Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern football team got four touchdown passes from Dante Vandeven and nearly pulled the upset of visiting 14th-ranked Emporia State, but the Hornets came away with a 36-29 win Saturday night inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium at the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex.
The Lions (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) got a stellar game from Vandeven as he went 22-39 for 211 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdowns are the most in a game since Brayden Scott had four last year at Central Oklahoma. Shemar Coleman also had his first collegiate 100-plus yard game as the redshirt freshman rushed for 121 yards on 14 carries, including a long of 49 yards and caught five passes for 25. Josiah Bennet caught four passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, while Donovan Carter, Carson Day and Nicholas Roller had a touchdown catch each. Kene Anigbogu had five catches for 47 yards.
Scott, in his second game since switching over to defense, got some action on both sides of the ball. He converted a marvelous end around as he connected on a 46-yard pass with Carson Day that helped the Lions along in a drive. He also had a sack on defense with two tackles and a pass breakup.
Akel Beard had 14 tackles to lead both teams with a half a sack, a TFL, a pass break up and a quarterback hurry. Alexander Wade, Angelo Summler and LaRonzo Davishad nine tackles each with Davis picking up a half a sack. The Lions had eight tackles for a loss of 26 yards as a team.
Taylor Cornish had four punts for an average of 40.8, including a long of 65, while Brock Renken connected on a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Emporia State (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) got 113 yards on the ground from Landon Nault, as Braxton Marstall went 21-36 for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
Southern got the scoring started in the first quarter as the Lions took their first possession and drove 12 plays for 54 yards and Vandeven hit Carter for an 18-yard score to go up 6-0. The extra point was blocked and returned by the Hornets to make the score 6-2. A 36-minute lightning delay was weathered by both teams before play resumed.
ESU answered back on its next drive and Marstall hit Louis Dailey to make the score 9-6 ESU. That would be how the first quarter ended.
The Hornets got a field goal from Austin Morton for 30 yards to go up 12-6, before a touchdown from Vandeven to Day put Southern on top 13-12. That drive featured the end-around pass from Scott to Day to start the possession.
ESU got a touchdown to go up 19-13, but Southern got the ball with 1:03 to go in the half and promptly drove the length of the field to tie it up. The Lions got pass plays of eight and 14 yards to Coleman and Carter to start the drive, as well as a huge play from Vandeven to Bennett on a roll out for 44 yards. The duo hooked up again, this time for a fade pattern score in the back of the endzone to tie the score at 19 going into halftime.
Renken's field goal put Southern on top 22-19 with 8:45 left in the third, but another touchdown from ESU gave the Hornets a 26-22 lead with 2:43 to go in the quarter. A field goal from Morton put ESU up 29-22, and a pick six for the Hornets' defense gave ESU a 36-22 lead with a nine and a half minutes to go in the game.
Vandeven capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a shovel pass to Roller for a four-yard score (36-29), but that was as close as the Lions got.
Southern will be back in action next Saturday as the Lions travel to No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri. Kickoff from Maryville is slated for 1:30 pm.
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