By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It came down to the wire on Sunday as Tennessee Tech and Murray State faced off at Tucker Stadium.
While the Golden Eagles' offense missed several notable pieces in the skill positions and in the trenches, the Tech attackers still put up impressive numbers, especially with Willie Miller and Kurt Taylor Jr. putting together breakout games.
However, the Racers were able to capitalize on turnovers. Murray State picked off two passes for touchdowns and forced four turnovers. The final interception on a driving Golden Eagle team in position to win the game turned out to seal the deal though as the Racers took a 36-31 victory on Sunday afternoon.
"It is a tough loss, but I told the guys in the locker room that I couldn't be any prouder of this team," said Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander. "I'm really proud of the resilience these guys had, the effort they played with, the way they kept responding to things in the game. They never quit, they never hung their heads. We faced some adverse things and just kept coming back.
"I think everyone hurt in the locker room, but we grew up a lot. As crazy as it sounds, it was really a positive locker room. Was it a hurt locker room? Yes. Was it a unified locker room? Yes, it was. This is a locker room that really wants to get better."
Tech falls to 1-2 on the season, while Murray State stands undefeated at 3-0. The Golden Eagles hit the road for the next two weeks, taking on Eastern Illinois next week, then traveling to Cape Girardeau to take on Southeast Missouri.
To address the elephant in the room off the bat – yes, Miller threw three interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. But to summarize his game at that would be completely unfair as the quarterback, in his first career start in place of the injured Bailey Fisher, was electric. The sophomore from Pinson, Ala., rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while completing 17 of his 29 passes for 213 yards and another score.
"I'm really proud of his effort today," Alexander said. "Yeah, he had a couple of pick-sixes, but he never hung his head. He just kept going and kept playing."
Taylor also had an incredible game as the former Michigan and Iowa Central student-athlete ran 25 times for 84 yards, while catching eight passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Tech was also able to get a big special teams play as Jyron Gilmore, a freshman out of Citra, Fla., received a punt with just five minutes left to go in the contest, broke a couple of Racer tackles and took the ball to the house for the 39-yard touchdown. Hayden Olsen's PAT was good, giving Tech a 31-30 lead.
Gilmore had a breakout game, finishing the day with seven tackles and a pass breakup. Josh Reliford led Tech defensively with 11 tackles, while Jack Warwick had nine tackles, a breakup and a quarterback hurry.
"We had so many good performances today," Alexander said. "Our guys were speaking up and applauding each other in the locker room. Willie Miller was outstanding. Kurt Taylor getting his first start here at Tennessee Tech, he went out there and competed – he caught the ball well, ran the ball well, blocked well. He made a lot of plays today and really did everything we could ask him to do.
"It was also another great effort from our defense. They only had 110 yards of offense going into the third quarter. Jyron Gilmore, what a play for that young man."
The Racers responded to Gilmore's score by marching down the field eating up half of the available time on a five-play, 65-yard drive that ate up 2:21. The series ended as an outstretched LaMartez Brooks caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Preston Rice. After the play was reviewed and the call confirmed, Murray elected to go for two. A false start penalty pushed the 2-point try back, then Rice's pass fell incomplete on the second effort.
As Tech tried to retake the lead, the Racers' defense forced the Golden Eagles into a 4th-and-10 play with 1:27 remaining in the contest at the Tech 23. Miller stepped back and fired to Metrius Fleming, completing a 24-yard pickup and gaining the first down.
The drive ended on the next play as DaVontae McKee picked off Miller at the Murray 37 and picked up another six yards. With 1:09 remaining, the Racers handed off to Damonta Witherspoon on three straight plays to pick up the first down and put Murray into victory formation.
Witherspoon had two touchdowns in the contest, rushing 15 times for a team-high 39 yards. The Racers, as a team, rushed 29 times for 101 yards. Rice completed 17 of his 26 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. Brooks ended the game with 10 catches for 115 yards and the receiving score.
Alec Long recorded a game-high 12 tackles for the Racers, while Jarad McCray had 10 stops and a forced fumble. Eric Samuta had seven tackles with a fumble recovery and a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. Quinaz Turner, who also had three tackles, also returned an interception 82 yards for a score.
Olsen kicked a 20-yard field goal, while Aaron Baum added a 55-yard field goal for the Racers.
To illustrate the growth of this Tennessee Tech team, Coach Alexander put it simply: "With the players we had out today, if we had played this game and the Jacksonville State game, the score would have been pretty embarrassing. Our guys are responding and really playing well. We want to respond rather than react to things – they did that today. They picked each other up. Willie had some tough plays and his teammates were there to pick him up and encourage him, and he was right back out there and responded – and it was an unbelievable game really, and kept us in the game.
"We have a lot of guys who are creating a lot of depth and positive things here within our program. It's taken a while to get our roster where it needed to be, and we're still working on that. We've come a long way. Am I hurt? There's not many people who have put as much time and energy in Tennessee Tech football in the last 40 years as I have and I live and die with the Golden Eagles. I hurt for our players, alumni and program any time we lose, but I am really proud of how we played."
Alexander continued, "If I wasn't the head coach and was sitting in the stands watching this team play today, I would have left here with a smile on my face and proud of how these guys are playing. I'd be disappointed in the loss, but excited in how these guys are playing."
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
