CFB: MoWest falls on Homecoming, Ravens dominate again, Jayhawks narrowly win

By MATT PIKE

MoWest offense struggles falling on Homecoming to Emporia State

The Missouri Western State University Griffons suffered a 50-14 loss to Emporia State in the annual Homecoming game at Spratt Stadium.

MoWest, who starts 0-3 in the MIAA for the first time since 2008, threw an interception on the fourth play from scrimmage, which Emporia turned into a touchdown just four plays later with a 13 yard touchdown pass from Ben Harris to Malik O’Atis.  On the ensuing drive, pinned deep on their own end, MoWest’s Spencer Sprenger’s punt was blocked in his own end zone and recovered by Emporia State’s Divante Herrig-Brittian, making it 14-0 at the 12:35 mark of the first quarter.

The Griffons punted on five consecutive drives in the first half, and the Hornets scored twice more in the first quarter, on touchdown passes from Harris to Kingsley Bennett of 18 yards and 24 yards to make it 28-0 heading into the second quarter.  And early in the second Emporia State, who scored touchdowns on four of their first six drives, extended their lead after a one-yard touchdown run by Camden Crooks with 10:29 left before halftime.

MoWest at last responded, putting together a 19-play, 89-yard drive that lasted over eight minutes, capped off with a six-yard touchdown pass from Kane Donovan to Malik Moore, making it 35-7 at the halftime break.  Emporia State was limited to just a field goal in the third quarter, but the Griffons had only a punt and a pair of turnovers-on-downs in the third, and got no closer.

The Hornets added to their total when Aiden Hicks picked off MoWest quarterback Kody Kirk and ran it back 40 yards for a pick-six with 12:09 to play in the game.  Kirk recovered on the ensuing drive, finding Moore for a 24-yard touchdown pass , making it 44-14 with 9:11 to play.  The Hornets scored a late touchdown with 56 seconds left, a 10 yard touchdown run from Max Middleton, but MoWest blocked each of the Hornets’ last two point-after tries.

 Donovan completed 24-of-50 passes for 183 yards with a touchdown and a pick.   Kirk completed 8-of-11 passes for 78 yards and a score to go with the INT.  Moore grabbed six passes for 62 yards and two scores while Gyasi Smith caught a team-best seven passes for 65 yards.

MoWest (1-4, 0-3 MIAA) is back on the road Saturday to face Nebraska-Kearney. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

#3 Ravens win streak moves to four with another dominant victory

Ahead of their bye week, the #3 Benedictine Ravens extended their win streak to four games with another dominant victory, beating Missouri Baptist on the road 52-21 on Saturday.  

The Spartans struck first but were unable to slow the Ravens’ balanced attack, as Benedictine rolled up 464 yards of total offense and converted all eight red-zone opportunities in the Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup.

Missouri Baptist scored with a nine yard touchdown run from quarterback Jacob Jones, capping an 11-play, 75-yard opening drive that consumed nearly six minutes. Benedictine answered late in the period when quarterback Jackson Dooley punched in a one yard score to even the game at 7–7.

The Ravens took control though in the second quarter, scoring on three straight possessions, a two yard run by Xavier Ugorji, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Dooley to Kameron Dover, and a 25-yard field goal from Christian Klobe giving Benedictine a 24-7 lead that they took into the halftime break.

Another Ugorji touchdown extended Benedictine’s lead to 31–7 out of the break, but the Spartans responded quickly. Jones found Gavin Claud deep down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to. The Ravens countered with a short touchdown pass from Dooley to Tyler Watson to make it 38–14 though entering the final quarter of action.

Benedictine opened the fourth with a 19-yard rushing touchdown from JJ Jackson, but Jones powered in from a yard out on Missouri Baptist’s next possession to pull within 45–21. The Ravens added a final score with a three yard run by Derrick Overstreet to seal the final score. 

Dooley was 12-for-29 through the air for 148 yards with two touchdowns. Ugorji rushed 24 times for 142 yards with two scores.  Joseph Lagafuaina had two catches for 41 yards while Lebron Jackson had three catches for 37 yards as the leading receivers. 

