Football Falls to Grand View at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 23, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team hosted Grand View (Iowa) inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium for Family Weekend, Saturday.  The game featured a more than three-hour weather delay, as Missouri Valley fell to No. 2 Grand View.

The game opened with Missouri Valley holding the first possession, but the team was forced into a punting situation after three plays.  Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) got off a 32-yard punt, and Grand View started its first possession near midfield.  The MVC defense nearly came up with a turnover, as Junior Linebacker Eddie Rankin IV (Bay Area, Calif.) forced a fumble, but the recovery was made by the offense.  The next play ended in a touchdown for GVU, to make it a 7-0 score with less than four minutes played. 

The ensuing drive for Missouri Valley featured the team picking up a first down, as Senior Quarterback Oliver Svirsky(Milpitas, Calif.) hit Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co. Ga.) for a nine-yard gain, and Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.) converted to extend the drive.  However, Grand View forced a punt to gain possession.  Three plays after the Bridges punt, GVU tacked on another score, making it a 14-0 game midway through the quarter.  Following the touchdown, play was stopped for more than three hours due to weather conditions.

Play resumed around 4:40 p.m., as Missouri Valley started a drive.  However, the team went three-and-out, and Bridges punted.  The punt attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown, as Grand View extended its lead to 21-0 with six minutes still to play in the quarter.  Missouri Valley moved to midfield on its next possession, helped by a 22-yard completion to Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.).  However, MVC was forced into another punt.

Grand View took its next possession to midfield, but the Missouri Valley defense forced a stop, and the first punt of the game.  The punt was downed at the MVC seven-yard line, as the next drive started.  The drive lasted only one play, as a Svirsky pass was intercepted at the nine-yard line.  Grand View added to its advantage, making it 28-0 with less than one minute to play in the first quarter.

The second quarter featured Grand View extending its lead with three more touchdowns.  Missouri Valley started a possession with nine-minutes to play in the half, and put together its best drive of the game.  Svirsky connected with Junior Wide Receiver Nate Pouliot (Clearwater, Fla.) for a 17-yard gain, then completed a pass to Bryant that gained 31 yards.  Two plays later, Svirsky found Dampier for a 22-yard touchdown.  Junior Kicker Brent Clary (Atchison, Kan.) made the extra-point, and MVC trailed, 49-7 with just over five minutes to play in the quarter.  Grand View added one more score before the half came to an end, and Missouri Valley sat in a 56-7 deficit at halftime.

Missouri Valley was unable to build a comeback in the second half, as Grand View extended its lead through the final two quarters of play.  The final score came out to 70-7.

Svirsky finished with 14 completions for 154 yards passing and one touchdown.  Bryant had 38 yards rushing and added another 63 yards receiving on four receptions to total 101 all-purpose yards.  Dampier had five receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Senior Linebacker Gabe Ellefsen (Marshall, Mo.) led with eight tackles, while Senior Defensive Back Onias Parks (Tupelo, Miss.) added six tackles.  Both Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) and Senior Defensive Lineman Christian Harvey (Kansas City, Mo.) had four tackles and one tackle-for-loss.

Bridges had a 34.7 yards per punt average on seven punts, with a long of 45 yards.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 3-1, while Grand View moves to 4-0.

Up next, Missouri Valley will travel to Peru, Neb., to play Peru State, Oct. 30, with kickoff at 2 p.m.

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.