GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- With a chance to clinch a winning record within reach, the Morehead State football team is set to travel to Valparaiso for a 2 p.m. ET Pioneer Football League matchup Saturday.
The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network, with affiliates throughout Eastern Kentucky, and the Eagle Empire App. Live stats will be available through a link on MSUEagles.com. Updates will be available on Twitter (@MSUEaglesLive and @MSUEagles) and Facebook (MSUEagles).
"We have made a ton of improvements to this program, but we are still not satisfied," said Head Coach
Rob Tenyer. "We came up a little bit short of being one of the top teams last week, but we still have a chance to secure a winning record and that is a big accomplishment for year three with our staff."
Morehead State (5-4, 4-2 PFL) has not been above .500 since 2007's 7-4 mark. The Eagles will face a Valparaiso squad that is 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the league.
"Valparaiso will still be a tough matchup," Tenyer added. "They have a lot of veterans on defense, and from what I have seen, they have a couple of nice running backs. Their coach also indicated that they are probably getting their senior quarterback back to start this week, so we have to be ready and execute our game plan."
Last year's matchup proved to be a barnburner. The Crusaders led the Eagles throughout the contest before MSU scored with 17 seconds remaining to win 48-47.
"I don't know if that game was so exciting for the coaches as it was for the fans," Tenyer said. "But our defense is much better this year than at that point last season. They are playing with a lot more confidence this year, and I fully expect us to be prepared to not allow as many points in this year's game at Valpo."
Junior quarterback
Austin Gahafer has spearheaded MSU's offense this year. The Louisville native has 7,589 career yards, including more than 2,600 this year, and 20 touchdowns on the season. To compare, Gahafer's career yardage total would be Valpo's all-time record. His top target, senior
Justin Cornwall, leads the conference with 7.4 catches per game and has nearly 800 yards and a PFL-best 11 touchdowns. Last week, though, it was senior
Tanner Napier who broke out for a career-best 10 catches for 134 yards and a score.
While they didn't secure a takeaway last week against Dayton, the Eagle defense still ranks in the PFL's top two with a +7 turnover margin.
Following the contest, the Eagles will prepare for the season finale next Saturday at Marist.
