The Valparaiso University football team played excellent defense after the first drive of the game and had a strong day on special teams, but solid play from those units were not enough in a 17-5 setback to Morehead State to begin Pioneer Football League play on Saturday at Jayne Stadium in Morehead, Ky.
 
How It Happened

• Carter Cravens got the start at quarterback for Morehead State after previously missing time with an injury. His arm was evident on the opening drive – which MSU started on its own five thanks to a penalty on the opening kickoff – when he completed a pair of long passes. Cravens found Nathan Garnett Jr. for a 50-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, and later connected with Bradley West for a 44-yard touchdown to put the Eagles in front 7-0 with 12:54 left in the first quarter.
• The next four drives – two for each team – all resulted in punts on a wet day in Kentucky, then Morehead State's Matthew McClelland made an impressive interception to snuff out a promising Valpo drive late in the first quarter.
• Valpo closed out the first quarter with a big defensive play by Kevin Spelman (New Lenox, Ill. / Providence Catholic), who recorded a sack for a loss of nine to the Morehead State 10-yard line. That forced the Eagles to punt from their own end zone, and Alex Goworowski (Chicago, Ill. / Saint Patrick) blocked the punt and it went through the end zone for a safety, allowing Valpo to get on the board at 7-2.
• After a Valpo punt, Morehead State assembled a scoring drive that resulted in a 35-yard field goal with 4:11 to go in the half, extending the lead to 10-2. Morehead State made several impressive defensive plays to knock away potential touchdown passes on Valpo's final drive of the half, but the Beacons still came away with points as Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) drilled a 46 yarder despite difficult weather conditions. That made it 10-5 in favor of the hosts at halftime.
• The two teams exchanged punts to start the second half, then Valpo went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Morehead State 30 and turned it over on downs after a sack. The next Morehead State drive started with Camari Harris (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Bishop Luers [Akron / Northern Illinois]) recording a strip sack, a fumble that the Eagles recovered for a loss of 13 on the play. That set the tone for yet another stop by the Valpo defense.
• Valpo went three-and-out and punted from its own end zone, setting up a short field for the Eagles. Morehead State took advantage on a Cravens-to-Garnett 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-5.
• The Valpo defense continued to thrive down the stretch, but Valpo's final three possessions resulted in an interception and two turnovers on downs. Defensively, Valpo had one more impressive stand on fourth-and-1 from the Valpo 29, forcing a turnover on downs with 1:54 to go.

Inside the Game

• The safety was Valpo's first since Sept. 18, 2021 vs. Dartmouth, when the team strangely enough recorded two safeties in the same game. This marked Valpo's first safety in a PFL game in over 20 years.
• Goworowski was the first Valpo player to block a punt since Max Samuel on Nov. 11, 2023 vs. Stetson, when he blocked two in one game.
• Spelman's sack brought his career total to 11.5.
• The Eagles outgained the Beacons 216-126 and Valpo was limited to just 35 yards on the ground while Morehead State was held to 84 rushing yards.
• Sacks were a factor as the Morehead State defense had nine for 60 yards.
• Redshirt junior Michael Appel Jr. (Springboro, Ohio / Springboro) made the start at quarterback in his first action of the season and went 10-for-20 for 60 yards. He took his first game snaps since Oct. 7, 2023 at Drake.
• Redshirt sophomore Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield) had five catches for 43 yards.
• Hawk improved to 7-for-10 on the season on field-goal attempts.
• Punter Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) averaged 43.8 yards per punt with a long of 51.
• Redshirt freshman Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) had a team-high 10 tackles including six solos. He recorded Valpo's first double-figure tackle output of the season.
• Valpo played a bit short handed as five notable players were sidelined for this game.

Up Next
Valpo (2-3, 0-1 PFL) will host defending PFL champion Drake next Saturday at noon for Homecoming at Brown Field. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.