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Eric Doennig (Missouri State Sports Information)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Zach Drake’s 32-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in regulation lifted Missouri State to a 38-35 comeback victory over Southern Illinois in a see-saw battle that featured 943 yards of total offense Saturday afternoon at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
Drake’s game-winner capped a dominant second-half performance for the Bears (4-4, 2-3 MVFC), who rallied from a 14-point deficit behind the passing of Brodie Lambert and a shutdown effort from its defense. Lambert threw for a career-high 339 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the second half, to help MSU overcome a big day by the SIU passing attack.
The key comeback was fueled by a second-half turnaround by the Bears’ defense, which held SIU to 136 yards and one offensive touchdown after intermission. Dylan Cole logged a season-high 19 stops to lead all tacklers, as the MSU defense forced five second-half punts, one of which was returned 57 yards by Deion Holliman for a game-tying touchdown with 10:46 to play.
Zac Hoover also registered a career day for the Bears, reeling in 150 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns from Lambert. His 36-yard, one-handed catch in the end zone with 3:21 to play negated a 54-yard scoring catch by SIU’s Israel Lamprakes, who put the Salukis back on top just 42 seconds after Holliman’s equalizing return.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Bears stopped the SIU offense with three-and-out drives on back-to-back possessions late in the game and prevented a Saluki first down over the final 10 minutes of the contest.
After the eighth and final Lane Reazin punt gave the ball back to MSU with 2:04 to play, it would be the Bears ground attack that would set up Drake’s deciding kick. Jason Randall carried six times for a total of 29 yards, including a 16-yard burst from the SIU 39 to move the Bears within field goal range.
Randall totaled 74 of his game-high 86 rushing yards in the second half, while Lambert added a career-best 51 yards on seven carries to go along with his 25 pass completions and finish the game with 390 yards of total offense.
The big second-half comeback followed a strong start for the Salukis (2-6, 0-5 MVFC), who used the 17-of-21 first-half passing performance of quarterback Josh Straughan to build a 21-7 edge. SIU opened the scoring with a 15-play march that covered 80 yards and nearly six minutes to seize an early 7-0 lead. Straughan completed 6-of-7 passes for a total of 59 yards on the drive, and Jonathan Mixon converted a pair of fourth-down runs before capping the series with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Bears used a quick-strike attack to even the score late in the quarter, as Lambert hit Hoover in stride for a 76-yard scoring pass to complete the two-play scoring drive that knotted the score at 7-7 with 12 seconds left in the period.
But the Salukis answered with touchdowns on their next two drives to take command. Straughan came through again on the Salukis ensuing drive, connecting on all four of his pass attempts on a 75-yard scoring march that put the visitors back on top. After completing a 12-yard pass to Jacob Varble and an eight-yard toss to Connor Iwema, the senior found John Gardner deep over the middle for a 42-yard gain to the MSU 2. Two plays later, he hit an open Iwema in the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown and a 14-7 SIU lead.
After Ryan Neal intercepted a Lambert pass to give the ball back to the Salukis, SIU kept its momentum going, thanks in large part to its third fourth-down conversion of the half. On fourth-and-one at the MSU 40, Matt DeSomer rushed for four yards, before Straughan floated a 35-yard pass to Varble to set up another one-yard Mixon run that extended the margin to 14 points with 6:40 left in the half.
MSU bounced back with a big third period to draw to within seven points on two separate occasions. The Bears, who out-gained the Salukis by a 210-to-55 margin in the quarter, used a 46-yard run by Lambert and a 13-yard scoring pass to Erik Furmanek to find the end zone on their first offensive possession of the second half.
After SIU benefitted from a deflected 43-yard interception return by Craig James that made it a 28-14 game, Lambert engineered a 12-play, 82-yard scoring drive to keep the Bears in it. Cole Christenson hauled in his first career touchdown catch from 10 yards out, slicing the deficit to seven once again.
Straughan finished his day 29-for-39 for 315 yards and two touchdowns, and Cameron Walter led the Salukis with seven catches for 50 yards, in addition to his 56 rushing yards.
Up next, the Bears travel to Brookings, S.D., next Saturday (Nov. 5) for a 2 p.m. match-up with South Dakota State at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Postgame Notes: Missouri State improved to 19-20 all-time vs. Southern Illinois and 11-8 at home, curbing a string of five home losses in its previous six home dates with the Salukis dating back to 2004 … Malik Earl (1,058) moved into the No. 18 position on the Bears’ career chart for receiving yards, passing both Ray Ratcliff (1,020) and Phil Perkins (1,024) with four catches for 42 yards … Brodie Lambert’s 76-yard scoring toss to Zac Hoover represented the Bears’ longest play from scrimmage during the Dave Steckel era … Hoover’s two scoring receptions marked his sixth and seventh TD catches as a Bear—the most for any active MSU receiver; his 150 receiving yards also represented a career high … Lambert also turned in a career-best 46-yard rush to set up his scoring pass to Erik Furmanek early in the third period … Dylan Cole became the sixth Bear to reach the 400-career-tackle mark and climbed to within six tackles of cracking the Bears’ all-time top five; his 19 stops is the most for a Bear defender since his 23-tackle performance vs. UNI on Nov. 14, 2015 … Deion Holliman’s 57-yard punt return in the fourth quarter was his second as a Bear and his fourth return for a TD overall … In addition to his game-winning field goal, Zach Drake boomed a personal-best 69-yard punt in the opening quarter, marking the longest punt by a Bear since Chris Sullens’ 74-yarder vs. SIU on Nov. 8, 2014.
