Murray State University Athletics
Murray State Football Preseason Practice #5
8/9/2007 5:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State Racers held their first scrimmage of the preseason tonight at Stewart Stadium, which also served as their fifth practice of the fall preseason.
"It went pretty well," said Matt Griffin, Murray State head football coach. "The most important thing is that we came out healthy, with just a few minor injuries. I really liked our pace on both offense and defense. I could tell a real difference in the way the kids picked up our system faster than they did one year ago, and that is a direct result of conditioning. You have to give credit to the kids and coach Justin Cecil. That's half of the battle right there - you have to be in shape to win."
The offense ran approximately 80 plays, including punts and kick-off returns, producing 13 first downs and seven touchdowns. The offense combined for approximately 549 yards, with 315 coming from the passing game (three touchdowns, one interception), and 234 yards (four touchdowns) coming on the ground.
The quarterbacks combined to go 18-for-33 (55 percent), for 315 yards. Sophomore Zach Barnard went 8-for-14 for 162 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman Chris Franklin went 8-for-17 for 93 yards and one touchdown and one interception. Redshirt freshman Jeff Ehrhardt started the scrimmage, completing both of his two passes for 60 yards, but did not return after suffering a thigh bruise.
"(Jeff) could have returned, but we wanted to hold him out," Griffin said. "There was no need in pushing the injury."
Junior Paul McKinnis led all rushers with 64 yards on eight carries, while Prince Nwagbara (four rushes, 40 yards) and Josh Jones (six rushes, 33 yards) each had two touchdowns. Charlie Jordan rushed eight times for 18 yards, Marcus Harris rushed once for 48 yards, and Kasey Clark ran the ball four times for five yards. The quarterback trio of Barnard (one rush, 15 yards), Franklin (four rushes, 9 yards) and Ehrhardt (one rush, two yards) combined for 26 yards on six carries.
Harris led all Racer receivers with three catches, good for 22 yards and one touchdown. Freshmen Antoinne Lightfoot (63 yards), Paul Lewis (19 yards) and Matt Johnson (40 yards, one TD) all caught two passes, while Daniel Ard (50 yards), Lee McGinnis (35 yards, one TD), Derrick Townsel (35 yards), Zach Knight (25 yards), Nwagbara (12 yards), McKinnis (eight yards), Rod Harper (eight yards), Dan Thacker (five yards) and DeAngelo Nelson (three yards) all had one reception.
On defense, sophomore Tamar Butler led the team with five tackles, while Nathan Williams and Daniel Moore tallied four tackles apiece. Wade Peters, Jordan Malay, and Darrell Davis, Jr. each had three tackles, while Derrick Parrott, Chris Tune, Will Roach, Andrew Fogg, and Austen Lane each totalled two tackles. The following Racers had one tackle apiece: Nico Yantko, John Jean-Baptiste (one Pass Break-Up), Craig Durham, Lamar Jones, Joshua Hatchell, Joe Gilland, Roderick Jackson, Demarkus Lee, Matt McWhorter, and Tyler Barrett.
Marvin Robinson, Jr. had the lone interception for the Racer defense, the only turnover the offense produced.
On special teams, Sean O'Brien converted his only field goal attempt from 19 yards, and also went a perfect 3-for-3 in his Point After Touchdown attempts. Tyler Weiss also saw action, going 4-for-4 in PAT attempts. O'Brien and Weiss punted a total of six times, with a long of 55 yards and one punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown by McGinnis. O'Brien and Weiss also covered the kick-off duties, while Harper (two returns, 35 yards) and McGinnis (one return, 75 yards) handled many of the returns.
Besides featuring the first scrimmage of the preseason, practice #5 also featured something else that Racer fans have been waiting to see: the new FieldTurf that was installed over the summer.
"It's awesome," Griffin said. "It is so much better than the old turf. I think it actually has more give to it than natural grass. You have to thank the administration for working so hard to get this for us."
The Racers will resume their preseason practice schedule Friday, hitting the practice field at 7:00 p.m.
Murray State opens its 83rd season of college football on Aug. 30 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, where they will face the University of Louisville Cardinals. Kick-off time is set for 6:30 p.m.
