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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University Football's defense fails to slow down Murray State

Austin Peay State University Football’s defense fails to slow down Murray State

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Governors - APSUMurray, KY – Youth has its disadvantages, and those were on display in Saturday’s 34-18 loss at Murray State, Saturday, as the Govs allowed 526 total yards to one of the Ohio Valley Conference’s elite offenses at Roy Stewart Stadium, despite another 100-yard performance from redshirt freshman Kendall Morris.

Austin Peay Governors Football loses to Murray State 34-18 Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Governors Football loses to Murray State 34-18 Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (0-6, 0-3 OVC)—starting 12 and playing 37 total freshmen and sophomores—saw its nation-long road losing streak hit 35 games, while the Racers (2-4, 1-2) won their first conference game in 2015 and snapped a nine-game losing streak to Division I opponents–a streak started by Austin Peay last season.

The Racers came out firing, with Pokey Harris returning the opening kickoff to the Austin Peay 36-yard line. Eight plays later, KD Humphries dove in from the one-yard line to open the scoring for the Racers.

APSU Taye DavisFollowing a Governors punt, Humphries again led the Racers down the field. The junior quarterback accounted for 44 yards on the drive (33 passing, 11 rushing), but handed the ball off to Roman Clay for the two-yard touchdown plunge.

Staggered, the Governors fought back. After forcing a three-and-out on the Racers next possession, the Governors mixed the run and pass together well, with freshman Taye Davis finishing the drive with a six-yard touchdown run—his career’s first—as part of a 13-carry, 63-yard day for the Lebanon Tennessee native.

Clay punched another nine-yard run in early in the second quarter, but it was again the last four minutes of the first half that saw the opponent grab all the momentum.

APSU Kendall MorrisConnor Mitchell hit a 23-yard field goal following a quick eight-play, 39-yard drive with 3:40 remaining, then the disaster struck on the second play of the Governors next series when Trey Taylor‘s pass to Jared Beard was picked off by DeAndre Cooper at the Murray State 35-yard line.

Emboldened by the gift, the Racers quickly marched into Governors territory thanks largely to a 24-yard scamper by Nick Taylor and three Humphries-to-Paul Rice hook ups that netted 27 yards. On the drive’s ninth play, Humphries punched it in again, his second of the day, to take the Racers into halftime with a 31-6 lead.

After carrying the ball six times for just 10 yards, including a fumble, in the first half, Morris got the second half started right with runs for 26 and 30 yards on his first two carries. Timarious Mitchell, seeing his season’s first action under center, completed the drive with a 10-yard strike to Jared Beard to make it 31-12 after the two-point attempt failed.

After having a break-out performance (seven catches, 85 yards, three touchdowns) against the Racers last season, Beard continued to terrorize the Murray State secondary in this one, finishing with seven catches for 97 yards. Four of his six career touchdowns have now come against the Racers.

Connor Mitchell’s 31-yard field goal on the ensuing drive would be Murray State’s lone second-half points, but the Racers were able to control the clock for nearly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter to eliminate any comeback ideas for Austin Peay.

However, the final period would have a bright spot as Morris broke bad for the second week in a row, taking the option pitch from Mitchell, hitting the corner and breaking a pair of arm tackles on his 62-yard run for the end zone. He finished with 138 yards on 15 carries (9.1 ypc).

Although the Governors were able to force five turnovers in last season’s contest, the Governors defense was unable to generate any takeaways on Saturday, while the Racers came away with three turnovers (two fumble recoveries and an interception).

The Difference

Field position hurt Austin Peay’s defense early and often in this one, as Murray State had three drives start in APSU territory—leading to 17 points—and an average drive starting position of its own 35-yard line. Meanwhile, the Governors average starting spot was the 23-yard line and faced three starting spots inside their own 10-yard line.

Coaching Quotables

“Their quarterback is a lot better this year. He’s used his playing time to understand that the ball is precious, and you saw him today, he threw a couple away. He knows his patterns better; he didn’t throw any up for grabs and two (interceptions) last year were desperation plays by him and I didn’t see any of that. He’s one of the better ones in the league,” stated APSU Football head coach Kirby Cannon on Murray State quarterback KD Humphries.

