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Heart of America Athletic Conference
Graceland Grinds Out Win Over Culver-Stockton
September 2, 2012

Graceland Grinds Out Win Over Culver-Stockton

LAMONI, Iowa - Host Graceland scored 25 points in the second quarter en route to a 28-17 victory over Culver-Stockton, Saturday afternoon in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Game of the Week. Box Score | Postgame Quotes

The Yellowjackets (1-1, 1-0 HAAC) kept the ball on the ground most of the day, tallying 50 rushes for 219 yards. Graceland used a three-man rotation in the backfield as Andrew Gayles, Terrence Wells and Marcus Griffin all saw double-digit touches and combined for 193 of the rushing yards.
Wells, who had 15 carries for 66 yards, scored one of his team's three touchdowns in the second quarter as he returned a punt 41 yards for a touchdown. His score at the 12:44 mark was 1:49 after Reggie Ramey had scooped up a loose ball and scampered 59 yards to tie the game after Desmond Phillips had put the Wildcats ahead on a 2-yard scoot with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
Junior QB Matt Fink threw his first TD pass of the season at the 4:21 mark of the second quarter, hitting Tercel Seiber on a 7-yard toss. Fink finished the day 10-of-18 for 68 yards and also carried the ball six times for 26 yards.
The Graceland defense kept the Wildcats off the board until late in the third quarter when Culver-Stockton added a 23-yard field goal. The Wildcats managed just 47 yards rushing on 29 carries (1.6 avg) and committed three turnovers on the day. Three different Culver-Stockton quarterbacks had a chance to lead the offense with Curtis Widener leading the way with 7-of-19 passes completed for 104 yards, including a late 10-yard scoring throw to Nick Hill.
The loss snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Yellowjackets dating back to October of last season. Culver-Stockton (0-1, 0-1 HAAC) has dropped 11-straight games since knocking off Graceland, 35-10, in the season opener for both teams in 2011. Phillips led the ground attack for Culver-Stockton with 47 yards on 16 carries while Ronrico Ragsdale had 93 yards receiving on catches of 48 and 45 yards.
Graceland is on the road next week in non-conference play against Briar Cliff (Iowa) while Culver-Stockton will play its home opener against Peru State with both games scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
Week Two Recaps
Baker 34, Peru State 13
PERU, Neb. - Sam Vossen tossed a pair of touchdown passes and led an efficient Baker offense to a 34-13 win over Peru State in the conference opener for both teams. Vossen competed 12-of-17 for 187 yards, connecting with Reggie Harris and Joel Murphy scoring throws. RB Jermaine Broomfield broke a scoreless deadlock at the 12:10 mark of the second quarter on a 3-yard run as Baker (2-0, 1-0 HAAC) took a 14-0 lead into the break after a 6-yard TD run by Dillon Baxter. Broomfield finished the scoring with a 5-yard rush with 4:42 to play and ended with a game-high 96 yards on 20 carries while Baxter had 79 yards on 11 rushes. Ryan Ludlow led the way for Peru State (1-1, 0-1 HAAC) with 10 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns while Bo Shepard hit 8-of-11 throws for 92 yards.
Benedictine 59, Sterling (Kan.) 6
ATCHISON, Kan. - Benedictine wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a convincing 59-6 win over visiting Sterling in the home opener for the Ravens. Bill Noonan was 10-of-15 for 206 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Ravens to 429 total yards and combine for 104 points in the first two contests. Benedictine had eight different players find the end zone on two rushes, three passes, two fumble returns and one punt return. Cameron Fore led a 210-yard rushing attack with 13 carries for 57 yards and a TD while Geoff Akpom and Joe Noonan had three catches apiece. Sterling coughed up the ball four times and had five turnovers total while converting just 3-of-14 third downs.
MidAmerica Nazarene 34, Central Methodist 14
FAYETTE, Mo. - Junior RB Greg Gates carried 19 times for 104 yards and three touchdowns as MNU posted a 34-14 win over host Central Methodist in the season opener for both teams. The Pioneers displayed a balanced offense that amassed 195 yards rushing and 170 yards passing. Sean Ransburg completed 14-of-26 for 144 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions before giving way with his team up 34-7 in the 4th quarter. CMU jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 11:34 mark after the first of Ransburg's interceptions, but MNU scored 34-straight points. The Eagles committed four turnovers, including three interceptions, and managed just 31 passing yards on 4-of-14 throws. Seta Pohahau led CMU (0-1, 0-1 HAAC) with 16 carries for 63 yards while Burton Iosefa tallied 37 yards on 10 rushes.
Missouri Valley 27, McPherson 13
MCPHERSON, Kan. - Bruce Reyes competed 17-of-28 passes for 219 yards as Missouri Valley held off host McPherson, 27-14, in the season opener for each team. The Vikings had to fight off a late challenge by the Bulldogs as they led 20-13 with 2:00 to play, but DeMarcus Blackmon picked off Jake Snodgrass and LaNorris Dukes scored two plays later on a 40-yard TD run to put the game away. The Vikings outgained the Bulldogs by a single yard for the game and the teams both had two turnovers. Snodgrass hit on 28-of-36 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown with 14 of those completions going to Julius Record for 114 yards. Dukes led the way on the ground for the Vikings with 72 yards on just six carries while Keith O'Neal had the most touches with nine rushes for 26 yards.


Evangel 27, Friends 14
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Andrew Brimhall threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns to lead Evangel to a season-opening 27-14 win over Friends (Kan.). Jesse Vaughn posted career-highs of 7 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, a 31-yard strike from Brimhall to open the scoring at the 2:52 mark of the first quarter. Brimhall also hit Tommy Meyer on a 54-yard touchdown throw in the 4th quarter to give the Crusaders the lead after Drew O'Cain had connected on a pair of field goals from 27 and 25 yards. Tony Sutton went the distance on his only catch of the night for Evangel, scoring on a 45-yard catch. The Falcons rushed for 227 yards to 93 for the Crusaders, but turned the ball over three times and was just 6-of-17 on third downs.

Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 43, Avila 37
BELLEVILLE, Ill. - A thrilling back-and-forth contest that lasted over four hours settled with the home side as Avila dropped a 43-37 decision at Lindenwood-Belleville in the season opener for both teams. The Eagles trailed by two scores early in the fourth quarter before Harley Kreisman plunged across the goal line from four yards out with 3:20 to play. The Lynx (1-0) ran out most of the clock before fumbling with 31 seconds to play at the Avila 2-yard line. However, the Eagles (0-1) threw an interception at their own 31-yard line after a pair of first downs to end the comeback threat. QB Dominic Carmazzi completed 11-of-26 passes for 123 yards while also rushing 12 times for 79 yards to lead an Avila offense that amassed 350 total yards. Kreisman also carried 9 times for 76 yards for the Eagles, who forced five turnovers but allowed 589 yards to the Lynx.