By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Northwest tops Emporia State thanks to fourth quarter touchdown
A defensive battle at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville resulted in a Northwest Missouri State victory over Emporia State thanks to a fourth quarter touchdown, winning 14-9.
After a scoreless first quarter, both the Bearcats and the Hornets would trade blows to start the second, first with Emporia State scoring on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Gundy to Tyler Kahmann, and then on the very next drive Northwest answered with a 10 play drive resulting in a four yard rushing score from Henry Martin.
Emporia State would take the lead into the halftime break however. After a turnover on downs by the Hornets pinned the Bearcats at their own one yard line, Emporia State linebacker Cade Stephenson would tackle Tank Young in the endzone for a safety, leaving the Hornets up at halftime 9-7.
Again neither team would score in the third quarter out of the break, Northwest kicker Cole Lammel missing a 55 yard field goal to end the quarter. But after an Emporia State three and out to start the final quarter, Northwest would take the lead back, putting together an eight play drive that ended with a 29 yard touchdown pass from Chris Ruhnke to Luke Mathews.
From there the Northwest defense would stand tall and forcing two turnover on downs over the final drives of the game, until Ruhnke would kneel out the final seconds to end the game.
Ruhnke was 20 of 36 through the air for 244 yards and one touchdown while throwing four interceptions. Young was the leading rusher with 14 carries for 62 yards while Mathews caught four passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Northwest will travel for their next two games, first matching up with Washburn on Saturday in Topeka, Kansas. Kickoff is at 3pm
Rough third quarter dooms Griffons in loss against Washburn
The Missouri Western Griffons led at halftime, but 24 unanswered points and just 24 total yards in the third quarter were to much to overcome as Washburn walked away from St. Joseph with a 24-16 victory.
The Ichabods would take the first lead of the game midway through the first quarter with Keller Hurla rushing 22 yards for a touchdown to cap an eight play drive.
From there it would be a defensive battle until near the end of the first half when the Griffons would score 10 points in the final three minutes, first getting a 52 yard field goal from Cody Watson, before Marrell Fountain would rush for a 39 yard touchdown, his first at Missouri Western, giving the Griffons a 10-7 lead at the halftime break.
After that is when the Ichabods would go on their scoring run though, getting a one yard touchdown run from Lucas Oitker and a 42 yard field goal by Trenton Brehm in the third quarter, then an eight yard rushing touchdown by Cam Robinson early in the fourth to push the Washburn lead to 24-10.
Missouri Western's defense would get some key stops late in the fourth quarter as TreVon Johnson recovered a fumble and Brandon Johnson blocked a field goal, but all the Griffons could get was two field goals from Watson, one of 42 yards and another from 30 yards.
Kody Kirk made his first start with the Griffons, after making his debut last week, and was 27 of 58 passing for 266 yards and one interception. Fountain led the way rushing, running 10 times for 69 yards. Jonas Bennett had 11 catches for 147 yards.
The Griffons will be back on the road for their next two games, first traveling to Pittsburg, Kansas for a matchup with Pittsburgh State on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2pm
Benedictine holds off Baker in epic Heart South conference showdown
The #13 Benedictine Ravens picked up an important win in the Heart South Division, defeating #16 Baker University 27-24 on Saturday at Larry Wilcox Memorial Stadium in Atchison.
The Ravens would take a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter, on the first offensive drive of the game going eight plays before quarterback Jackson Dooley connected with Joseph Lagafuaina on a seven yard touchdown pass. Later in the quarter, Harry Balke would drill a 47 yard field goal to extend the lead.
The Wildcats would score back to back touchdowns though in the second quarter to take the lead, quarterback Truman Juelsgaard rushing for a three yard score and then connecting with Gaige Warren for a 34 yard touchdown pass to take the 14-10 lead.
But the Ravens had an answer, Dooley would connect with Jacob Gathright on a 37 yard touchdown pass, before the defense would add some points of their own Isaiah Hasten returning an interception 61 yards to the house, giving Benedictine a 24-14 lead at the halftime intermission.
Both teams defenses held strong for a scoreless third quarter, but Baker would get on the board again early in the fourth quarter on a 22 yard field goal from Seth Simpson. One long drive later, going 54 yards on 14 plays and consuming over seven minutes of clock, Balke would knock through a 45 yard field goal to put the Ravens up by two scores.
The Wildcats would score another touchdown with 1:59 left in the game, a two yard rushing score from Warren, to get within three points. And after forcing the Ravens to punt, Baker would get the ball back at their own 20 yard line with 57 seconds left in the game.
The Ravens defense came up big time and again Saturday, but never more importantly than the final drive of the game. The Wildcats entered the contest averaging 52 points per game, but as they had all game, the Ravens defense shut down Baker and forced a turnover on downs to close out the win.
Dooley was 14 of 27 passing for 234 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Dalton Witherspoon was the leading rusher running 25 times for 109 yards, while Gathright had four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Benedictine will travel to Canton, Missouri next for a matchup with Culver Stockton at Ellison Poulton Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Kansas State bounces back with dominant win over Oklahoma State
The #23 Kansas State Wildcats bounced back from a poor offensive showing against BYU and dominated on way to an upset win over #20 Oklahoma State 42-20 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan.
Quarterback Avery Johnson started the scoring for the Wildcats with his legs in the first quarter, capping off a 14 play drive with an 11 yard rushing touchdown. Midway through the quarter the Cowboys would get on the board, Logan Ward knocking through a 35 yard field goal.
