Witherspoon leads Murray State past Eastern Illinois 22-6

Updated Oct. 2, 2021 8:48 p.m. ET

Associated Press

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Damonta Witherspoon ran for a career-high 141 yards and a touchdown, and Murray State stopped Eastern Illinois on downs four times for a 22-6 win on Saturday.

It was a nonconference game between Ohio Valley Conference rivals.

The Racers (2-2), coming off a pair of losses against FBS opponents, overcame three turnovers by limiting the Panthers (1-5) to just three first downs on 16 third-down situations.

DJ Williams capped an 85-yard drive with a 14-yard run and Aaron Baum kicked two of his three field goals to give Murray State a 13-0 lead at the half.

Eastern Illinois got the ball to start the second half and lost seven yards before a short punt only reached midfield. With a 15-yard personal foul tacked on, the Racers were on the 35. On the fourth snap Witherspoon scored on a 5-yard run.

Arron Foulkes hauled in a 54-yard pass from Chris Katrenick early in the fourth quarter for the Eastern Illinois touchdown.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25