Football Drops Road Game to No. 20 Baker

Baldwin City, Kan., (Oct. 5, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College football team traveled to Baldwin City, Kan., to play No. 20 Baker (Kan.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division contest Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings held a halftime lead, but fell by a final score of 26-16.

The game opened with the Missouri Valley defense forcing a three-and-out, and taking over possession at the team's 23-yard line for its initial drive.  Sophomore Running Back Tavion Campbell (St. Louis, Mo.) gained a total of 24 yards on three-straight carries, but it was the fourth play that put MVC in front.  Sophomore Quarterback Joseph Lepak (Grandview, Mo.) connected with Freshman Wide Receiver Malik Brown (Tampa, Fla.) for a 53-yard touchdown to move the Vikings ahead.  The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the score sat at 6-0 with less than four minutes off the clock.

Baker was stopped once again, on its ensuing drive, as the Viking defense forced another punt.  The Wildcats came up with a stop to keep MVC from adding to its lead, and Baker followed with its first scoring drive of the game.  The drive reached the Missouri Valley four-yard line, and the defense stopped BU on two-straight plays to force a field goal attempt.  The 21-yard field goal for Baker was good, and the Viking lead was cut to 6-3.

Missouri Valley responded quickly, and just before the end of the first quarter.  Lepak and Brown worked together again, this time on a 72-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage.  Freshman Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Spain) added the extra-point, and the Vikings took a 13-3 lead into the second quarter.

The Wildcats reached midfield on its next drive, and faced a four-down conversion attempt.  Senior Defensive Lineman Ethan Towers (Chicago, Ill.) and Senior Linebacker Adyn Schwarzer (Burleson, Texas) combined on a tackle-for-loss to force a turnover-on-downs, and give MVC possession in BU territory.  Missouri Valley took advantage of the field possession, and used a Lepak 29-yard rushing attempt to eventually set up a field goal attempt.  Kincaid kicked his 35-yard attempt through the uprights, and the Vikings lead increased to 16-3 midway through the second quarter.

The next drive for Baker moved down the MVC 35-yard line.  However, Junior Defensive Back Jermiah McNair (Hattiesburg, Miss.) came up with the team's first interception of the day, to end any scoring threat for the Wildcats.  Missouri Valley used a 55-yard pass completion from Lepak to Brown to convert on a third-and-long.  The drive reached the BU 36-yard line, and the offense went for a fourth-down conversion.  The Wildcat defense came up with the stop, and gained possession.  Baker drove on the field on its ensuing drive, which resulted in a field goal attempt to trim the team's deficit.  The Vikings ran out the few seconds remaining in the half, and went into halftime on top, 16-6.

The first drive of the second half ended in a punt for Missouri Valley, while Baker had a potential scoring drive end on a missed field goal.  After a second MVC punt of the quarter, Baker used a big return to sit deep in Viking territory.  However, another potential scoring drive ended in a turnover, as Junior Defensive Back Alon Woodbury (Oklahoma City, Okla.) intercepted a pass in the end zone to keep it a 16-6 score late in the third quarter.

Missouri Valley was unable to capitalize on the turnover, and Baker got its first interception of the game three plays into the next drive.  The Wildcats used a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown to pull back to a 16-13 score as the game went into the fourth quarter.  The Wildcats held MVC to a punt, then strung together a 13-play drive to move inside the red zone.  Towers came up with a second-down sack, and helped force BU into another field goal attempt.  The 33-yard kick was good, and the teams were tied at 16-16 with less than 11-minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings were unable to pick up a first down on their next drive, and BU took over possession across the 50-yard line after a punt.  Two plays into the drive, the Wildcats used a long rushing touchdown to put Missouri Valley in a 23-16 deficit midway through the quarter.  Another MVC drive ended in a punt, and Baker started a possession at its own 32-yard line with five minutes remaining.  The drive lasted 11-plays and took nearly five minutes off the clock.  A late field goal was tacked on by BU, and the Vikings were left with little time on the clock.  Missouri Valley fell by a final score of 26-16.

Lepak threw for 211 yards passing on seven completions to go with two touchdowns and one interception.  Campbell totaled 40 rushing yards on seven carries, while Brown led with three receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Sophomore Defensive Lineman Agustus McKoy (Pahokee, Fla.) led with 12 tackles, while Senior Linebacker Keaton Fitzgerald (Sikeston, Mo.) added 11 tackles.  Towers totaled 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack.  Woodbury had four tackles and one interception, and McNair added two tackles and one interception.

Kincaid made his only field goal attempt, from 35 yards, and his only extra-point attempt.  Bridges had a 34-yards per punt average on six punts.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Heart South Division.  Baker improves to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the division.

Missouri Valley enters its bye week, and will next be in action, Oct. 19, on the road in Olathe, Kan., against MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).  Kickoff at 2 p.m.

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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.