Racers Roll Skyhawks in 52-16 Victory

Saturday, September 25

Stewart Stadium

6 p.m.

Murray State

UT Martin

Dontrell Johnson returned a punt 91 yards for touchdown against UT Martin

Photo by: Samantha Mohr

9/26/2010 12:17:19 AM | Football

Mike Harris rushes for 119 yards as Racers pick up 211 on the ground

Box Score
Box Score (.pdf)

Murray State head coach Chris Hatcher knew his team needed just one spark to show to get them over the hump and show they are a good football team. Murray State got that spark in the first quarter Saturday night against UT Martin and used it to steam roll the Skyhawks, 52-16, in front 8,107 fans at Stewart Stadium.

“We are extremely excited,” said Hatcher. “We had three games in a row where we were disappointed and tonight I am very excited for our football team. They went out an executed well and played a whale of a ballgame.”

The Skyhawks (1-3, 1-1 OVC) looked to have the early momentum as the Racers fumbled the opening kickoff. That momentum was short lived as a sack from Lamar Theus forced a three-and-out.

UTM got off a good punt that took the Racers returner inside the 10-yard line. Dontrell Johnson caught and headed to the right sideline where he broke past the first wave and got a knockout block from Jordan Sklba on his way to a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown. The 91-yarder is second only to Phil Foster's 100-yard punt return against Morehead State in 1950.

The Racer (1-3, 1-1 OVC) defense forced another three-and-out and quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt found Marcus Harris for 43 yards on the first play. Two plays later, Casey Brockman took the snap and lateralled the ball to receiver Marshyl Rothman, who in turn threw it back to Brockman who walked in for the 10 yard touchdown.

MSU stretched its lead to three touchdowns on the next possession as Dexter Barnett picked up 12 yards on a pair of runs and Ehrhardt found Arthur Brackett for 12 yards and a first down. Brockman set up a first-and-goal situation with an 11-yard run, and Duane Brady finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

The Skyhawks got on the board on their next possession as Derek Carr found Bryan Milligan for a 14-yard touchdown.

The Racers were able to answer right back as Ehrhardt led the Racers on an eight-play scoring drive. The drive started with completions to Harris and Daniel Ard for a first down. Mike Harris followed with a 20-yard run and then another two-yard run that was aided by a late hit. On third-and-goal at the nine, Ehrhardt found Walter Powell for a nine-yard touchdown pass to put MSU ahead 28-7 late in the first quarter. The 28 first-quarter points were the most scored in a quarter since the Racers scored 28 in the fourth quarter against Indiana State in 2006.

The second quarter started the same for the Racers as the defense stopped UTM on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs. Mike Harris took over from there as he followed a seven-yard run with a 17-yard scamper. Three plays later, Mike Harris caught a seven-yard pass from Brockman and an eight-yard pass from Ehrhardt. Facing another third down, Ehrhardt flipped a swing pass to Mike Harris who did the rest by breaking four tackles and weaving his way into the endzone for a 25-yard touchdown.

The first-half onslot continued two drives later with Mike Harris picking up a first down on a pair of runs and Brockman following it up with a 35-yard completion down the middle to Ard. Tyler Lavea got into the act with a 12-yard run before Brockman capped the drive by lowering his shoulder at the goaline to score from 14-yards out.

The Skyhawks got their second score late in the quarter as they blocked a punt and recovered it in the endzone.

MSU added to their lead midway through the second half as Kienan Cullen connected on a 36-yard field goal. Three minutes later, UTM blocked their second punt of the day for safety.

Special teams help set up the final score of the game as Cullen's punt hit the back of a Skyhawk player and Lamar Hall jumped on the fumble at the 31-yard line. Mike Harris took the handoff on the next play and went 27 yards to set up a first-and-goal. He gained three yards on the next play and punched it in one player later from one-yard out.

Mike Harris led a ground attack that ran for 211 yards as he rushed for 119 yards on 17 carries. He also added five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Brockman ran for 35 yards on four carries, while also going 8-for-8 for 64 yards.

The Racer defense held the Skyhawks to just 39 yards on the ground through the first three quarters. Cornerback Nathan Brinkley intercepted a pair of passes and helped the Racers hold UTM to 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.

The Racers return to action Oct. 2 as they travel to #4 Jacksonville State in a key OVC showdown. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.