Football Overcomes Deficit to Top Graceland in Season Opener

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 7, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College football team opened the 2024 season with a home game against Graceland (Iowa) inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium, Saturday evening.  The Vikings fell into a deficit going into halftime, but used a second half comeback to earn a 29-24 victory in the debut of new Head Coach Casey Creehan.

Graceland started with the opening possession of the game, and strung together a long drive that covered 10 plays and 58 yards.  The Yellowjackets capped off the drive with a touchdown, and moved in front, 7-0, with just over four minutes played.  The Vikings countered with a scoring drive of its own.  Sophomore Running Back James Phillips (Lake Charles, La.) picked up 14 yards on a rushing attempt to convert on third down.  Later in the drive, Phillips again kept the drive going with a third-down conversion, this time with a four-yard gain.  The next play was another Phillips four-yard rushing attempt, this time allowing him to reach the end zone for the first points of the season.  The extra-point was missed, and MVC trailed, 7-6 with six minutes remaining in the quarter.

The ensuing drive for GU resulted in another touchdown, this time capping a five-play, 56-yard drive to push the team out in front, 14-6, with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.  The first turnover of the game followed, as a Freshman Quarterback Cole Robertson (Kansas City, Mo.) pass was intercepted deep in MVC territory.  Graceland took advantage of the turnover, and scored three plays later to make it 21-6 late in the quarter.  Missouri Valley used a big play to open its next drive, as Senior Running Back Rondarius Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) went on a 52-yard run, with a personal foul against Graceland tacked on at the end.  Carrying its possession in the second quarter, MVC eventually reached the opponent's one-yard line, however, had to settle for a 27-yard Freshman Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Spain) field goal that cut the deficit to 21-9.

The Yellowjackets used a big kickoff return to start their first drive of the second quarter just across midfield.  Graceland reached the MVC 22-yard line, and elected to try and convert a fourth-down attempt.  However, the Viking defense forced a stop, and a turnover on downs near the nine-minute mark.  Missouri Valley put together another long drive, helped by a 13-yard rush from Robertson to convert a third-and-long situation early in the possession.  Later, Robertson completed a 44-yard pass to Sophomore Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct.) that moved the team to the GU 20-yard line.  The Vikings eventually settled for a 24-yard field goal attempt from Kincaid to cap a 10-play, 72-yard drive, and make it a 21-12 score with just over two minutes until halftime.

Graceland ran off eight plays on its next drive, but only covered a total of 13-yards.  The Viking defense forced a punt, as the final possession of the half for Missouri Valley started at its own 14-yard line with less than one-minute to play before the break.  Robertson completed three-straight passes on the drive, to cover 45 total yards.  He hit Strong for six yards, Sophomore Wide Receiver Jesse Johnson (St. Louis, Mo.) for 17 yards and Freshman Wide Receiver Malik Brown (Tampa, Fla.) for 22 yards.  The Vikings again settled for a field goal from Kincaid, who made the 37-yard attempt in the closing seconds of the half to cut the deficit to 21-15 at halftime.

Missouri Valley received the second half opening kickoff, but was forced into a punt after three plays.  The Yellowjackets took over near midfield, and put together another scoring drive.  The defense came up with a stop after GU was in a goal-to-go situation, but Graceland increased its lead to 24-15 after a 27-yard field goal with less than six minutes gone in the quarter.  The two teams traded punts over the next stretch of play.  A drive started by Graceland inside MVC territory with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter ended in a turnover.  Sophomore Defensive Lineman Daniel Moreno (Lisbon, Portugal) came up with a third-down sack, and forced a fumble.  The Vikings started a possession deep inside GU territory.

The Vikings faced a third-and-long after the turnover, but Robertson came away with a 23-yard touchdown run, while Sophomore Defensive Lineman Noah Carr (Kissimmee, Fla.) converted a two-point attempt, and the team worked the gap down to 24-23 with three minutes left in the third.  Graceland's next drive ended in another turnover, as Senior Defensive Back DJ Dailey (Ocala, Fla.) came up with an interception near midfield.  However, Missouri Valley could not put points on the scoreboard after the change of possession, and still trailed by one point early in the fourth quarter.

After a Senior Quarterback Connor Dugan (St. Petersburg, Fla.) punt pinned the Yellowjackets at their own 11-yard line, Graceland moved to near midfield after two plays.  The third play ended in another turnover, the third-straight for GU, as Senior Defensive Lineman Ryan Greenwood (Beaumont, Texas) intercepted a pass and returned the ball back to the Graceland 31-yard line.  Missouri Valley ran off nine plays on its ensuing drive, taking more than five minutes off the clock.  The drive seemed to stall after failing to convert on third down at the GU 10-yard line, but an offside penalty on Graceland during a field goal attempt extended the drive.  Robertson completed the comeback three plays later, on a three-yard touchdown run to put MVC on top.  The two-point conversion failed, as the Vikings held a 29-24 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The ensuing kickoff by Kincaid landed on the turf, and became an onside kick, which was recovered by Missouri Valley.  However, the offense moved backwards on the drive, and used a 39-yard punt from Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) to put Graceland at its own 24-yard line with just over four minutes to play in the game.

Graceland moved down the field, picking up a fourth-down conversion to extend its drive.  The team eventually reached the MVC 17-yard line, but Carr and Senior Defensive Back Taylor Hunt (Roxie, Miss.) came up with a sack to push the team back eight yards.  The next play was a pass into the end zone, and Sophomore Defensive Back Eric Potts (Lee's Summit, Mo.) came up with an interception to end the scoring threat, and seal the victory for Missouri Valley.  The offense kneeled out the remaining seconds, and the Vikings finished out a 29-24 win.

Robertson finished with 113 yards passing on 10 of 16 attempts, and added 50 yards rushing with two touchdowns.  Gregory totaled 13 attempts for 71 yards, while Phillips had 44 yards on 12 attempts with one touchdown.  Strong led with two receptions for 44 yards.

Defensively, Missouri Valley was led by Senior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas), who totaled eight tackles.  Senior Defensive Back Bryan Sarente (Sacramento, Calif.) had seven tackles and one pass break-up.  Moreno had one sack, while Carr and Hunt added half a sack each.  Potts, Greenwood and Dailey all had one interception, and Senior Linebacker Eddie Rankin (Pittsburg, Calif.) recovered one fumble.  The Vikings were +3 in turnover margin, and limited Graceland 3 of 12 on third down conversions.

Kincaid made all three of his field goal attempts, with a long of 37 yards.  Bridges had a 34.3 yards per punt average on three punts.  Sophomore Running Back Tavion Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.) led with 75 yards in kickoff returns.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 1-0, while Graceland falls to 1-1.  This also marks the first win for first-year Head Coach Casey Creehan.

Up next, the Viking football team goes on the road, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa, for a Heart game with Clarke (Iowa), Sept. 14 at 1 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.

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