MACOMB, Ill. – In their last matchup as MVFC foes, Missouri State ran away from Western Illinois, 48-7, here Saturday in a convincing effort on both sides of the ball for the visiting Bears.
The Bears (2-4, 1-2 MVFC) rallied behind a 203-yard rushing effort that included two touchdowns and a career-high 163 ground yards from Jacardia Wright. Meanwhile, quarterback Jordan Pachot threw for a career-best 217 yards on 17-of-24 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
For the third time this season, Missouri State eclipsed 400 yards of total offense, as the visitors produced 420 yards on their 55 offensive plays. The Bears also scored on their first seven possessions of the contest before finally punting on their last drive of the afternoon with less than three minutes to play.
Meanwhile, the Missouri State defense had its best game of the season, accumulating four takeaways and five sacks, while holding WIU to 55 rushing yards on 30 carries and 268 yards total.
WIU (0-6, 0-3 MVFC) was led by quarterback Matt Morrissey who completed 23-of-32 passes for 213 yards and the Leathernecks only touchdown of the contest.
The Bears sprinted to a 20-7 lead at the half after scoring on all four possessions. Wright logged a pair of rushing touchdowns and Owen Rozanc booted through field goals of 31 and 21 yards to give the visitors a 13-point advantage at the midway point.
For the first time since the UT Martin game, MoState scored on its opening drive, covering 94 yards on eight plays to take the early lead. From the shadow of its own goal line, Wright led the attack by carrying three times for 32 yards on the series before his 14-yard scoring rush. Pachot was also 3-for-3 for 40 yards on the drive.
The Bears made it 10-0 after a Todric McGee interception set MSU up at its own 8-yard line to kill one of Western’s best drives of the game. An impressive 12-play march ensued before it stalled inside the WIU 10 which set up Rozanc’s 31-yarder to make it 10-0 at the end of one period.
Western made it 10-7 early in the second quarter when the Leathernecks converted a fourth-and-17 in MSU territory with a 32-yard touchdown strike from Morrissey to Donald McKinney to make it a three-point game.
But that was as close as WIU would get the rest of the day. MoState was up to the task and closed out the half with a 10-0 run before the intermission. Wright’s second touchdown of the half was a five-yard scramble on a fourth-and-three play – his second fourth down conversion of the drive – to make it 17-7. Later, an Armon Wallace interception gave the Bears the ball at the WIU 24, which turned into three more points on a 21-yard field goal by Rozanc with 1:27 to go in the second.
By the half, Wright had 16 carries for a new career-high with 127 yards, while Pachot was 10-of-16 for 114 yards.
The Bears kept up the pressure in the third quarter, extending their lead on touchdown passes to Terique Owens and J’mariyae Robinson to lead 34-7. MSU’s defense also stood out in the third quarter with a pair of fourth-down stops to give the ball back to the offense with great field position at the WIU 44 and 50 yard lines, respectively.
Pachot’s 25-yard TD strike to Jakairi Moses with 10:22 to play made it a 41-7 game, then just over two minutes later, linebacker Steven Ward’s 69-yard scoop-and-score wrapped the Bears’ second-best point production of the season in make it a 48-7 contest.
Owens led MSU’s receiving corps with 6 catches for 98 yards, while Jared Lloyd’s 5 total tackles paced the defense.
The victory was also a milestone for Bears head coach Ryan Beard who snagged his first road win and first Valley road win of his young coaching tenure.
MoState will be back at Plaster Stadium for homecoming next week to host Murray State for a 2 p.m. tilt.
