Hot start not enough for Pride in 27-24 loss at MidAmerica Nazarene
OLATHE, Kan. - Hoping to start a winning streak, the Clarke University football team fell by the slim margin of 27-24 to MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday afternoon.
A game that saw the Pride jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first half saw the Pioneers earn a comeback victory capped off by a go-ahead field goal with just two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to outscore CU 20-3 in the second half.
The field goal operation of each side played a major factor in the second half as the first attempt at the game-winning kick was blocked by Clarke but a flag was thrown as the Pride were assessed a personal foul for leaping, which gave MNU another shot from 10 yards closer and just six seconds on the clock for Trevor Highley to knock in the 27-yard kick.
Clarke went 1-for-3 on their field goal tries, as their first and third attempts were blocked by the Pioneers, the last of which was on their final true drive of the fourth quarter as Ben Jaeger's 34-yard attempt was blocked with just under three minutes left in the game.
After gaining possession on their own 20 yard line, MNU was able to convert a first down before a holding penalty made it a third and 15 from their own 40 yard line as quarterback Adrian Parsons founr EJ Rogers for a 17-yard game to the edge of field goal range. Likely needing one more first down to get in range for the previously mentioned game-winning kick, Parsons found Paul Saint-Louis for 15 more yards to spot them at CU's 21 yard line.
The Pride's 21-7 halftime lead was a 21-0 lead in the second quarter after three of their first four drive resulted in touchdown scores starting with the opening drive of the game that went 67 yards on 12 plays over 4:43 of game time and capped off by a Thomas Mimes one-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation.
Following a forced three-and-out by the CU defense on MidAmerica Nazarene's first drive, the Clarke next offensive possession got near the red zone but stalled out on a failed fourth and five pass attempt that went incomplete. But quickly on the next possession, a sack fumble forced by Israel Hernandez was recovered by Andrew Adams on the Pioneer 27 that would give Clarke a short field, essentially continuing their previous drive.
Five plays later, it would be Craig Elmore punching it in from three yards out early in the second quarter to make it a 14-0 Pride lead as Elmore was strong carrying the ball for the second-straight week, finishing with another 100-yard game at 109 on 28 carries with his second-straight week with a touchdown.
Another turnover into a quick scoroing drive was what produced the Pride's largest lead of the season at 21-0 as the CU defense got a fourth down stop of their own in the red zone for MNU before a third down pass from Kenyon Williams found Jayden Wyer streaking down the sideline as the junior from Houston, Texas outran the defense for an 86-yard touchdown, the longest pass play in Clarke football history.
Williams had his best game at quarterback of the season, going 19-for-27 for 70.4 percent completion, 274 yards for 10.1 yards per attempt, and the touchdown pass to Wyer who had himself a strong game with five catches for a career-high 147 yards.
Late in the second quarter is where MNU would start a stretch of outscoring the Pride 24-0 as they would produce a 13-play, 75-yard drive in 5:37 to make it 21-7 with 3:34 left in the second quarter when Cameron Finley punched in a one-yard touchdown run.
The first of Clarke's two field goal attempts to be blocked came late in the second quarter when Steele Fredricks lined up from 38 yards before his kick was denied at the line of scrimmage by Elias Carson with 12 seconds left but not enough time for MNU to get another late score before halftime.
Seemingly using that momentum of a strong end to the second quarter, the Pioneers received the opening kickoff of the second half to go down and score on a seven-play, 45-yard drive in just 2:30 to make it a one-score game at 21-14.
Forcing the first CU punt of the game, MNU was able to score their third touchdown of the game in a similar fashion as the Pride's when Parsons hit Arlandes Mitchell for a 90-yard touchdown pass on the opening play of the drive to tie the game.
Both defenses would toughen up as the remainder of the game was trading field goals with Highley capping off a 17-0 third quarter for MNU with a 37-yard field goal then Jaeger knocked a 30-yarder through the uprights to tie the game early in the fourth to make it 24-24 where it would hold until the final kick with six seconds left.
Pride football will now return home for a three-game homestand starting with their final non-conference matchup against a Heart South opponent when they welcome Missouri Baptist University for Homecoming on Saturday, Sept. 30 for the first ever meeting between Clarke and the Spartans at 1:00 p.m. CT at Dalzell Field.