Missed opportunities and continuing offensive struggles were the undoing again for the Fort Campbell Falcons Friday night as they fell for the fourth consecutive time this season. The Murray Tigers broke open a fairly competitive game with 21 unanswered points in the second half as they rolled past the Falcons 38-0 on post Friday night.
While it was a 38 point loss, the game was not without its opportunities for the Falcons.
Murray got on the board first at the 7:07 mark of the 1st quarter when Chase Merriss scored on a one yard run to put the Tigers up 7-0. On their next possession, Murray found itself with a 1st and 10 at the Falcons 43 yard line. A few snaps, a sack, and three penalities later, Murray was facing a first down and 49 deep in their own territory.
Thanks in part to a personal foul call on the Falcons and a nice pass pick up by Murray, the Tigers were able to get the first down in only two plays. Shortly thereafter, the Tigers scored on a 5 yard run by Mark Thompon to extend their lead to 14-0 with 1:30 to go in the first quarter.
While the Falcons continued to have problems moving the ball, Murray would add a 36 yard field goal in the second quarter to go to the locker room with a 17-0 lead.
On Murray’s first possession of the second half, Michael Averhart blocked a Murray punt, with the Falcons recovering at the Murray 17-yard line. However, the continuing offensive struggles for Fort Campbell prevented the Falcons from putting points on the board as they were stopped on downs.
Murray then scored 21 points the rest of the second half to put the game away and reach the running clock early in the fourth quarter of play. Dijon Miles scored on 16 yard and 17 yard runs in the 3rd quarter, and Damon Boyd came up with a 51 yard pick six early in the 4th quarter.
For the night, the Falcons only came up with 27 total yards, 37 through the air, and -10 on the ground. In the first half, Fort Campbell totaled only nine yards of offense. Murray had 357 yards of total offense, 176 on the ground and 181 through the air.
Nathaniel Massey had 8 carries for 12 rushing yards. Nathan Lake led the Falcons in receiving with 3 catches for 19 yard. Matt Middleton ended up 5-16 for 37 yards and one interception.
The Falcons fall to 0-4 on the season, and now get ready for a trip next week to Fort Knox for the annual Army Bowl against the Eagles.
Murray improves to two and two on the season.
