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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Morehead State football found out Saturday that sometimes there is truth in advertising.
Jacksonville’s NCAA-leading offense was as good as advertised, racking up 565 yards in a 61-17 Pioneer Football League win over the Eagles. The Dolphins had nine touchdowns, eight of which came through the air.
“They are definitely the real deal, they are legitimate,” MSU coach
Matt Ballard said. “They’re a very talented football team, tremendous speed and quickness and just too much horsepower for us today.”
It looked good early for the Eagles, thanks to a mistake by JU on its first offensive drive. A miscommunication caused quarterback Josh McGregor to handoff to a runner that wasn’t there. McGregor attempted to salvage the play with a lateral, but the swarming Eagle defense caused an errant flip and a fumble, which MSU’s
Thaddeus Winston jumped on. The Eagles drove 61 yards in six plays for a 28-yard
Rainer Duzan field goal.
JU went three and out after the field goal, but scored touchdowns on long pass plays on the next two possessions, the first a 34-yard toss to Rudell Small, the second a 49-yard strike to Rodney Sumter.
They were the first two of seven scoring passes for McGregor, who totaled 347 yards through the air. Combined the two teams threw for 659 yards spread across 19 different pass catchers. Eight different receivers caught passes for the Dolphins, but the Eagles topped that with 11 different receivers, led by
Ronnie McDermott’s game-high seven catches for 121 yards.
Zach Lewis was 21-for-38 for MSU for 223 yards.
The Eagles forced another JU three and out at the start of the second quarter with a big sack for a nine-yard loss by
Kameron Scott on third down. The Eagles couldn’t hold on to the punt though, and the Dolphins recovered the loose ball with a short field. Three quick plays and 26 yards later, McGregor completed a pass to Josh Philpart for four yards and a touchdown.
“If we had played smarter, more disciplined, made fewer mistakes, the margin and big plays would have been as big as they what they were,” Ballard said. “We didn’t play as well as we’re capable of doing, and that’s what’s disappointing. We had our chances early, we had plenty of opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage of them.
JU scored its final first-half touchdown following a seven-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by a seven-yard pass from McGregor to Small. The Dolphins scored again on a long pass play on their first drive of the third quarter, when McGregor threw to Elliott Finkley for a 69-yard touchdown.
MSU responded with a rushing touchdown to finish a nine-play, 75-yard drive.
Ryan Smart scored on a two-yard plunge into the end zone. Smart’s run was set up by a 41-yard bullet pass from Lewis to McDermott.
JU put the game out of reach with a pair of touchdowns from McGregor to Finkley and Philpart. The Dolphins added two more scores in the fourth quarter on passes from McGregor to Philpart and Erik Stapleton. Philpart had the most scoring plays of a non-quarterback, catching three TD tosses.
Morehead State got one of those back when quarterback
Evan Sawyer entered in relief and hooked up on a 37-yard pass to Michael Gallick. It was Sawyer’s first appearance of the 2010 season. The touchdown pass was his only completion in three passes Saturday.
The Eagles hit the road for the last time this season, traveling to San Diego next Saturday for a Pioneer League Football game against the Toreros.
“I fully believe and expect [the team] will do a great job in our process and preparation in getting ready for San Diego,” Ballard said. “The Eagles are resilient, our guys are strong and will bounce back from this.”
