Wichita Falls, Texas - The Southern football team kicked off the 2024 season on the road Thursday evening, taking on the Mustangs of Midwestern State in week zero. A back-and-forth battle ended in a loss for the Lions as the Mustangs won 18-11.
The Lions received the season-opening kickoff and turned a 14 play drive into a 44 yard field goal from
Drake Reese. The Lions defense held strong on their opening drive and posted a sack from
Chris Williams and forced a punt. The Lions first play after the punt was a fumbled snap that flew into the endzone and forced a safety, narrowing the Lions lead to 3-2 with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Mustangs were unable to score before the first quarter came to a close.
The Mustangs opened the second quarter with a 48 yard field goal to take a 5-3 lead over the Lions. The Lions took possession back and fought their way down the field with short passes from
Luke Sampson and short runs from
Victor Chionuma and
De'Shawn Larson, but another 14 play drive ended in a 32 yard punt from
Mitchell Cory that the Lions special team downed at the Midwestern State two yard line. The Lions defense continued to hold their ground, ending the Mustangs drive with an interception from
Zach Bergmann. The Lions quickly gave up an interception and gave the Mustangs the ball with 46 seconds remaining. The Lions defense made another stand, concluding the first half with an interception from
Chris Williams to keep the Mustangs lead at 5-3.
Both teams opened the second half with back-to-back punts. Midwestern State drove the field with 5:24 and added to their lead with a touchdown to bring the score to 11-3 as the quarter came to a close.
The Lions opened the fourth quarter with the ball and took advantage, scoring their first touchdown of the season with a four yard run from
De'Shawn Larson. Trailing by two, the Lions completed a two point conversion with a pass from
Luke Sampson to
Draper Parker to tie the game at 11-11 with 10:10 remaining in the game. The Mustangs returned with another touchdown of their own to take back the lead. The Lions could not find the endzone as the Mustangs pulled away with the win, 18-11.
Luke Sampson completed 15 passes for 126 yards and one interception. His 15 completions went to seven different receivers. Defensively,
Zach Bergmann shined for the Lions with 11 total tackles, eight solo tackles, one interception and a tackle for loss.
Colton Bass recorded six tackles, all solo tackles, in the season-opener.Â
The team will host conference-rival Pittsburg State next Saturday, September 7, at 7:00 PM at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
