Football Leads Early, Falls at Peru State

Peru, Neb., (Sept. 30, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Peru, Neb., to play Peru State (Neb.), Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings held an early lead against the Bobcats, but fell by a final score of 48-31.

The game opened with Missouri Valley receiving the opening kickoff, but the team was forced into a punt before crossing midfield.  Peru State drove into Viking territory on its first possession of the game, but the drive was stopped on a third-down sack from Junior Linebacker Eddie Rankin IV (Bay Area, Calif.) and Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) to force a field goal.  The Bobcats used a 37-yard field goal to move in front, 3-0, with nearly five minutes played in the game.

Missouri Valley was forced into a punt after just three plays on its next drive.  Peru State moved across midfield, but the Viking defense made a play as Sophomore Defensive Back Jeremiah McNair (Hattiesburg, Miss.) came up with the first turnover of the game for MVC, setting the team up inside Bobcat territory with six minutes remaining in the quarter.  Points were scored after the turnover, as a pass interference penalty on PSC helped extend the drive.  Senior Quarterback Tionne Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) capped the possession with an 18-yard pass to Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.) for a touchdown.  Sophomore Kicker Camden Jackson (Blue Springs, Mo.) added the extra-point, and the Vikings led, 7-3, with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter.

Peru State was stopped on its ensuing possession, and MVC took control of the ball into the second quarter of play.  Facing a fourth-down situation at the Bobcat 34-yard line, the Vikings elected to try and convert for a first down, but a Harris pass attempt went incomplete, and the ball was turned over on downs to PSC.  Missouri Valley came up with another turnover on defense, as McNair forced and recovered a fumble just inside the Viking side of the field.

Missouri Valley put together a long possession after the turnover, which featured Harris connecting with Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.) for an 11-yard gain, then completing a pass to Dampier for 16 yards, down to the Peru State 20-yard line.  The next play capped a nine-play drive with a 20 yard completion to Bryant for a touchdown.  Jackson tacked on the extra-point, and MVC extended its advantage to 14-3, with less than five minute played in the second quarter.

The next stretch of play favored the Bobcats.  The ensuing drive after the MVC score saw Peru State tack on a long touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 14-10.  The next Viking possession ended in a turnover, as a Harris pass was intercepted and returned for a 66-yard defensive touchdown to put PSC back in front, 17-14 midway through the second quarter.  Missouri Valley was forced to punt on its next possession, but the punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown to extend the Peru State lead to 24-14. 

The Vikings followed the special teams score for the Bobcats with another long drive.  Harris converted on a third-and-long play with a completion to Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co., Ga.) for 18 yards.  Later in the drive, Bryant ran for 27 total yards on two carries.  With the ball at the Peru State four yard line, Bryant ended the eight-play, 64-yard drive with a touchdown.  Jackson added the extra-point, and the deficit sat at 24-21 with just over three minutes to play in the half.

Peru State followed with a scoring drive, moving to the MVC 12-yard line and settling for a 29-yard field goal attempt to put the advantage at 27-21 late in the quarter.  Missouri Valley tried to create points before halftime, as Harris completed a pass to Bryant for 24 yards to reach the PSC 19-yard line.  However, the half came to a close without any more points scored, and the Vikings trailed, 27-21 at the break.

The second half kickoff was received by Peru State, and the Bobcats put together a long scoring drive.  More than seven minutes were taken off the clock by PSC, which eventually settled for a 25-yard field goal attempt that increased the margin to 30-21.  Missouri Valley responded with a scoring drive of its own, which included a 35-yard pass completion from Harris to Dampier.  The Vikings reached the Peru State eight-yard line, and settled for a 25-yard field goal from Jackson to cut the gap to 30-24 with four minute to play in the quarter.

The Bobcats were stopped on their next drive, helped by a tackle-for-loss from Senior Defensive Lineman Ryan Greenwood (Beaumont, Texas) to help force a punt.  However, the Vikings were unable to pick up a first down on the possession, and started the fourth quarter with a punt back to PSC, which took over at midfield.  Peru State worked quickly, and scored in less than one minute to extend the advantage to 36-24.  Missouri Valley's next drive stalled near midfield, and the Bobcats were stopped as well, helped by a sack from Senior Defensive Lineman Christian Harvey (Kansas City, Mo.)

Missouri Valley started a drive with less than 12 minutes to play in the game at its own 16-yard line, but the drive ended in a turnover, as a Harris pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and Peru State held a 42-24 lead.  The ensuing drive for MVC ended in another turnover, as the Bobcats intercepted another Harris pass to take possession in Viking territory.  The drive eventually reached the Missouri Valley one-yard line, and PSC faced a fourth-and-goal situation.  Senior Defensive Lineman Shepherd Faiilagi (Pago Pago, American Samoa) came up with a stop, tackling the Bobcat runner for a loss and ending the scoring threat.

However, the first play of the following drive ended in another Harris interception, which was returned for a touchdown to make it a 48-24 score with less than six minutes remaining in the game.  The Vikings put together one final drive, running off 11 total plays, which ended on a Sophomore Quarterback Jett Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) 11-yard completion to Freshman Wide Receiver Adonis Whitley (St. Louis, Mo.) for a score.  Jackson made the extra-point, but Missouri Valley fell by a final score of 48-31.

Harris finished with 287 yards passing, on 22 completions, with two touchdowns, while Bridges had 51 yards passing and one touchdown.  Bryant totaled 56 yards on the ground, and 73 receiving yards to finish with 129 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.  Dampier finished with a career-high 192 receiving yards, and one touchdown on nine receptions.  Whitley had one touchdown reception.  The offense finished with 388 total yards.

Defensively, Senior Linebacker David Gysbers (Columbia, Mo.) led with nine tackles and one tackle-for-loss.  Senior Defensive Back Onias Parks (Tupelo, Miss.) added seven tackles.  Travis had five tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.  McNair added one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Jackson made all five of his kicking attempts, including a 25-yard field goal and four extra-points. 

Missouri Valley falls to 3-2 after the loss, while Peru State improves to 2-4.

Up next, the Viking football team will host Missouri Baptist, Oct. 14, for Homecoming.  Kickoff will be 2 p.m.

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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.