Football Opens Season With Win Over Culver-Stockton

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 2, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team opened its 2023 season Saturday evening inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium, hosting Culver-Stockton (Mo.).  The Vikings got in front early in the game, and pulled away late for a 28-7 victory.

The game started with both teams trading punts on their opening possessions.  Missouri Valley moved the ball on its second drive, which included pass completions from Senior Quarterback Tionne Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) for 20 yards to Sophomore Wide Receiver Chase Buford (Springfield, Mo.) and 14 yards to Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co., Ga.).  The drive stalled at the Culver-Stockton 26-yard line, and Junior Kicker Justin Keller (Shawnee, Kan.) attempted a 43-yard field goal, but his attempt sailed to the right, and the teams stayed scoreless midway through the first quarter.  The Wildcats moved across midfield on its ensuing possession, but Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) came up with a tackle at the line-of-scrimmage to help end the drive.

The Vikings followed with possession near midfield, and Harris completed a 23-yard pass on the opening play of the drive.  Four plays later, Harris connected with Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.) for a 26-yard touchdown to put MVC on top.  Keller made the extra-point attempt to put the score at 7-0 with four minutes to play in the first quarter.  The Vikings defense forced another three-and-out, helped by a tackle-for-loss on the first play by Senior Defensive Back Keshaun Reynolds (Moreno Valley, Calif.)

Missouri Valley took possession at CSC's 47-yard line late in the first quarter, but could not capitalize on the short field, and punted back to the Wildcats.  Culver-Stockton started the second quarter with possession, and moved down to the Viking 21-yard line.  Senior Linebacker Gabe Ellefsen (Marshall, Mo.) earned a tackle-for-loss on third-and-short, which forced a fourth down conversion attempt.  The attempt was unsuccessful, and the MVC defense forced a turnover-on-downs at its own 22-yard line.

The next drive for Missouri Valley featured 13 total plays, covering 78 yards and taking more than eight minutes off the clock.  Harris converted on third down early in the drive with a 23-yard run, then completed a third-down pass to Junior Tight End Brent Clary (Atchison, Kan.) for eight yards and another first down.  Later in the drive, Harris converted on third down for the third time, on a three-yard completion to Senior Wide Receiver Doryan Cole (Moreno Valley, Calif.).  The drive was capped on a four-yard touchdown run from Harris to extend the lead.  Keller made the extra-point, and MVC sat on top, 14-0, with just over two minutes to play in the half.

Culver-Stockton responded with its best drive of the half, moving nearly 60 yards in the closing moments before the break.  The drive was capped on a 10-yard touchdown pass, which sent the game into halftime with a 14-7 score.

The second half started with the Wildcats receiving the kickoff, but the Viking defense forced another three-and-out, including a third-down tackle-for-loss from Junior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas).  Missouri Valley was pinned back to its own 10-yard line to start its first possession of the second half, and eventually reached midfield, but was forced into a punt with four minutes played in the third quarter.

The two teams traded punts as the third quarter continued.  Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) did get off a 64-yard punt that was downed at the CSC seven-yard line midway through the quarter.  The Wildcats had their ensuing possession end in a turnover, as Junior Defensive Back Kobe Windham (Petal, Miss.) came up with the interception near midfield.  Missouri Valley took advantage of the turnover, as Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.) gained 25 yards rushing on the drive, including a five-yard rushing touchdown.  Keller made the extra-point, and the lead grew to 21-7 with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter.

Missouri Valley made another defensive stop, which included a tackle-for-loss from Senior Defensive Lineman Ethan Towers (Chicago, Ill.) on the following Culver-Stockton drive.  Missouri Valley regained possession after another CSC punt late in the third quarter, and had the ball near midfield as the game moved into the fourth quarter of play.  However, the first play of the fourth quarter ended on a fumble, which was recovered by the Wildcats.  The Viking defense did not allow CSC to drive after the fumble recovery, and forced another punt from midfield.

The Vikings strung together another scoring drive early in the fourth quarter, which featured a 43-yard run from Bryant to move the team deep into Wildcat territory.  Facing a third-and-long situation, Harris extended a pass play, and found Miles in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.  Keller made the extra-point, and the score sat at 28-7 with just over 10-minutes to play in the contest.

The two teams traded possessions over the course of the fourth quarter.  The Viking defense came up with one more turnover, as Junior Linebacker Eddie Rankin (Bay Area, Calif.) came up with a fumble recovery at the MVC 24-yard line with less than six minutes to play in the game.  Missouri Valley was unable to cross midfield on the following possession, but Bridges got off a 49-yard punt that was downed at the CSC four-yard line.  Culver-Stockton moved down the field on its final possession, but eventually turned the ball over on downs in the closing minutes.  Missouri Valley ran out the clock, and finished off a 28-7 victory.

Harris was 22 of 39 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns.  He added 41 yards rushing and one rushing touchdown.  Miles had four receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown, while Dampier added four receptions for 58 yards and one touchdown.  Bryant totaled 76 yards rushing and one touchdown on 10 carries.  The offense produced 389 yards and gained an average of 5.9 yards per play.

Senior Defensive Back Johnathan Bailey (N. Las Vegas, Neb.) led defensively with five tackles and one forced fumble.  Travis and Senior Defensive Back Nias Parks (Tupelo, Miss.) added four tackles, and Rankin had four tackles and one fumble recovery.  Ellefsen finished with three tackles and two tackles-for-loss.  Windham had the one interception.  The defense allowed 268 total yards, including 60 rushing yards.  The Vikings forced two turnovers and held CSC to 3 of 17 on third down conversion attempts.

Keller made all four of his extra-point attempts, but missed his only field goal attempt.  Bridges ended with a 46.3 yards per punt average on four punts, with a long of 64 yards and three punts inside the 20-yard line. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 1-0 on the season, and drops Culver-Stockton to 0-2.

Up next, the Viking football team goes to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a contest with William Penn (Iowa), Sept. 9, with a 6 p.m., kickoff.

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About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.