Football Drops Road Game to No. 14 MidAmerica Nazarene

Olathe, Kan., (Oct. 19, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Olathe, Kan., for a Saturday afternoon Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division contest against No. 14 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).  The Vikings suffered a loss, by a final score of 34-7.

MidAmerica Nazarene took the first possession to open the game, and put together a scoring drive that lasted eight plays and covered 65 yards.  The Pioneers went in front, 7-0, with just over two minutes off the clock.  Missouri Valley followed by driving into MNU territory on its first possession.  Sophomore Quarterback Joseph Lepak (Grandview, Mo.) connected with Sophomore Wide Receiver Jesse Johnson (St. Louis, Mo.) for a 16-yard gain to convert on third down.  However, the drive eventually ended in a punt, giving the ball back to MidAmerica Nazarene.

The Viking defense forced a stop, helped by a sack from Junior Defensive Back Alon Woodbury (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to force MNU into a punt.  Missouri Valley took over at its own 13-yard line, but an interception was returned for a touchdown by the Pioneers to make it a 14-0 score with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter. 

Missouri Valley worked back into the game on its next drive, which included a third-down conversion early in the possession, on a nine-yard rushing attempt from Lepak.  Senior Running Back Rondarius Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) picked up 30 yards rushing on his first six rushing attempts on the drive.  His seventh rushing attempt ended in a 13-yard touchdown to cut the deficit.  Freshman Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Spain) made the extra-point, and MVC trailed, 14-7, with less than four minutes played in the second quarter.

The ensuing kickoff was a surprise onside attempt, which was recovered by the Vikings near midfield.  Freshman Wide Receiver Malik Brown (Tampa, Fla.) started the drive with a 20-yard rush, and a personal foul penalty on the Pioneers pushed Missouri Valley into the opponent's red zone.  However, the drive stalled, and a fourth-down conversion attempt was unsuccessful, as the ball was turned back over to MidAmerica Nazarene.

The Pioneers drove into the MVC side of the field, but a tackle-for-loss from Senior Defensive Lineman Ethan Towers (Chicago, Ill.) and a third-down sack from Freshman Defensive Lineman Rahshad Hill (Sarasota, Fla.) ended the drive, to give the ball back to the Viking offense.  Taking over with just over four minutes to play in the half, Missouri Valley was unable to put together a drive, and punted back to MidAmerica Nazarene.  The ensuing drive for MNU started at the Viking 36-yard line, and ended in a touchdown in the final seconds of the quarter.  Missouri Valley went into halftime trailing, 21-7.

The opening possession of the second half ended in a punt for Missouri Valley.  The Viking defense nearly forced its first turnover of the game, on the second play of the MNU drive, as Senior Linebacker Eddie Rankin (Pittsburg, Calif.) forced a fumble that was recovered by the offense.  After forcing the Pioneers into a punt, a mishandled snap on the attempt resulted in Missouri Valley taking over at the MidAmerica Nazarene 15-yard line with five minutes played in the quarter.

Missouri Valley was unable to take advantage of the field possession, and the drive ended on a fumble that was recovered by the Pioneers.  MidAmerica Nazarene followed with a drive down the field, and ran off eight plays to cover 83 yards, ending the possession in a touchdown.  The extra-point was missed, but MVC trailed, 27-7 late in the third quarter.

After the Vikings were forced into a punt, MNU took possession into the final quarter of play.  The first play of the fourth quarter ended in a turnover created by the Missouri Valley defense, as Senior Defensive Back Taylor Hunt (Roxie, Miss.) forced and recovered a fumble.  The two teams traded punts over the next stretch of play, which included another tackle-for-loss from Towers.  The Pioneers added one more score late in the fourth quarter.  The Vikings were unable to trim down the deficit late in the contest, and fell by a final score of 34-7.

Gregory finished with 89 yards rushing on 19 carries with one touchdown.  Johnson led with 16 receiving yards on one reception, and Lepak had six completions for 34 yards passing.

Defensively, Towers finished with five tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss.  Senior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas) and Senior Linebacker Keaton Fitzgerald (Sikeston, Mo.) added five tackles each.  Woodbury and Hill each had four tackles and one sack, and Sophomore Defensive Lineman Noah Carr (Kissimmee, Fla.) added three tackles and one sack.  Hunt had two tackles to go with the forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) finished with 27.8 yards per punt on six punts, and Kincaid made his only extra-point attempt.

Missouri Valley drops to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Heart South Division.  MidAmerica Nazarene improves to 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in the division.

Up next, the Viking football team will host No. 8 Benedictine (Kan.) for Homecoming, Oct. 26.  Kickoff is 2 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

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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.