Emporia, Kan. – The Missouri Southern football team fell behind early and lost 49-21 at Emporia State today in MIAA football action.
 
Southern (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) threw for 289 passing yards and rushed for 162 in the game. TJ Fleeton threw for 289 yards on 26-43 with a pair of touchdown passes. Jordan Morrison caught five passes for 87 yards, while Jocqui Davis caught five passes for 62 yards. Terrell Crawford had four catches for 37 yards and a score, while Ben Evans had the Lions' other receiving touchdown.
 
Fleeton rushed for 98 yards, while Josh Hadley had 44 yards on 14 carries. Ja'Kori Bell added a late touchdown run.
 
The Lions outscored the Hornets in the second half, limiting the Hornets to just 156 yards in the second half.
 
Defensively, the Lions were led by Akel Beard with eight tackles, all solo, including a tackle for a loss of one yard. Jeremiah Shelley had six stops, all solo, while Idrissa Simpson had five tackles. Stephan Randall had a sack for a loss of four yards and Patrick Cheek had a tackle for a loss of four yards, as well.
 
Emporia (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) threw for 334 and rushed for 145 yards in the game.
 
The Hornets scored their first two touchdowns within 39 seconds of each other in the first quarter and went up 28-0 near the end of the first quarter.
 
Fleeton got the Lions on the board when he hit Crawford for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 12:15 left in the second quarter, as the Lions trailed 28-7.
 
Emporia scored two more touchdowns before the half ended, a five-yard rushing score from Landon Nault and a two-yard rushing touchdown from Antonio Brown, to make the score 42-7 at the break.
 
The Hornets scored at the 10:10 mark of the third quarter to go up 49-7 after another rushing score from Nault.
 
Southern added two second half touchdowns, the first on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Fleeton to Evans, while Bell picked up a two-yard rushing score early in the fourth quarter.
 
Southern won the time of possession battle, holding on to the ball for 32:18 to the Hornets' 27:42. The Lions trailed by just 28 yards in total offense as Southern racked up 451 yards on 88 plays, while ESU had 479 on 78 plays. The Lions didn't have an issue moving the ball, averaging 5.13 yards per play in the game.
 
Southern will be back in action when the Lions play host to defending national champion and current Number 1 ranked Northwest Missouri. Kickoff from Hughes Stadium inside the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex is slated for 6 pm.