Football Suffers Loss on Homecoming to Missouri Baptist

Marshall, Mo., (Oct. 25, 2025)-The Missouri Valley College football team hosted Missouri Baptist in a Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division contest on Homecoming, Saturday afternoon inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.  The Vikings led at halftime, but fell by a final score of 9-7.

Missouri Baptist received the opening kickoff and drove down the field, eventually reaching the MVC 16-yard line.  Senior Defensive Back Octavious Griffin (Decatur, Ga.) forced a fumble, which was recovered by Freshman Defensive Back Nick Carlisle (Apex, N.C.) to end the Spartan scoring threat, and give Missouri Valley its first possession of the game, at its own three-yard line.

The Vikings followed with a long drive, using a Junior Quarterback Tomele Staples (Kanakee, Ill.) nine-yard completion to Sophomore Running Back Silas Morton (Strafford, Mo.) to convert a third-and-long situation.  Later in the drive, Staples connected on a 26-yard pass to Junior Wide Receiver Adonis Whitely (St. Louis, Mo.) to convert another third down.  In all, Missouri Valley converted four times on third-down attempts, and eventually reached the MBU 11-yard line.  Staples capped off the 16-play, 97-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Junior Wide Receiver Eddie Strong (Middletown, Ct.).  Sophomore Kicker Bruno Kincaid (Madrid, Spain) added the extra-point, and the Vikings held a 7-0 lead with less than one minute gone in the second quarter.

The Spartans responded on their ensuing drive, cutting into the team's deficit.  Missouri Valley reached the MVC 31-yard line, but a tackle-for-loss from Freshman Linebacker Adrian Miles, Jr. (Biloxi, Miss.), stopped the drive.  Missouri Baptist attempted a 52-yard field goal, which was good, and made it a 7-3 score with 10-minutes to play in the first half.  The Vikings went three-and-out on their next possession, and MBU followed with a drive down to the Missouri Valley seven-yard line.  Sophomore Linebacker Kendal Beard (Lilburn, Ga.) came up with a sack on a third-and-goal situation, and Missouri Baptist added another 29-yard field goal to cut the team's deficit to 7-6 with just over one minute to play before the break.

Missouri Valley had one more possession before the end of the second quarter, and Staples completed pass of 11-yards to Senior Wide Receiver Nate Pouliot (Clearwater, Fla.) and another seven-yard gain to Whitley early in the drive.  Staples added 25-yards rushing on two attempts to help the team reach the MBU 38-yard line.  Kincaid attempted a 55-yard field goal as time expired, but the attempt came up short, and the Vikings went into halftime in front, 7-6.

The opening drive of the second half belonged to MVC, but ended on another long field goal attempt from Kincaid.  The 57-yard attempt came up short to give Missouri Baptist possession.  The Viking defense came up with a stop, forcing the first punt of the game for the Spartans.  Eventually, MBU started a possession midway through the quarter at its own 18-yard line, and reached midfield.  Missouri Valley came up with another turnover, as Junior Defensive Back Jayson Williams (Bossier City, La.) intercepted a pass, to help keep MVC ahead.

The ensuing drive for the Vikings ended in another punt, and the Spartans took over possession as the game went into the fourth quarter.  Missouri Baptist picked up three first downs on the drive, and eventually reached the MVC seven-yard line.  Williams and Junior Defensive Back Eric Potts (Lee's Summit, Mo.) combined on a tackle-for-loss on a third-and-short situation, forcing MBU into a field goal attempt.  The 25-yard kick for the Spartans was good, and Missouri Valley fell into a 9-7 deficit with four minutes played in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings could not pick up a first down on their next drive, and punted back to Missouri Baptist.  However, the defense came up with another turnover, as Williams intercepted his second pass of the game, and made a 27-yard return down to the MBU 32-yard line.  Missouri Valley drove deep into Spartan territory, as Staples hit Junior Wide Receiver Khalil White (Decatur, Ga.) for a nine-yard gain to pick up a first down.  Morton ran for a total of 21 yards early in the drive, and a 16-yard completion from Staples to Strong put MVC at the one-yard line.  Facing a fourth down, the Vikings went for the touchdown, but the rushing attempt from Morton was stopped short of the end zone, and Missouri Valley turned the ball over on downs, still trailing, 9-7.

Missouri Baptist took over with just over four minutes to play in the game, and ran out the remaining time, picking up four first downs on the drive.  The Vikings were unable to regain possession, and fell by a final score of 9-7.

Staples finished 19 of 28 passing for 186 yards and one touchdown, and added 23 yards rushing.  Morton had 57 yards rushing on 18 carries.  Whitley led with six receptions for 75 yards, and Strong had three receptions for 31 yards and one touchdown.

Carlisle led with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery, while Griffin totaled seven tackles, one forced fumble and one pass break-up.  Griffin was named the Ted Chittwood Award winner as the Most Outstanding Senior in the Homecoming Game.  Williams added six tackles, one tackle-for-loss and two interceptions.

Freshman Punter Ben Bullock (Perth, Australia) had four punts for an average of 39.8 yards per punt, with one punt downed inside the 20-yard line.  Kincaid made his only field goal attempt.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the Heart South Division.  Missouri Baptist improves to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the division.

Up next, the Viking football team travels to Atchison, Kan., to play No. 3 Benedictine (Kan.) in a Heart South Division game, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Standing out as one of the most innovative and student-focused liberal arts colleges in the Midwest, Missouri Valley College (MVC) is committed to preparing students for success beyond the classroom. Through the Viking Voyage program, MVC prioritizes career readiness from day one, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel after graduation. Each of MVC's 30+ in-demand majors—including nursing, business, cybersecurity, computer science, criminal justice, and exercise science—integrates personal instruction, experiential learning, and professional opportunities to prepare graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing and globally connected world. At Missouri Valley College, higher education is more than earning a degree—it's a transformative journey that begins with the end.