No. 9 Vikings bang out win at CMU

Sophomore Ben Hempelmann recovered a fumble at the CMU 5-yard line which led to a Viking score during the closing minute of the first half. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

FAYETTE -- The Missouri Valley College football team never trailed Saturday, but neither could it shake off pesky Central Methodist during a 24-10 Heart of America Conference road victory.

"We had chances to put the game out of reach, but didn't do it," remarked head coach Paul Troth after the Vikings committed four turnovers, three in the first half in the opponent's end of the field. "You can't turn the ball over like we did."

Valley scored twice during the first quarter, junior Sterling Hardin's 1-yard plunge set up by his 24-yard catch of a pass from junior Chris White. On the Vikings' next snap, White threw an out pass to senior Cortavious Anderson.

"It was just a regular corner route," Anderson explained. "I gave him an inside move and then went outside."

When he turned back upfield, Anderson saw 74 yards of open ground ahead of him and fired the jets for his second touchdown of the season.

"I just tried to keep my feet inbounds and keep running," he said. "I run track, so that's what I do best."

However, a rout would not ensue. The 24th-ranked Eagles stiffened on defense and then hurried up on offense, frustrating Valley to the point where it was penalized for calling a timeout after already expending all three.

Freshman quarterback Bryant Jackson completed six of nine passes during an 11-play, 80-yard drive which he capped by sneaking across the goal line from a yard out with 4:28 left in the first half.

The score might have remained 14-7 had not sophomore Marshall Woodruff dropped an attempted punt, recovered by sophomore Ben Hempelmann at the Methodist 5-yard line. White flipped to junior Darrell Madry for that distance with 55 seconds remaining.

The third quarter was little more than an Alphonse and Gaston act of miscues, the two teams combining for five giveaways, the last being an Eagle punt which bounced off the leg of MVC junior Rashaad McDonnough and recovered at the Valley 22 by senior Derek Lannigan.

Two penalties kept Methodist out of the end zone, but junior Tyler Padgett's 38-year field goal narrowed the margin to 21-10.

The Vikings were unable to sustain anything on offense, with none of their five fourth-quarter possessions producing more than one first down.

"They were doing a good job of mixing things up and stunting a lot," Troth said. "They caught us a few times."

Still, the Eagles only crossed the center stripe twice, the first time stopped by junior Jesse Putnam's interception and the second and last threat ending on sophomore Adam Maher's third sack of the game on fourth down.

"Mostly we kept [Jackson] bottled up," noted sophomore defensive lineman Richard Wick. "The whole defense spied on him."

Methodist (5-3, 5-2 HAAC) was unable to get a traditional running game going, so Jackson's scrambles led the team in rushing. Hence Jackson threw a career-high 56 passes, but averaged only 4.1 yards per attempt as the Vikings allowed few gains after catches.

"That's the important thing," Troth said. "He's going to make some plays, but you try to limit the big plays and I thought our defense did that."

So now only two teams are left with one league loss, and they meet Nov. 7 when 10th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene visits Volney C. Ashford Stadium. Before then, No. 9 Valley (7-1, 7-1) gets a week off, which on the heels of a five-game win streak may be a mixed blessing.

"We'll know after the MidAmerica game," Troth remarked.