INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—This time is was Morehead State that won on a late score.
Rainer Duzan booted a 23-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter to life the Eagles over Butler, 21-20, in a Pioneer Football League game Saturday afternoon at the Butler Bowl. Duzan’s kick snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
“I was excited for [the kick],” Duzan said. “It didn’t matter if they called a timeout or not. I knew it was going to be a good snap and hold.”
Morehead State (3-4, 2-2 PFL) entered the game 10-3 all-time versus the Bulldogs, but two of the losses came in the last two years. In both cases BU had erased a three-score Eagle lead to win, but Saturday it was MSU’s turn to erase a late Butler advantage.
“Any victory is sweet, no matter how it’s come by, but they don’t come any sweeter than the one today,” MSU coach Matt Ballard said. “It’s a great credit to our young men.”
The game-winning kick came following a trio of passes from Zach Lewis totaling 49 yards and pass to Donte Sawyer that nearly resulted in a game-winning touchdown. Lewis engineered the game-winning drive with 59 seconds remaining. It offset a late field goal by Butler’s David Lang that put the Bulldogs in front late in the fourth quarter.
Every play does count and it’s not over until it’s over,” Ballard said. “When it mattered the most, our guys stepped up and did great things up front, our skill people did an exceptional job and it’s pretty sweet to run a two-minute drill like that with no timeouts. To go down to win a ball game like that and let Mr. Rainer put it through the uprights -- that’s as sweet as they come.”
Lewis was 29-for-47 for 307 yards, spreading the wealth with three receivers totaling over 50-yards receiving each, led by Sawyer’s seven catches for 70 yards. Desmond Cox carried the ball 13 times for a season-high 72 yards.
Butler’s first drive of the second half resulted in a touchdown after Huck completed a 24-yard pass to Zach Watkins, Ryan Hitchcock ran for a 10-yard touchdown score, but a bad snap ended the PAT try and Butler held a 6-3 lead.
MSU went three-and-out in it next drive, but Duzan booted a 48-yard punt that was downed on the BU 1-yard line. Mark Hall sacked Andrew Huck in the end zone on the Bulldogs first snap for a safety.
Following the free kick the Eagles, helped by an 11-yard catch by Sawyer, and 11-yard rush by Cox and a 15-yard BU penalty, drove inside the Butler 5-yard line and scored on a 4-yard QB keeper by Lewis. The two-point conversion failed and the Eagles led 11-6.
Butler (3-5, 1-4 PFL) added a 45-yard Lang field goal on its ensuing drive and followed that with a seven-play, 36 yard scoring drive that finished with an 8-yard pass from Huck to Brendan Shannon. Huck’s two-point conversion pass to Jordan Koopman was good and Butler led 17-11.
Morehead State responded by driving 71 yards in seven plays and Cox carried a screen pass for nine yards into the end zone and MSU re-took the lead, 18-17
The Bulldogs made the first serious push of either team in the first half when Huck found Watkins on a short out that Watkins zig-zaged for 45-yards down the to the Eagle 5-yard line. MSU’s defense made a terrific goal line stand, followed by a blocked field goal by Ryan Williams that kept Butler points off the board.
Two drives later, Lewis made a series of completions , spreading the ball around to four different receivers for a 14-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 28-yard Rainer Duzan field goal. The Eagles led 3-0, which carried into halftime.
Huck was 15-of-31 for 180 yards and Watkins had 118 yards receiving for the Bulldogs.
Tony Bachman led the Eagle defense with 15 tackles.
Morehead State returns home next Saturday for the Eagles’ Homecoming game against PFL rival Jacksonville. Kick-off is set for 2:00 p.m.
