Here is the N&D wrap-up of what was an upsetting showing for the Lions in Kearney, Neb., Thursday night.
SUMMARY:
The Lions losing streak extended to 14 straight games dating back to 2016. Nebraska-Kearney imposed its will on both sides of the ball, dominating the Lion defense with their triple option running attack and completely shutting down the Southern rushing game that was said to be a strength for MSSU. Self-inflicted wounds in the form of fumbles and dropped passes prevented the Lions from keeping the game within striking distance in the first half and in the second half, the Loper offensive line continued to lean on an exhausted Southern defense in a game that, ultimately, got out of hand.
WHEN IT WAS OVER:
In the third quarter, while trailing 24-0, Missouri Southern drove the ball inside the Lopers’ 5-yard line after a 26-yard strike from Sean Kelly to Arrion Howard. After a false start backed the Lions up to the 7-yard line, UNK turned Southern away on four straight plays and MSSU turned the ball over on downs at the Loper 2-yard line. On their first offensive play after taking over, Lopers’ running back Darius Webb took a simple hand off up the middle and snapped off a 98-yard touchdown run, breaking the game open and breaking the spirit of MSSU.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
In a game where the offense managed just 246 yards and the defense surrendered 585 games, it’s hard to find a bright spot. Kelly, in his first game/start at MSSU, was efficient with the football. He didn’t force anything that wasn’t open, he took sacks when it was smart to do so while also doing a good job avoiding pressure to keep plays alive. If drops hadn’t been such a factor in this game (particularly in the first half) the junior signal caller would have gone well over 200 yards passing. Kelly’s best throw of the night, in my opinion, was dropped in the end zone.
BREAKOUT PLAYER:
Freshman Cole Dunbar worked his way into the rotation at wide receiver with a strong fall camp. On Thursday, he proved himself on game day as a reliable target in the slot. The Oolagah, Okla., product finished with five catches for 35 yards.
BEST PLAY (MSSU):
Sean Kelly escaped pressure and ran out of the pocket to his right. Carson Day had run a route to the middle of the field, saw that Kelly was flushed and broke his route to stay with his quarterback. Kelly fired a strike on the run and Day made the catch falling down for a 22-yard gain.
KEY STATS:
Missouri Southern- Two fumbles lost. It’s not just that Southern lost the turnover battle but, the two fumbles led to 10 points for the Lopers at a time when the game was still in doubt. The first fumble was a back breaker as the Lions would have had the ball inside the UNK 35 when it was just a two-score game.
UNK- 474 rushing yards. Granted a SOLID chunk of this number came late in the game when the game was far out of reach for Southern, the Lopers dominated the line of scrimmage for most of the game. UNK had three rushers finish with more than 90 yards.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS:
Drops, as stated above, were a major factor in the early part of this game. The Lions were able to keep pace with UNK for most of the first half, but drops ended two drives in the first quarter on third down. In the third quarter, a perfect throw into the end zone was dropped and a slant route zipped through the hands of a receiver in the red zone that would likely have ended with a Lions touchdown. If Southern can correct this issue, the offense should be much more viable for the rest of the season.
UP NEXT:
Next Saturday, the Lions will unveil the highly anticipated video board inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium as they host the Lindenwood Lions. The other Lions are coming off of a 27-14 loss at home to Washburn on Thursday.
ELSEWHERE IN THE MIAA:
#18 Central Missouri 16, #5 Fort Hays State 20– Central Missouri starting quarterback and Harlon Hill Trophy contender Brook Bolles went down to with an arm injury in the third quarter and Fort Hays State came back from a 10-3 halftime deficit to beat the Mules, 20-16 in a big early-season matchup. Quarterback Jacob Mezera threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to finish off the comeback for the Tigers.
Missouri Western 6, #5 Northwest Missouri State 28– The #5-ranked Bearcats ran by Missouri Western, 28-6 to start the 2018 season. Freshman quarterback Braden Wright threw three touchdown passes and ran for another to guide NWMSU offensively. Western quarterback Dom Marino had 301 total yards of offense in the loss.
Central Oklahoma 7, Pitt State 21– Pitt State ran for 225 yards and held Central Oklahoma to just 95 yards on the ground en route to a 21-7 win to open the season in The Jungle. The Gorillas defense finished the game with four sacks and eight tackles for loss to lead the charge. UCO L’liot Curry had 89 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Bronchos.
Emporia State 34, Northeastern State 7- Emporia State stomped on the accelerator in the third quarter to run away from Northeastern State with a 34-7 win Thursday night in Talequah, Okla. The Hornets defense stifled the RiverHawks run game all night, holding NSU to 14 total rushing yards on 33 carries. That total was helped by an astounding six sacks, including 3.5 sacks from junior defensive end Parker Bass. Sophomore quarterback Cade Yeager led NSU with 201 yards passing and a touchdown.
Washburn 27, Lindenwood 14- Washburn quarterback Blake Peterson led the Ichabods to a 27-14 season-opening win over Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo., on Thursday night. Peterson accounted for 266 yards of total offense with two touchdowns on the ground. Lindenwood freshman quarterback Cade Brister threw for 146 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate start.
Newman & Duquesne 