Saturday, October 23
Charleston, Ill.
1:30 p.m.
Murray State
38
at
28
Eastern Illinois
Casey Brockman completed a school-record 41 passes against Eastern Illinois
Photo by: Tab Brockman
Second-Half Effort Leads Racers to 38-28 Victory Over Panthers
10/23/2010 7:17:22 PM | Football
Brockman completes school-record 41 passes in victory
Box Score
Box Score (.pdf)
Photo Gallery
Murray State outscored Eastern Illinois 24-7 in the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit in handing the Panthers a 38-28 defeat Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field. The victory put an end to the Racers seven-game losing streak to EIU and was the first road victory for MSU over EIU since 1998.
Trailing by seven coming out of the locker room, MSU (3-4, 2-2 OVC) needed only three plays to tie the game. Mike Harris rushed for the 12 yards on the first play, and then followed up an incomplete pass by going 68 yards right up the gut for the touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kienan Cullen kicked a sky kick into the wind that fell harmlessly to the ground and was jumped on by Duane Brady. Casey Brockman started the drive with an 11-yard completion to Marcus Harris and then found Rashad Daniels for a catch-and-run for 19 yards to the three-yard line. After failing to score on three plays, Mike Harris went over right tackle for a two-yard score to put the Racers up 28-21.
The Panthers (0-8, 0-6 OVC) were able to tie the game as Jimmy Garoppolo found Von Wise for 31 yards and later hooked up with Chris Wright for a 31-yard score.
What followed next was probably one of the most impressive drives the Racers have put together in quite a long time. The drive looked to be a standard three-and-out, but head coach Chris Hatcher had other plans as he called for a fake punt on his own 24-yard line. Daniels took the direct snap and went over the left side for 19 yards and the first down. Brockman and Daniels hooked up on back-to-back third-down conversions.
After only gaining five yards on the next three plays, MSU faced a 4th-and-5 that was converted on another connection to Daniels. Not to be outdone, the duo connected on their second fourth-down conversion just four plays later.
The drive would come to and end with Cullen hitting a 43-yard field goal to give the Racers a three-point advantage. When it was all said and done, the scoring drive covered just 53 yards, but was done over 22 plays and ate 8:06 seconds off the clock.
On the ensuing Panthers possession, EIU faced a fourth down of their own that stuffed by Blake Salter at the line and give the ball to MSU at the 29-yard line.
MSU started the drive with a short completion to Arthur Brackett that was aided by a personal foul on the Panthers. Mike Harris carried the ball on four-straight plays and set the Racers up with a fourth-and-goal at the five. Brockman took the snap and found Marcus Harris over the middle for the five-yard score.
The Racers wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as they took the opening drive 54 yards on just four plays to open a 7-0 advantage. After a personal foul penalty on the first play, Brockman found Marcus Harris on a pair of pass plays that covered 16 yards. Mike Harris did the rest as he went over right tackle, cut back, and went virtually untouched into the endzone from 23-yards out.
The Panthers answered back on their second possession as quarterback Garoppolo connected on all three of his passes, covering 87 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Lorence Ricks.
The quick-strike MSU offense regained the lead on the next drive as Brockman went 5-for-5 on the drive, connecting with four different receivers. Mike Harris caught a swing pass for 11 yards and Josh Brown hauled in his first reception on the next play, covering six yards. Rashad Daniels caught a pair of passes for 24 yards before Arthur Brackett did the rest by catching a short pass and going down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
EIU took advantage of a short field midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Five plays into the drive, Garoppolo found Ricks in the back of the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown.
The Racers looked like they would regain the lead on their next possession as they drove into the red-zone. But on a rugby scrum at the end of a third-down run, the referees ruled that there was a fumble that was recovered by the Panthers. Garoppolo found Ricks for 34 yards on the first play of the drive. After three rushing attempts from Jake Walker, covering 30 yards, Garoppolo found a wide open Erik Lora in the back of the endzone from eight-yards out for the 21-14 advantage.
Brockman led the Racers offensive attack as he completed a school-record 41 passes on 58 attempts for 318 and two touchdowns. Daniels was the main target as he had a career day with 12 catches for 117 yards. Marcus Harris added 11 catches for 85 yards and a score.
Mike Harris led the ground attack with 159 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He became the first Racer running back with three 100-yard games in a season since Chad Cook in 2004.
