Football Rallies Late to Top William Penn

Oskaloosa, Iowa, (Sept. 9, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a game against William Penn (Iowa).  The Vikings built up a lead at halftime, but rallied late to earn a 33-28 victory.

William Penn received the opening kickoff, and moved down the field into Viking territory.  The Statesmen completed a pass to the MVC 10-yard line, but Junior Linebacker Eddie Rankin (Bay Area, Calif.) forced and recovered a fumble on the play to stop the scoring threat, and give Missouri Valley its first possession.  The Vikings picked up a first down on the ensuing drive, but had the possession stall out, and Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) sent a 31-yard punt back to the Statesmen midway through the first quarter.

The Vikings defense forced another stop, as WPU punted from midfield, pinning Missouri Valley back at its 11-yard line.  The first play of the drive featured a rushing attempt from Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.), who broke through and ran for an 89-yard touchdown to open scoring in the contest.  Junior Kicker Justin Keller (Shawnee, Mission, Kan.) added the extra-point and MVC went in front, 7-0, with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter.

The two teams traded punts through the rest of the third quarter, while the second quarter opened with a sack by Freshman Defensive Lineman Demetrius Hall (Apopka, Fla.) and Junior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas) to help stop another WPU drive deep in the opponent's territory.  Senior Defensive Back Johnathan Bailey (N. Las Vegas, Nev.) was back to receive a punt from William Penn, and took his return 37-yards to the Statesmen six-yard line.  The Vikings were unable to take advantage of the short field, and settled for a Keller 34-yard field goal, which moved the lead to 10-0, with just over three minutes played in the second quarter.

The following drive for William Penn saw the team move into MVC territory, at the 26-yard line.  However, the Viking defense earned its second turnover of the day, on a fumble forced by Senior Linebacker Wayne Parrish (Dania, Fla.), and recovered by Junior Defensive Back Kobe Windham (Petal, Miss.) at the team's 12-yard line.  Missouri Valley could not build a drive, and Bridges got off a 40-yard punt back to the WPU 22-yard line midway through the second quarter.

William Penn responded with a scoring drive, moving 78 yards in five plays, and capping the series with a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10-7, with under six minutes to play in the first half. Missouri Valley answered back with a long drive.  The team converted on third down early in the possession, as Senior Quarterback Tionne Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) hit Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.) for a 21-yard gain.  Then, facing a fourth-and-one, Bryant converted on a five-yard rush.  The drive was eventually capped on a one-yard touchdown from Bryant to extend the advantage.  Keller made the extra-point, and the 10-play, 55-yard drive made it a 17-7 lead with one minute remaining in the second quarter.

The Statesmen tried to work quickly in the closing moments of the half, and picked up a first down on the drive, but were forced into a punt.  However, the snap sailed over the punter's head, and resulted in a turnover-on-downs, with MVC taking control at the William Penn seven-yard line.  Missouri Valley could not find the end zone with the short field, but Keller made a 19-yard field goal, and sent the Vikings into halftime with a 20-7 lead.

Missouri Valley took the opening possession of the second half, which featured an early 27-yard rush by Bryant to start the drive.  Bryant gained a total of 39 yards on the drive.  Harris eventually finished the 10-play, 68-yard drive with an 11-yard rushing score.  Keller tacked on the extra-point, and the lead sat at 27-7 with less than six minutes played in the third quarter.

The first drive of the second half for William Penn saw the team pick up a pair of first downs, and move into MVC territory.  The Viking defense then forced a fourth-down situation, and a Statesmen pass was intercepted by Bailey to end the threat, and give Missouri Valley possession.  The ensuing drive lasted only three plays for MVC, and the team punted back to William Penn with under five minutes to play in the third quarter.

William Penn followed with a 70-yard drive that lasted five plays, and was capped with a touchdown.  The two-point conversion failed, and the deficit shrunk to 27-13 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.  Missouri Valley could not string together a drive on its next possession, and WPU found the end zone again as the third quarter came to an end.  The Statesmen scored as time expired in the quarter, on a 54-yard pass, to shrink the Viking lead to 27-20 going into the fourth quarter.

The first drive of the fourth quarter for Missouri Valley ended with a 45-yard punt from Bridges that pinned WPU back at its own 11-yard line.  The Statesmen worked down the field, and drove into the end zone again, this time on a seven-play drive.  The two-point conversion was successful, and William Penn held its first lead of the game, at 28-27, with just over eight minutes to play in the contest.

Missouri Valley was forced into another punt, and WPU regained possession at its own 35-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.  The Statesmen completed a pass into MVC territory early in the drive, but a fumble was forced by Senior Defensive Back Onias Parks (Tupelo, Miss.), and recovered by Parrish at the 39-yard line to end the drive. 

The Vikings responded with a long drive, which included a fourth-and-one conversion from Bryant on a four-yard rushing attempt.  A pass interference penalty on WPU allowed Missouri Valley to convert on a third-down attempt, and Harris followed two plays later with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co., Ga.) to put MVC back on top.  The two-point conversion failed, but the Vikings were in front once again, at 28-27, with three minutes remaining.

The Statesmen committed another turnover on its ensuing drive, throwing an interception, as Schwarzer stepped in front of a pass near midfield to give Missouri Valley possession.  The Vikings were unable to finish out the game, and punted back to William Penn with under two minutes left on the clock.  The final drive of the game for WPU saw the team pick up four first downs, and reach the Viking side of the field.  However, Senior Defensive Lineman Christian Harvey (Kansas City, Mo.) came up with a sack, and the Statesmen faced a fourth down situation.  Bailey intercepted another pass to end the scoring threat, and secure the 28-27 win for Missouri Valley.

Harris was 17 of 31 passing for 131 yards and one touchdown, and added 29 yards rushing and one touchdown.  Bryant posted a career-high with 184 rushing yards on 23 attempts, and scored two touchdowns.  He also added two receptions for 15 yards.  Dampier totaled six receptions for 47 yards, and Miles had one reception for 15 yards and a touchdown.  Missouri Valley totaled 359 yards of offense, including 228 rushing yards.

Parks led the team with nine tackles, and added one forced fumble.  Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) and Senior Linebacker David Gysbers (Columbia, Mo.) each had six tackles, while Windham came up with six tackles and one fumble recovery.  Bailey finished with three tackles, two interceptions and two pass break-ups.  Schwarzer had one interception and four tackles, while Rankin finished with four tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.  Parrish added two tackles, one tack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.  The Vikings forced six turnovers, the most since forcing six turnovers against Graceland (Iowa) back on Sept. 10, 2022, in a 28-21 win, and limited the Statesmen to 94 total rushing yards.

Keller made his two field goal attempts, with a long of 34-yards, and made all three of his extra-point attempts.  Bridges finished with a 33.5 yards per punt average on eight punts, with a long punt of 45yards.  Bailey averaged 18.5 yards per punt return, on two returns.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 2-0 on the season, while William Penn drops to 1-1.

Up next, the Viking football team will travel to Lamoni, Iowa, to play Graceland (Neb.), Sept. 16 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.