THE RUNDOWN
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Sophomore Vincent Johnson rushed for three touchdowns and Quade Coward passed for a career high 295 yards to lead 14th-ranked Midwestern State to a 31-19 win over Truman State Saturday night at Stokes Stadium.

The Mustangs took control of the game scoring on three of four possessions spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second to turn a 13-7 deficit into a 28-13 lead after Johnson scored his third touchdown of the game with 3:34 to play in the third quarter.

Coward completed passes to 11 difference receivers going 24-of-38 for 295 yards as Statron Jones led the way with a career-best nine catches for 120 yards.

Sophomore running back Adrian Seales paced the rushing attack with 65 yards on 14 carries including a 9-yard burst to finish off a 15-play, 91-yard drive at the start of the second half.

The Mustangs finished with 445 yards of total offense, while the defense held Truman State to 255 yards on 62 plays as the Bulldogs amassed just 80 yards in the second half.

Sophomore defensive back Josh Wydermyer led the defense with eight tackles, while redshirt-freshman linebacker Tristan Shearman had nine stops.

NOTES
- Midwestern State improved to 19-10 in season openers since bringing back football in 1988.
- The Mustangs have won their last three campaign starters — all against teams from Missouri.
- MSU avenged two losses by Lone Star Conference teams to Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents. McKendree defeated Angelo State and Southwest Baptist (Mo.) beat Eastern New Mexico Thursday night.
- MSU senior wide receiver Statron Jones delivered his fourth 100-yard receiving game of his career.
- Jones moved into seventh on MSU's all-time receiving yards list with 1379 jumping Andre Kelsick, who had 113 receptions for 1259 yards from 2001-05.
- Jones also moved into ninth on the all-time receptions list with 96 passing Kendrick Gibson, who caught 88 passes in 2000 and 2001.
- Senior Quade Coward's 295-yard passing game were most by an MSU quarterback since Jake Glover threw for 303 yards against Eastern New Mexico on Sept. 20, 2014.
-  Midwestern State was penalized 17 times for 133 yards against Truman State. The 17 penalties are the fifth most in program history.

STAT OF THE GAME
20-1 — Midwestern State improved to 20-1 in non-conference regular season against NCAA Division II opponents during the Bill Maskill era.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We didn't help ourselves a whole lot. We had 17 penalties and a lot of those were uncalled for. I was hoping we would play better but that's how we've practiced the last four weeks. What I did like is the play of our young defensive backs. They kept everything in front of them and played well." — MSU coach Bill Maskill.

UP NEXT
Midwestern State enjoys a bye week before taking on Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.