The Skyhawk football team traveled to Murray, Kentucky, to take on an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) foe in the Murray State Racers on a rainy Sunday afternoon, but UTM’s offense came out flat and the team fell 10-14 to start the season.
The Skyhawks-Racers matchup took place in the midst of a torrential downpour of rain that hit western Kentucky that ultimately resulted in flooding in the area. Due to this, the game had to endure a two-hour weather delay.
UTM’s offense struggled from the get-go, as their first drive resulted in a three-and-out that saw a rush from senior running back (RB) Peyton Logan that was stopped at the line of scrimmage and two incompletions by sophomore QB John Bachus III. After a turnover on downs granted by the Skyhawk defense, the offense proceeded to earn 14 total yards (five-yard rush by senior wide receiver (WR) Marqwell Odom and nine-yard reception by Logan) before Bachus was intercepted at the Racers’ 10-yard line.
Murray State immediately made the Skyhawks pay for their mistake. On the first play of their ensuing drive following the interception, Racers’ QB Preston Rice completed a pass to WR Dequan Dallas for an 83-yard touchdown.
Down 0-7 early, the Skyhawk offense came alive on their next drive, which started with a monster 34-yard rush by Logan that got the team to Murray State’s 21-yard line. The Skyhawks inched their way to MSU’s 3-yard line after a seven-yard reception to junior tight end (TE) Colton Dowell. Unfortunately for UTM, a fourth-down incompletion by Bachus resulted in a turnover-on-downs and the Skyhawks entered the second quarter trailing 0-7 in the midst of MSU’s next drive.
The Racers were able to storm their way to UTM’s 27-yard line on their initial drive of the second quarter, but ultimately MSU missed the field goal, failing to increase their lead into the double-digit. Starting from their own 27, the Skyhawks advanced to their 42-yard line after a defensive pass interference penalty on the first play. Bachus proceeded to throw four-straight incompletions, prompting former starting QB, now punter, Dresser Winn to attempt the second punt of his collegiate career, going for 56 yards and putting the Racers only two yards shy of their end zone. The Skyhawks got on the board after a 34-yard field goal by freshman kicker Tyler Larco with a little under three minutes left in the first half.
Quarter three started with the Skyhawks and Racers trading punts, but UTM’s second drive ended in disaster. A short punt by MSU set up the Skyhawks on the Racers’ 27-yard line, but on the first play of the drive, Bachus was sacked for a whopping 21-yard loss, with defensive lineman (DL) Ethan Edmondson recovering the loose ball at MSU’s 48. Though UTM’s defense continued to hold strong, adding a blocked field goal to their stat line, Bachus’ struggles continued as the sophomore was picked off again, this time by MSU cornerback (CB) Sylvaugn Turner. Despite the Racers’ impressive defensive play, their offense also failed to get going, and both squads enter the final quarter separated by a mere 7-3 margin in favor of MSU.
Rice ended the game’s offensive drought with a two-yard rushing touchdown with 4:11 left in the fourth. Following MSU’s scoring drive, Winn stepped in as the team’s QB for the next drive, but a nine-yard sack and two incompletions led to Winn punting the ball again. The Skyhawks’ defense stepped up once again the following drive, as senior safety JaQuez Akins forced and recovered a fumble at UTM’s 42-yard line.
Down 3-14 with under two minutes left to play, the Skyhawk offense was set up in a position to get on the board again quickly. With Winn under center once again, UTM stormed their way down to MSU’s one-yard line, prompting a single-yard rush by Winn with only 59 seconds left to give the Skyhawks their first touchdown of the season. After Larco’s successful extra point, the Skyhawks opted to kickoff the ball once more, but with little time left, MSU kneeled the ball to kill the clock.
UTM’s QBs struggled mightily on a rainy Sunday night, with Bachus completing 13 of 26 attempts for 81 yards and two interceptions. Winn faired slightly better, completing two of five attempts for 19 yards and a rushing touchdown.
On the ground, Logan led all rushers with 91 yards on 15 attempts, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. The Skyhawks’ wide receiver corps was held in check, as UTM’s top two receivers were Dowell (61 yards, seven receptions) and Logan (36 yards, six receptions).
The defensive side of the ball was where the Skyhawks shined. Junior linebacker (LB) John Ford and junior safety Deven Sims led the way with seven total tackles each, with Sims notching a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup. Akins led UTM’s defenders in tackles-for-loss with two for eight yards. Sophomore DL Kameron Bowdry got the team’s only sack and blocked field goal.
Starting off 0-1, the Skyhawks will look to bounce back on March 7 when they travel to Illinois to take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-1).
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