Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern football team had 521 yards of total offense and the Lions took out visiting Northeastern State 45-33 today at Fred G. Hughes Stadium inside the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex.
Southern (2-7, 2-7 MIAA) gained 521 yards of total offense (270 passing, 251 rushing), hitting the 500 yard mark for the first time since 2015 when the team had 500 against Lindenwood. It's the most yards of total offense in a game for the Lions since 2014 when Southern racked up 534 at Fort Hays State. It's also the most yards rushing since the 2015 opener when Southern had 224 against Emporia State.
Brayden Scott went 21-36 for 270 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 83 yards and two scores on the ground.
Josh Hadley had 145 yards on the ground on 21 carries with one score. Hadley's total of 145 yards is the most by a single-person in a game since
Will Gregory had 142 in 2015 at Northeastern State.
Jordan Morrison caught five passes for 79 yards, while
Josiah Bennett had three catches for 85 yards and a score. Hadley also caught three passes for 40 yards and a score, while
Anthony Cannon caught a touchdown pass of his own.
Defensively,
Romel Hill was the star of the game as he had 13 tackles, a half a sack, one fumble recovery and three quarterback hurries.
Jeremiah Shelley had eight tackles, and interception and two pass breakups, while
Chad Nolan,
Chris Williams and
Travelle Smith all had a sack each.
Stephan Randall had a half a sack, while
Alexander Wade had an interception. The Lions, as a team defensively had two interceptions, four sacks, six tackles for a loss, 12 pass break ups and 11 quarterback hurries.
NSU (2-7, 2-7 MIAA) was led by Dimonic McKinzy as he went 25-50 for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
Southern took the ball to start the game and didn't waste time as the Lions marched down the field and scored on a one-yard rush from Scott to go up 7-0. Southern took 11 plays for 72 yards and 4:11 off the clock.
The RiverHawks, however, answered right back and drove the field, but had to settle for a 33-yard field goal from Eddie Garcia.
NSU added a touchdown late in the quarter and took a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
The Lions got back on top as Hadley completed an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a 12-yard rushing score to put the Lions up 14-10 with 8:32 left in the second quarter. A 23-yard pass from Scott to Hadley gave the Lions a 21-10 lead with 1:36 to go and the RiverHawks got a late 27-yard field goal from Eddie Garcia to cut the lead to 21-13. A 46-yard attempt from
Brock Renken was missed as time expired in the first half.
Scott hooked up with Bennett for a 47-yard touchdown with 8:25 left in the third quarter to go up 28-13. An interception by Shelley started another scoring drive for the Lions, this one resulting in a 31-yard field goal from Renken to make the score 31-13 with 46 seconds left on the clock.
Renken's kickoff got lofted in the wind and Wade recovered the ball first to give Southern the ball back on the NSU 20-yard line. Scott hit Cannon from six yards out to give the Lions a 38-13 lead just into the fourth quarter.
NSU scored three times on its next three possessions, but with the Lions needing a first down to potentially ice the clock, Scott scampered 46 yards for a touchdown to put Southern up 45-33 for the final tally of the game. Hill recovered a fumble late to give the Lions the ball back in time for victory formation.
Southern will be back in action next weekend when the Lions travel east to take on Lindenwood University. Kickoff from St. Charles is slated for 1:30 pm on Saturday.
