MOREHEAD, Ky. — In less than ideal weather conditions, Morehead State football came up just short in its 2019 season finale Saturday. The Eagles rallied from a 21-6 deficit but saw a couple of late Stetson drives be successful as the Eagles fell 31-16 at Jayne Stadium.
Morehead State concludes the season at 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the Pioneer League, while Stetson finished at 7-4 and 4-4.
Junior running back Issiah Aguero came up just 42 yards short of a 1,000-yard rushing season with a 123-yard effort today. He also led the receivers with 35 yards on four catches and totaled 200 all-purpose yards with 42 on kick returns. Aguero racked up 958 yards on the ground in his first full season and had four 100-yard performances.
Morehead State had trouble retaining the ball, throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble during a heavy rain most of the afternoon.
The game marked the collegiate finale for 10 Eagle seniors.
HOW THE SCORING TRANSPIRED
– After neither team dotted the scoreboard in the first quarter, senior defensive back Aaron Turk scooped up a fumble by Hatter QB Gaven DeFillipo and raced 77 yards the other way for an Eagle defensive touchdown. The PAT try was botched, leaving the Eagles on top 6-0.
– Two straight scores via DeFilippo to Max Draper put the visitors ehad 14-6 with 4:18 left before halftime. The second was a 74-yard strike that actually bounced off an Eagle defender and into Draper’s arms as he stayed with the play.
– Jeremiah Nails caught a nine-yard TD at the 11:28 mark of the third period to push the Hatters ahead 21-6.
– Aguero finished off a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive with a one-yard punch in with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter.
– Junior kicker Andrew Foster crushed a 40-yard field goal through the uprights with 12:29 left in the game. Foster finished the year 8-of-10 on field goals, including all five being successful from 40+ yards.
– Jonny Messina sent a 24-yard FG through the uprights with 7;15 left to make it a 24-16 Stetson cushion.
– DeFilippo finished off the day with a 32-yard scoring run with 3:48 left.
KEY STATS
– Morehead State finished with 381 total yards, including 245 yards on the ground.
– Besides Aguero’s effort, redshirt freshman Mario Convenuto added a career-high 60 rushing yards.
– Linebacker Vincent Winey posted a team-high and career-best 12 tackles.
– Junior defensive Vaughn Taylor, Jr., had 0.5 tackles for loss and finished with 17 for the season to lead the PFL.
– junior QB Zach Hardin threw for a career-best 137 yards and also ran for a career-high 24.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
“This was a disappointing end to the season, but this doesn’t take away from what our seniors meant to this program. This was a very tight-knit team this year and they are a big reason why. Each of them has left a lasting legacy.
“We have a really good chance to be very good next year. We have a lot of good players coming back. I am not talking about two or three years down the road, I am talking about our immediate future. We are in a great position to be very competitive, and we’ll work hard in recruiting too this offseason.”
“I think Issiah Aguero is an all-conference running back. He deserves that honor. He works extremely hard and is so positive. We tried to get him to 1,000 yards this year but the game didn’t quite dictate that today in the second half.”
