Football - Week Eleven Recaps

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - An interception by Tyler Davis on the third play of the fourth quarter sparked Missouri Valley to a pair of late touchdowns as the Vikings held off host Evangel, 35-21, Saturday afternoon at J.F.K. Stadium. After Bruce Reyes was picked off by Cam Bruffett at midfield on the first play of the quarter and the teams tied at 21-21, Davis stepped in front of an Andrew Brimhall pass intended for Mitch McHenry and returned the ball to the Vikings' 47. Four plays later, Reyes atoned for his mistake with a 38-yard TD pass to Chris Owens. The Vikings held the Crusaders on each of the next two possessions, setting up a game-clinching 41-yard touchdown run by Zavier Steward with 1:32 remaining. Reyes threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one more on a day where he was 15-of-31 for 258 yards and one interception. The Vikings were outgained, 424-395, including a 176-137 margin on the ground, but picked off Brimhall five times and limited the league's leading passer to a 16-of-43 clip for 248 yards. Jonthan Bird III had a season-high 92 yards receiving on three catches for Missouri Valley (9-0, 8-0 HAAC) while Jesse Vaughn led Evangel (7-3, 6-2 HAAC) with eight catches for 111 yards.

PERU, Neb. - The last of four touchdown passes by Sean Ransburg helped MidAmerica Nazarene hold off Peru State, 38-28, Saturday afternoon at Nebraska City High School. Ransburg connected with LaDon Hudson on a five-yard scoring pass with 4:29 remaining to cap off a 12-play, 58-yard drive and give the Pioneers an insurance score after twice leading by that margin earlier in the game. Bo Shepard twice brought in the Bobcats (4-6, 2-6 HAAC) within three points in the second half, the second time coming on a three-yard touchdown run at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter. A head-to-head battle between the top two rushers in the conference was won by Greg Gates, who carried 29 times for 171 yards and a touchdown to help his team to its third-straight win. Ryan Ludlow led Peru State with 101 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown for his seventh 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Ransburg finished 15-of-25 for 268 yards while rushing for 62 yards for the Pioneers (7-2, 7-1 HAAC) while Hudson led the receiving corps with five catches for 84 yards. Shepard finished 14-of-20 for 154 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

LAMONI, Iowa - Matt Fink tossed a 49-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Gaitan with 10:30 to play to give Graceland a 26-20 triumph over visiting Avila, Saturday afternoon at Huntsman Field. Avila RB Harley Kreisman had given the Eagles a 20-19 lead at the 10:45 mark of the fourth quarter on a two-yard touchdown run before Fink connected with Gaitan on the first play following the kickoff. Fink tied the game up late in the first quarter with the first of his two touchdown passes, a 29-yard throw to Brandon McNeal at the 2:19 mark. Anthony Wood provided the rest of the scoring for Graceland (5-5, 4-4 HAAC) as he connected on field goals of 29, 30, 33 and 21 yards, respectively, with two kicks coming in each half. Kreisman carried 20 times for 191 yards and all three touchdowns for Avila (2-8, 1-7 HAAC), which outgained Graceland, 447-317, but committed six turnovers. Fink finished the day 20-of-33 for 287 yards and two scores with one interception while Jacob Hicks was 16-of-33 for 200 yards and three interceptions for the Eagles.

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - Baker moved into a share of third place and won its third-straight contest with a 38-28 triumph over Benedictine at Liston Stadium. Jake Morse completed 20-of-31 for 285 yards and three touchdowns with one interception while Dillon Baxter posted season-highs of 27 carries for 156 yards and a touchdown, an 8-yard scoring run that proved to be the game-winner. The Wildcats piled up 522 total yards and 30 first downs to help offset three turnovers. Reggie Harris led the Baker receivers with eight catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Bill Noonan completed 17-of-24 for 242 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for Benedictine (6-4, 4-4 HAAC) while Cameron Fore led the ground attack with 18 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Fore scored the second of his two three-yard touchdown runs midway through the third quarter to tie the game at 14-14, but the Wildcats scored 28-straight points to pull away for the victory.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State scored 49 points in the first half to claim its first victory of the season, 56-0, over visiting Culver-Stockton at Governors Stadium. The Wildcats (1-9) fumbled twice in the first quarter deep inside their own territory to set up touchdowns for the Governors (1-8) and never recovered. Culver-Stockton was held to 41 total yards and five first downs on the day while committing five turnovers and converting 3-of-13 third down opportunities. Maurice Childs carried 13 times for 25 yards while Curtis Widener was 5-of-13 for 30 yards through the air. Ean Pemberton carried eight times for 112 yards and two touchdowns for the Governors while Jake Ryan completed 6-of-8 for 38 yards and two touchdowns.