Football Uses Second Half Comeback to Top Clarke at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Sept. 6, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College football team opened its 2025 season with a Heart of America Athletic conference inter-division contest at home against Clarke (Iowa).  The Vikings trailed at halftime, but scored late touchdowns to overcome the deficit and open the LaQuentin Black era with a 28-24 win inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

Clarke received the opening kickoff, and put together the first scoring drive of the game.  The Pride ran off 13 plays, covering 77 yards, and went in front, 7-0, with less than four minutes played.  Missouri Valley followed by moving into CU territory on its first possession, as Junior Quarterback Tomele Staples (Kankakee, Ill.) connected with Junior Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct. on an 11-yard pass early in the drive, but MVC was forced into a punt, as the Freshman Punter Ben Bullock's (Perth, Australia) kick put the Pride at their own 18-yard line.

The Viking defense came up with a stop, as Senior Defensive Back Jeremiah McNair (Hattiesburg, Miss.) came up with the first turnover of the contest, making an interception at the Clarke 39-yard line.  The ensuing possession for MVC was a three-and-out, but a punt from Staples was downed at the CU one-yard line, pinning the Pride up against the goal line.  Clarke converted three first downs on the drive, but a forced fumble by Freshman Defensive Back Kingston Cramer (Houston, Texas) helped end the drive for CU near midfield, and Missouri Valley went into the second quarter with possession, but trailing by a 7-0 score.

The drive for Missouri Valley eventually went into Clarke territory once again, but the team had to settle for another punt attempt.  The 42-yard kick from Bullock was downed at the Pride eight-yard line.  The two teams traded punts through a stretch of play in the quarter.  The final drive of the half for MVC saw the team use 23 yards rushing from Sophomore Running Back Silas Morton (Strafford, Mo.), and 13 rushing yards from Staples to eventually reach the Pride 16-yard line.  However, penalties and a sack ended the scoring threat, on a punt with less than one minute to play before the break.

The final drive of the half featured Clarke working down the field, moving 80-yards in ten plays, down to the Viking red zone.  Missouri Valley held CU out of the end zone, but a 19-yard field goal attempt was successful as time expired in the half, and the Vikings trailed by a 10- score at halftime.

The second half started with Missouri Valley receiving the opening kickoff, and moving down the field with a long drive.  Staples started with a 10-yard completion to Senior Tight End Markus Stepanoff (Milton, Ontario), then Staples ran for 10 yards, and helped by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on CU to move the team to the Pride 21-yard line.  The next play was a 21-yard touchdown run from Morton to give MVC its first points of the game.  Sophomore Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Madrid, Spain) made the extra-point, and the deficit was cut to 10-7 with less than two minutes played in the third quarter.

Clarke's ensuing possession brought the team deep into Viking territory.  The Pride had a fourth-and-two situation at the Missouri Valley four-yard line, and ran an offensive play to try and convert.  However, Junior Defensive Back Jayson Williams (Bossier City, La.) and Sophomore Linebacker Jayden Maggert (Concordia, Mo.) teamed up on a tackle to stop the ball carrier shot of the first down line, and CU turned the ball over one downs back to Missouri Valley near the 10-minute mark.

The next two possessions featured punts for both teams, and MVC started a drive at its own 30-yard line with a little more than eight minutes to play in the quarter.  The Viking converted on a pair of third-down attempts, including a nine-yard pass completion to Junior Wide Receiver Jesse Johnson (St. Louis, Mo.) and a 10-yard run from Morton.  The 12-play, 70-yard drive was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Staples to Stepanoff, and the Kincaid extra-point put MVC in front for the first time, 14-10, with three minutes remaining in the quarter. 

Missouri Valley's lead was short-lived, as Clarke used a 77-yard pass play early in its ensuing drive to reclaim the lead, 17-14.  The next Viking possession went into the fourth quarter, but a special teams mistake led to another Pride score.  A punt from Staples near midfield was blocked by Clarke, and the loose-ball was collected by a CU player and returned for a touchdown, making it a 24-14 score with less than two minutes played in the final quarter.

Facing another double-digit deficit, Missouri Valley moved to midfield on its next possession, but the Pride came up with an interception to end the drive.  Defensively, Missouri Valley answered with another stop, again limiting CU on a fourth-down conversion attempt, as Maggert stopped a receiver just short of the line-to-gain at the MVC 36-yard line.  The Viking offensive responded after taking over possession, and Staples connected with Junior Wide Receiver Adonis Whitley (St. Louis, Mo.) for ten yards, then found Stepanoff for 22-yards down to the Pride three-yard line.  Two plays later, Morton went into the end zone for a second time, and Kincaid's extra-point cut the gap down to 24-21 midway through the quarter.

The next Clarke drive ended in another turnover, as Senior Linebacker Jermaine Hamilton (Kansas City, Mo.) recorded an interception at the Pride 29-yard line.  The Viking offense took advantage of the short field, and Morton rushed into the end zone for 24-yards out for his third score of the game.  Kincaid added the extra-point, and Missouri Valley moved in front, 28-24, with under five minutes remaining in the contest.

Clarke threatened on its next possession, eventually reaching the MVC 15-yard line.  Freshman Defensive Lineman Royce Adeniken (Edmonton, Alberta) came up with a tackle-for-loss, and three-straight CU incompletions ended the drive with another turnover-on-downs.  The Pride had one more chance, taking over at midfield with just over one minute on the clock.  However, Hamilton put an end to the Clarke drive with his second interception, and the Vikings ran out the remaining time in the game to seal a 28-24 win.

Staples went 13 of 24 passing for 116 yards to go with one touchdown and one interception.  Morton totaled 96 yards rushing on 17 attempts and scored three touchdowns.  Stepanoff led with five receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown.  The offense totaled 305 yards in the game.

Maggert led with eight tackles, while Cramer had seven tackles and one forced fumble.  Junior Defensive Back Eric Potts (Lee's Summit, Mo.) added six tackles.  Hamilton finished with five tackles and two interceptions, while McNair had four tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one interception.  Adeniken totaled four tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one sack.

Kincaid made all four of his extra-point attempts, and Bullock had a 33.7 yards per punt average on six punts, including three punts inside the CU 20-yard line. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 1-0 on the season, while Clarke drops to 0-2.

Up next, the Viking football team will travel to Peru, Neb., for a Heart inter-division game with Peru (Neb.) State, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m.

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About Missouri Valley College

Standing out as one of the most innovative and student-focused liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, Missouri Valley College (MVC) is committed to preparing students for success beyond the classroom. Through the Viking Voyage program, MVC prioritizes career readiness from day one, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel after graduation. Each of MVC's 30+ in-demand majors—including nursing, business, cybersecurity, computer science, criminal justice, and exercise science—integrates personal instruction, experiential learning, and professional opportunities to prepare graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing and globally connected world. At Missouri Valley College, higher education is more than earning a degree—it's a transformative journey that begins with the end.