Benedictine (5-1, 1-0 Heart) is off next week.  They are back in action on October 18th in Fayette, MO at Central Methodist.  Kickoff is at 1pm

Jayhawks defense stymies UCF to escape Orlando with narrow win

 Kansas’ defense came up with two decisive plays to help the Jayhawks beat UCF 27-20 on Saturday night.

The defense set up the Jayhawks’ go-ahead touchdown with a strip sack and a fumble recovery late in the third quarter. Kansas’ Trey Lathan recovered a fumble by Knights quarterback Tayven Jackson at the UCF two yard line after a strip sack by Jalen Dye, setting up a go-ahead, two yard touchdown run by Leshon Williams to make it 27-20.

Lathan then tackled UCF quarterback Cam Fancher on fourth and goal from the Kansas 1 with 1:47 to play to help the Jayhawks secure the victory.  UCF drove to the Kansas 22 in the last minute, but four straight incompletions that included a pass breakup in the end zone by Austin Alexander ended the Knights’ final threat.

Kansas needed to erase a 14-0 lead built by UCF after running back Myles Montgomery and the Knights ran all over the Jayhawks in the first half.  Montgomery ran for a 29 yard touchdown in the first quarter, and then in the second quarter added a three yard rushing score, as Montgomery rushed for 99 of his 110 yards in the first half.

The Jayhawks cut into the deficit with Williams first touchdown of the day, a one yard score.  The Knights extended the lead on the ensuing drive with a 38 yard field goal from Noe Ruelas, but again Kansas struck to cut it to a one possession game as Williams scored again on a four yard dash.  Ruelas hit another 38 yard field goal with four seconds left in the half, sending the game to the halftime break with the Knights leading 20-14.

Kansas held UCF to 122 yards in the second half, giving the Jayhawks the cushion to climb back into the game, first tying the game up on field goals by Laith Marjan of 33 and 41 yards, before the defensive play allowed Williams to score his third touchdown and Kansas to take the lead.

Jalon Daniels led the charge for Kansas, throwing for 235 yards on 18 for 26 passing. Williams rushed for 58 yards and three touchdowns.  Cam Pickett was the leading receiver with five catches for 64 yards. 

Kansas (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)  stays on the road Saturday and travels to face #11 Texas Tech.  Kickoff is set for 6:30pm and the game will air on Fox.

Late turnover leads to another one possession loss for Kansas State

Connor Hawkins kicked a 53-yard field goal with 31 seconds left after Jacob Redding’s go-ahead 66-yard interception return for a touchdown as Baylor rallied twice in the fourth quarter for a 35-34 victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

Hawkins matched the longest kick of his career after Luis Rodriguez had put the Wildcats in front with a 22-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining. Kansas State had to settle for the kick after having a first down at the Baylor two yard line.

Rodriguez had a chance for a game-winner from 56 yards, but 6-foot-4 defensive end Cooper Lanz blocked it with two seconds to go. The Bears  held on two weeks after losing to Arizona State on a game-ending field goal in their previous home game.

Through the first half of the game, the Wildcats and the Bears traded blows.  Kansas State took the first lead of the game in the opening quarter on a 31 yard touchdown run by Avery Johnson.  Hawkins hit a 30 yard field goal late in the first to cut into the lead, before Baylor took the lead to open the second quarter on a touchdown pass from Sawyer Robertson to Kobe Prentice.  

Rodriguez tied the game with a 49 yard field goal, before the Bears answered to steal the lead back with a touchdown on the ensuing drive with a 17 yard touchdown run from Michael Turner.  Near the end of the first half, the Wildcats managed to tie the game up as Johnson connected with Garrett Oakley for a nine yard touchdown pass which sent the game to the halftime break tied at 17-17. 

A 12 yard pass from Johnson to Jayce Brown broke the halftime tie, following a punt from Baylor on their drive to open the second half.  And after another punt by the Bears, the Wildcats went up two touchdowns on Dylan Edwards’ five yard run late in the third quarter and took a 31-17 lead into the final quarter of action.

A turnover on downs from Baylor started the fourth quarter, but Kansas State would be forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and Robertson’s 11-yard scoring pass to Bryson Washington came one play after a spectacular one handed catch from Michael Trigg, and then Robertson’s two point conversion run cut Baylor’s deficit to 31-25.

