Sep. 15—The Missouri Southern State University football team fell short — although not by much Saturday — losing 35-27 to Missouri Western State University at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph.
The Griffons jumped out to a 14-0 lead, courtesy of two Brandon Hall rushing touchdowns. His first was a 53-yard run with 9:52 left in the opening quarter and the second came nine minutes later on a 15-yard run.
The Lions (0-3, 0-2 MIAA) got on the board with five minutes left in the half when quarterback Luke Sampson connected with tight end Deontay Campbell for a 5-yard touchdown pass that capped off a 12-play 82-yard drive.
Western answered four minutes later with a Kane Donovan 1-yard touchdown run that put the Griffons up 21-7 after a 75-yard, nine-play drive with 1:03 left in the half.
Southern got a quick score on its first possession of the second half. Sampson found Campbell for the second time Saturday, this time for a 35-yard strike at 14:11 that pulled the Lions within a touchdown, 21-14.
A Drake Reese 24-yard field goal at the 2:02 mark of the third stanza brought the Lions to within four at 21-17.
The Griffons (2-1, 1-1 MIAA) answered with a 100-yard kickoff return by Javerius McGuinn that increased their lead to 28-17.
Sampson threw his third touchdown of the night to make it 28-24 with 12:19 left in the game when he connected with running back Victor Chionuma for a 10-yard score on an eight-play 75-yard drive.
Western scored on its next possession off a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jake Berrey from Kane Donovan and went up 35-24 with 8:38 left in the game.
Southern’s final score came via a 40-yard field goal with 3:27 left.
Sampson was 25-for-41 for 304 yards and three touchdowns and completed passes to eight different receivers. Southern netted just 52 yards on the ground and averaged 1.9 yards per carry.
Campbell led…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lions-drop-close-miaa-game-223100207.html
Author : The Joplin Globe, Mo.
Publish date : 2024-09-15 22:31:00
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