It was a battle of containment from the jump as the Racers entered conference play against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium. The stadium was filled with navy and gold as Family Weekend attendees cheered despite an overcast kickoff and an on-and-off mist of rain.
The Golden Eagles were on the board less than three minutes into the game with standout senior running back Ladarius Vanlier and redshirt junior wide receiver Krys Cates leading the offensive efforts. The Racers returned the favor with just nine seconds left in the first quarter, tying the game at seven as redshirt junior KD Humphries connected with senior receiver Janawski Davis.
It was a familiar sight in the second quarter as the Golden Eagles tacked seven more on their score exactly three minutes in. Murray State was quicker to retaliate this time as the Humphries-Davis duo tied it just four minutes later. The Racers attempted to pull ahead twice with specialist efforts as senior kicker Carson Greifenkamp missed both 40-yard and 34-yard field goal attempts.
Fumbles were the Racers’ faux pas as they lost the ball four times to the Golden Eagles less than halfway into the third quarter. Tennessee Tech took full advantage and pulled away 28-14 with back-to-back touchdowns. Humphries found Davis for the third time with 6:27 to play in the third quarter before Greifenkamp’s extra point attempt was blocked. He redeemed himself with five seconds on the clock when he hit a 34-yard field goal and cut the deficit to five points.
Tennessee Tech tacked on another field goal in the fourth quarter before Humphries ran one into the cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 31-29. Murray State was unable to convert for two points to tie and the clock timed out with a two-point family weekend loss to start OVC play.