Football Defeats St. Ambrose on Last-Second Field Goal

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 4, 2025)-The Missouri Valley College team welcomed in St. Ambrose (Iowa) for a Heart of America Athletic Conference cross-divisional game Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings trailed early, but came back in the second half and used a last-second field goal to secure a 30-28 win.

The game started with Missouri Valley receiving the opening kickoff, but the team failed to convert on a fourth-down attempt, and turned the ball over to St. Ambrose.  The Fighting Bees worked quickly, and scored two plays later, on a 28-yard pass to make it a 7-0 game with less than three minutes played.  The Vikings followed with a drive that moved into SAU territory, however, the team was forced into a punt.  Freshman Punter Ben Bullock (Perth, Australia) got off a 38-yard punt that put St. Ambrose at its 15-yard line to start another drive.

The second drive of the game for the Fighting Bees ended in another score, as the team went 85 yards in 10 plays to finish with a touchdown and increase the advantage to 14-0.  The Vikings were forced into another punt on the team's third drive of the game, and SAU started at the Missouri Valley 35-yard line late in the first quarter.  The MVC defense came up with a big play, as Sophomore Defensive Back Robert Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) made an interception in the end zone for the game's first turnover.

Missouri Valley followed with a long drive, as Junior Quarterback Tomele Staples (Kanakee, Ill.) picked up 16 yards on the ground to move MVC into the opponent's side of the field.  Staples completed a 10-yard pass to Junior Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct.), then a face mask penalty moved the ball to the SAU 19-yard line.  However, the next play was an interception thrown by Staples in the end zone, ending the scoring threat for Missouri Valley early in the second quarter.

St. Ambrose picked up a pair of first downs on its ensuing drive, but the MVC defense forced a punt.  The Vikings could not move the ball following the punt, and SAU started a drive midway through the second quarter near midfield.  The Fighting Bee's worked down the field, and eventually reached the 10-yard line.  However, the defense forced three-straight incompletions, which brought a field goal attempt for St. Ambrose.  The 32-yard attempt was blocked by Junior Defensive Back Jayson Williams (Bossier City, La.), and eventually returned by Senior Defensive Lineman Ryan Greenwood (Beaumont, Texas) down to the Fighting Bees 15-yard line for a 60-yard return.

The Vikings took advantage of the short-field, and Staples connected with Senior Tight End Markus Stepanoff (Milton, Ontario) three plays later on an 11-yard pass into the end zone for a touchdown.  Sophomore Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Madrid, Spain) added the extra-point, and MVC trailed 14-7 with under four minutes to play in the first half. St. Ambrose put together the final drive before halftime, using 10 plays to travel 75 yards.  The possession was capped off with a 26-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the quarter.  Missouri Valley went into halftime trailing, 21-7.

Play in the third quarter began with St. Ambrose taking the first possession.  The Viking defense came up with a three-and-out stop, with a short punt from the SAU punter resulting in Missouri Valley starting a drive near midfield.  Sophomore Running Back Silas Morton (Strafford, Mo.) picked up 21 yards on the first two plays, and the third play was a 31-yard touchdown pass from Staples to Junior Wide Receiver Khalil White (Decatur, Ga.).  Kincaid made the extra-point, and the gap was cut to 21-14 with four minutes off the clock.

The Fighting Bees responded with another long drive, moving 70 yards down to the MVC one-yard line.  However, Senior Defensive Back Jeremiah McNair (Hattiesburg, Miss.) came up with a tackle-for-loss on a second down play, then teamed up with Sophomore Linebacker Noah Carr (Kissimmee, Fla.) for another tackle-for-loss on a third down attempt near the goal line.  St. Ambrose settled for a 22-yard attempt, but the kick was blocked, this time by McNair.  Sophomore Linebacker Lance Nauer (Independence, Mo.) returned the blocked kick 33 yards to midfield, for the Vikings to start another drive.

Missouri Valley made quick work after the special teams play, as Staples hit White with a 41-yard pass.  Two plays later, Staples connected with Senior Wide Receiver Nate Pouliot (Clearwater, Fla.) for an 11-yard passing touchdown, and Kincaid's extra-point tied the teams at 21-21 with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.

The game went into the fourth quarter, with the two teams trading long punts.  St. Ambrose got off a 60-yard punt that pinned MVC at its four-yard line, while Bullock followed with a 52-yard punt as the game worked towards the 12-minute mark of the quarter.  The Vikings defense came up with another stop, this time forcing an incomplete pass on a fourth-down conversion attempt by SAU at the Missouri Valley 10-yard line.  However, the ensuing drive was a three-and-out for MVC, and a short punt resulted in the Fighting Bees taking over across midfield with just over six minutes to play.

St. Ambrose took advantage of the short field, and capped another scoring drive with a touchdown to go back in front, 28-21 with nearly four minutes remaining.  Missouri Valley needed only two plays to drive down on the field on its next possession.  Staples completed a 29-yard pass to Junior Wide Receiver Adonis Whitley (St. Louis, Mo.), then found White for a 40-yard touchdown reception.  However, the extra-point attempt was blocked by SAU, and the Vikings trailed, 28-27 with less than four minutes on the clock.

The ensuing drive for St. Ambrose saw the team pick up a first down, and move towards midfield.  The Viking defense came up with a stop, and the Fighting Bees were forced to punt with under two minutes to play in the game.  Missouri Valley had no timeouts, and started a drive at its 20-yard line after the SAU punt went into the end zone.

The Vikings faced a fourth-and-one situation early in its drive, and Morton picked up the first down on a four-yard carry.  Staples then completed three-straight pass to move into St. Ambrose territory.  The first completion went to Strong for six yards, followed by a seven-yard completion to Pouliot and a 20-yard gain to Whitely ended the completion streak.  Armstrong then picked up 17 yards on a scramble, and Morton gained 13 yards on a rushing attempt to put the ball at the SAU four-yard line in the final seconds.  Kincaid came out for a 21-yard field goal attempt, and made the kick to seal a 30-28 win for Missouri Valley.

Staples finished 20 of 30 passing for 249 yards and four touchdowns to go with 17 yards rushing.  Morton had 54 yards rushing on 11 carries.  White led with five receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns.  Whitley had four receptions for 63 yards, while Pouliot added two receptions for 18 yards and one touchdown and Stepanoff had one reception for 11 yards and one touchdown.

The defense was led by Carr who had 10 tackles, followed by nine tackles for Senior Defensive Back Octavious Griffin (Decatur, Ga.).  McNair had seven tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a blocked field goal.  Robert Williams added five tackles and an interception and Jayson Williams totaled four tackles and a blocked field goal.

Kincaid made a 21-yard field goal and added three extra-points.  Bullock had a 32.8 yards per punt average on five punts with a long of 52 yards. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 3-2 overall, while St. Ambrose falls to 1-5 on the season.

Up next, the Vikings will travel to Fulton, Mo., to play William Woods (Mo.) in a Heart South Division game, Oct. 18, with a 1 p.m., kickoff.

Box Score-Click Here 

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.