Streaking Missouri St. ices Penguins, Mules survive Lopers: area college football

Action-packed small-college football games were once again the rule across and beyond the Kansas City metro Saturday.

Here’s a rundown of highlights from the weekend:

Missouri State 38, Youngstown State 31

The host Bears won their third straight game after opening the season 0-2, beating the Penguins by a touchdown Saturday at Plaster Stadium in Springfield.

MSU led 24-14 at halftime and kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way. Jacob Clark was 21 of 29 for 325 yards and three touchdowns for the Bears (3-2, 1-0). He was sacked three times.

Quarterback Beau Brungard ran the ball 16 times for 110 yards and a pair of TDs for Youngstown, which dropped to 1-4 (0-1).

Central Missouri 36, Nebraska Kearney 35: At Walton Stadium, the Mules built a 27-7 halftime lead, then held on for dear life. The visitors rallied furiously and overtook the lead in the 3rd quarter when Zach Zebrowski tossed a pick-six to make it 35-30.

But Zebrowski made good with the game-winning TD strike to Michael Fitzgerald. It was another huge-stats day for the QB from UCM (3-1): He was 45 of 69 for 526 yards and 5 TDs. He threw 2 INTs and was sacked twice.

Northwest Missouri State 13, Emporia State 9: At Maryville, the host Bearcats improved to 3-2 while handing the Hornets their first defeat of the season. ESU (4-1) led 9-7 into the 4th quarter but was overtaken on Chris Ruhnke’s TD pass to Luke Mathews at the 11:38 mark. The Bearcats limited the potent Hornets to 216 yards of total offense.

Davenport 17, William Jewell 7: The Cardinals’ 3-0 run to open the season ended at home against Davenport (3-1). It was 17-0 at halftime. Tucker Griffin passed for Jewell’s TD but also threw 2 INTs and was sacked 6 times.

Southwest Baptist 17, Lincoln 13: Host Southwest Baptist (2-2) denied the Blue Tigers their first victory of the season in a close one at Bolivar. Drew Boxwell’s TD pass to Regan Wilson was the go-ahead score late in the third quarter. QB Isaiah Tate was the motor for Lincoln (0-4), netting the visitors’ lone TD.

Benedictine 27, Baker 24: Benedictine’s Isaiah Hasten returned a pick 61 yards for a TD that put the Ravens (3-1) ahead 24-14 en route to a home win in Atchison, Kan. QB Jackson Dooley was 14 of 27 for 234 yards, 2TDs and 2 INTs and Dalton Witherspoon carried it 25 times for 109 yards. Baker’s Adrion Seals caught 5 passes for 66 yards for Baker (3-1).

McPherson 43, Avila 24: McPherson QB Tristan Szabo threw for 4 TDs and Jalil Brown ran it 12 times for 80 yards and a TD as the visitors improved to 4-1 with a win at Avila (1-4).

MidAmerica Nazarene 42, St. Ambrose 0: The Pioneers pitched a gridiron shutout at Davenport, Iowa. They led 35-0 at halftime and Adrian Parsons threw for 4 TDs, including 3 to Aiyo’n Carter. Each was a huge gainer as Carter finished with a whopping 197 receiving yards.

Saint Mary 35, Bethany, 22: At Leavenworth, Kan., the host Spires won their first game of the year behind 3 TD passes from Cesar Vila to Michael Gazzana and 213 yards on 27 carries from Raymond Webster. Saint Mary improved to 1-3; Bethany is 2-2.