VIKING FOOTBALL BEATS MIDAMERICA NAZARENE IN TOP 15 MATCHUP
Marshall, Mo. (September 21, 2013)- The No. 11 Missouri Valley College football team bounced back after an opening week defeat to begin Heart of America Athletic Conference play with a 33-9 victory over No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene University Saturday at Gregg-Mitchell Field on Family Night.
A MidAmerica Nazarene miscue early in the first quarter set the pace for the rest of the game. After forcing the Vikings to punt on their opening possession, MNU looked to take over near midfield, but a muffed punt recovered by Senior Linebacker Andrew Huhman (Farmington, Mo.) gave MVC the ball at their own 36-yard line. One play was all it took for MVC to get its first points on the board when Junior Quarterback Bruce Reyes (Beaumont, Texas) connected with Junior Wide Receiver Jarrell Davis (Merced, Calif.) on a 64-yard touchdown play giving MVC a 7-0 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Both teams put together drives through the rest of the first quarter that reached midfield, but eventually stalled, however MVC was able to extend its lead. After taking over at their own 21-yard line after a MNU punt to close out the first quarter, the Vikings put together an impressive drive marching 71-yards on 12-plays to get the ball within the MNU 10-yard line. The Pioneer defense stiffened from there, and the Vikings capped the drive off with a 25-yard field goal by Junior Kicker Daniel Mouro (Hilmar, Calif.) to make the score 10-0 in favor of MVC with just 10-minutes remaining in the half.
After the ensuing MNU drive stalled the Vikings put together their most impressive drive of the season to-date. The Vikings took over after a Pioneer punt on their own 11-yard line and drove the ball to the MNU 35-yard line, but faced a fourth-and-11 play. Going for it on fourth down Reyes connected with Sophomore Wide Receiver Mikquel Johnson (St. Louis, Mo.) for a 35-yard touchdown play that capped off a 13-play, 89-yard drive taking over five minutes off the clock. The Pioneers were left with less than a minute after the touchdown drive, and MVC went into the halftime break holding a 17-0 lead.
The Vikings had trouble getting much going to start the second half, as did the Pioneers. However, following MVC's second possession of the half, another MNU miscue gave the Vikings the ball deep in Pioneer territory. Another muffed punt recovered by Freshman Defensive Back Brandon Samuels (Beaumont, Texas) gave MVC the ball at the MNU 25-yard line. It took just four plays before Freshman Running Back Malachi Daniels (Branson, Mo.) scored on a three-yard touchdown run and MVC extended the lead to 24-0 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Pioneers got on the board with their next drive, as they converted two third downs en route to a 12-play, 56-yard drive. The MVC defense stood tough once MNU reached the red-zone, but MNU connected on a 36-yard field goal to cut the MVC lead to 24-3 early in the fourth quarter.
It didn't take MVC long to respond to the Pioneer points. On the second play of the next drive for the Vikings, Freshman Wide Receiver Darrian Turk (Silsbee, Texas) took an end-around for 63-yards, eventually setting up a 13-yard touchdown run by Junior Running Back James Tillman (Kansas City, Mo.), and MVC extended the lead to 31-3 with just under 14-minutes remaining in the game.
The final points of the night were scored after Junior Punter Jason Mayden (Carrollton, Mo.) pinned MNU back on their own two-yard line. The Pioneers drive down the field, and eventually scored a touchdown to cap off a seven-play 98-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to make it a 31-9 MVC lead. However, MVC made another great special teams play as the extra point was blocked by Senior Defensive Back Randolph Tribble (Port Lucia, Fla.). Tribble returned the block back for two-points, and MVC capped off the scoring 33-9.
The Vikings were led by Reyes who went 13 of 17 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Turk led MVC in rushing with 63 yards, followed by Tillman with 56 yards on 13 carries. Turk also had five receptions for 31 yards, while Johnson had three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. The Viking offense had 424 total yards, with 250 rushing yards and 174 passing yards and did not commit a turnover.
Defensively the Vikings were led by Sophomore Defensive Lineman Ty Phillips (East St. Louis, Ill.) who had nine total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Danny Reyes had five tackles and half a tackle for loss. The Viking defense limited MNU to just 227 yards of total offense, and just 49 yards rushing.
Mayden had a 41.6 yards per punt average on five punts, including two that were downed inside the 20-yard line, and Mouro connected on all five of his attempts, including a 25-yard field goal. The MVC special teams were also responsible for the two MNU turnovers.
The win now gives MVC 14-straight wins in HAAC play, and 19 wins out of their last 20 HAAC games.
The win improves MVC to 1-1 the season and 1-0 in HAAC play while MidAmerica Nazarene falls to 0-2 and 0-1 in HAAC play.
The Vikings will go on the road Saturday Sept. 28 when they play at Culver-Stockton College. Culver is 0-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in HAAC play.
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 40 academic programs, study abroad program, honors program, extracurricular activities, and 13 sports. The most popular majors include education and business, and some new majors are ag-business, nursing, graphic design, and health information systems (associate degree). Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.
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