Football
Morehead rallies to escape basement
Morehead State spotted Valparaiso an early lead, then ran off 29 points in a row to win 29-6 Saturday and escape last place in the Pioneer Football League.
Zach Lewis was 17 of 33 for 164 yards and a touchdown as he connected with nine receivers for the visiting Eagles (3-8, 1-7). Jerrod Pendleton led Morehead State's rushing game with 13 carries for 37 yards and a TD.
The Crusaders (1-10, 0-8) got an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nate Goergen to Sean McCarty to open the scoring, but that was all. Valpo totaled only 15 rushing yards.
Rainer Duzan kicked three field goals over the first three quarters to put Morehead State ahead 9-6. Then J.D. Cecil returned an interception 23 yards for a score, Pendleton ran it in from 3 yards and Lewis hit Kevin Thomas on a 25-yard TD pass.
Jacksonville State 34, Eastern Kentucky 26: Ryan Perrilloux passed for 191 yards and a TD and rushed for 115 yards and a score, setting single-season school records as the Gamecocks handed EKU its first losing record since 1972.
Calvin Middleton rushed for two touchdowns for the host Gamecocks (8-3, 6-1 Ohio Valley), who finished with the best record in the conference but are not eligible for postseason play because of academic progress rate penalties.
Perrilloux, who leads the nation in passing efficiency (172.58), set records including passing touchdowns (23), touchdowns responsible for (31) and total offense per game (279.3 yards).
The lead changed six times before the Gamecocks took a 21-20 at halftime lead. The Colonels pulled within 31-26 on C.J. Walker's 1-yard run with 8:04 left.
T.J. Pryor was 18-for-30 for 252 yards and two touchdowns for Eastern (5-6, 5-3). He finished the year with 2,153 yards passing, which ranks third in the EKU single-season record books.
Tennessee Tech 45, Murray State 14: Lee Sweeney passed for two touchdowns and Cass Barnes ran for two scores as Tennessee Tech routed visiting Murray State in the season finale for both teams.
The Golden Eagles (6-5, 5-3 OVC) finished second in the league by rushing for 288 yards, their highest total of the season. Former Henry Clay star Dontey Gay had his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 102 yards on 10 carries.
The second and third strings played much of this fourth quarter for Tech.
Charlie Jordan rushed for 90 yards and a TD on 19 carries for the Racers (3-8, 2-6).
Thomas More 49, DePauw 39: Trevor Stellman had 274 yards of total offense to lead host Thomas More to a first-round victory in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Saints improved to 11-0 for the second time in school history. They will play Johns Hopkins next Saturday at a site to be announced.
The Tigers cut the lead to 42-39 with 3:21 to play when Brayden Dahlstrom caught an 8-yard TD pass from Spud Dick. The Tigers then got the ball back with 1:42 left, but they fumbled and Thomas More's Zach Autenreib returned it 20 yards for a score.
Stellman was 6-for-16 passing for 196 yards and two TDs and ran the ball 16 times for 78 yards and a score. Cordario Collier had 14 carries for 68 yards and a TD, while Chris Farley had two catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Lambuth 38, Cumberlands 7: The Patriots (9-2) ended their season with a loss in the first-round of the NAIA playoffs. Cumberlands was outgained 480 yards to 200. Adam Wiese threw for 372 yards and a pair of touchdowns for host Lambuth (12-0).
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