The Griffon News

The Griffons pulled in a last minute victory last Saturday afternoon in Joplin, Mo., with a fast paced 90-yard drive.

Western trailed by one point for most of the fourth quarter. However, senior quarterback Matt Landess was able to connect a pass to senior Jarrett Brooks from 43 yards out. With only six seconds left in the game, Brooks finished the play by running the ball into the end zone, which secured Western with a 6-1 overall record.

Western is now positioned at 4-1 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, while Missouri Southern falls to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the MIAA.

Head coach Jerry Partridge feels that the team was lucky and fortunate that they were able to come with the win. He said that sometimes in every football team’s season a game like this must occur.

“We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat,” Partridge said.

The Griffon men came out of the gate ready for a fight, but the team was not firing on all its cylinders. Western showed the same quarterback shuffle routine as they did last game by starting with senior Michael Burton, and ending with Matt Landess. Burton went 5-of- 12 passing attempts for 51 yards, while Landess went 10-of-23 for 137 yards.

The Griffs were able to put the first three points on the board with a 32-yard field goal from sophomore Dustin Strickler, but Southern answered back with a touchdown and a field goal.

Strickler was able to make it back onto the field for a 27-yard field goal, which gave Western a trailing score of 10-6 at the end of the half. After the game, Strickler came up with his own plan of attack for the next game.

“We definitely just need to start pouncing on teams right from the beginning,” Strickler said. “We kind of give them a little room here and there, and we just need to get out a head of them right from the get go.”

Although Partridge said that there were a couple of turnovers that could have been avoided, he doesn’t contribute all the blame to the players for the trailing score through out the game.

“I don’t want to say it was us,” Partridge said. “Missouri Southern played well. I think you kind of take away from what they did. They played hard and I knew that was going to happen.”

Southern and Western battled it out during the second half. The Griffs were not only able to break away with a lead, but senior running back Jamison Burns broke Western’s single
game longest run with a 97-yard touchdown.

“I had to get in the end zone,” Burns said.

Burns was not the only one itching to get into the end zone through out the game. Southern was able to force their way into Western’s end zone just before the third quarter ended, which left the score at 17-13. Strickler picked up three more points for Western at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 38-yard field goal.

Although Southern was not able to score again, the Western defense was put to the test for the last quarter of the game to keep the score at 17-16. Senior Chauncey Mayfield walked away from the game with all time personal high of 12 tackles, while junior J.R. Graham came in a close second with 11 tackles.

Brooks feels that it was a group effort that the team was able to overcome and pull out with the win. Although he had an amazing catch and run into the end zone, he would not have been there were it not for the defense.

“It feels good, but it all started when our defense made a good stop,” Brooks said.

Southern’s offense were able to get close enough to attempt field goals, but they could not seem to get past seniors Leon Douglas and Jon Miller, who both were able to block those attempted points. Brooks was suspended last game due to an arrested in Maryville, but was glad to be back on the starting line.

“It feels great just to be back with my teammates,” Brooks said.

The Western men will regroup after traveling for two consecutive weekends over the next week, and make their next appearance at Spratt Memorial Stadium. The Griffs are preparing to take on Emporia State at 2:00 p.m. with a home field advantage, and a Homecoming Celebration.

Video of the win over Missouri Southern: Multimedia