Second-half turnovers give Eagles the advantage over Murray

MURRAY — The Mustangs (1-4) held on to the hope they could pull off a homecoming upset against East Union (4-1) Friday, going into halftime tied at 24.

But after halftime, the Eagles scored 16 points on turnovers in the third quarter to break open the lead, eventually winning 64-40.

“Our kids played hard and [are] disappointed with the loss,” Murray coach Shawn Oaks said. “It was our best game of the season as far as tackling.”

Though it wasn’t the difference-maker at the end, Murray made only two of their 2-point attempts, compared to eight successful from East Union.

Murray scored four touchdowns in the first half but failed to make any conversions — equaling 24 points. The Eagles scored just three touchdowns, but with three successful conversions, they also ended with 24.

The Mustangs drew first blood, scoring an 11-yard touchdown from quarterback Keegan Chew to Nolan Gannon on fourth-and-3.

On the Eagles’ opening drive, they battled through penalties and sacks to score on fourth-and-9 on a pass from Braxtyn Tucker to Bryce Pettit.

The second quarter saw a flurry of scores as Murray’s AJ Clarke caught a 9-yard touchdown followed by East Union’s Jensen Waigand catching a 28-yard touchdown.

Murray won the special teams battle in the first half with a 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Gannon. Clarke scored on another receiving touchdown to give the Mustangs a 24-16 lead, but East Union scored with another Waigand touchdown to tie it up.

Tucker was 13-for-24 with 201 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. Leading the Eagles receivers was senior Paul McNeill who caught seven balls for 134 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Wyatt Kelley had 13 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown.

For the Mustangs, Gannon put up 116 rushing yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns while Clarke led receivers with 103 yards on six catches for two touchdowns. Chew was 16-of-37 for 223 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The interceptions were hauled in by East Union freshmen Bryce Pettit and Coltyn Kelley.

Only eight minutes into the second half, Clear had scored two touchdowns for the Eagles and the score widened to 40-24.

East Union’s defense forced a turnover on the next drive, and though the Murray defense was holding them at bay, it was a penalty that gave the Eagles a first down that led to a McNeill touchdown.

Murray was able to come back and score, but never made up the large gap East Union created in the third.

Leading the Eagles’ defense was Pettit with 7.5 total tackles and seven solo. Morgan Cooley was a menace in the backfield, putting up 2.5 tackles for loss and a shared sack with Wyatt Frasier.

The Mustangs’ Keaton Brammer picked off Tucker twice. Gannon led the defense with 14.5 total tackles and 11 solo tackles. Wylee Wright had the team’s only sack.

Murray returns to action Friday at Bedford (4-1) while the Eagles travel to 3-2 Lamoni.

Game stats

East Union 64, Murray 40

EU 8 16 24 16

MUR 6 18 0 16

TEAM STATS

MUR EU

Rushes-yards 39-138 37-251

Passing 16-37-2 13-25-2

Passing yards 223 200

Total yards 361 451

Punts-avg. 1-25 1-19

Fumbles lost 1-0 1-0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING – MUR: Keegan Chew 16-22, 1 TD; Nolan Gannon 23-116, 2 TD. EU: Wyatt Kelly 13-125, 1 TD; Bryce Pettit 4-10; Caden Clear 5-54, 2 TD; Braxdyn Tucker 15-50.

PASSING – MUR: Chew 16-37 for 223 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. EU: Tucker 13-25 for 195 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT.

RECEIVING – MUR: Keaton Brammer 6-64; AJ Clarke 6-103, 2 TD; Jaxon Darby 4-56. EU: Kelly 2-7; Jensen Waigand 1-28, 1 TD; Paul McNeill 8-136, 3 TD; Pettit 1-18, 1 TD; Coltyn Kelly 1-6.

TACKLES (total-solo) – MUR: Chew ½-0; Clarke 6-5; Darby 5 ½-3; Wylee Wright 7 ½-5; Gannon 14 ½-11; Wyatt Patton 5-4; Grady Mongar 1 ½-0; Brock Heaberlin ½-0; Trevor Eckels 2-1; Ace Neisemier 4-2. EU: Wyatt 5-3; Waigand 6 ½-5; McNeill 3 ½-3; Pettit 7 ½-7; Anthony Pantoja 1-1; Morgan Cooley 4 ½-4; Clear 5-3; Tucker 4 ½-4; Quinten Albrechtsen 2-1; Coltyn 4-2; Brock Jones 2-0; Kayson Harper 1 ½-0; Elijah Mulkey 2-0; Wyatt Fraiser 4-2.

TACKLES FOR LOSS – MUR: Wright 1; Gannon 1. EU: Cooley 2 ½; Jones ½; Fraiser 1.

SACKS – MUR: Wright 1. EU: Cooley ½; Fraiser ½.

INTERCEPTIONS – MUR: Brammer 2. EU: Pettit 1; Coltyn 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES – MUR: 0. EU: 0.

PUNTING – MUR: 1-25. EU: Kelly 1-19.

KICK RETURNS for TD – MUR: Gannon 1 for 74 yards. EU: 0.

2PT CONVERSION – MUR: Clarke 1; Gannon 1. EU: Wyatt 2; Waigand 1; Clear 2; Tucker 2; Coltyn 1.