Final Stats
Big Second Half Keys 44-21 Win Over Morehead State JT Rogan and Eric Bakhtiari Lead Way
(San Diego, CA) - The USD Toreros (8-0; 5-0 PFL) put the clamp down on visiting Morehead State (1-8; 1-5 PFL) in the 2nd half and eventually came away with a decisive 44-21 victory. With the Toreros holding a 17-14 halftime lead, USD came out of the locker room and outscored the Eagles 21-0 in the third period. Through 8 games this season the Toreros have come out after intermission and outscored their opponents 88-7 in the 3rd period. Sophomore running back JT Rogan rushed for 101 yards and 2 TDs, and also threw a 42-yard TD strike to John Matthews. Junior DE Eric Bakhtiari paced the defensive effort with 7 solo tackles, including 5 tackles for loss and 1 quarterback sack. The win was USD's 16th straight and 24th win in its last 25 games.
"This was a great win for us tonight," said head coach Jim Harbaugh. "We came out and fought hard, and credit goes to Morehead State who came ready to play. We didn't execute well in the first half, but I thought we played really well in the 2nd half after making some adjustments. Our goal here is to win and improve each week. We did that tonight, just not as big of an improvement as we would have liked."
USD opened the scoring with a Hutch Parker 28-yard field goal with 4:32 left in the 1st. After MSU's Rick Cornelius scored on a 1-yard run with 7:43 left in the 2nd period, USD found itself trailing in a contest for the first time this season, 7-3. The last game USD trailed in was last year's PFL Championship against this very same Morehead State club. USD trailed 14-13 after the 1st period, but bounced back for the 47-40 victory. USD answered a little over 2 minutes later when Rogan scored from 8 yards out. His 42-yard pass play to John Matthews with 2:43 left put the Toreros ahead 17-7. The Eagles closed to within a field goal with :09 seconds left when QB Brian Yost connected with Erick Fitzpatrick for a 50-yard bomb.
The defense held the Eagles in the third period, and USD's offense went to work. Josh Johnson connected with John Matthews for a 72-yard TD; Rogan added his second rushing TD from 1-yard out; and Johnson connected with a wide open Chris Ramsey for an 11-yard TD to put USD up 38-14 heading into the final period. The two teams traded TDs in the final period - Jabari McGee busted loose for a 30-yard TD run with 5:04 to go, and USD's Wes Doyle worked his way open in the endzone for a 37-yard pass from Johnson.
For the game Johnson completed 11-of-23 passes for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also added 80 yards rushing on 9 carries. Ben Hannula led the squad with 5 catches for 48 yards, but John Matthews totaled 114 yards receiving on just 2 catches, both for touchdowns. Defensively, Patrick O'Neill and Kyson Hawkins each totaled 9 tackles, and Chris Gianelli added 8. But it was Bakhtiari that reaked havoc in the backfield with 7 solo tackles and 5 tackles for loss for 19 yards. USD also got interceptions from Tyler Evans, Joe Staab and Mike Crawford.
USD continues PFL play next Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. contest at Jacksonville.
