Football Defeats No. 18 Graceland on the Road

Lamoni, Iowa, (Sept. 16, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Lamoni, Iowa, Saturday evening for a  cross-divisional Heart of America Athletic Conference football game against No. 18 Graceland (Iowa).  The Vikings led through much of the game, and scored in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter to secure a 49-42 win over the Yellowjackets.

Graceland opened the game with the first possession, but was forced into a punt on the initial drive of the contest.  Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) came up with a tackle-for-loss on third down to help force the punt.  Missouri Valley followed with a long drive that included two pass interference penalties called on the Yellowjackets.  The second penalty set the team up at the two-yard line, and Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.) went into the end zone for his first touchdown of the night.  Junior Kicker Justin Keller (Shawnee, Kan.) added the extra-point, and the Vikings held a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Graceland was forced into another punt on its ensuing drive, as Senior Defensive Lineman Ethan Towers (Chicago, Ill.) and Senior Defensive Lineman Christian Harvey (Kansas City, Mo.) teamed up on a third-down sack.  Missouri Valley used a 43-yard pass completion from Senior Quarterback Tionne Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) to Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co., Ga.) to set the team up at the one yard line.  Bryant capped the 63-yard, six-play drive with a one-yard touchdown, and Keller's extra-point made it a 14-0 lead with less than three-minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Yellowjackets used a big kickoff return, for 72-yards, to set up a short-field.  Three plays later, GU cut into its deficit with a touchdown to make it a 14-7 score with just over one minute to play in the first quarter.  Missouri Valley followed with a drive that included the team converting on third down twice.  The first was a 24-yard completion from Harris to Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.), followed later by a four-yard run from Sophomore Running Back James Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.) to convert the third-down attempt.  The next play was a five-yard run from Bryant for his third touchdown of the game.  Keller made his extra-point attempt, and MVC held a 21-7 lead with less than four minutes played in the second quarter.

Graceland cut into its deficit through the next stretch of play.  The team ran off seven plays that covered 65-yards on its next drive to make it a 21-14 score, then used a bad punt attempt from the Vikings to gain possession deep inside MVC territory.  The Yellowjackets scored their second touchdown in less than three minutes to tie the teams at 21-21 with five minutes to play before the break.  

Missouri Valley responded, and drove down the field on its next drive.  Harris kept the drive going with an 18-yard rushing attempt to convert on third down.  Graceland was called for a penalty on the play that moved the ball deeper into Yellowjacket territory, to the 17 yard line.  The next play featured Harris hitting Miles for a 17-yard touchdown to put MVC back on top.  Keller made his extra-point, and Missouri Valley held a 28-21 lead with one minute to play in the quarter.  Graceland was unable to put together a drive in the closing moments of the quarter, and the Vikings went into halftime on top.

The second half started with Missouri Valley receiving the opening kickoff.  Bryant gained a total of 43 yards on three carries to start the drive, and Harris found Dampier for a six-yard touchdown pass to cap the possession.  Keller added his extra-point, and MVC led 35-21 with less than two minutes played after the restart.  Missouri Valley nearly created the first turnover of the game on the initial drive of the second half for the Yellowjackets.  The defense forced a fumble, which was recovered by GU, but eventually Graceland was put into a punting situation to regain possession midway through the third quarter.  

Missouri Valley followed with a long scoring drive, running off a total of 14 plays that covered 82 yards and took nearly seven minutes off the clock.  Harris connected with Dampier early in the drive for a 21-yard pass completion.  Bryant extended the drive with a pair of third down conversions on rushing attempts.  The team then faced a fourth-and-eight situation at the GU 33-yard line, and Harris completed a 14-yard pass to Dampier to convert and keep possession.  Two plays later, Bryant went into the end zone on a two-yard touchdown, his fourth of the game.  Keller made the extra-point, and MVC led by a 42-21 score with less than one minute to play in the third quarter.

Graceland worked quickly after the score, and cut into its deficit with a touchdown moments into the fourth quarter to make it a 42-28 contest.  Missouri Valley went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, and GU responded with another touchdown, this time working back to a 42-35 deficit with 10 minutes remaining in the game.  After another punt from MVC, Graceland was initially stopped and forced into a punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty extended the Yellowjacket drive.  With just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Graceland scored its third-straight touchdown, and tied the teams at 42-42.

The ensuing drive for MVC started at its own 25-yard line.  Harris completed his first four passing attempts, covering 32 total yards into Graceland territory.  Another pass interference penalty helped the Vikings reach the GU 18-yard line with less than one minute to play in regulation.  On a second down play, Harris threw to the end zone and found Dampier for an 18 yard touchdown.  Keller added the extra-point, and Missouri Valley went back on top, 49-42, with only seconds remaining on the clock.  Graceland tried a trick-play as time expired, but Khalid Collier came up with a turnover to end the threat and secure the 49-42 victory.

Harris finished 24 of 36 passing for 258 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.  Bryant had 126 yards rushing on 23 attempts, scoring four touchdowns, which is the most in a single-game for the program since DeAndre Campbell scored five touchdowns in one game back in the 1993 season.  Dampier had a career-high 108 receiving yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns.  Miles added four receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown.  Missouri Valley finished with 427 total yards, and was 9 of 14 on third down conversions.

Senior Linebacker Gabe Ellefsen (Marshall, Mo.) led with four tackles and one tackle-for-loss.  Junior Defensive Back Kobe Windham (Petal, Miss.) added four tackles, while Towers had three tackles and 1.5 sacks.  The defense finished with three sacks and two turnovers in the game.  The Vikings held Graceland to -11 yards rushing.

Keller made all seven of his extra-point attempts.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-0 on the season while Graceland drops to 2-1.  This is the first win over a ranked opponent for the Vikings since defeating No. 2 Baker (Kan.), 27-22, back on Nov. 4, 2017.

Up next, the Viking football team will host No. 2 Grand View (Iowa), Sept. 23 with a 1 p.m., kickoff inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium for Family Weekend.

Box Score-Click Here 

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.