SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Midland University ran into one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday afternoon, as they fell to Morningside University by a score of 59-14. The loss drops Midland back to .500 on the season overall at 3-3 and moves them to 3-2 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). Morningside remains unbeaten in the conference and overall, with a 4-0 record.
After holding the Morningside offense to just 14 points in the opening quarter, the Mustangs broke through the reins in the second as they built a 42-0 lead before the end of the half. Turnovers played a role in the lopsided score, as Midland turned over the ball twice to the home team via interceptions.
Things started better for the Warriors after the break as they began the third quarter with a seven-play, 62-yard scoring drive. Jake Ashby found Kenneth Carr III for a 27-yard touchdown with 11:39 to cap off the drive.
Morningside responded though with a pair of touchdown drives in the third, and a field goal in the fourth before the Warriors’ offense netted their next score.
Midland’s second and final touchdown came with 3:40 on the clock. Ashby connected with Austin Harris from four yards out. The scoring drive was one of the bright spots on the day as the Warriors went 94 yards in 16 plays.
Ashby finished the day with 14 completions on 30 attempts for 154 yards with 3 interceptions and the 2 touchdown tosses.
Carr caught 3 passes for a team-high 65 yards and one touchdown while Omuiri Garcia led the team in receptions with 4 for 31 yards.
Dalton Tremayne, the reigning GPAC Offensive Player of the Week, saw plenty of action in the backfield once again. He had a team-best, 11 carries for 47 yards on the ground. He added 3 catches for 24 yards receiving. On special teams, he had 3 kick returns for 77 yards.
Defensively, Travis Voight paced the Warriors’ defense with 10 total tackles. Joey Martin and Christian Rodriguez both added eight stops while Jordan Ptacek had seven. Rodriguez added a fumble recovery to his line while Ptacek had one and a half sacks, teaming up once with Michael Sunclades on the Mustangs’ final drive of the game.
Midland (3-3, 3-2 GPAC) will look to rebound from the loss next week at home when they host Briar Cliff (1-4, 1-3 GPAC). The Warriors own a commanding 13-5 lead in the all-time series with the Chargers, including a 56-3 win last year. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Heedum Field in Fremont on Saturday, October 9.
