After starting off slowly in the first quarter, the UTM Skyhawks football team rebounded to defeat the Murray State Racers by a score of 45-17.
“[It was] a very satisfying win,” said head coach Jason Simpson. “At this point in the season, we’re a tired football team … I thought they left their guts out on that field today.”
Quarterback Jarod Neal had started each of the past three games for UTM, so it was no surprise that he was called upon once again to start this week. However, the redshirt sophomore started by only completing two of three passes in the first quarter and attempting a pooch punt that backfired into a three-yard loss on UTM’s opening drive. Neal was ineffective in generating points early on; in fact, junior Dylan Favre was called upon for a handful of snaps during the first quarter.
The Skyhawks were able to take the ball right back on Murray State’s first drive, as cornerback Cam Harris picked off a Maikhail Miller pass to the left side of the field. Neither team was able to get any offense going in the early states of the game. Instead, it was the defense that was making plays. A missed pitch by Favre was recovered in the end zone by Murray State linebacker T-Ray Malone to put the Racers up 7-0 two-thirds of the way through the first quarter.
“[Favre] was going to play a lot early,” said Simpson. “That was a dumb call on my part. I put him in a bad situation … it’s my job to put him in better scenarios than that.”
After a UTM turnover on downs at the Racers’ 34-yard line, Murray State held an 8-play, 63-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown by running back Jaamal Berry to extend the Racers’ lead to 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Racers have produced points in the early goings all year; going into Saturday’s game, they had outscored their opponents 95-26 in the first quarter this season.
The Skyhawks started their comeback in the second quarter after five-yard TD plunge from DJ McNeil. The touchdown moved the senior running back into fourth on the Skyhawks’ career rushing touchdown list. McNeil finished the day with 28 carries for 111 net rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“We planned all week to run the outside zone,” said McNeil, who is only 46 yards away from eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards on the season. “We coached the fullbacks up … and they did a good job today and they opened up a lot of creases for me, so I give a lot of credit to the fullbacks.”
After Murray State punted, Neal led the Skyhawks on a short, two-play drive, comprised of a twenty-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Thompson followed by a 21-yard touchdown strike to senior Jeremy Butler to tie the score at 14. On their next drive, Jackson Redditt kicked a 33-yard field goal to put Martin ahead briefly, but Murray State answered with a 24-yard field goal of their own as the half ended, making the score at halftime 17-17.
“Coach Simpson came in at halftime and gave a good speech, and that got everybody hyped,” said McNeil. “It’s Murray. We understand that we gotta win this game.”
“Win” might be an understatement, considering the Skyhawks’ second-half performance. After the break, the Skyhawks came out and continued to pound away at the defense with the running game, ultimately resulting in a 1-yard goal-line plunge by Neal to put UTM back in the lead. On Martin’s next possession, McNeil scored his second rushing touchdown of the day, this one from two yards out, to put UTM up 31-17.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawks’ defense completely shut down the Racers’ scoring offense in the second half, relentlessly pressuring Mikhail Miller into making poor throws. Parks Frazier, the Racers’ backup quarterback, relieved Miller partway through the third quarter, but the Racers still couldn’t manage any points. Skyhawks linebacker Tony Bell was in the backfield for much of the game, tallying 16 total tackles and 4.5 sacks, including a takedown of Frazier at the end of the third quarter that electrified the home crowd at Hardy-Graham Stadium. After the game, Bell called the sack his favorite play of the game.
“Everybody went crazy,” said Bell. “I thought he’d thrown the ball … when I saw him coming down, I saw he still had the ball, so I just got so excited. I thought it was fourth down, and I was about to run off the field, and [Simpson] was yelling at me, screaming at me to go back.”
After Murray State punted to Martin’s 1-yard line to begin the final quarter, Neal led the team on a 12-play, 99-yard drive that ended in an 11-yard pass from Neal to Thompson to bring the score to 38-17. Following a Thad Williams interception–his second, and the team’s third on the day–the offense scored once more on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Butler in the far corner of the end zone, making the final score 45-17. After the game, Simpson said that this game was an impressive display of his team’s ability to overcome adversity.
“I think we grew up a little bit today,” said Simpson. “This was a win that I’ve been waiting on all year.”
UTM, now 6-3 (4-2 OVC), will travel south to face Memphis on Nov. 9. . Meanwhile, Murray State, who now sit at 5-4 (3-2 in OVC play), will return home to face Eastern Illinois.
