Murray, KY – In the penultimate game of the regular season, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) football team went on the road and throttled arch-rival Murray State. Led by Prince Momodu the Governors rushed for 295 yards while holding the Racers to 39 rushing yards in a 42-7 Ohio Valley Conference win, Saturday, at Roy Stewart Stadium.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Governors, who opened things up with one of the steadiest marches downfield of the entire season.
After a touchback on the opening kickoff, the Govs embarked on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:32 before Prince Momodu punched in his first touchdown of the day from a yard out.
After the touchdown on the opening drive, a punting exhibition broke out for the rest of the first quarter, with each team punting twice before the second quarter began. But the Governors struck again in the second quarter, when JaVaughn Craig found his favorite target streaking down the seam, connecting with DeAngelo Wilson for a 40-yard touchdown.
Next it was the defense’s turn to make the big plays. Twice in the second quarter the Racers had the ball inside the Austin Peay 12-yard line, and twice the defense turned them away and forcing them to kick two field goals – which were both no good.
The first drive saw tackles for a loss from Shaun Whittinghill and Jack McDonald slam the door on a Racer touchdown. On the second it was Whittinghill and Josephus Smith who combined for a sack to stop the Racer offense in its tracks.
The third quarter went in similar fashion to the first two. The Govs forced the Racers to punt on their first drive, then kicked off another drive similar to their first of the game. The Govs went 52 yards on eight plays, setting up a 10-yard touchdown run form Momodu – his second of the game.
Just like the first two quarter, the Governors scored a single touchdown, and that was all the scoring for that quarter, but things would change in the fourth quarter.
The Governors have not been known for their prowess in the fourth quarter this season, but with a two touchdown lead over Murray State at the beginning of the final frame, the Govs simply put on more steam.
The Govs got things started by going 75 yards in 5:23, with Craig finding a wide open Wilson in the corner of the endzone on a play action pass. With the Racers trailing by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, they made the decision to go for it on fourth and ten on their next drive. On fourth down, Kwame Sutton broke free and sacked Racer quarterback Preston Rice for a loss of 16 yards, giving the Governors control of the ball on the Murray State 40-yard line.
It didn’t take long for the Govs offense to capitalize after the fourth down stop, as four plays later Ahmaad Tanner punched in his first score of the day from seven yards out, giving the Governors a 28-point lead with under nine minutes to play,
After a Craig interception, the Racers started a drive on their own two-yard line, sending out backup quarterback Brendan Bognar to take the rest of the snaps. On Bognar’s first play from scrimmage, he ran up the middle where he was met by a host of Governors. One of Govs got a helmet on the ball, which popped free only to be scooped up and carried into the endzone by none other than Kordell Jackson.
On the Racers final drive of the day, the Governor defense bowed its neck one last time and forced the Racers to turn the ball over on downs again. With the ball back, a five touchdown lead, and less than two minutes on the clock, Mark Hudspeth made the call to the bullpen, sending Kam Williams and Armond Carter Jr. to take the snaps on the final three plays.
The Governors 42-7 win over Murray State in the First Financial Bank Battle of the Border sets the Govs up to play for the OVC title in final week of the season. A Governor win and a Southeast Missouri win in the final week of the season means the Govs share the title, but clinch the automatic berth thanks to their 28-24 win over the Redhawks.
A Governor win and a Southeast Missouri loss means an outright OVC title for Austin Peay State University football – the first in 42 years.
Next Up For APSU Football
APSU Football’s last regular season home game is against Eastern Illinois next Saturday at Fortera Stadium. Kick off is at 2:00pm.
Despite what will be on the line for the Austin Peay State University Governors, it will be no different than the previous four weeks for Hudspeth and Co. The Governors will still have complete control of their destiny, its nothing new to them at this point, it’s exactly what they want.
