Football Uses Turnovers to Pull Away From Clarke in Road Win

Dubuque, Iowa, (Sept. 14, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Dubuque, Iowa for a Heart of America Athletic Conference game with Clarke (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings used turnovers to pull away in the second half, and earn a 37-13 victory.

The game started with the two teams trading possessions through a scoreless first quarter.  Clarke went into Viking territory on its second drive, and was stopped on a fourth-down conversion attempt when Senior Linebacker Keaton Fitzgerald (Sikeston, Mo.) came up with a tackle at the line-of-scrimmage on a fourth-and-one situation.  The Pride drove into MVC territory on its ensuing possession, but was forced into a field goal attempt.  The 42-yard kick came up short, and kept the teams scoreless going into the second quarter.

Missouri Valley punted on its next possession as the second quarter got underway, and CU took over near midfield.  On the fourth play of the Clarke drive, Senior Defensive Back Bryan Sarente (Sacramento, Calif.) forced a fumble, which was scooped up by Senior Linebacker Eddie Rankin (Pittsburg, Calif.), and returned 45 yards for a touchdown.  The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, and MVC held a 6-0 lead with less than three minutes played in the quarter.

The Pride answered on its next possession, driving 63 yards in five plays for a touchdown that put the team in front, 7-6, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half.  After another MVC punt, the defense created another turnover.  This time, Fitzgerald forced and recovered a fumble inside Clarke territory.  Freshman Quarterback Cole Robertson (Kansas City, Mo.) converted a third-down attempt with a 31-yard completion to Sophomore Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct.) that extended the drive.  Three plays later, Robertson scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown to put the team back in front.  The two-point conversion attempt failed, as the score sat at 12-7 with just over three minutes remaining in the half.

Clarke was forced into a three-and-out by the Viking defense, and the MVC offense used a 33-yard run from Junior Quarterback Devonte Armstrong (North Las Vegas, Nev.) on the first play of its ensuing drive to move deep into CU territory.  However, the scoring threat ended on a Robertson interception in the end zone with less than one minute before halftime.  Clarke ran out the remaining time, and the Vikings went into the break holding a 12-7 lead.

Missouri Valley took possession to open the third quarter, and picked up a pair of first downs to move across midfield.  The drive ended on another interception from Robertson deep on the CU side of the field.  The next play was a long pass completion for the Pride, going for 88-yards, to push the team ahead early in the quarter.  The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Clarke held a 13-12 lead.

The lead was short-lived for the Pride, as the following kickoff was returned by Sophomore Running Back Tavion Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.), who went 96 yards for a touchdown, the first kickoff return for the program since 2019.  The Freshman Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Spain) extra-point made it a 19-13 score with more than 11-minutes to play in the quarter.

After the two teams traded punts midway through the third quarter, Clarke started near midfield, and moved into MVC territory.  The Viking defense came up with another turnover, as Senior Linebacker Deshon Collins (Kansas City, Mo.) intercepted a pass at the team's 32-yard line.  Missouri Valley followed with a scoring drive, running off six plays, and covering 68 yards.  Senior Running Back Rondarius Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) capped the drive with a 17-yard score.  The two-point conversion failed, and the advantage grew to 25-13 with three minutes to play in the quarter.

Clarke again had a drive end in a turnover, as Senior Defensive Back Taylor Hunt (Roxie, Miss.) intercepted a pass deep inside CU territory to set up the offense.  The first play of the MVC possession was a 15-yard touchdown run for Gregory, his second in as many offensive plays.  Another two-point conversion attempt failed, and the score sat at 31-13.

The ensuing Clarke possession went into the fourth quarter, and Missouri Valley came up with a third-straight drive-ending turnover.  Sophomore Defensive Lineman Agustus McKoy (Pahokee, Fla.) forced a fumble as the fourth quarter started.  The offense took over at the CU 36-yard line, and Gregory scored for the third-straight possession, going into the end zone on a 19-yard run.  The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the lead grew to 37-13 early in the fourth quarter.

The Pride were unable to create any points in its final three possessions of the game.  The team failed to convert on a fourth-down attempt, then punted midway through the quarter.  The team's last possession featured a sack and forced fumble by Hunt to prevent Clarke from cutting into its deficit as Missouri Valley finished out a 37-13 win.

Gregory led with 65 yards rushing on 12 attempts, with three touchdowns.  Robertson added 43 rushing yards and one touchdown.  Robertson also finished with 90 yards passing on seven completions.  Strong had four receptions for 72 yards. 

Defensively, Fitzgerald had nine tackles, two tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Senior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas) added nine tackles.  Sarente totaled seven tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble.  Hunt had six tackles, one sack, two tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble and an interception.  Rankin finished with the 45-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, and Collins added an interception.  The defense forced five turnovers in the game, limited Clarke to 8 of 21 on third down attempts, and held the Pride to 86-yards rushing.

Campbell finished with 120 all-purpose yards, including the 96-yard touchdown.  Senior Punter Justin Bridges (Park Hills, Mo.) had a 32.9 yards per punt average on seven punts.  Kincaid made his only extra-point attempt in the game.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 2-0 on the season, while Clarke falls to 0-3.

Up next, the Viking football team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to play No. 4 Grand View (Iowa), Sept. 21, at 12 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here

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 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.

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