Video

Head coach Kirby Cannon meets with the media following APSU’s loss to Murray State.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHh7a4B5lBg[/youtube]

Up Next for the Govs

The Governors will spend back-to-back weekends at home for the first time since 2013, beginning with an October 17th contest against UT Martin. Austin Peay seeks its first win against the Skyhawks since 2007.

Box Score

Austin Peay (0-6 , 0-3) -VS- Murray St. (2-5 , 1-2)

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Austin Peay 6 0 6 6 18
Murray State 14 17 3 0 34

APSU: TAYLOR,Trey (104), MORRIS,Kendall (136), BEARD,Jared (97)
MUR: HUMPHRIES, KD (286), CLAY, Roman (118), BLACKBURN, Jesse (88)

Scoring Summary

Time Scoring Play APSU MUR
1st 12:44 MUR – HUMPHRIES, KD 1 yd run (MITCHELL, Conno kick ), 8 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:16 0 7
1st 06:28 MUR – CLAY, Roman 2 yd run (MITCHELL, Conno kick ), 11 plays, 43 yards, TOP 4:09 0 14
1st 00:20 APSU – DAVIS,Taye 6 yd run (BIRCHFIELD,Loga kick blocked), 7 plays, 51 yards, TOP 2:26 6 14
2nd 10:49 MUR – CLAY, Roman 9 yd run (MITCHELL, Conno kick ), 7 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:07 6 21
2nd 03:40 MUR – MITCHELL, Conno 23 yd field goal 8 plays, 39 yards, TOP 1:39 6 24
2nd 00:30 MUR – HUMPHRIES, KD 3 yd run (MITCHELL, Conno kick ), 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:27 6 31
3rd 05:49 APSU – BEARD,Jared 10 yd pass from MITCHELL,Timar (MITCHELL,Timar pass failed) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:07 12 31
3rd 03:01 MUR – MITCHELL, Conno 31 yd field goal 11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 2:44 12 34
4th 10:36 APSU – MORRIS,Kendall 62 yd run (MITCHELL,Timar pass failed), 6 plays, 98 yards, TOP 3:04 18 34
18 34

 

Team Statistics

APSU MUR
First Downs
Total 16 28
Rushing 8 15
Passing 7 13
Penalty 1 0
Rushing
Total (Net) 212 240
Attempts 37 49
Avg. Per Rush 5.7 4.9
Rushing TDs 2 4
Yds. Gained 231 261
Yds. Lost 19 21
Passing
Total (Net) 158 286
Comp.-Att.-Int. 16-28-1 32-51-0
Avg. / Att. 5.6 5.6
Avg. / Comp. 9.9 8.9
TDs 1 0
Total Offense
Yards 370 526
Plays 65 100
Avg. / Play 5.7 5.3
Fumbles – Lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties – Yds. 2-10 8-90
Punting
Punts – Yds. 6-258 5-225
Avg. / Punt 43.0 45.0
Inside 20 4 2
50+ Yds. 1 1
Touchbacks 0 2
Fair Catch 1 1
Kickoffs
Total – Yds. 3-161 7-408
Avg. Yds. / Kickoff 53.7 58.3
Touchbacks 0 1
Returns
Punt: Total – Yds. – TDs 0-0-0 2-36-0
Punt: Avg. / Return 0 18.0
Kickoff: Total – Yds. – TDs 4-69-0 3-97-0
Kickoff: Avg. / Return 17.3 32.3
INT: Total – Yds. – TDs 0-0-0 1-0-0
Fumble: Total – Yds. – TDs 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous
Misc. Yards 0 0
Poss. Time 27:02 32:58
3rd. Down Conv. 3 of 12 13 of 24
4th. Down Conversions 1 of 2 2 of 3
Red-Zone: Scores – Chances 2-2 6-7
Sacks: Total – Yds. 2-10 1-3
PAT: Total – Made 0-1 4-4
Field Goals: Total – Made 0-0 2-3
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