Morehead State football was unable to be efficient on third down opportunities, and despite holding the ball on offense for 10 more minutes than Drake, the Eagles fell 43-6 to the Bulldogs in the 2018 season finale at Jayne Stadium Saturday.
The Eagles were 7-of-19 on third downs and converted only one of five fourth-down chances.
"It was kind of the story of the season again today, we didn't take advantage of our chances," said head coach Rob Tenyer. "We put ourselves in way too many third down situations and didn't convert enough."
After trailing 7-0 early, MSU found paydirt on a Chris Nelson 14-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Lawson Page. But the PAT attempt was blocked and returned 98 yards for a two-point conversion by Drake. Two Eagle drives were then thwarted by interceptions, and the final three were handed over on downs.
Playing in his final game, Page rushed for a team-best 87 yards on 18 carries. He added 159 yards through the air. Page wrapped up his five-year tenure in an Eagle uniform with 780 rushing yards in 2018 and 1,176 for his career. He also wound up with 4,922 career passing yards.
Senior wideout Jarin Higginbotham hauled in four catches for 53 yards and wrapped up his career ranked third in career receiving yards at MSU with 2,107 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"We will miss these seniors like Lawson and Jarin and the other 11 guys," said Tenyer. "Even though we fell short here at the end of the season, their leadership brought our team closer."
Linebacker Kordell Brown led the defense with nine tackles, one for a loss, and a fumble forced. Senior defensive lineman Patrick Rice finished his career on a high note with a career-best eight tackles while also recovering the fumble that Brown forced.
MSU finished 2018 at 3-8 and 2-6 in the Pioneer League, while Drake finished at 7-3 and 6-2.
