Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports Editor
bsandlin1@murraystate.edu
Murray State escaped Lexington, Kentucky with its pride intact and a big paycheck despite suffering a 48-10 loss.
“Obviously we came up here for one purpose, and that was to win,” Head Coach Mitch Stewart said. “That’s what you do as a coach and as a team. They came up here with that purpose. I thought that they fought tremendously well, but came up short from our goal. But there were a lot of positives to take away from the game.”
In the second meeting all time between the University of Kentucky and Murray State, the Racers attempted to suppress a hot Wildcat team that’s shot out to a 2-0 start. However, a complete showing from sophomore quarterback Terry Wilson proved insurmountable for Murray State.
UK drew first blood when Wilson scrambled for a 42-yard touchdown on the opening drive to go up 7-0 early.
The Wildcats limited the Racers from the start, and didn’t let off the gas until the final whistle. Junior kicker Gabe Vicente provided the lone score in the first half, a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, set up by a 30-yard reception by sophomore receiver Corey Newble.
Despite the slow start, the Racers found themselves in a respectable position heading into halftime against the SEC foe, trailing 17-3.
Murray State failed to capitalize, however, as UK compounded its lead in the third quarter with a 38-yard field goal from senior kicker Miles Butler and a massive 48-yard touchdown from sophomore wide receiver Zy’Aire Hughes off of a double reverse. Coincidentally, both Butler and Hughes are Paducah natives.
Sophomore running back Asim Rose also added a goal line touchdown in the quarter, helping the Wildcats cement a 27-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Though UK looked poised to keep the Racers out of the end zone for the entirety of the game, freshman quarterback Preston Rice maximized his short stint in the game during garbage time with two chunk plays to trim the deficit.
With just over a minute to play, Rice evaded multiple Wildcat defenders and threw a 37-yard pass to junior wide receiver Malik Honeycutt to put the Racers in Wildcat territory. Rice would punctuate the pass with another play – this time with his feet. Rice scrambled for 21 yards to reach the end zone with 30 seconds remaining to help alleviate the blow of the 48-10 loss.
“He loves having a job,” Stewart said. He loves having responsibility. He loves contributing to this football team, and to see him go out there and run around and make the plays that we knew he could in a game like that, I know it’s the end of the game. I’m not taking that away from the situation at all, but just to see him go out and compete like that on that last play where he goes down and runs some guys over for a touchdown, that’s just a microcosm of what that kid is. You just saw Preston Rice on a daily basis on that play.”
Terry led the Wildcats in both rushing and pushing in Saturday’s contest, tallying 163 yards passing and 80 yards rushing. One potential bright spot for the Racers was their coverage on UK’s prolific junior running back Benny Snell, who through two games averaged 150 rushing yards. Snell was held to just 75 yards against the Racers.
“What I was more impressed with was the ability we had to hold up against the run,” Stewart said. “I know statistically they rushed for 245 yards, I know that’s not great, but we’re talking about what I consider one of the premier backs in the country with Benny Snell right there. That’s what I was most encouraged with.”
The meeting with the Wildcats marks the final game of the Racers’ non-conference slate. They’ll have a bye week before getting back to business in search of their first win against UT Martin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Roy Stewart Stadium.