Football Drops Road Game at No. 3 Grand View

Des Moines, Iowa, (Sept. 21, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College football team went to Des Moines, Iowa, for a Saturday afternoon Heart of America Athletic Conference contest against No. 3 Grand View (Iowa).  Missouri Valley dropped the road game, by a final score of 24-0.

The game started with the two teams trading punts on their opening possessions.  The Missouri Valley defense forced a three-and-out its first time on the field, while the MVC offense also punted after three plays.  However, the punt from Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) was muffed by the Grand View returner.  The loose ball was recovered by Junior Defensive Back Alon Woodbury (Oklahoma City, Okla.) at the GVU 29-yard line to set up Missouri Valley in good field position.

A 19-yard run from Senior Running Back Rondarius Gergory (Nashville, Tenn.) helped move Missouri Valley deep into Grand View territory, and eventually set up Freshman Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Spain) with a 20-yard field goal attempt.  The attempt sailed to the left of the upright, and MVC came away without any points on the possession.

Grand View followed with a long drive, running off 12 plays and covering 75 total yards.  Missouri Valley held GVU out of the end zone, but Grand View made a 22-yard field goal attempt, to put the team ahead, 3-0, with just over one minute to play in the second quarter.

Second quarter action featured the two teams trading punts once again.  Midway through the quarter, Grand View moved into MVC territory, and faced a fourth-down situation.  Choosing to convert into a first down, Grand View was stopped by the Missouri Valley defense, as Senior Defensive Back Bryan Sarente (Sacramento, Calif.) impacted the pass attempt, and turned the ball over on downs. 

The next three successive possessions all ended in punts, and Grand View eventually started a drive in the final two minutes at the MVC 40-yard line.  The ensuing drive ended with a GVU touchdown to extend the team's lead to 10-0 in the final minute of play in the half.  Missouri Valley ran out the remaining time, and went into halftime trailing by the 10-0 score.

Play in the second half opened with both teams trading punts.  The first Grand View punt only went 15 yards, and Missouri Valley started across midfield on its second drive.  Kincaid attempted a 41-yard field goal to cap the possession, but his attempt sailed to the left, MVC continued to trail, 10-0, midway through the quarter.

The ensuing GVU drive moved into Missouri Valley territory, as the defense forced another stop.  Grand View had its 41-yard field goal attempt miss as well, and MVC started a possession at its own 26-yard line.  The team converted on a third-and-long attempt, as Freshman Wide Receiver Malik Brown (Tampa, Fla.) came up with a 12-yard reception, however the team punted again, and the game went into the fourth quarter with the score still at 10-0.

The first drive of the final quarter of play saw Grand View move into Missouri Valley territory. Senior Linebacker Keaton Fitzgerald (Sikeston, Mo.) came up with a tackle-for-loss, but GVU converted a pair of third-down attempts, and eventually capped its drive with a touchdown to extend its lead to 17-0.  After MVC was forced into another punt on its ensuing possession, Grand View extended its lead with another touchdown midway through the quarter to make it 24-0.

Sophomore Running Back Tavion Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.) opened the next drive for Missouri Valley with a 14-yard rushing attempt, but the drive stalled, and Bridges got off a 53-yard punt that pinned Grand View at its own 10-yard line.  Grand View ran off much of the remaining time in the contest, and Missouri Valley eventually fell by a final score of 24-10.

Campbell finished with 43 yards rushing, and had an 8.6 yards per rush attempt in the game.  Campbell added 20 receiving yards on two receptions, and Sophomore Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct.) had two receptions for 20 yards. 

Defensively, Senior Defensive Back Kobe Windham (Petal, Miss.) had six tackles, while Freshman Defensive Lineman Jentry Pendergraft (Keifer, Okla.) had four tackles, and two tackles-for-loss.  Senior Defensive Back Taylor Hunt (Roxie, Miss.) added four tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one pass break-up.  The defense limited Grand View to just 4 of 12 on third-down conversions.

Bridges finished with a long punt of 53 yards, and had one punt downed inside the 20-yard line.

Missouri Valley falls to 2-1 while Grand View improves to 3-0 on the season.

Up next, Missouri Valley returns home, and hosts Central Methodist (Mo.) in a Heart South Division contest, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m., as part of Family Weekend on the Missouri Valley College campus.

Box Score-Click Here

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.