Ellis guides Austin Peay to 59-35 romp over Morehead State
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Draylen Ellis passed for 345 yards and three touchdowns and Austin Peay rolled to a 59-35 victory over Morehead State in nonconference play on Saturday.
Ellis put the Governors (2-1) on top for good midway through the first quarter — connecting with Eugene Minter for a 17-yard score and adding a two-point conversion pass for an 8-0 lead. Morehead State (1-2) pulled within two points with 1:36 left in the first on Issiah Aguero's 1-yard run. Jack McDonald's 30-yard pick-6 stretched Austin Peay's lead to 15-6 just 1:31 into the second quarter. Ellis added a 26-yard scoring strike to Minter and Ahmaad Tanner scored on a 26-yard run to put the Governors up 28-6 at halftime.
Ellis' final TD pass was a 34-yarder to Baniko Harley in the third quarter. Ellis completed 21 of 36 passes. Tanner added a 1-yard scoring run in the final quarter and finished with 83 yards on 17 carries. Backup QB Neyland Jean got in on the scoring with a 31-yard TD toss to Trey Goodman with 5:40 left to play. Jevon Jackson ended the scoring for Austin Peay on a 1-yard TD run with 2:06 remaining.
Mark Pappas completed 21 of 51 passes for 230 yards with one TD — a 6-yarder to BJ Byrd in the third quarter — and two interceptions for the Eagles. Chance Harris added a 2-yard TD run in the final period. Backup QB Grady Cramer completed 6 of 9 passes for 127 yards and two scores in the final period — a 34-yarder to Kyle Daly and a 47-yarder to Daly on the final play of the game.
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