Johnson had kept a potential clock-killing drive alive with two third-down conversions but he threw into traffic on first down in Baylor territory with the six-point lead.  Redding picked off the pass, ran left up the sideline and cut back inside with the speedy Johnson pursuing to finish off the score untouched. Hawkins’ point after kick put Baylor ahead 32-31 with less than five minutes to go.

Johnson was 29-for-45 through the air for 339 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, adding 72 yards rushing on 10 carries with a score.  Edwards had 10 carries for 26 yards with a touchdown, while Joe Jackson had 13 carries for 61 yards.  Brown had four catches for 106 yards and a score.

Kansas State (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) returns home to host TCU on Saturday.  Kickoff will be at 2:30pm and the game will air on Fox.

Huskers explosive second half leads to win over Michigan State

In a game of massive momentum swings, Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson rushed for three touchdowns and safety DeShon Singleton pulled down two interceptions to lead the Huskers to a 38-27 win over Michigan State.

After a quick defensive stop for the Huskers set up the offense on a short field on its first drive. Dylan Raiola orchestrated a sharp, nine-play drive that covered 48 yards in culminating with Johnson’s two-yard touchdown run.  Less than two minutes later, Nebraska forced a three-and-out to set up Spartan Ryan Eckley’s second punt of the day. He didn’t come close to getting it airborne, as Jamir Conn blocked his second punt of the season. Carter Nelson scooped the ball up at the three-yard line and rumbled into the end zone to give Nebraska a 14-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

After two quick stops on Michigan State’s first two drives, the Huskers could not get the Spartans off the field the rest of the quarter. Michigan State’s third drive was aided by both a defensive holding and a pass interference penalty in the end zone. In the end, Michigan State got on the scoreboard on a two-yard pass from backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic to Jack Velling just over two minutes into the second quarter.  Neither team scored the remainder of the half, going to the halftime break with Nebraska leading 14-7.

Although the Huskers started the second half with the ball, Michigan State struck first on an Aidan Chiles 16-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 14 with 6:06 left. Less than four minutes later, the Spartans took all the momentum on a second touchdown run by Chiles, this time from two yards out, to give the Spartans the lead late in the the third period.  Nebraska’s ensuing drive started with back-to-back incompletions by Raiola. On 3rd-and-10 from the Husker 25, Raiola completely changed the game’s trajectory with a 45-yard hookup to Jacory Barney Jr. Johnson took it from there scoring on a 23-yard touchdown burst to cap a five-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game at 21 with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

The touchdown started a 24-0 eruption that put the game in the hands of the Huskers.  Following the game-tying touchdown, the Huskers got another huge special teams play by recovering a fumble by the Spartans on the ensuing kickoff, setting Raiola and the offense up at the Michigan State 28 yard line. Nebraska was able to move inside the Spartan 10, before the drive stalled, resulting in Kyle Cunanan’s go-ahead 27-yard field goal made it 24-21 with 13:32 left in the game.

The Spartans and Blackshirts then exchanged stops before Raiola and the offense eventually took over at the Husker 41 with 6:54 left. Nine seconds later, Nyziah Hunter turned a short Raiola pass into a 59-yard touchdown down the Husker sideline to put the Big Red up 31-21 with 6:45 remaining. Hunter’s reception featured a broken tackle early that also caused his shoe to fly off, but he still sprinted down the sideline with one shoe on to the end zone.

The Huskers flexed their muscles on the ensuing drive, turning the Spartans over on the downs with the fifth sack of the day of Chiles at the Spartan 17. Two plays later, Johnson exploded into the end zone for his third touchdown run of the day, this time from 11 yards extending the Huskers lead.  Michigan State finally found its footing in the fourth behind backup quarterback Milivojevic, who completed 4-of-5 passes before pounding the ball into the end zone from one yard out for the game’s final points.

Raiola closed the day 16-of-24 passing for 194 yards and a touchdown while throwing one interception.  Johnson finished the day with 83 yards on just 13 carries, scoring three touchdowns, while adding a team-leading six receptions for 37 yards.  Hunter had four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Nebraska (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) make their first Big Ten road trip next week when they travel to Maryland. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m on the Big Ten Network.