VALPARAISO, Ind. – In a classic tale of two halves, Morehead State football only allowed host Valparaiso 22 total rushing yards Saturday and fended off the Crusaders 27-21 at Brown Field.
The Eagles evened their record in 2019 to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the PFL, while Valpo dipped to 1-9 overall and 1-5 in the league.
Morehead State stays on the road next week at San Diego. Game time is 5 p.m. ET.
HOW THE SCORING TRANSPIRED
– The Eagles scored first when Mark Pappas hit Landon Hurst for a 27-yard scoring strike with 4:45 left on the board in first quarter.
– Jordan Huffman hauled in a Mark Pappas pass on the sideline, broke a tackle and raced 83 yards for a touchdown with just 45 seconds left in the first quarter. It marked the Eagles’ longest pass play of the season.
– Valpo opened the second half with an eight-play, 60-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard TD pass.
– After recovering a fumble, Valpo drove down and tied the game 14-14 on a four-yard TD pass.
– MSU re-took the lead with 10:51 remaining in the game when Pappas found Ian Holder for a 74-yard scoring connection, signaling the second longest pass play of the year.
– With just 1:40 left, Issiah Aguero raced 37 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-down play.
KEY STATS
– Valpo rushed 23 times for only the 22 yards.
– Pappas finished 16-of-29 for 303 yards, his fourth 300+ yard effort, and three touchdowns. It marked his fourth game of 3 or more passing TDs as well.
– Aguero rushed 12 times for a team-best 77 yards, including 65 yards on the final offensive drive.
– Holder had three catches for 110 yards, while Huffman grabbed three balls for 104 yards.
– Vaughn Taylor, Jr., led the defense with 10 tackles, including another tackle for loss to give him 15.5 TFLs in 2019.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
“It was just a good football game. When you win those ones, they’re great to be a part of.”
“Every team is good in this conference and has great coaching. I knew this would be a battle. They had been in almost every game this year.”
“Mark Pappas has been progressing nicely the last three or four weeks for a first-year starter. Landon (Hurst) had a really big game again today He converted a huge third down on that last series. It was just a really good team effort. At the end of the day, we made plays when it counted.”
