By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
#7 Ravens top Vikings 38-14 remaining unbeaten in conference play
The #7 Benedictine Ravens marched into Marshall and spoiled Homecoming for the Missouri Valley Vikings, scoring 21 unanswered points to start, on way to a 38-14 victory on Saturday.
Both the Ravens and Vikings started off the game slow, exchanging punts on the first six drives of the game, before Benedictine got on the board as Jackson Dooley completed back to back passes to Joseph Lagafuaina, the second pass being a 38 yard touchdown strike that put the Ravens up late in the opening frame.
After Benedictine forced the Vikings to punt on the ensuing drive, the Ravens put together a five play 90 yard drive, ending with Dooley's second touchdown pass of the day, this time 25 yards to Jacob Gathright. One offensive drive later, Dooley threw yet another touchdown pass to a third receiver, 28 yards to Lebron Jackson to put the Ravens up 21-0 with just under five minutes remaining in the half.
Missouri Valley found the endzone twice in the last five minutes of the quarter for their only points of the game, the first points on defense as Kobe Windham returned an interception 98 yards to score, and on the next offensive drive Cole Robertson rushed in from eight yards out with 59 seconds left on the clock. The Ravens put together a six play drive and ended the quarter with a 42 yard field goal by Harry Balke, going to the halftime break leading 24-14.
Dooley threw two more touchdowns in the second half as the Ravens scored points in both the third and fourth quarters, the first on a long 70 yard touchdown pass to Gathright, then in the fourth throwing a four yard score to running back Dalton Witherspoon.
Dooley was 22 of 35 passing for 369 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, he was also the leading rusher with six carries for 34 yards. Witherspoon rushed 11 times for 30 yards. Gathright caught four passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ravens remain on the road this coming Saturday heading to Olathe, Kansas for a matchup with MidAmerica Nazarene. Kickoff will be at 2pm.
Injury woes plague #21 Mizzou in rough showing against #15 Alabama
Entering the game in Tuscaloosa there were some major question marks for the #21 Missouri Tigers as quarterback Brady Cook was questionable, running back Nate Noel was out, and massive pieces of the defense were inured as well.
And the Tigers offense looks lackadaisical in the matchup with #15 Alabama, as the Crimson Tide recorded a 34-0 shutout victory over Mizzou at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Cook did take the field for the Tigers to open the game, but would leave for the locker room with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, backup quarterback Drew Pyne immediately throwing the first of three interceptions on his first drive of the game.
Mizzou's defense did all they could through the first half to keep the Tigers in the game, holding the Crimson Tide to 13 points, only allowing an eight yard rushing touchdown to Alabama running back Jam Miller near the end of the second quarter. But things continued going south in the second half.
Alabama scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, which was followed by another interception thrown by Pyne. The Tigers forced the Crimson Tide to punt, but Pyne again threw an interception, setting Alabama up for a five play drive that ended with Miller scoring his second touchdown of the game.
The Crimson Tide added one final touchdown in the fourth quarter, a 35 yard rushing score by Justice Haynes. The Tigers put together a long 14 play drive, getting all the way to the Alabama one yard line where they turned the ball over on downs with 4:19 remaining.
Cook was 7 of 12 passing before leaving the game throwing for 30 yards, while Pyne was 6 of 12 for 42 yards with three interceptions. Splitting carries in place of the injured Noel, Marcus Carroll rushed 17 times for 80 yards while Jamal Roberts rushed 17 times for 71 yards. Brett Norfleet was the leading receiver with three catches for 23 yards.
Missouri, who will surely fall out of the Top 25 for the first time this season when rankings are released this evening, will have a bye week to get healthy. They matchup with Oklahoma next on November 9th.
Big fourth down stop secures Sunflower Showdown win for K State
Kansas State knocked through a 51 yard go ahead field goal with 1:42 left in the game and then recorded a big defensive stop to force a Kansas turnover on downs, winning the Sunflower Showdown 29-27 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The win for the Wildcats over the Jayhawks is the 16th consecutive in the storied rivalry that dates back to 1902.
The Jayhawks did take the first lead of the game with the only touchdown of the first quarter on a 38 yard rush from Sevion Morrison that ended an 11 play drive, but in the second half it was the Wildcats that began to take some control.
A 13 play drive that carried from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter saw Avery Johnson connect with tight end Will Anciaux on a 24 yard touchdown pass to tie the game. Then on the ensuing drive, after Kansas was stopped at the one yard line on the kickoff, Jayhawks running back Devin Neal was tackled in the endzone by Damian Ilalio to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game.
Kansas State extended their lead following the safety, finding the tight end yet again in the endzone, but this time it was a two yard strike from Johnson to sophomore Garrett Oakley. Kansas answered on the next drive on a 10 yard touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm, putting the Jayhawks behind by just two points at the halftime break 16-14.
Opening up the second half the Wildcats needed just four plays to score again, in large part thanks to a 54 yard rush from running back DJ Giddens, capping the drive with a 10 yard rushing score by Johnson to extend the lead. But the Jayhawks refused to go away in the rivalry showdown.
