and raced 25 yards down the right sideline. After three-straight incompletions, Tyler Weiss came in and booted a 35-yard field goal to pull the Racers within 35-10.
The UTM offense was back at it on their next possession as they needed only four plays to go 65 yards and scored on Trace McDermott's 14-yard scamper over left end.
Chapman continued his huge day on the ground as he scored his fourth touchdown run of the game on a nine-yard run with just over two minutes left in the half.
MSU took the opening possession of the second half and put together an 11-play drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal off the leg of Weiss.
UTM had yet another answer on offense as they converted a fourth-and-two as Sanchez hit Thomas on a quick slant for a 40-yard scoring strike.
The Racers offense put together a long, 10-play scoring drive that ended with Ehrhardt connecting from 11 yards out to Rod Harper.
Ehrhardt put his name atop the Racer record books early in the fourth quarter as he threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Harris down the right sideline. For Ehrhardt, it was TD pass number 21 on the season, setting a new MSU freshman record. It broke the old record of 20 set by Stewart Childress in 2000.
The Skyhawks would add a pair of touchdown runs from Brandyn Edwards for their final points of the game.
MSU closed out the scoring as backup quarterback Chris Franklin threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Harper in the back corner of the end zone.
Ehrhardt would finish the game by going 31-for-54 for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Harper and Harris led the receiving corp as Harper caught seven balls for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Harris had four receptions for 97 yards and a pair of scores.
The Racers close out the 2007 on Nov. 17 as they play host to Austin Peay. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Stewart Stadium.
NOTES
? Rod Harper's first down catch on the opening possession extended his streak to 26-straight games with at least one reception
? Marcus Harris hauled in a 45-yard TD pass in the first half giving him TD receptions in three-straight games
? Rod Harper's 11-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the fifth-striaght game with a TD catch
? With his third TD pass on the afternoon, Ehrhardt raised his season total to 21 and set a new freshman record at MSU. It broke the old record of 20 set by Stewart Childress in 2000.
? The 300-yard performance by Ehrhardt was his third straight, tieing the school record set by Justin Fuente at the end of the 1999 season.
