Nick Kendall
Staff writer
The Murray State football team just barely came out on top with a 24-17 against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
This is the first time the Racers have beaten the Panthers at Roy Stewart Stadium since 2011.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Preston Rice completed 19 of 29 passes for 274 yards and scored three touchdowns despite a rough week off the field.
Rice’s brother was in a really bad accident earlier this week. Although Rice is going through a tough time, he told Stewart he needed to play and be the leader for the team.
“He’s been dealing with going back and forth to Vandy all week after practice and things like that,” Stewart said. “It’s just really humbling to go through that experience with him and listen to him talk about how he just needed to be with the team, needed to be playing ball and needed to be practicing. This was kind of his couple hours where he didn’t have to think about that stuff and for him to come out and perform the way he did.”
After a roughing-the-passer call late in the game by sophomore defensive lineman Scotty Humpich, the Panthers were put in the redzone for one last play to tie or win the game.
Eastern Illinois’ freshman receiver DeWayne Cooks made a valiant effort, but was stopped short by junior defensive back Cortez Roberts.
Redshirt junior linebacker Anthony Kocklanakis described the drive as an intense and crazy one.
“I think we killed ourselves with penalties that drive but we just kept saying ‘next play, next play,’” Kocklanakis said. “I looked at my boy Scotty [Humpich] after he got the penalty I was like ‘next play’ and we ended up stopping them by an inch.”
Though Murray State came out with a win, they fumbled the ball five times during the game which does not bode well with Stewart.
“When you put the ball on the ground five times and lose four of them, there better be a change from a mentality standpoint of how serious that stuff is,” Stewart said. “We got to get better. I got to coach it better and got to emphasize it more.”
Murray State returns to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct.12, at Hale Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Tennessee State University.
