OVC rival Murray State upends Southeast Missouri State football team in double OT

MURRAY, Ky. -- The Southeast Missouri State football team took a three-point lead in the second overtime of its road game against Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State.

The Redhawks' defense had held the Racers to a field goal of their own in the first overtime after MSU took the ball all the way to the 1-yard line but was unable to stop the high-powered offense again.

Junior wide receiver Janawski Davis caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback KD Humphries that snapped a four-game losing streak for the Racers, who immediately ran onto the field to celebrate their 44-41 double overtime win over the No. 23 Redhawks.

"It just really came down to they made the play, and unfortunately we didn't," Southeast sophomore inside linebacker Roper Garrett said. "There's not really much we could do about that."

Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said after the game that while it's easy to focus on specific plays that caused the loss, there were things that could've been improved in all three phases of the game.

Southeast Missouri State's Peter Lloyd catches a 9-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Snyder before he is tackled by Murray State's Shawn Samuels-Connell during the fourth quarter Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 in Murray, Kentucky. (Fred Lynch)

"Defensively it was the big play," Matukewicz said. "Offensively it was the procedure-type stuff and then not being able to score in the red zone like they were able to. Then special teams missed two field goals. ... They were long, and I know he feels bad. But that's what they'll do. They'll try to go to one play (to figure out what went wrong)."

The defense was burned on big plays throughout the game. MSU's first touchdown came on a 21-yard pass 4 minutes, 6 seconds into the game to take a 7-0 lead. The Racers later scored on passes of 75 and 49 yards.

"Everything we watched on film they ran," Garrett said. "I think it just came down to some missed assignments and technique errors."

The Redhawks prepared for MSU's offense, which leads the conference in passing yards and ran 66 plays in the first half of its game last Saturday. Matukewicz stressed that the Redhawks needed to try to harness the Racers' quick tempo, saying "we wouldn't even be able to play again," if the Racers ran that many plays against a thin Redhawks' defensive roster, "with our defense there's nobody left."

"We wanted to keep the defense off the field as much as they could and chew up as much of the clock as possible," Southeast quarterback Kyle Snyder said. "I felt like we did well with that, but on the other hand, you wish you could've did better."

Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Spencer Davis runs into Murray State's St. Pierre Anilus on a 7-yard Kyle Snyder pass during the third quarter Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 in Murray, Kentucky. (Fred Lynch)

The Redhawks were able to control the ball, possessing it for 44:18 of the game while MSU had it just 15:42, but were unable to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities.

Their first score came on a 21-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Ryan McCrum with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter to make it 7-3. The Redhawks had taken over at the Murray 43 to start the drive and had it first-and-goal from the 9 but were unable to gain more than five yards.

"It hurt real bad. We practice it every day," junior running back DeMichael Jackson said of missed red zone opportunities. "Red zone -- we make sure we go over it. We just came up short today. We were really slow today. Next week we've just got to pick it up."

Southeast took a 10-7 lead on a 5-yard Snyder pass to freshman Adrian Davis with 12:48 remaining in the first half.

It took 50 seconds for a big play from MSU -- a 75-yard pass over the top of the Southeast defense to Janawski Davis for a touchdown -- to put the Racers ahead 14-10.

The Redhawks were halted at the Murray 29 on their next drive and settled for a field goal. McCrum missed the 46-yard attempt -- his first miss of the season.

He responded with a 28-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining in the half to pull the Redhawks within 14-13.

It took just 55 seconds for MSU to come up with another big play in the second half -- a 49-yard touchdown pass to Griffin that made it 21-13.

Southeast's next drive ended at the Racers' 26-yard line and a 43-yard field goal by McCrum went wide right.

The Redhawks knotted the game at 21 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Snyder kept it for an 11-yard touchdown and then Jackson ran it in for the two-point conversion.

MSU scored with 28.2 seconds left in the third on a 5-yard reception by DeQaviu Walker. Southeast had three penalties for 45 yards on the drive, but Matukewicz didn't believe they were what he calls "ignorant penalties."

Southeast tied it again on a 10-yard pass to junior receiver Peter Lloyd 1:38 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"I wouldn't say we're used to it, but we're always a team that fights really well," Lloyd said of playing from behind. "... We don't really think of it as catch-up, just compete for every point and play until the whistle blows."

Garrett sacked Humphries and forced a fumble on MSU's next drive and the Redhawks recovered on their own 41.

Southeast ran the ball on 11 of its 13 plays on the ensuing drive, including converting on fourth-and-1 from the Murray 11. Snyder connected with Adrian Davis on a 7-yard pass to give the Redhawks their second lead of the game at 35-28.

"We had been running the ball right down the field, and I knew we were going to have to score seven there because their offense was just that good," Matukewicz said of going for it on fourth down. "You see what I see -- their skill players are really good on that side of the ball."

Griffin, who hadn't scored a touchdown prior to Saturday's game, caught a 13-yard pass in the end zone to tie it once again with 46.6 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Racers scored on a 20-yard field goal in the first overtime and Southeast responded with a McCrum 52-yarder.

Southeast had it on the Murray 13 in the second overtime, but three passes fell incomplete and the Redhawks settled for a 30-yard field goal to make it 41-38 before the Racers scored the game-winner.

"Obviously we're upset, but you can't sit there and pout about it," Snyder said. "You've got to get back and get ready for the next one, and that's what we'll do. Obviously there's a lot of things to learn from this game."

The Redhawks host two-time defending OVC champion Eastern Illinois on Saturday at Houck Stadium.