Messam & Co. visit No. 12 Vikings

Senior Davohn Dillard (3) and the Vikings' defense will have a challenge beyond pressuring the quarterback against Graceland.
(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)

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The Graceland senior returns to the scene where he more than anyone else handed the third-ranked Missouri Valley College football team its first loss of the 2007 season, a 28-23 decision in which he accounted for 309 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns and ended the defending champion's 11-game Heart of America Conference win streak.

A 6-foot-4, 245-pound bulldozer with speed, Messam missed last season -- and the Yellowjackets suffered for it with a 2-8 campaign. However, he's back and showing no ill effects from the injury which sidelined him, ranking second in the NAIA with 156.7 yards per game.

"He's a threat to score every time he touches the ball," conceded MVC head coach Paul Troth. "He's going to make some plays and gain some yards. Hopefully, we can limit the big plays and make them earn it."

Unlike the previous week, when third-ranked Lindenwood had four touchdown plays of 45 or more yards, the Vikings last Saturday held Benedictine largely in check during a 22-19 win. That moved Valley (3-1, 3-1 HAAC) from 15th to 12th in the polls.

"Obviously we're not very pleased with the way we played overall," Troth admitted about the close call against the Ravens. "We didn't have the intensity we needed."

Still, it was a win, and "it's better than the alternative," Troth said.

The Vikings hammered Graceland in their 2008 meeting, 48-15, but Troth observed that "they're a much better team than a year ago. They're better at every position."

It's at running back, though, where the Yellowjackets (2-1, 2-1) have made the biggest offensive gain with the return of Messam -- who declared for the NFL draft last April, but didn't get picked and opted to return to college.

Sophomore quarterback Scotty Roth has completed 28 of 59 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns, but has been intercepted five times, so the ground game -- against the NAIA's third-ranked rushing defense (54.8 yards per game) -- is where Graceland is likely to focus.

The 'Jackets' defense, though, is much-improved, its 292.7 yards per game allowed ranking second in the league.

"They have one of the biggest front lines and speed in the secondary," Troth said. "We want to try to run on them. It would make things easier."

Graceland has two of the loop's top linebackers in senior Cameron Willkomm and sophomore Chad Belt, both of whom are averaging over 10 tackles per game. Keeping them from roaming loose would help the Vikings achieve the continuity on offense they have thus far lacked.

"We need to have drives, sustained drives, and finish them with scores," Troth said. "You try to keep their offense on the sidelines."

With a bunch of teams in the mix chasing Lindenwood for the top spot in the league, beating a fellow contender is vital for Valley's goal of returning to the playoffs for the third time in four years.

"You've got to show up every week," Troth declared. "The teams which end up at the top of the standings are the ones who can navigate through it week to week."