UNK Football: Lopers Upset by Lions, 24-13

The Missouri Southern State Lions used two long scoring drives, a 79-yard punt return and two red zone turnovers to down Nebraska Kearney, 24-13, Saturday afternoon in Joplin.

The Lions (2-8, 1-7), coming off a bye week, win on "Senior Day" and take a second straight game from the Lopers (5-5, 3-5). UNK came in with a 4-1 road record and an 8-2 all-time mark in Joplin.

"It was not good at all. We did not play well and didn't have the juice. We had two red zone turnovers again, we had two bad plays on special teams," said UNK head coach Ryan Held on the KRVN Radio post-game show. "We wanted it so bad we ended up melting down a little bit. First time this year I'm truly disappointed. We've got some soul searching to do."

Things started out fine as the defense forced a punt and the offense went 72 yards in eight plays. Graduate quarterback Reagan Jones (Wichita) capped the drive as he scrambled six yards for a 7-0 lead. However, it was all MSSU after that. UNK punted on its next six drives, committed two red zone turnovers and was stopped on fourth down.

"We didn't have a bad week of practice and we came out good. We were just flat. I said it throughout the week; these guys had a week off, they have good players and you have to respect the game, have to respect preparation," said Held. 

Returning All-MIAA QB Luke Sampson went 20 of 37 for 242 yards, two scores and found an array of tight ends who gave the Lopers fits. That included seniors Deontay Campbell (four recp., 43 yards) and Alex Martini (three recep., 34 yards, one TD) and junior Trace Wilhite (three recep., 39 yards, one TD). While UNK sacked Sampson three times for a loss of 25 yards, his teammates rushed for 127 yards. They came averaging 87 yards per week.

MSSU had its own 72-yard drive to tie things up and then marched 87 yards in 14 plays to take the lead for good. Sophomore receiver Ayden Robinson-Wayne made it a two-score game early in the third when he brought back a punt 79 yards to the house. On the play, it appeared he might call for a fair catch and four Lopers were in the vicinity. However, he didn't and raced down the left sidelines for MSSU's first positive punt return of the season.

"We thought he called for a fair catch. You have to make sure you see it," said Held. "Our defense played well in the second half but we didn't click, we didn't execute offensively. They haven't had a great year up to this point defensively but they played well against us."

UNK had several chances to get back into things, but Jones was picked off at the Lions two-yard line on the ensuring drive and then the Lopers fumbled at MSSU 10-yard line to start the fourth. After the defense got a stop, UNK got out to near midfield but a 4th & 8 pass fell incomplete. Later, MSSU missed and made a field goal with junior back Zane Schawang (Waverly) running for a one-yard score with 14 seconds remaining.

"You can't turn the ball over in the red zone. At the end of the year, we've tightened the penalties up but are now committing turnovers in the red zone and those are even more costly," said Held. 

The MIAA leaders in third down rate and time of possession, the Lions ran 16 more plays and had the ball for 10 more minutes. They also were 7 of 16 on third down while UNK was 3 of 12. With the Lopers fumbling a late kickoff, MSSU had a plus two turnover margin to boot.

Jones finished 18 of 34 for 176 yards and one INT while having a top run of 10 yards. Junior back Isaiah Harris (Millard South) had a nifty 46-yard scamper late in the third and finished with 108 on 13 totes. This is his fifth 100-yard effort the season. Finally on offense, grad receiver Shane Dailey Jr. (Bellevue West) had five grabs for 69 yads with Harris having three receptions.

Defensively, junior nickel Anthony Hebert (Corona, Calif.) had two sacks with senior back Devin Guggia (Santa Clarita, Caif.) adding another. Safety CJ Kuehl (Indianola, Ia.) picked off Sampson at the UNK five-yard line late in the first half with tackle Caleb Freeland (Folsom, Calif.) having a team-best eight tackles.  Finally, Guggia was one of four Lopers with seven stops.

MSSU redshirt freshman DB Diego Oliver had a team-best seven tackles, including a four-yard TFL, with four others between four and six tackles.

UNK hosts 30th-ranked Fort Hays State (7-3, 5-3) next Saturday in the regular season finale.