MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Highlighted by 414 offensive yards and an electric 83-yard yard kickoff return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Morehead State Football opened its 2025 season with a 38-31 victory over visiting Allen (S.C.) at Jayne Stadium Saturday night.
The back-and-forth game featured more than 800 yards of combined offense as the Eagles won their season opener for the third straight campaign. Allen put up a fight, but the Division II school in the SIAC could not complete its upset bid. It marked the second straight season-opening win for MSU against a team in the SIAC and both by a seven-point margin.
Redshirt senior quarterback
Carter Cravens threw for 219 yards and a touchdown while completing 16-of-21 passes, and he also rushed for 71 yards and two more scores. In his first game as an Eagle, Tennessee State transfer running back
Craig Cunningham showed flashes of brilliance, leading MSU with 94 yards on the ground and a 31-yard touchdown jaunt. Graduate student wide receiver
Ryan Upp caught a team-best eight passes for 90 yards and moved above the 100-catch plateau for his career.
With Allen clawing its way back in the game with a 31-yard field goal to make it 31-24 at the 12:01 mark of the fourth period, redshirt freshman defensive back
Sidney Webb caught the ensuing kickoff at the Eagles' 17-yard line and weaved his way through all 11 Yellow Jacket special teams' men for an 83-yard touchdown that effectively sealed the final margin. Allen scored again with 5:12 remaining, but MSU's offense was able to churn out enough first downs to ice the clock away in the final five minutes.
Morehead State wasted little time in lighting up the points column on the scoreboard first. Just four plays into the contest, Cravens found a wide open
Anthony Ice on a 44-yard pitch and catch for the lead that MSU never relinquished. Freshman kicker
Jordan Price booted the first of his five successful PAT tries for the 7-0 lead.
Allen answered with a seven-yard score at the 4:17 mark of the opening quarter, but Cunningham pushed his team back out in front on a 31-yard scramble to the pile on to make it 14-7 MSU with 1:21 left in the quarter.
MSU scored twice in the second quarter, and the 'Jackets tacked on a touchdown - all in the final 2:32. Cravens capped a seven-play, 69-yard drive with an eight yard score at 2:32. Allen answered on a Fabian Duncan one-yard rumble with 34 seconds before halftime. But, the Eagle offense used the clock to its favor and motored into field goal range. Price banged his first career college field goal through the uprights as time expired - a 21-yarder - as MSU led 24-14 at the half.
Allen crept back to within a trio at 11:20 in the third, but Cravens answered the bell on a 14-yard touchdown run as the Eagles moved back ahead 31-21 with 7:37 left in the third. Sam Herman's 32-yard field goal again brought the visitors within a touchdown, but Webb's run-back on the ensuing kickoff ignited the home crowd again.
The Eagle defense did allow 416 yards, including 309 passing to Allen quarterback Jamir Dismukes, but the unit also came away with five sacks. Redshirt freshman
Chris Johnson, freshman
Antwan Hogue, Jr., and redshirt junior
Richard Sweeney III all had solo sacks. Junior
John Purdy led the Eagles with eight tackles.
Morehead State's next challenge is at No. 6-ranked Illinois State on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m. ET in Normal, Ill.
POST-GAME VIDEOS WITH CRAIG CUNNINGHAM AND SIDNEY WEBB
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