By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State football team is excited to be back at home this weekend as the Eagles host Stetson Saturday at 1 p.m. for the annual Homecoming contest.
The game can be heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM in the Morehead area or live via links on MSUEagles.com. The contest will also air live on the OVC Digital Network.
Morehead State (2-5/1-3 PFL) will face a Stetson team with the same records, but the Hatters have won two straight. The Eagles will look to put a kibosh on a three-game losing skid.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
On the meaning of Homecoming -- "It's a chance to celebrate the players and staff who came before us and laid the foundation for success. It is always special to have all our former players back. Many of them return from several different eras too."
On his team's rushing defense -- "We focused on that aspect this week quite a bit. And when things aren't going well, it's best to simplify. That's what we did. We simplified some schemes so our players can be in a better position to make those stops."
GAME NOTES
THE STETSON SERIES
Morehead State and Stetson have only met twice on the gridiron and only once in the modern era. The Eagles and Hatters met in 1953 (SU won 41-0) before Stetson discontinued its program. The Eagles won the only other meeting, 41-18, at home in 2014.
ONE TOWN.ONE TEAM
Morehead and the region have shown tremendous support for the Eagle football program, and in fact MSU has led the Pioneer Football league in attendance for four consecutive seasons. Last year, MSU averaged 5,736 and averaged 5,539 in the first three games in 2017.
NO. 1 RETURN MAN
Sophomore
Jaunyea Tarver continues to LEAD the nation (FCS) in combined kick returns with 734 yards. Tarver has 33 kickoff returns for a 22.2-yard average.
BIG FOOT SIGHTING
Redshirt freshman punter
Bradley Boone's 42.2-yard punting average leads the PFL and ranks 18th in the country. He has blasted eight punts of more than 50 yards and landed nine inside the 20-yard line. The punt unit has also forced nine fair catches.
A NEW PAGE
Redshirt junior QB
Lawson Page ranks 35th in the nation in passing efficiency at 141.3. The Shelbyville, Ky., native has two games with four touchdowns, including the come-from-behind 34-28 victory over Dayton. Page's total passing 1,594 yards ranks 20th in the nation.
NICK HAS THE KNACK
Junior defensive lineman
Nick Flores has 24 total stops this year but seven have been for losses to rank second on the team.
GOING, GOING LONG
Junior wide receiver
Jarin Higginbotham leads the conference in yards per catch at 18.9. Higginbotham has three games with more than 100 yards, including a 126-yard effort at San Diego on a career-best 10 catches. If his current average holds up, it would be the third best season in program history terms of yards per game
MR. ROBINSON IS MR. RELIABLE
Senior wide receiver
Christian Robinson has a pair of 100-yard games this season, his first two of his career. He had a career-best 149 yards against Dayton and three scores and went for 107 yards on eight catches (and a touchdown) against San Diego. Robinson now has 1,082 career yards on 85 catches for 12.7 per catch in his career.
YOU GOT COOK'ED
Senior cornerback
Braylyn Cook leads all active players with 42 career passes defended and nine interceptions. He has three picks this season, including picks in each of the last three games. Cook ranks second in the PFL in passes defended and third in interceptions.
COMEBACK KIDS
Morehead State erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Dayton on Sept. 23. It marked the largest overall rally to win since being down by as many as 16 against Valparaiso on Oct. 25, 2014 (MSU rallied to win 48-47). It also marked just the third fourth-quarter comeback since 2007 and the biggest rally solely in the fourth period since erasing a 25-13 disadvantage to win 26-25 at St. Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 3, 2005.
