THURSDAY'S SCORES
Southern Illinois 49,
@Murray State 10
@Eastern Kentucky 49, Morehead State 23
@Chattanooga 34,
Tennessee Tech 10
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 49, MURRAY STATE 10
MURRAY, Ky. - Southern Illinois scored 28 points off of six turnovers, as the Murray State football team was defeated in its 2018 season opener, 42-10, Friday evening at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
Murray State struck first in the game on a 25-yard field goal from Gabriel Vicente, however back-to-back second quarter touchdowns off of a fumble and an interception, respectively, pushed SIU's lead out to 21-3.
The Racers cut the lead to 11 in the third on a 28-yard drive after an Anthony Koclanakis interception that ended in an eight-yard touchdown run by D. J Penick. However, just when it looked like Koclankis had picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, the play was overturned and the Salukis marched down the field and scored to take a 28-10 lead into the locker room at the break.
The second half was all Salukis as they added three touchdowns to clinch the 49-10 win
Quincy Williams had several big plays in Thursday's opener and led all players in the game with nine tackles including seven solo. The senior also had 2.0 tackles-for-loss totaling 14 yards, a 10-yard sack and a forced fumble
The Racers had success running the ball Friday, gaining130 yards with Rodney Castille leading the way with a net of 72 on 10 carries.
Southern Illinois rushed for 295 yards in the game including 127 from D.J. Davis. Sam Straub was 16-for-29 passing with 107 yards, a score and an interception, while Landon Lenoir led with fice catches for 25 yards.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 49, MOREHEAD STATE 23
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University football team rushed for 404 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-23 win over visiting Morehead State on Thursday night in the Colonels’ season opener at Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU (1-0) averaged 6.6 yards-per-carry in an electrifying ground performance. Junior Daryl McCleskey Jr. led the way with 125 yards on 14 carries. Senior LJ Scott added 86 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt junior Jason Lewis contributed 70 yards on 10 touches. Sophomore Alonzo Booth and redshirt junior Ellis Cain also added rushing touchdowns in the commanding win.
Three EKU quarterbacks saw action. Redshirt sophomore Austin Scott and redshirt freshman Dakota Allen each threw a touchdown, both to senior tight end Dan Paul.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Aaron Patrick – a preseason All-American – terrorized the Morehead State (0-1) offensive line all night, recording 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
Redshirt sophomores Josh Hayes and Dillon Denault both grabbed interceptions in the win.
After a 38-yard field goal by redshirt junior Samuel Hayworth gave EKU an early 3-0 lead, an interception by Hayes at the Morehead State 38-yard line handed the Colonels another prime scoring opportunity. They capitalized, as, two plays later, Booth rumbled 23 yards for a touchdown. Booth then added a two-point conversion to make it 11-0, EKU, with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Following a Morehead State punt, EKU marched down the field and scored again just before the clock ran out on the first quarter. Sophomore wideout Jaelin Carter opened the drive with a 13-yard run. LJ Scott followed that up with a 16-yard scamper. McCleskey Jr. added runs of 16 yards and 18 yards, before LJ Scott capped it with a four-yard dive into the corner of the endzone, giving the Colonels an 18-0 advantage to start the second quarter.
Morehead State, however, responded with a scoring drive of its own midway through the second quarter. A 35-yard pass by Lawson Page to Jordan Huffman sparked the Eagles. Issiah Aguero finished the march with a two-yard TD run that made it 18-7 with 7:45 remaining in the first half.
Eastern responded by marching 81 yards on 13 plays; however, the Colonels were stuffed at the goal line and turned the ball over on downs with just under two minutes to play in the half.
EKU went into the locker room at the break up 18-7.
The Colonels really began to assert themselves in the second half. On their first possession, Allen capped a 14-play, 77-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Paul.
A sack by senior Gavin Bryant then forced Morehead State into a three-and-out, and EKU took advantage of the good field position with a touch of trickery. On the third play of the ensuing possession, sophomore quarterback Alphonso Howard took a swing pass in the backfield from Allen and then threw back across the field to Allen for a 28-yard pick-up to the Morehead State 15. Austin Scott capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Paul, making it 32-7 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
The Colonels opened the fourth quarter with another scoring drive. LJ Scott found paydirt again on the drive, powering his way in from four yards out to make it 39-7.
After Morehead State added consecutive late touchdowns, Cain capped the scoring for the night with a nine-yard rushing touchdown to make it 49-23 with 2:36 remaining.
CHATTANOOGA 34, TENNESSEE TECH 10
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Despite the 34-10 score as the Tennessee Tech-Chattanooga game stretched from Thursday night into Friday morning as the game had a 2:45 minute lightning delay, there were still positives for the Golden Eagles to build on.
Tech (0-1) returns to action on Thursday night as it hosts Kennesaw State (0-1) in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
Josh Poplar had a great game in his first outing since missing the 2017 campaign. He led Tech in tackles with eight tackles, then scored Tech's first touchdown of the season as he brought an interception back 14 yards for the score.
Nick Madonia also added a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter to close out Tech's scoring.
Tech did have big stops by the defense early on, holding UTC to field goals in the first quarter and taking the 7-6 lead on Poplar's pick six and Madonia's PAT.
For true freshman quarterback Bailey Fisher, there was some growing pains, but there was also some flashes of brilliance in his first collegiate game. Fisher rushed 11 times for 78 yards, then passed for 117 yards on 10-of-26 passing. He lost a fumble on the Chattanooga 9, then had two interceptions, including one for a touchdown.
Andrew Goldsmith caught three passes for 63 yards to lead the receiving effort.