Joplin, Mo. - The Southern football team kicked off the 2023 season at home Thursday evening, hosting the #5 Northwest Missouri Bearcats.
After winning the toss, MSSU elected to defer to the second half, giving Northwest Missouri first possession. The Bearcats went on to punt shortly after, giving the Lions their first look on offense this fall. Just three plays in,
Luke Sampson connected with
David Bethune for a 68-yard touchdown to put the first points on the board. Another big completion came late in the first, as Sampson hit
Ezekiel Lang for 32 yards on 3rd and 5 to extend the drive.
The following play which started the second quarter was a 10-yard strike to
Deontay Campbell to put MSSU up 14-0. NWMSU bounced back and got on the board on their next drive, but a 46-yard boot from
Drake Reese put the score at 17-7 midway through the second. Northwest was able to put 10 more points on the board, heading into the break with a tied score of 17-17.
On their opening possession of the second half, Southern was facing a 3rd and 13 when
Luke Sampson hit
Jaedon Stoshak in stride for a 62-yard bomb to take a 24-17 lead. The Bearcats answered with a lengthy drive to tie things up once again.
Northwest Missouri had another long scoring drive late in the fourth, taking nearly nine minutes for the go-ahead touchdown. Missouri Southern was unable to score again, ending in a 31-24 NWMSU final.
Luke Sampson shined for Southern, completing 13 passes for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 13 completions went to seven different receivers.
Jaedon Stoshak was one of those, crossing the century mark on four passes for 107 yards.
Nathan Glades led the run game for Southern, carrying the ball 15 times for 61 yards.
On defense, Southern had two players in double digit tackles-
Colton Winder with 15 and
Halid Djibril with 13.
The team will play in another mid-week game next Thursday, traveling to Topeka, KS to face Washburn. Kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
