Nov. 2, 2002

Final Stats

MURRAY, Ky. - Stewart Childress threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and senior running back Billy Blanchard carried 25 times for 150 yards and one score as Murray State raced by Samford, 54-17, Saturday afternoon at Stewart Stadium. The Bulldogs (4-4) allowed 562 total yards of offense and gave up 50 points for the second time this season.

Former Auburn wide receiver Deandre Green caught 10 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown to the lead Racers (4-4).

Freshman cornerback Cortland Finnegan was the Bulldogs lone bright spot. Finnegan returned two kickoffs of 95 yards for touchdowns to account for Samford's only two trips into the end zone. Finnegan finished with 263 yards on six returns and the two touchdowns.

The Racers outscored Samford 38-7 the final 24:30 of the game.

Childress threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Green putting MSU ahead 23-10 with 7:12 left in the third quarter. Murray made it 30-10 when Childress hooked up with his tight end Brandon Roddy for a 27-yard score with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.

Andrus' fourth field goal, a 48-yarder, made it 33-10 with 11:24 left in the game. Finnegan broke loose for his second 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown of the game to pull Samford within 33-17 with 11:03 left in the game.

Billy Blanchard's 1-yard run increased the Racer lead to 40-17 with 9:18 left in the game. Murray added two more touchdowns. Back-up quarterback Stephen Hatchell completed a 13-yard touchdown to Chris Wright and Ulyses Odoms scored on a 4-yard run to make for the final score.

Finnegan returned the opening second half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Chip Walters added the extra point, cutting the MSU lead to 16-7.

After Samford's defense forced Murray to punt, the Bulldogs drove 39 yards in 12 plays. Walters hit a 28-yard field goal making it 16-10 with 9:30 left in the third quarter.

Ron Lane's 43-yard touchdown run gave Murray State a 7-0 lead with 12:31 left in the first quarter. Samford tried to answer the Racer score on its first possession of the game. The Bulldogs used 16 plays to drive down to the Murray State 11-yard line, but Chip Walters missed a 28-yard field goal.

The Racers extended their lead to 10-0 on Shane Andrus' 26-yard field goal with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

After a Samford fumble, the Racers drove 17 yards in five plays. Andrus' connected on a 32-yard field goal with 1:08 left in the first quarter giving Murray a 13-0 lead.

Andrus' third field goal of the first half, a 45-yarder, made it 16-0 at halftime.

Josh Kellett started the game and completed 21-of-37 passes for 117 yards. Aryvia Holmes caught 10 passes for 44 yards. Samford finished the game with 346 return yards on 11 returns.