BOX SCORE
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's football squad jumped out to a 24-7 lead and then held off West Virginia State, 37-35, in an exciting 2023 season opener on the new turf at Jayne Stadium Thursday night in front of 7,000+ fans.
Redshirt sophomore QB
Carter Cravens accounted for 318 total yards and three touchdowns and scampered 18 yards for his team's final first down in the final two minutes deep in Yellow Jacket territory to ice the game.Cravens, who earned the starting signal caller job in camp, threw for 236 yards and the three touchdowns and led the team with 82 rushing yards as well. Cravens and the offense converted 12 of 17 third-down chances.
"We knew WVSU had a talented team, and we probably allowed them to stay in the game a little too long," said head coach
Rob Tenyer. "We turned the ball over three times, but I thought we ran the ball well. Our return game was good, and we had some new guys step in and make plays. I thought Carter (Cravens) had a nice debut, other than throwing two interceptions. We talked to him in practice this week about when there is man coverage, you'll have to take off and earn us some first downs. He did that tonight, and especially the last drive. I thought he was solid."
While the offense was generating 424 yards, special teams played a big role as well. Newcomer
Kairo Reid blocked a WVSU punt and recovered on the 10-yard line to set up the Eagles' third TD and a 24-7 lead in the second quarter.
The Eagles displayed a balanced attack on offense, throwing for 236 and rushing for 188. Running back
James Louis, who averaged 136 yards in his last three games of 2022, totaled 72 yards and a ground touchdown, while newcomer
Caleb Ramseur also scored a TD and piled up nearly 100 yards on kick returns.
Receiving-wise, returner
Ryan Upp (41 yards) and newcomer
Nate Boehm (56 yards) both hauled in touchdowns, and running back
Chance Harris scored the season's first TD on a nifty catch and run from Cravens, 38 yards.
Despite allowing 457 yards, a trio of defenders put up double-digit tackle totals. Newcomer
Andre Nolan-White, a linebacker, led the team with 12 stops and a tackle for loss (which was a sack). Leading tackler from 2022,
Cooper Krezek, shined again with 11 stops (10 solo) and linebacker
Jahleel Holmes registered 11 as well.
Harris' score with seven minutes left in the first quarter made it a 7-0 MSU lead. But the 'Jackets responded with a 71-yard TD run 20 seconds later. Kicker
Nathan Hazlett connected true on a 24-yard field goal with 2:13 left in the first period.
Upp caught a 14-yard score, and Boehm's nine-yard TD catch made it 24-7 with 7:02 left before halftime. WVSUÂ trimmed its deficit to 24-14 at the half and opened the second half with a nine-yard pitch and catch touchdown as it cut the Eagle lead to 24-21.Â
Louis got across the goal line from six yards away at the 5:45 mark of the third to push the Eagles' lead to 31-21. But, WVSU answered with a 46-yard scoop and score TD as it was 31-28 after three periods.
Ramseur's first Eagle TD pushed the lead to 37-28 with 9:11 left in the contest, and WVSUÂ trimmed it back to 37-35 with 6:17 remaining.
MSU got the ball back with 6:17 left and never relinquished it again. Louis accounted for 34 yards, and Cravens escaped the pocket and rushed 18 yards on a second-and-17 situation from the WVSU 29-yard line to seal the win.
Morehead State is on the road next weekend, traveling to Mercer for the second straight season. Kickoff on Sept. 9 is at 7 p.m. ET.
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