Saturday, August 30, 2003

Murray, Ky. ? Stewart Childress passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns as Murray State, a full-scholarship NCAA I-AA program, defeated Valpo 34-0 in the season opener. The Crusaders (0-1) were hurt by three first-half turnovers which led to two Murray State touchdowns. Valpo trailed 31-0 at halftime.

Murray State's Demetrick Westbrook and Valpo's Chris Daniels traded interceptions in the first quarter. The Racers (1-0) scored first when Jesse Ohliger booted a 24-yard field goal with 1:23 left in the first quarter.

Three plays during a 12-second period of the second quarter helped Murray State extend its lead to 17-0. Ron Lane's reverse-the-field 7-yard touchdown run at the 11:00 mark gave the Racers a 10-0 advantage. Following an interception by Michael Hanley, Childress connected with Andrew Nowacki on a 29-yard touchdown aerial with 10:48 remaining.

Late in the second quarter, Murray State built its lead to 31-0 when Childress rifled a 67-yard scoring pass to Deandre Green and Chad Cook added a 5-yard scoring run with just over a minute left before intermission.

The only scoring in the second half came on Ohliger's 42-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter.

Murray State finished with 385 total yards, while Valpo had 45. The Crusader defense limited the Racers to 123 rushing yards on 53 carries. Murray State passed for 262 yards. Valpo totaled 14 rushing yards and 31 yards through the air.

Childress completed 12 of 16 passes and tossed one interception. Valpo's David Macchi completed five of 14 passes for 37 yards with two interceptions. Oscar Walker led the Racers with 41 rushing yards on 14 carries. Green made three receptions for 106 yards and one touchdown, while Nowacki caught four passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Ryan Bateman averaged 40.3 yards on nine punts for the Crusaders.

Valpo plays its home opener next Saturday (Sept. 6) against Wisconsin Lutheran beginning at 1 p.m.