Oklahoma State would take the lead early on in the second quarter on a big passing play, a 77 yard touchdown pass from Alan Bowman to De'Zhaun Stribling. One drive later, after Korie Black picked off Johnson, the Cowboys would extend their lead on a 31 yard field goal from Ward.
Trailing halfway through the second quarter, Johnson would throw a pair of touchdowns on back to back drives. A touchdown pass of 19 yards to Garrett Oakley would give the Wildcats the lead back, and after a fumble recovery by Colby McCalister Johnson would need just four plays, connecting with Jayce Brown on a long 55 yard touchdown to give Kansas State a 21-13 lead at the halftime break.
The Wildcats wouldn't wait long to score in the second half, following a three and out from the Cowboys it would take just two plays to score, a 66 yard touchdown run from DJ Giddens extending the lead again for Kansas State. Johnson would throw another touchdown pass near the end of the third quarter, a two yard score to Will Anciaux.
Johnson would add another rushing touchdown early on in the fourth quarter, this time from 13 yards out, for the final score of the game for the Wildcats. A 14 yard rushing touchdown from Trent Howland would be the final Oklahoma State score near the end of the game.
Johnson was 19 of 31 through the air for 259 yards and three touchdowns as well as one interception. Giddens was the leading rusher with 15 carries for 187 yards and a score while Brown caught four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas State (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) will now have a bye week before they matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes on October 12th at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. A kickoff time has yet to be scheduled by the conference.
Nebraska tops Purdue thanks to massive fourth quarter
After a scoreless first half, the Nebraska Cornhuskers put together a big second half and bounced back from an overtime loss to Illinos, defeating Purdue 28-10 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
After four combined missed field goals would send both teams to the locker room at the halftime break tied at zero, Purdue would get on the board first in the second half after a 13 play drive, Spencer Porath hitting a 45 yard field goal.
After a nine play drive though, the Cornhuskers would take the lead back for good, a six yard touchdown pass from Dylan Raiola to Jahmal Banks near the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, Nebraska would push their lead even further scoring offensively on back to back drives with rushing touchdowns of one yard from Dante Dowdell and a 24 yard score by Jacory Barney Jr. The final Nebraska touchdown would be on the defensive side following Barney's touchdown, a pick six taken 29 yards by linebacker John Bullock, scoring the final 14 points in less than a minute.
A 15 yard touchdown pass from Purdue's Hudson Card to Leland Smith would be the final score of the game.
Raiola was 16 of 26 passing for 244 yards and one touchdown. Barney Jr was the leading rusher needing just four carries to get 66 yards and a score. Banks led with five catches for 82 yards and scored.
Nebraska (4-1, 1-1 Big 10) will return back to Lincoln next week for another Big 10 matchup hosting Rutgers. The kickoff time has yet to be determined by the conference.
Kansas and TCU trade blows in Jayhawks loss, Daniels job in trouble?
In the first game at Arrowhead Stadium since 2011, the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the TCU Horned Frogs 38-27, continuing what has been a lackluster season after beginning with high hopes.
The Jayhawks and Horned Frogs did trade blows through the first half of the game, scoring on four consecutive drives to start. Kansas opened the scoring following a TCU fumble, an 11 yard passing touchdown from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm, where Grimm caught the ball while on his tiptoes at the sideline. The Horned Frogs would answer with a 35 yard passing touchdown between Josh Hoover and Jack Bech.
Kansas would have an answer of their own on the ensuing drive putting together a 10 play drive that went over four minutes, driving 69 yards for Devin Neal to find the endzone on a two yard rushing touchdown. But again the Horned Frogs would not go away, a long drive of their own carrying into the second quarter, culminating in a three yard rushing score from Cam Cook.
Both teams would go on to trade punts, until an interception by Kansas safety O.J Burroughs would set up a drive for the Jayhawks to take the lead, a 24 yard field goal from Tabor Allen, but the Horned Frogs would put together an 11 play drive ending with another touchdown pass between Hoover and Bech, that would give TCU a 21-17 lead at the halftime break.
Kansas would take the lead back in the third quarter on an eight yard rushing touchdown from Daniel Hishaw Jr. The Horned Frogs answered yet again, and took the lead for good this time on special teams, JP Richardson returning a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.
The Jayhawks would get within one point early into the fourth quarter, a 41 yard field goal from Allen, but on the very next drive TCU would need just two plays getting a 59 yard touchdown pass from Hoover to Eric McAlister.
Kansas would have a three and out on the next drive, and TCU would drive plays to get a 29 yard field goal from Kyle Lemmermann, from there the Jayhawks offense would stall. A turnover on downs would give the Horned Frogs the ball back, and after the Kansas forced a punt, on their final drive of the game Daniels would throw an interception, allowing TCU to kneel out the clock.
Another down game from Daniels has some asking if the Jayhawks should move to backup quarterback Cole Ballard, who played in two games last year for Kansas and appeared against Lindenwood to start this year. Through five games Daniels has thrown for 626 yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Daniels in the loss was 15 of 34 passing for 179 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Hishaw Jr rushed 13 times for 85 yards while Neal rushed 14 times for 70 yards, both scoring touchdowns. Grimm had six catches for 85 yards and a score.
Kansas will hit the road next week to Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona for a matchup with Arizona State. Kickoff will be at 7pm on ESPN2.