Kansas answered with a nine play drive, that ended with Devin Neal rushing for a 24 yard touchdown, in which he refused to go down carrying one defender into the endzone. The score propelled Neal into the top spot for the most total touchdowns in Kansas history, passing June Henley with his 44th career touchdown.
Kansas State fumbled on the ensuing drive, but forced the Jayhawks to punt, however Kansas also stood tall on defense to get the ball back on a Wildcats punt, scoring to take the lead on this drive after starting it with a 42 yard pass from Daniels to Grimm and ending it with a 10 yard rushing score by Daniels to take the 27-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.
To open the fourth quarter, Kansas State got the lead down to one point using a seven play drive to get into field goal position for Chris Tennant to knock through a 28 yard field goal early in the quarter.
After three consecutive drives ended in punts, the Kansas defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs with 4:04 left in the game, getting closer to snapping the long winning streak in the series from the Wildcats, but on the next drive the ball ended up back in the hands of Kansas State as linebacker Austin Romaine tackled Daniels, who was attempting to hurdle, forcing the quarterback to lose the ball which ended up in the hands of defensive end Brendan Mott.
From there the Wildcats put together a seven play drive, ending with Tennant marching out and putting through a 51 yard field goal to give Kansas State the lead with 1:42 left in the game.
With the game in the hands of the Kansas State defense, the Wildcats stood strong, forcing the Jayhawks to a 4th and 7 where Daniels was hit for a one yard loss, recovering his own fumble, but it didn't matter as Kansas State took three straight knees to run out the remaining clock.
For Kansas State, Johnson was 19 of 34 passing for 253 yards with two touchdowns. Giddens rushed 18 times for 102 yards while Jayce Brown was the leading receiver with five catches for 98 yards.
Daniels was 18 of 31 passing for the Jayhawks with one touchdown and one interception, going for 209 yards in the air. Neal rushed 13 times for 66 yards with a score while Daniels rushed 15 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Trevor Wilson had four catches for 69 yards and Grimm had four catches for 66 yards and a score.
Kansas State will hit the road next week for a matchup with Houston on Saturday. Kickoff will be at 2:30pm with the game airing on Fox. Kansas has a bye week and will next be in action on November 9th against Iowa State.
Cornhuskers keep it close but fall to Ohio State with late interception
It wasn't pretty for #4 Ohio State, but Will Howard threw three touchdowns and the Buckeyes got a late interception by cornerback Jordan Hancock to secure a 21-17 win at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
Howard, the former Kansas State quarterback, threw his first touchdown of the game for the lone score of the first quarter to put the Buckeyes ahead late in the quarter, a 40 yard pass to Carnell Tate. Nebraska answered on the ensuing drive with a 39 yard field goal from John Hohl to end a 10 play drive.
But Howard extended the lead in just four plays following the field goal, Howard again throwing a long touchdown pass, 60 yards to Jeremiah Smith. Nebraska was forced to punt on the next drive, and after a missed field goal by Ohio State, the Cornhuskers put together an eight play drive to end the half with another field goal by Hohl, this time from 54 yards out, going to the halftime break trailing 14-6.
Midway through the third quarter Hohl was sent out by Nebraska for another field goal, what ended up being the only points of the quarter, with a 47 yard kick, trimming the Buckeyes lead to just five points and keeping the Corhuskers within striking distance, and they would take advantage early into the final quarter.
After forcing Ohio State to punt, Nebraska worked their way down the field, going 74 yards in nine plays before Dante Dowdell rushed in from one yard out, giving the Cornhuskers their first lead of the game. Head Coach Matt Rhule kept his offense on the field to go for two, and Dylan Raiola completed a pass to Nate Boerkircher.
Ohio State took the lead back though on their next drive Howard finding his third different receiver of the game for a score, connecting with Quinshon Judkins for a nine yard touchdown, leaving 6:04 left in the game.
After both teams traded punts, Nebraska was left with one more chance to take the lead back. The drive started with three straight penalties, as Raiola complete a pass to Jahmal Banks, but it would be called back with an offensive pass interference. Facing 1st and 22, Raiola threw an incomplete pass to Banks, but the Cornhuskers ended up with a first down after a targeting call on Arvell Reese who had broken up the pass.
A false start put Nebraska at 1st and 15, Raiola completed a pass to Emmett Johnson but lost three yards, then facing 2nd and 18, Raiola found Johnson again, but again lost one yard, putting the Cornhuskers at 3rd and 19, where Raiola trying to throw for the first down was picked off by Hancock with 1:16 left in the game, allowing the Buckeyes to kneel out the remaining time.
Raiola was 21 of 32 passing with 152 yards with one interception. Dowdell rushed 14 times for 60 yards with a touchdown, while Thomas Fidone II was the leading receiver with four catches for 55 yards. Jacory Barney Jr. had seven catches for 49 yards.
After back to back road games Nebraska will return to the comforts of home this Saturday, hosting UCLA at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff will be at 2:30pm with the game airing on the Big Ten Network.