Story by Blake Sandlin
bsandlin1@murraystate.edu
Sports Editor
It was a torrential downpour of rainfall and touchdowns Saturday night in Conway, Arkansas at the expense of Murray State.
Though Murray State seemed primed for a competitive affair after a fast start, it was ultimately Central Arkansas who would control the remainder of the game to seal a 26-13 win.
Senior quarterback Drew Anderson opened up the game with a big gain on a pass to sophomore wide receiver Sylvaughn Turner for 35 yards. That gain set the Racers up for a 39-yard field goal from Racer junior Gabe Vicente, which would give them a 3-0 edge early.
Unfortunately for them, it wouldn’t last long. Sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith punched in a 1-yard keeper to give the Bears an answer and strike a 7-3 lead.
The Racers would trim the Bear lead to one early in the second quarter after failing to convert on third and goal, as Vicente would again nail a 24-yarder. Smith would lead a 72-yard drive down the field to allow junior running back Carlos Blackman to run in an easy 1-yard touchdown to compound the lead to 13-6.
Central Arkansas added one more score courtesy of a 25-yard touchdown reception to senior wide receiver Lester Wells that would pad the lead to 20-6. A rain delay sidelined action for nearly an hour and 15 minutes, but for the Racers, it gave them all the energy necessary to counter and keep the game within reach.
Following a short 17-yard punt by the Bears which gave the Racers the ball on Central Arkansas’ 45-yard line with 30 seconds left in the half, Anderson capitalized.
Photos from tonight’s 26-13 loss to Central Arkansas. pic.twitter.com/7kJRiNzSZ8
— MSU Sports News (@MSUSportsNews) September 9, 2018
The senior captained a three play, 22-second drive that was highlighted by a timely 31-yard touchdown reception to junior receiver James Sappington that would cut the lead to 20-13 and keep the Racers within striking distance heading into halftime. Anderson’s pass would mark the first touchdown of his Racer career.
Murray State carried over its late first half success to its opening drive of the second. A 25-yard run by junior running back Quarderman Sloan put the Racers on the Bears’ 40. A fourth-down conversion from Anderson to sophomore receiver Rodney Castille placed Murray State in ideal scoring position.
The team looked poised to tie the game at 20 after another completion to Sappington. Sappington caught the pass and took it 19 yards and was just two yards from punching it in before junior safety Juan Jackson forced a fumble which was recovered by the Bears in their own end zone.
The miscue proved costly, as it would essentially deflate any potential momentum the Racers might have. Murray State Head Coach Mitch Stewart said the turnover was demoralizing for a Racer team vying for a comeback.
“That was a big time play for us, and he made a big time play [in the first half], he was trying to make a big time play for the ball club, you know, and tried to reach that thing out,” Stewart said. “I was hoping that it may have crossed before it came out. But he was playing his guts out, and that’s what happens. Obviously that was a big moment, but even then, we played good football after that. We still battled up until the start of that fourth quarter, and then we started playing a lot of ‘me’ football and not ‘we’ football.”
They didn’t score the remainder of the game, as Central Arkansas would go on to add one more score to punctuate a 26-13 victory, dropping Murray State to 0-2 on the season.
“We had a lot of selfish penalties that kind of changed the game around,” senior defensive back Marquez Sanford said of the Racers’ fourth quarter. “They got a stop on third down; we threw an interception in the red zone. We could’ve changed the game right there. We had some real non-hustling penalties, and that can hurt the team.”
The Bears held Murray State to just 56 yards on the ground, though Anderson did manage to throw for 209 yards and an interception. Sappington tallied a team-high 57 yards on three receptions.
Wells was a constant presence on the field Saturday night for Central Arkansas as he contributed a touchdown and 156 yards receiving – more than half of Smith’s 301 passing yards on the night.
Stewart said the Racers kept their composure through most of the game, but succumbed to the Bears late due to lack of effort.
“We played three good quarters of football then completely lost our composure and poise,” Stewart said. “For about a quarter and a fourth we just played selfish football. I don’t have any other way to say it, we just played selfish football. It’s like I told the boys in the locker room, ‘There’s no moral victories.’”
“Somebody just came and asked, ‘Man, you’ve got to be proud. You just went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.’ Well, no I’m not,” Stewart said. “I feel like we have the personnel that we should be one of the best teams in the country. But until we start playing for the name on the front of our jersey instead of the name on the back of our jersey then our results are going to be the same.”
The Racers will look to improve on a slow start when they head to Lexington, Kentucky for an in-state affair with the University of Kentucky at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. The game will mark the last of Murray State’s non-conference slate.