Football Tops Missouri Baptist For Homecoming

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 14, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College football team hosted Missouri Baptist Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium for Homecoming.  The Vikings fell behind early, but overcame a halftime deficit to pull away in the second half and earn a 35-20 victory.

Missouri Baptist received the game's opening kickoff, and moved down the field, eventually reaching the Viking nine-yard line.  Facing a fourth-and-one situation, the Spartans elected to try and convert for a first down, but Senior Defensive Lineman Shepherd Faiilagi (Pago Pago, American Samoa) stopped the rushing attempt for a tackle-for-loss, resulting in a loss of downs and Missouri Valley possession.  However, The Vikings went three-and-out on their initial drive of the game, and punted back to Missouri Baptist with nearly seven minutes played in the contest.

The two teams traded punts over the next stretch, with MBU taking over at the Missouri Valley 45 yard line to start a drive with less than six minutes to play in the first quarter.  Nine plays later, the Spartans scored a touchdown, and went on top, 7-0 after a drive that lasted four minutes.  The Vikings were unable to respond on the ensuing possession, and sent another punt back to Missouri Baptist. 

Missouri Valley forced its first three-and-out on defense early in the second quarter, then received a 49-yard punt return from Senior Defensive Back Johnathan Bailey (North Las Vegas, Nev.) to set the team up at the MBU 25-yard line.  The drive eventually reached the 12-yard line, but a Junior Kicker Justin Keller (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) field goal attempt from 29 yards was no good, and MVC stayed in the 7-0 deficit with three minutes played in the quarter.

Missouri Baptist responded after the missed attempt, and ran off 13 plays and covered 80 total yards.  The drive ended with a touchdown, but the extra-point was missed, and the deficit grew to 13-0 for the Vikings.  Missouri Valley was forced into another punt on its next drive, after only three offensive plays.  The Spartans took over near midfield with five minutes remaining in the half, and eventually reached the MVC 21-yard line.  Facing a fourth-down situation, the Viking defense came up with a stop, this time forcing an incomplete pass, and gaining possession with just over one minute to play before the break.

A pair of pass interference penalties on MBU allowed the ensuing drive to cross midfield.  Senior Quarterback Tionne Harris (St. Louis, Mo.) completed a pass for 10 yards to Senior Running Back Jeremiah Bryant (Atwood, Tenn.), then a nine yard completion to Senior Wide Receiver Dorian Miles (Gwinnett Co. Ga.).  Later in the drive, Bryant converted a third-and-short with a 14 yard run.  Harris ended the drive with a 16 yard completion to a wide open Junior Wide Receiver Khaleel Dampier (Columbia, Mo.) in the end zone with seconds remaining in the quarter.  Keller made his extra-point, and Missouri Valley went into halftime trailing, 13-7

The second half kickoff was received by Missouri Valley, and the team made quick work of its possession, as Bryant took the second play of the drive for a 64-yard touchdown.  Keller added the extra-point, and the Vikings went in front, 14-13.  Missouri Baptist was held to a three-and-out on its first possession of the half, and punted back to Missouri Valley.  Starting near midfield, MVC worked quickly again, as Bryant ran for 16 yards on the first two plays.  The third play was a 41-yard pass from Harris to Miles for a touchdown.  Keller made the extra-point, and the lead stretched to 21-13 with three minutes played.

Missouri Valley forced another three-and-out on defense after the score, and the teams traded punts through the rest of the third quarter. 

The fourth quarter opened with the Vikings facing a third-down situation just inside MBU territory.  Harris completed a 19-yard pass to Junior Wide Receiver Nate Pouliot (Clearwater, Fla.) to extend the drive, then hit Sophomore Running Back James Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.0 for a 25-yard completion to convert another third down attempt.  Phillips ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, and Keller's extra-point made it a 28-13 score with 13 minutes remaining in the contest.

Missouri Baptist cut into its deficit in the first play of its ensuing drive, scoring on an 83-yard rushing attempt, which put the gap to 28-20.  The Vikings moved the ball on its next possession, reaching the Spartan 19-yard line, but could not convert on a fourth-down attempt, and turned the ball over on downs with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter.  The first interception of the game followed, as Junior Defensive Back Bishop Hill (Raleigh, N.C.) intercepted a Spartan pass to give Missouri Valley possession inside MBU territory.

The Vikings moved down to the Missouri Baptist 15-yard line, but a 32-yard field goal from Keller was no good, and the Spartans started a drive with four minutes left on the clock.  Missouri Valley created another turnover on its second-straight defense stop, as Junior Defensive Back Kobe Windham (Petal, Miss.) intercepted a pass at the MVC 26-yard line, and made a return to near midfield.

Missouri Valley put the game away after the turnover, which featured 54 total yards rushing from Bryant on only three carries.  The final attempt was a four-yard touchdown run, and Keller's extra-point put the advantage at 35-20 in the final minute of play.  The Vikings sealed the victory with a third-straight interception, this time by Senior Linebacker Craig Travis (Kansas City, Mo.) to secure a 35-20 win on Homecoming.

Bryant was named the Ted Chittwood Award Winner, as the Most-Outstanding Senior in the Homecoming Game.  He finished with 155 yards rushing on 20 attempts, averaging 7.8 yards per attempt.  He added five receptions for 45 yards to finish with 200 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Harris was 20 of 41 passing for 260 yards and two touchdowns.  Dampier totaled eight receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown, while Miles had three receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown.  The offense finished with 415 total yards.

Travis led the defense with 11 total tackles and one interception.  Senior Linebacker David Gysbers (Columbia, Mo.) had 10 tackles, while Hill and Windham each finished with six tackles and one interception.

Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) punted four times with a 41.5 yards per punt average, to go with a long of 51 yards.  Keller made all five of his extra-point attempts.  Bailey had two punt returns for 58 yards.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 4-2 on the season, and 1-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division.  Missouri Baptist drops to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the division.

Up next, the Viking football team will go on the road to Atchison, Kan., to play No. 18 Benedictine (Kan.), Oct. 21 with a 1 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.