Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern football team fought to the final whistle, but the Lions came up just short as Southern lost to Northeastern State 21-17 in the home opener at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Southern (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) was led by freshman running back
Nathan Glades as he had 17 carries for 106 yards and a score. Freshman quarterback
Dawson Herl went 19-of-28 passing for 181 yards and a score, while
Brian Boyd Jr. caught six passes for 51 yards.
Jeremy Brown had a pair of catches for 45 yards and a score. Boyd had a pair of rushes for 32 yards, as well.
Defensively,
Colton Winder had 12 tackles, including seven solo stops.
Malachi Broadnax and
Coleman Booker had nine and eight stops each, with Broadnax picking up a tackle for a loss.
Kavan Reed had an interception, while
Romel Readus picked up a sack and
Dylan Bolden had an interception. The Lions had eight tackles for a loss of 26 yards and a pair of interceptions.
NSU (1-1, 1-1 MIAA) got 111 yards on 21 carries from Isaiah Davis, while Grant Elerick went 17-of-27 for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
NSU opened the scoring after a scoreless first as the RiverHawks got a 17-yard touchdown pass from Grant Elerick to Mark Wheeland to go up 7-0 with 13:12 left in the second quarter.
The Lions answered right back as Southern scored 17-unanswered points.
Nick Williams got the scoring started with a 32-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 9:14 on the clock. An interception from Reed started a two-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by a 41-yard touchdown pass from Herl to Brown to make the score 10-7 after the extra point.
After a defensive stop from the Lions, Glades capped off a seven-play, 63-yard drive with a 29-yard rush and score to give the Lions a 17-7 lead after the PAT.
NSU scored with 14 seconds left to make the halftime score 17-14, Lions.
Neither team scored in the third, but the RiverHawks went back on top for the first time since their first score when Dashawn Williams hit quarterback Grant Elerick for the halfback pass and score to put NSU up 21-17 with 11 minutes left in the fourth.
Southern had multiple chances to add to the score in the fourth on their first drive of the quarter, but tough penalties negated a long gain. After a defensive stop, the Lions got the ball with a minute left in the game but couldn't get a score across as NSU held on for the win.
Southern out-gained NSU 371-319, including 203 yards on the ground and 193 through the air. The Lions had a pair of takeaways, but ten penalties for 90 yards were tough to overcome.
The Lions will be back in action next weekend as Southern travels to Central Oklahoma. Kick off from Wantland Stadium is set for 7 pm.
