The Standard

Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Moore

By excelling at the least important thing on his mind, Cody Kirby got what he wanted the most.

Missouri State's freshman quarterback threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three more scores, including the 2-yard game-winner in the final seconds as Missouri State won a wild 42-38 shootout against Central Arkansas Saturday night at Plaster Stadium.

Kirby shrugged off his five-touchdown performance and gave credit for the win to his teammates.

"I don't really keep track of stats, the only stat that's important to me is the win," Kirby said. "It was a heck of a back-and-forth game. The offensive line did a great job all night and gave the receivers enough time to do their thing. The o-line was the main reason we were clicking on offense."

A pass from Kirby that went through the hands of UCA's Stephen DeGrate was caught by wide receiver Tamarkus Mc-Elvane, putting Missouri State at the UCA 2 with 24 seconds remaining and trailing 38-35.

Following a timeout, Kirby faked a handoff to senior running back Gerald Davis and trotted into the endzone on the left side untouched.

"It was a read play and the running backs had been running the ball hard all night long," Kirby said. "They all crashed down on Gerald and the offensive line made a nice hole for me to run into the endzone."

During the timeout, head coach Terry Allen said Kirby walked up and told him, "I want the football."

A Hail Mary pass attempt by Central Arkansas quarterback Nathan Brown fell incomplete on the final play of the game, sending Missouri State (3-1) to its first winning record after four games since 2002 and only the second time in 12 years.

"Fortunately they basically didn't have any time left when they got it," said Allen, who won his 100th career game as a coach. "We felt all week it could be one of those wild games."

Central Arkansas took a 38-35 lead when Brown hit Cedric Logan in the left corner of the endzone for a 30-yard score with 1:20 remaining.

Senior linebacker Jeron Poole said it was simply a good play by UCA.

"Marcus Colbert had perfect coverage," Poole said. "He's a senior captain and did anything a coach could ask for. The guy just made a spectacular catch."

Poole had a game-high 15 tackles but it wasn't enough to fix a Missouri State defense that allowed 439 passing yards.

Continued...

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