Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern football team ended their 2023 regular season Saturday afternoon with a contest against #19 Missouri Western. Prior to kickoff, 17 Lion seniors were recognized for their contributions to the team. Down 34-26 with 32 seconds left in regulation, the Lions completed the comeback and upset the Griffons in double overtime, 47-41. That marks the team's first double overtime win since 2001.
After winning the toss, the Lions chose to defer to the second half, giving the Griffons the first possession. The Missouri Southern defense held strong, forcing Missouri Western to punt after three unsuccessful attempts at a first down. MWSU took a 7-0 lead with a touchdown on their second drive. Facing a third down on their own 17-yard line, the Griffons turned it over on an interception by
Carmelo Hollingsworth, nearly taking it to the house. A few plays later,
Luke Sampson found
Nick Panella for a 3-yard touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
The visitors had a strong second quarter, extending their lead to 24-7 with 2:54 left before half. Southern used nearly all of that time to put together a scoring drive before the break, as
Luke Sampson threw his second touchdown pass of the day, this time to
David Bethune for 17 yards. That drive was highlighted by a 23-yard reception by
Deontay Campbell. The score read 24-13 in favor of the Griffons at halftime.
Missouri Western scored midway through the third, then the Lions began a strong drive of their own.
Ja'Veon Marlow kicked things off with 22 yards on the ground, followed by a pass interference call.
Luke Sampson then hit
Ezekiel Lang for 15 yards, and
Jaedon Stoshak for a 16-yard touchdown, 31-20 Griffons.
A Griffon field goal extended that lead to 34-20 early in the fourth. The visitors began another offensive drive with 8:25 left on the clock, facing a third down and five.
Ian McSwain read the quarterback's eyes, jumping the route for a 50-yard pick-six. With a stop on third down, the Lion defense forced the Griffons to punt, giving MSSU the ball on their 19-yard line with 32 seconds left.
Luke Sampson connected with
Ezekiel Lang for 12 yards to start the drive, then found
Akeem Gilmore for 17 yards. Back-to-back completions to
Jaedon Stoshak put the Lions on the 16-yard line. As the clock ticked down to three seconds,
Luke Sampson found
Deontay Campbell in the end zone for a touchdown. For the two-point conversion, Sampson hit
Ezekiel Lang to tie the game at 34-34 and force overtime.
The overtime coin toss was won by Missouri Western and they elected to play defense first. On the first play of the extra period, Sampson connected with Campbell again, setting the Lions up with a first and goal on the 2-yard line. Shortly after,
Akeem Gilmore pounded it in for a touchdown 41-34 Lions. Western was able to answer, forcing a second overtime.
With the first offensive possession of the second overtime period, Missouri Western was facing a third down from the 11-yard line, when
Nick Kruse came down with an interception to give Southern possession. On the first play,
Luke Sampson hit
Jaedon Stoshak to set MSSU up on the 4-yard line.
Anthodius Ashley ended the game with a touchdown run on the next play, 47-41 Lions.
Luke Sampson had another career day, breaking his career high he set last week with 374 passing yards. He also set his career high with four passing touchdowns, tied for fourth most in a single game in MSSU history. Senior
Jaedon Stoshak was the leading receiver on the night, hauling in 7 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Deontay Campbell was a major threat as well, catching 6 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.
The defense was a team effort, led by
Evrin Hawkins and
Colton Bass each with 9 tackles.
Ian McSwain had 8 tackles, and a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Carmelo Hollingsworth and
Nick Kruse each recorded an interception.
With the win, the Lions finish 5-6 (4-6 MIAA), the most wins in program history since 2013. Additionally,
Luke Sampson tied the single-season passing touchdowns record with 25. He also put his name on a few other top-10 single-season categories: pass completions (9th, 174 comp.), passing yardage (5th, 2,514 yards), and passer rating (3rd, 155.9). Each with 6 receiving touchdowns,
Jaedon Stoshak and
Deontay Campbell tie for 10th in single-season receiving touchdowns.
Drake Reese tied for fourth in kick scoring, ending the year with 59 points.
