WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State opened the
Rich Renner Era with an 18-11 victory over Missouri Southern at Memorial Stadium on Thursday night.
Renner, who spent 16 seasons as the defensive coordinator under Bill Maskill before taking over as the head coach in the off season, saw his team win a defensive battle against the Lions.
The Mustangs held Missouri Southern to 241 yards of total offense.
The Lions opened the game with a 14-play, 55-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes and was capped off by a 43-yard field goal from Drake Reese. The Lions would not score again until the early stages of the fourth quarter, when Luke Sampson completed four passes, and DeShawn Larson rushed for 26 yards on six carries. Larson scored on a 4-yard run. Missouri Southern tied the game, 11-11, with an 11-play, 72-yard drive and a successful two-point conversion.
The Mustangs first score under the guidance of Renner came after a
Diego Gonzalez 39-yard punt hemmed the Lions inside the 5-yard line. An errant snap on first down led to a safety and the subsequent four-play, 6-yard drive resulted in
Joseph Carlson kicking a 48-yard field goal to give the Mustangs a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Midwestern State scored the first touchdown of the game with 1:43 to play in the third quarter.
Christian Olige plunged into the end zone on a 2-yard run at the end of an 8-play, 59-yard drive to give the Mustangs an 11-3 lead after a missed extra point.
The MSU defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter after Gonzalez delivered another 38-yard punt that was downed at the 2-yard line. The Lions were three and out, and MSU started its winning drive at the Missouri Southern 39-yard line.
Devin Cross rushed three times and scored on a 21-yard run with 4:12 to play in the game as the Mustangs reclaimed the lead.
Cross rushed for 101 yards on 11 carries, and
Jalen March finished with 69 yards on 17 carries as the Stangs ran for 207 of their 256 yards of offense on opening night.
Matthew Duncan and
Sean Jastrab were a combined 9-of-17 passing for 49 yards. Justin White caught four passes for 24 yards.
The Mustangs are on the road to face Western Colorado on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. and won't be home again until Sept. 28, when UT Permian Basin visits Midwestern State.
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-- MSUMustangs.com --
