Vikings Run Past Pioneers, 26-21

MARSHALL, Mo. - 11th-ranked Missouri Valley tallied 275 of its 303 yards on the ground and forced five turnovers to knock off 3rd-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene, 26-21, Saturday evening at Ashford Stadium.

Two years ago when the teams met at Ashford Stadium, Missouri Valley (2-0, 1-0 HAAC) let a 12-point, 4th-quarter lead slip away as MNU (1-1, 1-1 HAAC) kicked a field goal as time expired to escape with a 24-23. Fast forward to Saturday evening and a similar storyline was close to unfolding.

With a 26-14 lead and possession of the ball on their own 20-yard line, the Vikings thought they were living a nightmare as a screen pass from Lorenzo Dennard was intercepted by Branden Griffin at the MVC 14-yard line. James Tillman carried for 13 yards and then one yard for a touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Pioneers rolled the dice and attempted an onsides kick. MNU appeared to recover the short kick, but an illegal block penalty erased the play and the Pioneers kicked the ball away on the re-kick.

The Vikings were unable to move the ball on the next possession and punted the ball back to the Pioneers to start at their own 23-yard line.

Any thoughts the visitors had of history repeating itself were shortlived, however, as Tyler Herl was picked off by Wayne Williams on the next play from scrimmage. The Vikings picked up a pair of first downs and were able to run out the clock to seal the win.

"We want to control our own destiny and nothing is decided this early, but we want to at least control our own destiny," said Missouri Valley head coach Paul Troth, whose team missed out on the postseason in 2010 despite a 8-2 record. "We're going to have to take care of business and we have eight tough games ahead."

The game started with a number of big plays setting the tone. The Pioneers fumbled on the opening possession of the game. Though the Vikings were unable to turn the takeaway into points, they forced a punt on the next MNU possession and Jonathan Hicks returned the kick 65 yards for the opening score.

The 7-0 lead lasted just two plays as Greg Gates sprinted 80 yards on the next series to even the game. An interception by MNU's Chris Owens set the table for a 40-yard pass from Herl to Austin Conyers on the first play following that turnover for a 14-7 lead.

"You don't see plays like that against our defense, it's been outstanding and we really haven't given up big plays," said Troth. "We wanted to stick with the game plan, our offensive guys did a good job making it happen and the defense hung in there and got some big stops."

Missouri Valley settled down and got within four points with a 13-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal by Jakeb Brasfield. A second fumble of the half by the Pioneers allowed the Vikings to cover a shortened field with a nine play drive. Rahfee McClee carried just twice in the game, but the rushes covered the final five yards of the drive to put the Vikings back in front, 17-14.

A pair of interceptions by defending HAAC Special Teams Player of the Week Tyler Davis thwarted the last two possessions of the half for the Pioneers. The second pick came at the goal line with 10 seconds left before half with Daniel Gray ready to haul in the pass as MNU looked to capitalize on a two-minute drill.

The Vikings went right back to work to start the second half and used another 9-play drive, this one covering 69 yards, to stretch the lead to 23-14 after a missed extra point. Nijel Daw did the majority of the work on the drive before Keith O'Neal went the final 14 yards for the score.

Brasfield connected on another field goal just before the end of the 3rd quarter, this time from 25 yards after a 35-yard punt return by Hicks set the Vikings up at the MNU 39-yard line.

O'Neal carried 24 times for 123 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings ran 59 of their 71 plays on the ground. Dennard was just 3-of-12 for 28 yards and an interception, but he also rushed 14 times for 59 yards while picking up a number of key first downs.

MNU was its own worst enemy at times in the game, committing 12 penalties for 124 yards to go along with the two lost fumbles and three interceptions. Herl started the game in place of Sean Ransburg, who missed the contest with an injury suffered last week against Central Methodist. Herl finished 13-of-26 for 189 yards and a touchdown, but was also sacked four times. Gates had 96 yards on 13 carries for the Pioneers.

"The difference in the game was they established the run, they pounded us and we turned the ball over five times," said MNU head coach Jonathan Quinn, whose teams had its 16-game regular season winning streak snapped. "It's hard to win anywhere, let alone against a good team like that with that many turnovers."

Missouri Valley hits the road next week to take on Avila with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. MNU has a bye before hosting Avila the following week at 6:00 p.m.