Missouri State Football Postgame Quotes (vs. Eastern Kentucky)

#13 Cody Kirby on the offense turning it on after early struggles:

"I couldn't tell exactly what was going on, or what was not going on, early. But I know that once we started getting some big plays, the momentum for our offense began to shift and I think that is when we started to come together."

On Chris Douglas' 86-yard touchdown run:

"I feel every play is designed to be a big play when you execute, and I thought we did a great job of executing on that play. Chris showed his athleticism, we made got some good blocks up front and he made it happen."

On the energy it provided:

"If we weren't already excited, we definitely were at the end (of that run). It just gave us a lot of momentum from then to the end of the game."

#4 Chris Douglas on the touchdown run:

"I didn't know from the pre-set and the snap, but I know that Julian Burton and Cadarrius Dotson blocked their tails off. They sealed that edge and I had the responsibility to beat one man and that is when my athletic ability has to kick in. I got outside that linebacker and it was off to the races. I told myself 'I cannot get caught by this man.' So after he swiped my feet, I had to keep my balance and be determined to get into that end zone."

On preparing to play after the Thursday night postponement:

"It was definitely an intensity killer last night. The whole team was ready three different times, and then going home and having to get mentally prepared again (was tough). But being at home at least we got to go back to our own places. Eastern Kentucky has been on the road since Tuesday, so I know they were drained. That actually helped us in a way."

On the atmosphere and attendance:

"I didn't expect us to have too many students because it was still around class time. I knew that our parents would still be there, but coach (Terry) Allen told us that it doesn't really matter. We still have to go out there and execute. We still have a game to play."

#21 Skylar Smith on the defense's performance:

"They took a couple shots on us, but we felt that we kind of had their number all day, though. They got some yards, but with our backs up against the wall we felt pretty good about keeping them out of the end zone. We knew they had some athletes, but it has been a long preseason and we have been scheming hard, so it was not too long before we felt we had their number out there."

On forcing the Colonels to be one-dimensional with the passing game:

"We felt that they were going to try to run it, but when they tried to throw it on us our eyes got real big and that is kind of what we wanted. We were ready for either or, so when they tried to throw, we felt pretty good about how we did."

On the unusual schedule due to the weather:

"It has been a long preseason. We were too hungry to really even notice. We were just ready to get out there."

Head Coach Terry Allen:

On the offensive performance:
"We got off to a poor start offensively, but I thought our defense did a nice job. We had a bit of a wind battle out there and we were losing field position, but the defense stayed out there. We didn't get a first down in the first quarter, which was very upsetting. They stepped up in the second quarter and the third quarter."

On the game:
"First of all, you have to understand that EKU Is a very good football team, I would not be surprised to see them competing in their conference championship. They are a very good defensive team, and their quarterback [T.J. Pryor] is a great player. To beat them 31-9 and to do it the way we did, in spurts, it's a really good win in a messed up weekend. Our defense did a great job. They kept them out of the game. When you do that, you are going to win some football games. All-in-all, we got a lot of mistakes out of some first year players, and you're going to have that. There is a whole bunch of little things to work on and we won 31-9...this could really help us down the road. "

On return man Julian Burton:
"He can run. He got out there that first time and it's a little windy and you got guys running at you he fumbled it a bit, but he got it back. But, you saw it that last time, he was very close to taking that one to the house. When you have guys like that, it really helps."

On RB Chris Douglas' 86-yard touchdown:
"I don't know about you, but I didn't think he would make it. They've got some guys who can run. We let him play a few times and he came up with some big plays for us. He had some very nice runs.  All-in-all it was a very good performance."