Special Ending To 2012 Season

Saturday, November 17

Stewart Stadium

1 p.m.

Murray State

Southeast Missouri

Photo by: Samantha Mohr

11/17/2012 2:39:00 PM | Football

BOX SCORE | BOX SCORE (.pdf) | 1st HALF GALLERY | 2nd HALF GALLERY

The 2012 Murray State football season came to a special end on Saturday afternoon as Duane Brady's 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown proved to be the difference as the Racers defeated Southeast Missouri, 42-35. The return touchdown was the second of the game for the Racers.

The Redhawks (3-8, 2-6 OVC) tied the game with 3:07 remaining as Ron Coleman capped an 88-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

But, the game did not stay tied for very long as Brady took the short, high kick, saw a seam up the middle and burst down the field for his second career kickoff return for a touchdown. The return was the only one for Brady this season.

The Redhawks got on the board first as they drove the ball down the field and got a 36-yard field goal off the foot of Drew Geldbach.

The Racers (5-6, 4-4 OVC) responded as Walter Powell returned the kickoff 83 yards to the SEMO 15-yard line. Brady started the drive with a three-yard run before Casey Brockman hit Ja-Vonta Trotter for five yards. Facing a third down, Brockman found Trotter again for the seven-yard touchdown.

The Racer defense stopped the Redhawks on their first possession of the second quarter as Brandon Wicks and Chris Staten combined for a sack. Joe Vucic let go of a 53 yard punt that carried into the endzone. Instead of the letting go, Powell decided to field the punt and broke up the middle for the 100-yard touchdown. He became the second Racer to return a punt 100-yards for a touchdown, joining Phil Foster against Morehead State in 1950.

SEMO added their second field goal of the half as Geldbach connected from 46 yards with just over five minutes left in the half.

MSU had another quick answer as Jaamal Berry ripped off a 26-yard run, and Brockman found Powell for 12 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Brockman called his own number and went 13 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback draw.

The scoring picked up in the second half as the Redhawks pinned the Racers at their own one-yard line and Darrick Borum sacked Brockman in the endzone for the safety.

SEMO continued to get back in the game as they took the free kick and used the legs of Levi Terrell to get them down to the Racer three-yard line. On the next play, Scott Lathrop hit D.J. Foster for a three-yard touchdown. Adrian Dinkins blocked the extra point to keep the advantage at 21-14.

Brockman engineered another scoring drive on the next possession as he rushed for 16 yards on the first play, and Berry followed it up with a 12-yard run. Brockman then hit Berry on a screen pass for 37 yards before connecting with Trotter for their second touchdown of the game, this time from nine yards out.

The Redhawks answered back with another eight-play drive as Lathrop rushed for 22 yards on three carries, and Terrell picked up 27 yards on two carries, including the two-yard touchdown run.

The fourth quarter started with the Racers starting a drive at their own 30-yard line. MSU moved into SEMO territory with a 17-yard Brockman to Powell connection. Brady caught a 17-yard pass, before following it up with a 13-yard run. Two plays later, Brockman scrambled and found an open Powell in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown.

Very little time ran off the clock before as Terrell and Lathrop combined to cover the 71 yards on ground, with Terrell going the final 12 yards for the score.

The Racer offense stalled near midfield on its next drive, allowing the Redhawks to drive down the field for the tieing touchdown.

MSU ran a season-low 55 plays, and had 370 yards of offense. They held the ball for only 18:00, but had 336 yards in returns.

Powell led the Racers with 117 yards on two punt returns, 134 yards on three kickoff returns and four catches for 51 yards.

Brandon Wicks led the defense with 16 tackles, including 12 solo stops.