KEARNY, Neb. — The Missouri Southern football team had waited 672 days and a few hours more to play its first MIAA football game in nearly two years, but the Lions came out on the wrong side of a 38-0 loss at Nebraska-Kearney in the 2021 season opener.
Both teams had to wait through a 2:21 lightning and rain delay to start the game as kickoff occurred at 9:21 pm.
“We have to be better,” said Southern head coach Atiba Bradley. “That’s an MIAA team. We’re going to see that type of team 10 more times this season. We’re going to go back, we’re going to learn a lot, this team is going to learn from it and next week we’ll be better.”
Neither team scored in the first quarter, but both teams had their chances. Southern (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) took the opening kickoff and drove to the UNK (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) 41-yard line and the drive ended in a good punt by Dawson Herl to the UNK 4-yard line.
The Lopers then took the ball and drove nearly the length of the field before the Southern defense came up strong and a tackle by Coleman Booker and Malachi Broadnax stopped the UNK drive and gave the Lions the ball at their own 3-yard line.
Southern got a pass from Herl to Chris Boudreaux for 9 yards and a first down, while Nathan Glades added another first-down on a 12-yard rush in that drive. The quarter ended in a scoreless tie.
The Lopers added a pair of scores in the second quarter to lead 14-0 at halftime and a field goal made the score 17-0 after three. UNK added 21 points in the fourth quarter to provide the final tally.
Glades had 18 carries for 63 yards, while Herl went 8-for-16 for 60 yards through the air. Boudreaux had two catches for 14 yards, while Jaedon Stoshak had one catch for 17 yards (a diving one-handed grab in the first quarter).
Defensively, Booker led the way with 12 tackles and one tackle for a loss. Richard Jordan Jr. had 11 tackles, seven solo, including a tackle for a loss, while Colton Winder had ten stops.
Nick Williams had seven punts on the night, including a long of 49 for a total of 285 yards and 40.7 per punt. Five punts resulted in a fair catch, while two were inside the 20-yard line.
The Lions will be back in action next Saturday, as Southern plays host to Northeastern State. Kickoff from Fred G. Hughes Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