Zach Kutch led the defense with 10 tackles, including three tackles-for-loss. Andre Clarke added 3.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack.
The Racers return to action next Saturday as they travel to take on Eastern Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Roy Kidd Stadium.
Box Score (.pdf)
Photo Gallery
Murray State outscored Eastern Illinois 24-7 in the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit in handing the Panthers a 38-28 defeat Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field. The victory put an end to the Racers seven-game losing streak to EIU and was the first road victory for MSU over EIU since 1998.
Trailing by seven coming out of the locker room, MSU (3-4, 2-2 OVC) needed only three plays to tie the game. Mike Harris rushed for the 12 yards on the first play, and then followed up an incomplete pass by going 68 yards right up the gut for the touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kienan Cullen kicked a sky kick into the wind that fell harmlessly to the ground and was jumped on by Duane Brady. Casey Brockman started the drive with an 11-yard completion to Marcus Harris and then found Rashad Daniels for a catch-and-run for 19 yards to the three-yard line. After failing to score on three plays, Mike Harris went over right tackle for a two-yard score to put the Racers up 28-21.
The Panthers (0-8, 0-6 OVC) were able to tie the game as Jimmy Garoppolo found Von Wise for 31 yards and later hooked up with Chris Wright for a 31-yard score.
What followed next was probably one of the most impressive drives the Racers have put together in quite a long time. The drive looked to be a standard three-and-out, but head coach Chris Hatcher had other plans as he called for a fake punt on his own 24-yard line. Daniels took the direct snap and went over the left side for 19 yards and the first down. Brockman and Daniels hooked up on back-to-back third-down conversions.
After only gaining five yards on the next three plays, MSU faced a 4th-and-5 that was converted on another connection to Daniels. Not to be outdone, the duo connected on their second fourth-down conversion just four plays later.
The drive would come to and end with Cullen hitting a 43-yard field goal to give the Racers a three-point advantage. When it was all said and done, the scoring drive covered just 53 yards, but was done over 22 plays and ate 8:06 seconds off the clock.
On the ensuing Panthers possession, EIU faced a fourth down of their own that stuffed by Blake Salter at the line and give the ball to MSU at the 29-yard line.
MSU started the drive with a short completion to Arthur Brackett that was aided by a personal foul on the Panthers. Mike Harris carried the ball on four-straight plays and set the Racers up with a fourth-and-goal at the five. Brockman took the snap and found Marcus Harris over the middle for the five-yard score.
The Racers wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as they took the opening drive 54 yards on just four plays to open a 7-0 advantage. After a personal foul penalty on the first play, Brockman found Marcus Harris on a pair of pass plays that covered 16 yards. Mike Harris did the rest as he went over right tackle, cut back, and went virtually untouched into the endzone from 23-yards out.
The Panthers answered back on their second possession as quarterback Garoppolo connected on all three of his passes, covering 87 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to Lorence Ricks.
The quick-strike MSU offense regained the lead on the next drive as Brockman went 5-for-5 on the drive, connecting with four different receivers. Mike Harris caught a swing pass for 11 yards and Josh Brown hauled in his first reception on the next play, covering six yards. Rashad Daniels caught a pair of passes for 24 yards before Arthur Brackett did the rest by catching a short pass and going down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
EIU took advantage of a short field midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Five plays into the drive, Garoppolo found Ricks in the back of the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown.
The Racers looked like they would regain the lead on their next possession as they drove into the red-zone. But on a rugby scrum at the end of a third-down run, the referees ruled that there was a fumble that was recovered by the Panthers. Garoppolo found Ricks for 34 yards on the first play of the drive. After three rushing attempts from Jake Walker, covering 30 yards, Garoppolo found a wide open Erik Lora in the back of the endzone from eight-yards out for the 21-14 advantage.
Brockman led the Racers offensive attack as he completed a school-record 41 passes on 58 attempts for 318 and two touchdowns. Daniels was the main target as he had a career day with 12 catches for 117 yards. Marcus Harris added 11 catches for 85 yards and a score.
Mike Harris led the ground attack with 159 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He became the first Racer running back with three 100-yard games in a season since Chad Cook in 2004.
Zach Kutch led the defense with 10 tackles, including three tackles-for-loss. Andre Clarke added 3.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack.
The Racers return to action next Saturday as they travel to take on Eastern Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Roy Kidd Stadium.
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