Murray State outscored No. 21-ranked Illinois State 19-3 in the second half to hand its former coach, Denver Johnson, a 32-17 loss in his return to Stewart Stadium in I-AA football action on Saturday. Murray State (1-1) capitalized on three Illinois State (0-2) turnovers in the second half, and held the Redbirds to only 115 yards of total offense after intermission to overcome a 17-13 third quarter deficit.
The Racers dented the scoring column on the games opening drive when tailback Garner Byars punched the ball into the end zone on a four-yard run up the middle. Running back Mario Riley carried the load on the drive as he diced the Redbird defense for 39 yards on four carries.
Illinois State (0-2) returned the favor with a gritty 13-play, 76-yard drive that was capped off by an eight-yard touchdown run to the corner of the end zone by Quincy Washington. Willie Watts, who tallied only 47 yards on 20 carries in the season-opener at Western Michigan, grinded out 44 yards on seven carries and the Redbirds converted three third downs on a drive that chewed 6:49 off the clock.
MSU reclaimed the lead on a 36-yard field goal on its ensuing drive which was aided by two Redbird penalties for 30 yards.
ISU, led by Watts and Washington, marched down the field on the Birds next possession but the door was closed on the drive when Washington coughed up the ball on the MSU 10-yard line.
Momentum swung Illinois States way though, as the defense held the Racers and then came up with the key play of the first half. Punting from inside his 10-yard line, Brian Bivens was hit by ISU linebacker Andrew Papoccia and lost control of the ball. Mike Andreacchi pounced on the ball at the Racers one-yard line and Watts punched the ball in two plays later to give ISU a 14-10 lead.
MSU pulled within 14-13 just before the end of the half on a 32-yard field goal by Shane Andrews with 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
ISU, which was hampered by eight penalties for 85 yards in the first half, was struck by the penalty bug immediately in the second half when a 64-yard Troy Hunter touchdown reception from Kevin Zouzounis was nullified by a holding penalty.
ISU freshman kicker Steve Carroll put his first career field goal attempt through the uprights when he connected on a 41-yarder with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter to extend the Redbirds lead to 17-13.
After a fumble by Watts on the ISU 42-yard line, Andrews added his third field goal of the game, a 46-yarder to pull MSU within 17-16 with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Zouzounis was picked-off two plays into ISUs ensuing possession and the Racers capitalized on the Redbird miscue as quarterback Stewart Childress broke into the end zone on a nine-yard run down the sideline. The Racers came up short on their two-point conversion, but owned a 22-17 lead with 24 second remaining in the third quarter. MSU added to that lead on Andrews fourth field goal of the game, a 44-yarder with 12:13 remaining in the game to take a 25-17 lead.
Dusty Burk replaced Zouzounis at quarterback for the Redbirds but could not spark the offense as ISU went three-and-out on its next possession.
Childress and the Racers put the game out of reach when the steady quarterback found tight end Josh McKeel in the end zone on fourth and goal from the 10-yard line to give MSU a 32-17 advantage with 7:50 remaining.
Penalties hurt the Birds all game as they were whistled for 14 fouls for 138 yards compared with only nine penalties for 67 yards by MSU.
Watts finished the day with 155 yards on 29 carries while Washington notched 51 yards on 12 carries. Troy Hunter led the receivers with five catches for 32 yards while Wayne Riley chipped in with three catches for eight yards.
Zouzounis completed 10-of-18 passes for 73 yards and an interception while Burk completed 3-of-8 passes for 11 yards and an interception.
Sam Yeargin, a true freshman, made an impact in his first career start at cornerback for the Redbirds as he notched an interception and a fumble recovery.
The game was delayed an hour and 20 minutes due to lightning.
The Redbirds open their home slate against Eastern Illinois on September 15.
