Junior wideout Jarin Higginbotham hauled in a pair of touchdown passes Saturday night, but host Austin Peay rolled up 477 rushing yards and defeated the Morehead State Eagles 69-13 at Fortera Stadium.
"We got off to a really rough start again," said head coach Rob Tenyer. "We took possession of the ball and felt like we had a good plan and a ball goes off a helmet and it's an interception right off the bat. But Austin Peay is a good team. Their scheme was an issue for us, and the way they ran the football. We have a lot of things to work on, and I think we have to go back to the drawing board this week."
The Eagles now sit at 1-2 heading into their Pioneer Football League home opener against Dayton on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Higginbotham broke free for a 57-yard score from junior signal caller Lawson Page with 5:13 to go before halftime and also caught an 18-yard strike from senior QB Jack Sherry with 2:35 left in the game.
In between, Governors' QB JaVaughn Craig rushed for four scores, while Kenta Williams piled up 203 rushing yards on just eight carries, all in the first half when AP built a 42-7 lead.
Morehead State finished with 347 total yards, out-gaining Austin Peay's two previous FBS level opponents Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio). Page finished 10-for-22 for 165 yards and two INTs. Sherry had 105 passing yards.
"I was hoping we had made it over the hump with our youth movement, but we have not. We have a lot of young guys playing, but hopefully these first three games will pay off once we get into conference play," Tenyer said.
