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The Murray Mustangs earned their first win of the season 36-33, while handing the Lamoni Demons their first loss of the season.
The first quarter of play went mostly scoreless, until Lamoni’s Kelan Stevenson made it in with a 35-yard reception with 3:54 left on the clock. With a kick by Tate McDole after through the uprights, Lamoni led 7-0 going into the second quarter.
Murray made quick work to put points on the board, with a 1-yard run by quarterback Keegan Chew about 90 seconds into the quarter; a pass from Chew to AJ Clarke after was good for the conversion. A few seconds later, Lamoni scored on a 45-yard kickoff return run by Peyton Scott followed by a failed run after. The Mustangs added 142 more points in the quarter - a one yard run by Nolan Gannon and a 69-yard reception from Gannon to Keaton Brammer with a 2-point conversion by Chew after. In between touchdowns, Lamoni added another of their own. Going into halftime, Murray had a 1-point lead 22-21.
The third quarter had Murray in for two short touchdowns, a 2-yard run by Gannon and a 1-yard run by Chew. Of two attempted conversions, only one was successful to bring Murray to their final 36 points. Lamoni added six on a 36-yard run.
While the Demons would score early in the final quarter, the Mustangs were able to hold them from retaking the lead on Lamoni’s homecoming night with a late-game interception by Brammer.
Gannon led the team with nine solo tackles including two for loss, two touchdowns and 136 total yards between rushing and receiving. He also added one interception that he returned for 40-yards. One fumble was recovered by Clarke. Overall, the Mustangs had 409 total yards.
Friday’s win was the fifth straight win over Lamoni. Murray looks to win their homecoming game against East Union (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. East Union currently leads 10-6 in games played against Murray since 2008 - last year’s game went 64-36 in East Union’s favor while 2023 saw a 24-14 Murray win.
Murray’s Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned during halftime.
Game stats
Murray 36, Lamoni 33
MUR 0 22 14 0
LAM 7 14 6 6
TEAM STATS
MUR LAM
Rushes-yards 51-204 25-135
Passing 9-17-0 5-12-2
Passing yards 205 108
Total yards 409 243
Punts-avg. 1-27 3-39.7
Fumbles lost 0-0 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – MUR: Keaton Brammer 2-8; Keegan Chew 21-106, 2 TD; Wylee Wright 10-17; Nolan Gannon 18-73, 2 TD. LAM: Peyton Scott 4-(-1); Brock Binkley 7-10; Landon Lindgren 9-86, 1 TD; Kelan Stevenson 8-26, 1 TD.
PASSING – MUR: Chew 8-16 for 137 yards; Gannon 1-1 for 69 yards, 1 TD. LAM: Binkley 5-12 for 108 yards, 2 TD, 2 I.
RECEIVING – MUR: Brammer 1-69, 1 TD; AJ Clarke 1-37; Jaxon Darby 2-22; Wright 2-14; Gannon 3-63. LAM: Scott 1-9; Justin Mendenhall 2-28; Stevenson 2-71, 2 TD.
TACKLES (total-solo) – MUR: Brammer 1-0; Chew 2 ½-1; Clarke 3-3; Wright 4-3; Gannon 10-9; Wyatt Patton 5-3; Grady Mongar 1 ½-0; Trevor Eckels 1-0; Ace Neisemier 2-1. LAM: Landry Johnson 9-7; Cody Burton 3-2; Scott 6 ½-5; Binkley 10-9; Lindgren 1-1; Quenton Kerns 1-1; Cameron Noel 1 ½-1; Travis Noel 2 ½-2; Mendenhall 5 ½-4; Stevenson 13-11.
TACKLES FOR LOSS – MUR: Clarke 1; Gannon 2; Patton 2; Neisemier 1. LAM: Burton 1; Binkley ½; Cameron 1; Mendenhall 1 ½; Stevenson 3.
SACKS – MUR: 0. LAM: 0.
INTERCEPTIONS – MUR: Brammer 1; Gannon 1. LAM: 0.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES – MUR: Clarke 1. LAM: 0.
PUNTING – MUR: Chew 1-27. LAM: Binkley 3-119.
KICK RETURNS for TD – MUR: 0. LAM: Scott 1-46, 1 TD.
2PT CONVERSION – MUR: Chew 1; Clarke 1; Gannon 1. LAM: Stevenson 1.