Missouri State loses fourth straight; Pitt State holds on vs. Northwest Missouri State
Southern Illinois erased a 14-0 deficit and went on to beat Missouri State 38-21 at Plaster Stadium in Springfield on Saturday, handing the Bears their fourth straight loss after a 2-0 start.
Jacardia Wright scored the Bears’ first touchdown on a 10-yard run. Jason Shelley hit Carson Buddemeyer from five yards out for Missouri State’s second touchdown, and Wright — who would finish with 83 yards on 15 carries — plunged in from the 1 to put the Bears (2-4, 0-3) up by 10 in the third quarter.
But it was all Salukis from there as Javon Williams Jr. rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Nic Baker threw for two more for Southern Illinois (4-2, 3-0).
Shelley finished the day 15 of 25 for 195 yards. He threw the TD toss to Buddemeyer and two interceptions.
In other games:
Pittsburg State 24, Northwest Missouri State 22: No. 7 Pitt State jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead but needed some late heroics to hold off the No. 9 Bearcats. Chad Dodson Jr. completed 15 of 29 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and the Gorillas (6-0, 6-0 MIAA) led 21-3 at halftime.
Northwest (4-2) rallied and had a chance to tie the game with 12 seconds left on a two-point conversion. But quarterback Mike Hohensee’s pass to tight end Cole Hembrough was ruled incomplete in the end zone, and because the Bearcats were out of timeouts, they could not challenge the call.
Emporia State 44, Central Missouri 27: At Emporia, ESU quarterback Braden Gleason was 32 of 44 for 317 yards and three touchdowns through the air and also rushed for a touchdown and 34 yards on five carries in leading the host Hornets past the Mules. Emporia State (4-2, 4-2) rolled up an impressive 252 yards on the ground as a team, led by Canaan Brooks’ 17 carries for 134 yards. Cedric Case passed for two TDs for Central Missouri (1-5, 1-5).
Washburn 45, Fort Hays State 14: At Hays, the Ichabods threw down 24 points before halftime en route to a convincing road win. The host Tigers’ 14-point output marked a season-low. Ichs QB Kellen Simoncic threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, completing 18 of 26 passes with one interception. Washburn improved to 4-2 (4-2) while Fort Hays State fell to 1-5 (1-5).
Nebraska-Kearney 35, Missouri Western 14: The Griffons held the hosts scoreless through most of the first half, but Missouri Western (2-4, 2-4 MIAA) was undone by two fumbles and two interceptions in the second half. Missouri Western’s Traveon James caught his fourth touchdown of the season, a nine-yard strike from Reagan Jones.
Missouri Southern 37, Lincoln 14: At Joplin, the Lions scored on a punt-return touchdown from Jaedon Stoshak and counted a pair of interceptions from Colton Winder to beat Lincoln on homecoming. Missouri Southern (4-2, 4-2 MIAA) got rushing touchdowns from Nathan Glades, Luke Sampson and Dawson Herl. It’s the first time since 2014 the Lions have recorded four wins in a season.
Southwest Baptist 44, William Jewell 21: At Bolivar, host Southwest Baptist raced to a 10-0 lead. Jewell’s Jordan Clay ran in a 10-yard touchdown to close the gap to three points, but the Cardinals got no closer. Southwest led 27-7 by halftime en route to a lopsided victory. William Jewell fell to 1-5.