FREMONT, Neb. – It was 2004 the last time Midland University defeated Morningside University on the football field. Saturday afternoon at Heedum Field, Warrior fans had thoughts of the 19-game losing streak coming to an end. However, the No. 14-ranked Mustangs came from behind for a 28-21 win in a very competitive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) battle.
The Warriors received the opening kickoff, however, two plays into their drive, Teryn Berry‘s pass was intercepted by Austin Jurgens at the Warriors’ 32-yard line. It looked like the Mustangs would take an early lead, however, their drive stalled and a Trevor Paulsen 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Midland’s Dane Christensen, keeping the game scoreless.
The Warriors capitalized on the special teams play by putting together a 14-play, 62-yard drive, with Berry connecting with Tim Brown on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Cameron Spicer‘s point-after attempt was good, and Midland led 7-0 with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
Morningside responded with a scoring drive of its own. Jaylen Burch set up a short field as he returned the kickoff 59 yards to the Midland 39-yard line. Six plays later, Zach Chevalier found Zach Norton open for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Tommy Fitzsimmons’ extra point tied the game a 7-7 with 3:17 left in the quarter.
Midland looked to recapture the lead on its next drive. After six plays, both teams went to the quarter break in a 7-7 tie. On the first play of the second quarter, Berry connected with Tae Marks on a 14-yard touchdown pass to put the Warriors in front. Spicer’s point after made it 14-7 with 14:54 to play in the half.
The Warriors’ defense forced a turnover on the Mustangs’ next drive. On the third play, Chevalier’s pass was intercepted by Paxton Van Houten at the Morningside 44-yard line. Midland was unable to capitalize, as the drive resulted in a three-and-out.
After a Zach Hodge 32-yard punt, the Mustangs took over the ball at its own 17-yard line. They put together a long, 12-play drive. Facing a fourth down just past midfield Morningside’s Ryan Cole was stopped by Van Houten and Treden Davis-Reed to turn the ball back over to the Warriors.
Midland had an opportunity to extend the lead and after a six-play drive stalled, Spicer came on to attempt a 37-yard field goal. The attempt was blocked and the Mustangs took over the ball on their own 40-yard line. With time winding down in the half, Morningside swung the momentum in its favor by putting points on the board. A seven-play drive tied the game as Chevalier connected with Lennx Brown on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Tommy Fitzsimmons’ extra point tied the game at 14-14 with 42 seconds remaining in the half.
Midland ran two plays before the clock ran out and the teams went into halftime tied at 14-14.
The Mustangs received the ball to begin the third quarter. After a 33-yard pass completion from Chevalier to Brown began the drive, the drive stalled on the next three plays, resulting in a punt.
Midland took over the ball at its 32-yard line. The Warriors ran four plays before a Berry pass was intercepted by Cade Harriman at the Midland 44-yard line. With a chance to take the lead, the Mustangs turned the ball over three plays later as Davis-Reed forced Jaylen Burch to fumble. Davis-Reed recovered the ball at the Warriors’ 43-yard line. Midland could not capitalize as it was forced to punt after a three-and-out.
Morningside took over the ball at its own 12-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Cole ran off left tackle and into daylight. He outran the Midland defense 88 yards for a touchdown. Fitzsimmons’ extra point gave Morningside its first lead of the game, 21-14, with 8:11 left in the third quarter.
Trailing for the first time in the game, the Warriors looked to respond. They went 75 yards on seven plays, the bulk of which came as Berry connected with Tim Brown on a 50-yard touchdown pass. Spicer split the uprights to tie the game at 21-21 with 3:58 left in the third.
On the ensuing drive, Morningside ran four plays, but Chevalier’s pass on second down was intercepted by Jay Ballard and returned for a touchdown. However, an illegal block in the back penalty by Midland during the return nullified the score and put the Warriors at the Morningside 20-yard line to start their drive. A holding penalty moved Midland back to the 30-yard line as the quarter expired.
Midland opened the fourth quarter facing a fourth down and 20 at the Mustang 30-yard line. Electing to go for it, Berry found Jayden Shakir on a pass but the receiver was held two yards shy of the first down marker, giving Morningside the ball back. The Mustangs ran two plays before Chevalier had another pass intercepted. Davis-Reed picked off the pass at the Morningside 46-yard line to set up the offense.
The Warriors could not take advantage of the situation, as a four-play drive stalled. Midland punted the ball back to the Mustangs who began their drive at their 12-yard line. Four plays later, the Warriors’ defense was able to get a stop, resulting in a Morningside punt. On the play, Midland was flagged for an illegal substitution, as two players wearing the same number were on the field at the same time. That penalty resulted in a first down for Morningside who took advantage of the miscue. The Mustangs marched 50 yards over the next nine plays and capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Cole on fourth down to go up. Tommy Fitzsimmons’ extra point made it 28-21, with 3:38 to play.
Midland tried to put together a game-tying drive. However, four plays into the possession, Berry’s pass was intercepted by Landry Phipps at the 41-yard line. The Mustangs ran three more plays before punting the ball back.
After a touchback, Midland had the ball at its 20-yard line with 47 seconds to play and no timeouts. A last-ditch effort fell short as two sacks and a pass completion which resulted in a tackle in-bounds saw the clock expire, giving Morningside their 20th-straight win in the series, 28-21.
No. 14 Morningside (2-1, 2-0 GPAC) ran the ball 35 times for 165 yards. Through the air, they were 15-of-28 for 207 yards. The Mustangs ran 63 plays for 372 yards of total offense. Midland (1-2, 0-2 GPAC) ran the ball 28 times for 27 yards. In passing, the Warriors were 22-of-36 for 292 yards. Midland ran 64 plays for 319 yards of total offense.
Individually, Morningside’s Ryan Cole carried the ball 27 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Zack Chevalier was 15-for-28 passing for 207 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Lennx Brown caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Zach Norton hauled in three passes for 42 yards and a score.
On defense, the Mustangs Isaac Pingel recorded 11 tackles, one for loss. Cade Harriman had six tackles and an interception. Austin Jurgens also had six tackles, half a sack, three tackles for loss, and an interception. Landry Phipps recorded three tackles and an interception.
For the Warriors, Tyson Denkert carried the ball six times for 24 yards. Teryn Berry was 22-of-36 passing, for 292 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Tim Brown caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Tae Marks had two receptions for 16 yards and a score.
Treden Davis-Reed led the Warriors on defense for the third straight week, recording nine tackles, one for a loss, forced one fumble, recovered one fumble, and intercepted a pass. Dane Christensen had seven tackles, one sack, 3.5 tackles for loss, plus blocked a field goal attempt. Paxten Van Houten had four tackles, one interception, and a pass breakup. Jay Ballard recorded four tackles, half a tackle for a loss and an interception.
Midland head coach Jeff Jamrog commented on the contest after the game. “We competed hard. We were right there with them. A play here or there. I thought when we got those turnovers, we’d convert them into scores and it’s a different ball game. We just didn’t get points when we needed to.”
Jamrog was positive about the team’s effort. “Hopefully this is a thing that can wake up this team and show them that we’re not that far off, and today, we were not that far off. We just have a few things that we still need to clean up.”
With No. 2-ranked Northwestern on the schedule next, Jamrog stated his message to the team. “We have to eliminate their big plays. After an effort like today, we should know that we can play with them. Now we have to go get it done.”
Morningside returns to Sioux City, Iowa, and will host Doane next week. Midland will play its first road game of the year, at No. 2 Northwestern (2-0, 2-0 GPAC) on Saturday. Kickoff on Korver Field in Orange City, Iowa will be 1:00 p.m. on September 21.
