Action-packed small-college football games were the rule across and beyond the Kansas City metro on Saturday as a number of local programs kicked off their respective 2024 seasons.
Here’s a rundown of highlights from opening weekend:
William Jewell 35, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 20: The No. 1 small-school performance of the weekend came from a William Jewell running back out in Durango, Colorado. In front of 2,008 fans at Ray Dennison Memorial Field, Keaundre McCullough led William Jewell to a road win by erupting for 402 rushing yards. He averaged 16.1 yards per rush, capping his day with a 93-yard score in the fourth quarter.
The D-II record for rushing yards in a game is 418, set by Jarom Freeman at Southern Connecticut State in 2007. McCullough, who scored each of William Jewell’s five touchdowns, rushed for 200 yards in each half (202-200) but came up just shy of the record.
Pittsburg State 19, Ferris State (Michigan) 3: The Gorillas won the heavyweight showdown in Pittsburg, Kan., with their defense. Pitt State, ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II, came up with two fumbles and two interceptions in the dominating performance on defense and victory over No. 3 Ferris State.
Thomas Cook, who played in high school at Blue Valley West, recovered one of the fumbles and forced the other. Pitt State held Ferris State to 171 yards of offense. The Gorillas got four field goals from Austin Schmitt, who is from Grain Valley, Missouri. The Gorillas’ TD came on a Cleo Chandler Jr. 13-yard run in the third quarter. Chandler finished with 49 yards on 11 carries. Ferris State ended up with 38 yards rushing. The Gorillas begin MIAA play at Missouri Southern on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Benedictine 48, Morningside (Iowa) 45: The Benedictine Ravens had it all rolling with a 28-3 lead early in the second quarter in Sioux City, Iowa. Morningside stormed back, though, and Benedictine needed a last-minute touchdown to get the win.
After falling behind 45-41, the Ravens got the ball on Morningside’s 29-yard line after a punt. On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Jackson Dooley hooked up with Jacob Gathright for a 29-yard TD with 55 seconds left as the Ravens pulled out the thriller. Dooley, who played at Lawrence High, had two TD passes on the night, both to Gathright. The first one was a 40-yarder that pushed Benedictine’s lead to 21-3 in the first quarter.
The Ravens pulled in three picks against Morningside, one that ended on Zachary LaCombe’s 30-yard TD return for a 7-0 lead.
Montana 29, Missouri State 24: Missouri State got the ball back down five with 1 minute left, but the Bears were unable to put anything together in the tough loss in Missoula, Montana. Thirteen penalties for 112 yards cost the Bears in the defeat to the Grizzlies. Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark connected on 23 of 29 passes for 257 yards with an interception. The Montana State defense got to Clark for four sacks totaling 27 yards.
Avila 24, Bethany 21: Juan Delgado’s 32-yard field goal with a bit over 3 minutes left proved to be the difference in this evenly-matched opener. The field goal was set up by a 56-yard drive by the Eagles. Seth Myers and Malcolm Tatum each caught a TD pass from Avila QB Nick Sanford II. Sanford completed 17 of 40 passes for 208 yards with the two TDs and an interception.
Southwestern (Kan.) 41, Ottawa 0: Ottawa yielded 590 yards of offense and put together 93 yards of its own in the loss. Braves senior linebacker AJ Hemphill was in on 10 tackles, including six solo.
Friends 52, Saint Mary 6: The Spires scored their lone TD when QB Erick Covington found Michael Gazzana on a 65-yard pass play in the home loss in Leavenworth. Gazzana had four receptions for 128 yards. Friends’ Elias Pino (121) and Nick Cordova (105) each rushed for over 100 yards, and each scored two TDs.
Thursday’s action
Minnesota State 36, Northwest Missouri 22: The Bearcats lost their first opener in 13 seasons. Minnesota State, ranked No. 13 in Division II, piled up a total of 423 yards against No. 22 Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats worked to come back from a 29-0 deficit in the game in Maryville, Missouri, but were unable to pull out a home victory. Luke Mathews, who played in high school at Liberty North, caught an 80-yard TD pass from quarterback Chris Ruhnke for the Bearcats. Mathews finished with 140 yards receiving on five catches.
Missouri Western 33, Northeastern State (Okla.) 31: The Griffons won the second half 19-0 against Northeastern State, and that was good for the comeback victory in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Brandon Hall rushed for a career-high 185 yards, with two TDs, for Missouri Western. Kienen Gasken, a linebacker who played in high school at Lee’s Summit North, picked off a pass and recovered a fumble for the Griffons.
Emporia State 30, Washburn 14: The Hornets pitched a 6-0 shutout in the opening half and then scored 24 points in the second half to easily pull out the home win. Emporia State quarterback Gunnar Gundy completed 27 of 41 passes for 292 yards with three TDs. He also ran for 99 yards on 11 rushes. Tyler Schultze snatched two interceptions for the Hornets. The Ichabods’ Jaquez White was in on 10 tackles, seven solo. Washburn’s Jordan Finnesy picked off one of Gundy’s passes.
Fort Hays State 21, Angelo State (Texas) 7: Fort Hays State won its home opener for the first time in the last five seasons. The Tigers scored two first-quarter touchdowns and held back No. 24 Angelo State virtually the whole game. Fort Hays surrendered but 203 yards of offense (80 rushing, 123 passing). Tigers quarterback Jack Dawson connected on 23 of 36 passes for 271 yards with two TDs and an interception. The first score of the game was a 51-yard touchdown pass from Dawson to running back Shane Watts. Watts, who is from De Soto, Kansas, also scored a rushing TD. Shane’s brother Trevor, hauled in six catches for 73 yards for the Tigers.
Midwestern State 18, Missouri Southern 11: The Lions had a tough time getting any offense going in their opener at Wichita Falls, Texas. Missouri Southern did get on the board first, though, with a 44-yard field goal by Drake Reese. But the Lions did not score again until a fourth-quarter TD when De’Shawn Larsen got it across the goal line from 4 yards out. Larsen netted 84 yards rushing on 23 carries.
Here are some of the teams whose season openers are scheduled for next Saturday, Sept. 7:
- Central Missouri vs. Northeastern State
- Lincoln at Quincy (Illinois)
- MidAmerica Nazarene at Culver-Stockton (Canton, Mo.)
- Baker vs. St. Ambrose (Iowa)
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