No sweat for Racers this time

MURRAY, Ky. -- The last four times Murray State and Southeast Missouri State University squared off, the game wasn't decided until the final few minutes.

But Saturday the Racers didn't need to sweat out their 12th consecutive victory over Southeast as they breezed to a 28-13 home triumph.

A Stewart Stadium crowd announced at 2,114 -- although only about 500 fans actually appeared to be in the stands on the rainy afternoon -- saw MSU improve to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Southeast's dismal season continued as the visitors fell to 1-6 overall, 1-3 in the league.

"Right now, we're not a very good football team," a glum Southeast coach Tim Billings said.

MSU coach Joe Pannunzio anticipated another down-to-the-wire finish between the regional rivals, especially after the Racers needed a fourth-quarter rally last year to clip Southeast by three points.

But the Racers were never seriously threatened after taking a 14-0 halftime lead. Southeast's only two touchdowns came after MSU had built a pair of 21-point advantages.

"We came out and played maybe like we're capable of playing," said Pannunzio, whose team bounced back from last week's 15-point loss at Eastern Illinois. "Their offense usually gives us problems. Our defense did a good job of containing them.

"We have a good defense, but at times our offense has let our defense down."

Besides its two touchdowns, no Southeast nonscoring drive reached past the Racers' 32-yard line. A suddenly stagnant Southeast offense sputtered for the second straight week, this time gaining just 309 yards, including only 46 yards rushing. Southeast also had four turnovers.

"We're not a very efficient offensive football team right now," Billings said. "We're just making too many mistakes and we're having too many three and outs. We'll make a big play and then we'll have a few negative plays."

Said Southeast All-American tight end Ray Goodson, who scored one of the two touchdowns: "Our offense doesn't have any confidence right now cause we're not moving the ball, and we're having too many turnovers. Our losses the last two weeks have been the offense."

The Racers were able to overcome three turnovers of their own by piling up 481 yards. MSU, the OVC's No. 2 rushing attack with an average of 202 yards per game prior to Saturday, amassed 295 yards on the ground, including 216 yards after halftime.

MSU had a pair of 100-yard rushers. Nick Turner led the way with 167 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns. Nick Cook added 101 yards on 22 attempts, and he also scored two touchdowns. They heaped plenty of praise on their offensive line.

"We have one of the best offensive lines in the OVC," Turner said. "They play hard on every play."

Added Cook: "I think we pretty well wore them down."

Things did not begin very well for Southeast, even though a David Simonhoff punt pinned the Racers back at their 9-yard to begin their first possession.

But MSU's initial offensive play was a 51-yard pass from Adam Fisher to Daniel Rumley. Five plays later, the Racers were in the end zone thanks to Turner's 4-yard run for a 7-0 lead just 4:04 into the contest.

Southeast's defense held tough for most of the rest of the half, especially against MSU's vaunted ground attack, but the offense failed to take advantage.

The Racers then struck again just before halftime, as Cook's 3-yard run with 10 seconds left capped a 77-yard, 13-play drive and made it 14-0.

"We're playing better defensively right now but still not good enough," said Southeast safety Mike Miller, who intercepted his second pass of the season and also recovered a fumble.

Midway through the third quarter, Southeast quarterback Andrew Goodenough missed connections on a snap and MSU recovered at Southeast's 36-yard line. Ten plays later, Cook scored on a 3-yard run to make it 21-0 with 3:31 left in the period.

Southeast's offense finally got going, moving 65 yards in five plays and scoring on David Taufoou's 1-yard run 1:33 before the end of the third quarter. It was Taufoou's team-leading eighth touchdown of the season.

Now trailing 21-7, Southeast appeared to have a bit of hope. And the defense gave the offense plenty of opportunities by holding the Racers at bay.

But on three straight possessions, Southeast failed to gain a first down. MSU then basically put things out of reach after Goodenough was intercepted at his 44-yard line. On the next play, Turner raced 44 yards for a touchdown that made it 28-7 with 8:13 remaining.

"There were some opportunities we didn't take advantage of," Billings said.

Southeast tacked on a harmless touchdown with 5:31 left as Goodenough hit Goodson from 32 yards out to cap a 60-yard march. Derek Kutz was wide on the extra point, leaving MSU with a 15-point lead.

Any hopes Southeast had of a miraculous comeback were snuffed out when the Racers picked up three first downs to run out the final five-plus minutes.