Three Amigos lead Racers Past UT-Martin 38-0 On Senior Day

Saturday, November 13

Murray, Ky.

TBA

Murray State

Tennessee-Martin

Three Amigos lead Racers Past UT-Martin 38-0 On Senior Day

11/13/2004 6:00:00 AM | Football

In a rare performance, Murray State running backs Nick Turner, Ron Lane and Chad Cook each rushed for 100 yards to give the Racers a 38-0 win over Tennessee-Martin on Senior Day today. It is the first time on record that Murray State had three rushers each get 100 yards in a single game.

Turner led the way with 148 yards on 26 carries. Lane was next with 134 yards on 18 carries, and Cook carried the ball 19 times for 115 yards. Turner and Lane are juniors and Cook is a sophomore.

The Racers on the day racked up 385 rushing yards on 70 carries, good for 5.5 yards per carry.

When asked about their historic day, the Racer threesome was not aware of their accomplishment.

"I was shocked when they told me," Turner said. "I thought maybe I had about 100."

"I thought I had come up short," Lane said, "but I thought the other guys had 100."

Cook, who was the third to get 100 in the game, said, "This is a great day. It's something I'm always going to remember."

The Racers' defense also had a day of domination against the Skyhawks, holding them to only 124 total yards. The shutout for the Racers is their first ever at Roy Stewart Stadium against Tennessee-Martin and their first agaisnt UTM since 1979. The last time the Racers had a shutout against an OVC opponent was 1997 on Homecoming against Austin Peay.

The Racers scored quickly in the first quarter. After UTM opened the game with a punt on their first series, the Racers scored on a 41-yards touchdown pass from Adam Fisher to Dan Rumley to make it 7-0 with 12:15 remaining in the first quarter.

Fisher threw for 120 yards, completing six of 16 attempts. Rumley caught three passes for 55 yards.

The Racers then enjoyed a 21-point second quarter.

Lane scored on a one-yard run to make it 14-0 with 9:38 left before half. Turner scored from the 4-yard line to make it 21-0 just 2:47 before the half, and then Lane added another with 14 seconds left to give the Racers a 28-0 advantage at the halftime break.

Like his three star running backs, Murray State head coach Joe Pannunzio was unaware they had each gained 100 yards in the game.

"I've been around this game for a long time, and I can't remember ever having my team or an opponent with three guys with 100 yards each," Pannunzio said. "That's something that doesn't happen every day."

Pannunzio said he's more excited that the Racers have secured a winning season, and can finish 7-4 and clinch second place in the Ohio Valley Conference if they can get a road win next Saturday at Tennessee State.

"Our team has never backed down and never quit this entire season," Pannunzio said. "I'm so proud of them, because it would've been easy to just mail it in, and they haven't."

The Racers also honored their 19 seniors before the kickoff. Each player was recognized on the field along with family and friends. As the day ended, they came away with a special memory of three 100-yard rushers, a shutout and a chance to finish the season with a four-game winning streak.