Simon Elfrink
Sports Editor
The Racers’ hot start to the unprecedented 2021 season continued in a 36-31 win over Tennessee Tech University on Sunday, March 14.
Murray State Head Coach Dean Hood spoke postgame about how big the win was for the Racers.
“Just really, really blessed to get a win,” Hood said. “Tennessee Tech is a really tough group of guys. Very fundamentally sound, and this is a tough place to play. I’ve had some bad memories here as the head coach at EKU and just like that where it’s back and forth, come back and all of a sudden it gets away from you.”
The Golden Eagles kicked off to the Racers to start the game. After a fruitless drive for each team, the Racers received possession to try and be the first team on the board.
Murray State started their second drive with just over ten minutes left in the first quarter. However, the Racers were unable to convert more than a single yard and punted on a three-and-out to give the Golden Eagles their second opportunity to score. The Golden Eagles capitalized on Murray State’s slow offense, getting a first down on the first pass attempt of the drive.
However, the Murray State defense turned things around with an interception by redshirt junior inside linebacker Eric Samuta who ran the ball all the way down the field for a touchdown, which the Racers converted into a 7-0 lead.
Tennessee Tech looked to equalize the scoreboard before going into the second quarter, scratching their way to Murray State’s 19-yard line with just under a minute left on the clock. In the opening minutes of the second quarter, Tennessee Tech battled to the four-yard line for fourth and goal and elected to kick a field goal, cutting the lead to 7-3.
Murray State’s redshirt junior quarterback Preston Rice ran the offense through redshirt junior wide receiver LaMartez Brooks. Thanks to some key passing from Rice and running from Brooks, the Racers slid through another pair of first downs. The Racers fought their way inside the five-yard line, and a handoff to freshman running back Demonta Witherspoon gave the Racers’ line a chance to power into the endzone for another touchdown. The conversion flew through the verticals, making the score 14-3 in favor of the Racers.
The Golden Eagles came back swinging on their next drive, making headway in a hurry. Tennessee Tech also benefited from a 15-yard penalty, following a late hit by Murray State’s defense. Just two plays into the drive, the Golden Eagles found themselves at the 20-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct judgement call gave Tennessee Tech yet another opportunity, putting them at the 10-yard line. The Golden Eagles’ offense took advantage of the back-to-back penalties, rushing a touchdown. The conversion closed the gap to 14-10.
A pair of fruitless drives later, the Racers were facing their last probable drive of the half. With 1:09 on the clock in the second quarter, the Racers found themselves at third and three on the Eagle’s 36-yard line. The Racers snuck it across the line, but were still 32 yards away from a touchdown with under a minute left. However, Rice found senior running back Rodney Castille for 14 yards. Rice and the Racers passed their way inside the five-yard line, eventually finding themselves third and goal on the one-yard line with 15 seconds left. On a handoff to Witherspoon, it looked like the Golden Eagles’ defense did its job keeping the rush out of the endzone by a matter of inches.
However, upon closer inspection, the referees reviewed and overturned the play, ruling it a touchdown for the Racers. The conversion was good and the Racers went into the locker room at halftime leading 21-10.
The Golden Eagles started with possession in the second half, but didn’t get far before the Racers’ offense got a chance to add to Murray State’s lead. The Racers did so with a 55-yard field goal from redshirt senior kicker Aaron Baum.
The Racers’ defense tipped the scale even further with an interception by redshirt junior cornerback Quinaz Turner, who ran 82 yards to go coast-to-coast and score the Racers’ 30th point, making the score 30-10. The Racers did not get the extra point, so the score remained 30-10 at 4:30 left in the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles found some life on their next drive, throwing a touchdown for junior running back Kurt Taylor Jr. The extra point made the score 30-17. The Golden Eagles’ defense went on to force a three-and-out, giving them an opportunity to score once again with time running out in the third quarter.
With under a minute left in the quarter, Brad Clarl ran a long route to catch a pass inside Murray State’s 10 yard-line. By the time the Golden Eagles carried the possession into the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, the ball was drawn at second and goal. Sophomore quarterback Willie Miller ran the three yards necessary to rush another touchdown. The extra point was good, cutting the lead to 30-24.
Tennessee Tech’s red-hot offense looked to tie things up, or even take the lead in the fourth. Their drive ended in a fumble, turning the ball over to the Racers over 90 yards from their endzone. On the third down of the Racers’ unexpected drive, the Racers punted. Freshman defensive back Jyron Gilmore caught and returned the ball all the way back to Tennessee Tech’s endzone for a 39-yard return to tie the game at 30. Tennessee Tech came all the way from behind with a 21-point run, taking a 31-30 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Racers were able to strike back on their next run, getting back on top with a touchdown pass to Brooks, who made a leaping catch to haul it in for another six points in the Racers’ scoring column, giving the Racers a 36-31 lead.
The score remained there until the end of the game, letting Murray State walk away with a 3-0 start to the 2021 season.
Brooks spoke postgame about the struggle throughout the game and what it was like to battle back after Tennessee Tech’s 21-point run.
“We kept our focus throughout the whole game,” Brooks said. “We just made sure that everybody had each other’s backs, so if we did have a penalty or something like that we could just make sure everybody was together and we executed at the end.”
Hood agreed with his player, saying the ability to battle back after adversity is what makes this team special.
“That’s a thing we’ve done a really good job of here in these last two football games, is handle these ups and downs,” Hood said. “The first thing is you’ve got to have buy in. You can do whatever you want to do as a coach or say whatever you want to say as a coach and it can be really really good stuff, but it really doesn’t matter unless you’ve got buy in by your players and that’s where we’ve been fortunate and blessed because our guys have bought in to what we’re doing.”
For the first time since 2011, the Racers are ranked in the FCS. Their flawless start earned the Racers a No. 25 spot in the FCS. Murray State will look to extend the electric start with a home game against Tennessee State University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21.
