FINAL STATS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Despite falling behind early in the fourth quarter, Morehead State football scored two touchdowns in a 48-second span with less than three minutes remaining to defeat Jacksonville 30-22 at D.B. Milne Field Saturday.
The Eagles, who ended an 11-game losing skid to the Dolphins, improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the PFL.
The Eagle defense forced a punt with 6:19 left and then proceeded to drive eight plays before junior QB
DeAndre Clayton leaped in from a yard out for the go-ahead score. Just 35 seconds later, the defense forced an incomplete pass on a fourth down before the offense scored on the next play to provide the final margin.
MSU now turns its attention toward the Homecoming game next Saturday against Butler at 2 p.m. ET.
HOW THE SCORING TRANSPIRED
-The Eagles led 7-0 just two minutes into the game thanks to a pass back from Clayton to starting QB
Mark Pappas who fired a long shot to senior RB
Issiah Aguero for a 49-yard score.
-Jacksonville tied the game 7-7 when BJ Riley rushed in from 11 yards away with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
-Junior kicker
Andrew Foster drilled his first of three field goals, this one from 43 yards out, with just six seconds left before halftime.
-Foster nailed a 45-yard FG with 11:05 left in third quarter to make it 13-7.
-Foster was true again on a 37-yard boot to make it a 16-7 Eagle lead at the 3:23 mark of the third period.
-The Dolphins crept to within 22-16 with 37 seconds left in the third on a 54-yard scramble by AJ Davis.
-JU took the lead (22-16) with 11:16 remaining in the game when AJ Davis crashed in from three yards away. A two-point conversion was good by QB Calvin Turner, Jr.
-Clayton ended a 50-yard drive at the 2:31 mark of the game when he went head over heels into the end zone.
-Aguero went untouched into the end zone at the 1:43 mark to make it 30-22.
KEY STATS
-Foster was 3-for-3 on field goals, 3-for-3 on extra points and punted three times for 41.0 yards per boot.
-MSU totaled 414 yards in total offense. Clayton finished 8-of-10 for 98 yards, while Pappas had 108 passing yards.
-Aguero finished with 86 rushing yards on 12 carries.
-The Eagle defense held JU, which ranked third in the nation on successful fourth-down conversions, to 0-for-3.
-Junior defensive end
Vaughn Taylor, Jr., had 2.5 tackles for loss, both sacks.
-MSU forced four fumbles, all recovered by the Eagles.
-Defensive back
Jalen Swanson led the Eagles with a career-high nine tackles.
-
DeVonte Adams led the receivers with 60 yards on four catches.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
"Our guys just stepped up to the challenge. We fought the elements, and we made plays when we needed to."
"I thought we ran the ball. I was really proud of the offensive line and the way they've been playing. We are really kind of beat up at this point in the season, but this win makes it feel better."
"I love the word resiliency. We weren't able to be that last week (against Davidson). Jacksonville is hard to defend, and they played one of their best games. That's what makes this win so special."
"
Andrew Foster is really confident right now, kicking the ball and scoring points."
"This could have been a backbreaker if we had lost. We found a way to get it done. We'll have a lot of post game awards this week because we had a lot of guys step up."
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