Joplin, Mo. – Nick Williams knocked home a 27-yard field goal as time expired and the Missouri Southern football team defeated Central Missouri 30-28 today inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
 
Southern (3-4, 3-4 MIAA) wins for the first time at home since the 2018 season and wins against Central Missouri for the first time since the 2013 season.
 
The Lions were led by Nathan Glades with a career-high 136 yards on the ground. Glades had a touchdown, while Taylor Thomas had 65 yards on seven carries and Josh Mercer had 59 yards on four carries and a score. Dawson Herl went 15-of-37 for 234 yards and a touchdown, while Brian Boyd, Jr. caught four passes for 63 yards and Jaedon Stoshak caught three passes for 43 yards. Thomas caught a touchdown out of the backfield for 48 yards.
 
Defensively the Lions were led by Richard Jordan, Jr. who had nine tackles and two sacks accounting for a loss of 16 yards. Solomona Fetuao and Nick Kruse each had five tackles, two tackles for a loss and half a sack. Malachi Broadnax and Colton Winder had an interception each.
 
Williams had three field goals from distances of 31, 47 and 27, the final coming as time expired and gave the Lions the win.
 
Central (2-5, 2-5 MIAA) was led by Logan Twehous who went 20-of-35 for 283 yards and four touchdowns.
 
The Lions had the ball on their opening drive and for the third-straight week, Southern put points on the board. Glades had a 58-yard rush to set up a 31-yard field goal from Williams to put the Lions on top 3-0.
 
The Mules answered right back with a touchdown of their own as Twehous hit Cameron Saunders for a 66-yard pass and score with 11:45 left in the first.
 
Josh Mercer answered back for the Lions with a 56-yard touchdown score to put Southern up 10-7 with 10:16 in the first, before the Mules got another touchdown to briefly go back up 14-10.
 
Glades and the Lions answered back with just a minute left in the first quarter as he used an eight-yard run to reach paydirt and put the Lions up 17-14. That drive was set up by an 18-yard punt return from Jaedon Stoshak to give the Lions the ball on the Central Missouri 31-yard line after the Southern defense had forced the Mules' punter to kick out of the endzone.
 
Williams gave the Lions a 20-14 lead as time reached zero in the half. He lined up for a 47-yard field goal and hit it twice after the Mules had called a timeout, trying to ice the kicker. Williams then calmly stepped back up and nailed the kick.
 
The Mules got the only score of the third quarter as Twehous and Saunders hooked up again to give Central a 21-20 lead which held on as the quarter ended. UCM scored just as the third quarter started as Twehous hit Arkell Smith to put the Mules up 28-20 after the PAT.
 
Herl got the Lions back within a point when he hit Thomas with a pass as he was being pressured and Thomas ran for paydirt for a 48-yard touchdown pass and catch to make the score 28-27 after the PAT.
 
The Southern defense came up strong on a three-straight UCM possessions in the fourth, the final getting the Lions the ball back with two minutes to go. Herl hit Boyd for a pair of first downs to get to the Southern 36-yard line, before a pass to Stoshak for nine yards and a run from Herl for three picked up a first down.
 
Herl then rushed for 13 yards to the Central Missouri 28-yard line for another first down with under a minute to go, forcing a Central timeout. Glades rushed for 11 to the UCM 17 for another Southern first down before a rush from Glades and a penalty gave the Lions a first down at the UCM seven-yard line. A kneel down from Herl set up the game-winner from Williams that he calmly banged through the uprights for the win.
 
The Lions out gained Central Missouri 554-382, bolstered on 320 rushing yards from the Green and Gold. Southern had three sacks and a pair of interceptions on the day.
 
The Lions will be back in action next weekend as Southern travels to Emporia State. Kickoff from Emporia is set for 2 pm.