Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
4-3 , 2-1
Southeast Missouri
1-5 , 1-2
Racers Fall in Triple Overtime
10/12/2013 2:23:00 PM | Football
A couple failed opportunities late in the game proved to be costly to Murray State as Southeast Missouri took advantage of the miscues and walked away with a 37-34, triple overtime victory Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium.
The Racers (4-3, 2-1 OVC) took their first lead of the second half with 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter as Maikhail Miller hit Janawski Davis on a nine-yard touchdown pass.
On the ensuing Redhawks drive, Josh Manning stepped in front of a pass for his third interception in as many games. Duane Brady moved the Racers into the red-zone with a 27-yard run up the middle. Three plays later, Roper Garrett stepped in front of a Miller pass for the interception.
The Redhawks (1-5, 1-2 OVC) took advantage of their second life and drove down the field for the tieing score with just 55 seconds remaining. Scott Lathrop capped the 82-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown to Paul McRoberts.
MSU got the ball to start overtime and needed only two plays to reach the endzone. Miller rushed for a six-yard gain, and then found Walter Powell for a 19-yard touchdown on the next play. Â
SEMO countered with a six-play drive that ended with a 15-yard hook-up between Lathrop and McRoberts.
The Racer defense came up big in the second overtime as Darrell Smith stepped in front of a pass at the goaline to end the Redhawks possession. MSU moved the ball inside the 10-yard line, but Miller fumbled to end the drive.
The third overtime saw the Racers not able to move the ball, and missed a 42-yard field goal. The Redhawks managed to pick up a first down before Alex Knight connected on the game-winning 30-yard field goal.
The Racers drove 58 yards on their opening possession of the game, before bogging down at the 20-yard line. Miller hit Davis on two-straight passes covering 28 yards. An 11-yard completion to Nevar Griffin picked up another first down, before Jordan Benton came on and connected on a 37-yard field goal.
The Redhawks got on the board on the first drive of the second quarter with the help of a Racer penalty. It looked like the Racers had a stop on third down, but a deadball personal foul kept the drive alive and SEMO capped the drive with a one-yard run from Scott Lathrop.
SEMO hit the Racers with a big play on their next drive. They sucked the defense in on an option read, but Lathrop stepped back and hit D.J. Foster on a 78-yard touchdown pass. It was the first passing touchdown allowed by the Racers in conference play this season.
MSU came out in the second half and quickly drove down the field for a 35-yard Benton field goal. Â
After SEMO got a touchdown pass from Lathrop to Foster to go up 20-6, the Racers took over the final half of the third quarter. Miller capped a 12-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run, and then closed out the quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Powell.
Powell had another big day for the Racers as he posted a career-high 15 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns. It was his school-record 10th career 100-yard receiving performance, while falling just one catch shy of the single-game record.
Miller finished the day 30-of-45 for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 63 yards on the ground.
Brandon Wicks paced the defense with nine tackles. Smith and Manning each recorded interceptions to raise the season total to 12.
The Racers return to action Oct. 19 as they welcome Austin Peay for Homecoming. The game is the OVC Game of the Week and can be seen live on ESPN3.
Team Stats
MUR 3, SEMO 0
MUR - BENTON, Jordan 37 yd field goal 10 plays, 58 yards, TOP 2:33
MUR 3, SEMO 7
SEMO - LATHROP, Scott 1 yd run (McCRUM, Ryan kick), 20 plays, 92 yards, TOP 8:03
MUR 3, SEMO 13
SEMO - FOSTER, D.J. 78 yd pass from LATHROP, Scott (McCRUM, Ryan kickfailed) 2 plays, 81 yards, TOP 0:47
MUR 6, SEMO 13
MUR - BENTON, Jordan 35 yd field goal 10 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:41
MUR 6, SEMO 20
SEMO - FOSTER, D.J. 8 yd pass from LATHROP, Scott (KNIGHT, Alex kick) 8 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:41
MUR 13, SEMO 20
MUR - MILLER, Maikhai 2 yd run (BENTON, Jordan kick), 12 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:45
MUR 20, SEMO 20
MUR - POWELL, Walter 22 yd pass from MILLER, Maikhai (BENTON, Jordan kick) 8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:35
MUR 27, SEMO 20
MUR - DAVIS, Janawski 9 yd pass from MILLER, Maikhai (BENTON, Jordan kick) 13 plays, 84 yards, TOP 3:20
MUR 27, SEMO 27
SEMO - McROBERTS, Paul 18 yd pass from LATHROP, Scott (KNIGHT, Alex kick) 8 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:06
MUR 34, SEMO 27
MUR - POWELL, Walter 19 yd pass from MILLER, Maikhai (BENTON, Jordan kick) 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
MUR 34, SEMO 34
SEMO - McROBERTS, Paul 15 yd pass from LATHROP, Scott (KNIGHT, Alex kick) 10 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00
MUR 34, SEMO 37
SEMO - KNIGHT, Alex 30 yd field goal 8 plays, 13 yards, TOP 0:00
