MARTIN, Tenn. – Missouri State racked up 403 total yards and held off a late surge by home-standing UT Martin here Saturday to secure a 31-24 win at Graham Stadium.
Bears quarterback Jacob Clark was 26-of-33 through the air for 388 yards and three touchdowns. Missouri State (2-2) played turnover-free football for the second straight week with Clark firing at an efficient 79 percent with D’Vontae Key, Hunter Wood and Jacardia Wright reeling in five receptions apiece.
Key’s reception total and 91 yards were both career highs. His 35-yard touchdown reception from Clark midway through the third quarter pushed the Bears ahead 24-7 at the time.
Over the last 18-plus minutes, the Skyhawks (1-3) rallied for two touchdowns and a field goal to make the final score respectable. UT Martin quarterback Kaiya Sheron finished 20-of-27 for 213 yards through the air with running back Patrick Smith posting a game-high 63 yards on 16 carries.
Smith’s eight-yard touchdown run with 3:38 left in the third drew UT Martin with 24-14, but the Bears answered just over five minutes later by turning the Skyhawks’ second fumble of the game into seven valuable points. A forced fumble by Caden Wiest and recovery by Michael Teason at the UTM 18 set up a three-yard scoring pass from Clark to Connor Lair with 12:50 to go. Lair’s first career touchdown made it 31-14.
On the ensuing possession, UTM chewed up five-and-a-half minutes before a 12-yard TD pass from Sheron to Tyler Dostin capped the 75-yard drive and made it a 10-point game. The Bears were whistled for a personal foul and pass interference to extend the drive, which ultimately made it 31-21 with 7:20 to go.
Missouri State went three-and-out on its next possession, and good field position gave Jaren Van Winkle a chance to shine for the home side as his 31-yard field goal made it a seven-point contest with 2:24 remaining.
But Clark and the Bears would not be denied. After UTM’s kickoff went out of bounds, Clark and the Bears took over at their own 35. Clark then converted a huge third-and-six from the MSU 39 with a clutch 58-yard strike to Lance Mason to the Skyhawks’ three. With two minutes to go and UT Martin out of timeouts, Clark was able to take a knee three times to run out the clock and give the victory to Missouri State.
Dallas Winner-Johnson notched 10 tackles and a fumble recovery for the Bears with Tahj Chambers adding eight. Wiest forced two key fumbles, both of which led to Missouri State scores.
Missouri State’s comeback started in the second quarter when the Bears outgained the Skyhawks by a 150-39 margin in the period, giving up just two first downs and engineering scoring drives in two of their three possessions in the period.
After trailing 7-0 out of the gates, the Bears capitalized on a 10-yard punt return by Hunter Wood early in the second quarter to give MSU great field position at the UTM 46. A 17-yard pass completion from Clark to Key pushed the ball to the Skyhawks’ 24, and the drive ultimately stalled at the 16, setting up a 33-yard field goal from Yousef Obeid to put the visitors on the board.
In the final minute of the half, Clark drove the Bears 90 yards in just 45 seconds to take the lead. Clark 5-of-5 on the impressive go-ahead march with four different receivers pitching in to move the chains four times. A 23-yard pass to Hunter Wood and a subsequent roughing the passer penalty against UTM moved the ball to the one yard line with eight seconds left in the half. On the next play, Clark hit Wood again in heavy traffic in the end zone to put MoState on top 10-7 heading into the intermission.
Clark was 14-of-18 in the first half for 178 yards with Key, Wood and Jacardia Wright each snagging three receptions.
The Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium next Saturday for Family Weekend and the MVFC opener against Youngstown State (1-3) at 2 p.m.
Tickets for the Youngstown State game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or through the Missouri State box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular office hours. A “417” special is in place for the YSU game with four general admission tickets for $17.
