Gameday blog: Southeast at Murray State

After a back-and-forth first half, Southeast Missouri State goes into the halftime break tied at 7 with Murray State.

The game started promisingly for the Redhawks, as they marched 75 yards on 14 plays, converting three third downs and a fourth down on the way to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Hosket to Tremane McCullough at 8:35 of the first quarter.

But the Racers responded on their first drive, as quarterback KD Humphries rolled left and found running back Demetric Johnson in the secondary and a zig-zagging run after the catch for a 67-yard touchdown pass and a 7-7 score at 6:57 of the first.

After that, neither offense could get into gear.

On SEMO's next six drives, it had three three-and-outs and five punts.

The Redhawks had a chance to pick up some momentum going into the break, but a mix of play calls and missed execution left them coming up empty. Facing fourth down at the Murray State 26, Ryan McCrum came out for a 43-yard field goal attempt. But Southeast faked the punt, and holder Tyler Manne tossed the ball to McCrum, who ran to the sticks for a first down.

On second-and-goal at the 2 and with only 3 seconds left in the second quarter, SEMO elected to go for the TD rather than take three points and a halftime lead. A fade to a covered C.J. Curry in the left side of the end zone was batted away, giving the Racers some momentum as they get set to receive the football to open the second half.

The Redhawks have 202 yards of offense through two quarter. Hosket is just 7 of 20 ( percent)for 119 yards and a touchdown, though he has been under some heavy pressure. He has been sacked twice. MSU is officially credited with two quarterback hurries.

Cameron Sanders has five carries for 28 yards.

The Racers have been paced by Humphries' 12-of-17 effort for 128 yards and a TD. MSU has rushed for just 25 yards on 13 carries.

Both teams have punted five times.

The Southeast Missouri State football team begins its Ohio Valley Conference schedule against Murray State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium.

Trent Singer and Josh Mlot will provide updates from the game.

You can follow along on Twitter @semoballTrent and @semoballJosh for live updates throughout the game, and you don't have to have a Twitter account to see their posts.

Check out a preview of the game and learn more about the Racers here.

The Redhawks will look to pick up their first victory of the season after dropping a heartbreaking, 27-24 defeat against Indiana State in last week's home opener. Southeast was ultimately undone by giving up a 15-yard touchdown pass on the final drive.

Click here to read more about several key players on the Redhawks' defense who stood out in last week's loss.

Southeast's pass defense has experienced some growing pains in the early part of the season and will face another up-tempo offense against MSU.