MURRAY, Ky. – Unable to slow a four-touchdown run despite interludes of high-energy and big-play boosts, the Presbyterian College football team started off the 2023 campaign with a 41-10 defeat at the hands of Murray State on Saturday night.

Answering the Racers' first 10 points with 10 of their own nearing the halfway point in Kentucky, PC's offense was stammered from then on as the home side controlled the remainder of the bout.

In the inaugural meeting between the two schools – extending not just to the gridiron, but across all sports – the Blue Hose collected 196 total yards while splitting quarterback time between sophomores Tyler Wesley and Ty Englehart.

Presbyterian will continue the pre-PFL stages of the '23 slate next Saturday in the first of five matchups to occur from Clinton, welcoming Virginia University of Lynchburg for the second straight year. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM with a live stream on ESPN+.
 
FINAL SCORE: Murray State, 41 – Presbyterian, 10
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-1) – Murray State (1-0)
LOCATION: Roy Stewart Stadium (Murray, Ky.)



OPENING KICK:
 
- Wesley (the more prominently featured QB on the evening) accounted for 181 yards of total offense (99 through the air, 82 in the ground game) as PC's leading rusher. His favorite target in the setback was no surprise to the Blue Hose faithful: sophomore Dominic Kibby, who caught four passes for 54 yards.

- Presbyterian's starting tailback, JB Seay plunged into the end zone for his first career touchdown at the 7:32 mark of the second stanza. Five minutes later, a Mack Mikko field goal gave PC their 10-point tally against the newly-appointed Missouri Valley Football Conference member.

- The leading tackler in each of the past two years for the blue and garnet D, junior Alex Herriott logged his fifth career outing with a double-digit tally in tackles (10), reaching eight of them by himself.

- Fellow inside linebacker Sebastian Conwell recorded eight stops of his own, while newbie Keith Elmore and second-year player Nathan Hajduk added 10 more at five apiece.

- Malek Horlback, Carter Szydlowski, Dillon Towles-Kendle, and Jacob Thornton all put in a tackle for a loss on Saturday, the latter three doing so in their Blue Hose debut.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
 
- After PC forced the Racers to punt in their first series, a similar stall from head coach Steve Englehart's club gave MSU an opportune spot to begin their second drive at the Presby 39. Kylan Galbreath zoomed to the end zone on the next snap, one of three Murray State rushers to reach a touchdown.

- The feeling-out process continued until the opening quarter had finished, although the Racers would add to their advantage on a chip-shot FG with 11:25 in the 2^nd. This came after the Blue Hose defense was faced with a 1^st-and-goal at the 4, but denied their foe a second chance at seven points.

- Coach Englehart's offense thrived in the 2^nd, making the most of each of their series in the period to quickly even things up at 10 apiece. That spurt started on Seay's diving TD that came after an 18-yard completion to Kibby and a 23-yard loft to Terik Mulder three plays later.

- The seven-play, 86-yard drive engulfed the defense with confidence, leading to a Murray three-and-out. Presbyterian found themselves in the red zone yet again following a 24-yard pass to Kibby, a 21-yard trot by Wesley out of a scramble, and a 10-yard screen to transfer back Dealo Parson.

- Although the Blue Hose couldn't get back to paydirt, Mikko's successful boot capped off back-to-back drives of 136 yards and nearly five plays that extended past 20 yards.

- However, the Racers would assure that a tie wouldn't stick for long after a 32-yard running throw from starting quarterback DJ Williams to Cole Rusk. With only 65 ticks left until the first-half horn, MSU thrusted to the end zone again on an 18-yard scamper by Taylor Shields.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
 
- Murray State pitched a second-half shutout on their way to a game-ending 31-point flurry, registering a two-score 3^rd and 10 extra points in the last chapter. Cortezz Jones and Q'Darryius Jennings added to MSU's trio of touchdowns on the ground, while Shields produced a 51-yard reception for his second score of the evening.

- The longest of those TD drives landed at 4:07 that wrapped up with 19 seconds to go in the 3^rd, concluding their 41-point day with a 27-yard kick by London James.

- Presbyterian took care of the ball very well despite coming up on the losing end, not turning it over until the 4^th period on an interception. However, a 3-of-12 conversion rate when faced with a third down ended drives more often than Murray's 8-of-15 ratio.

- The backfield duo of Williams and Eric Phoenix both eclipsed 100 yards in the Racers' passing attack, completing at least one pass to eight different receivers.
 
UP NEXT
 
- A 21-13 victory was the end result when the Blue Hose last met with Virginia-Lynchburg 12 months ago, hoping for another W on September 9 in the '23 Bailey Memorial Stadium opener.

- Kibby and senior tight end Worth Warner were responsible for PC's three touchdown grabs in the win over the Dragons last fall, syncing up for 144 yards in that contest.

- VUL dropped their opening bout of the semester earlier in the week, defeated by Carson-Newman in a 35-3 decision on Thursday evening. That eight-point W from coach Englehart's unit last year denoted the first ever encounter between the two sides.