Saturday’s Missouri valley football conference games

Northern Iowa 38, Eastern Washington 35

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA

Michael Schmadeke kicked a 24-yard field goal with 5:37 remaining in the game and then Deiondre’ Hall returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown to give Northern Iowa a win over Eastern Washington in a battle of FCS powers. Hall’s pick of Jordan West came on the first official play after the field goal — and after a holding penalty wiped out West’s 66 yard run to the Northern Iowa 17. The Eagles (0-2) quickly answered with a touchdown but the Panthers got a good kick return from Tyvis Smith and kept the ball for the final 3:20. Aaron Bailey, who threw for two touchdowns, and Darrian Miller ran for 134 and 112 yards, respectively, for Northern Iowa (1-1). That offset 526 passing yards for Eastern Washington quarterbacks West and Reilly Hennessey, who combined to go 37 of 47. Eastern’s Nic Sblendorio had career-highs of 10 receptions and 158 yards while All-American Cooper Kupp had 9 for 179 and two touchdowns before sitting out the second half with a hip pointer.

Missouri State 21, Chadron State 13

SPRINGFIELD, MO.

Calan Crowder ran for 164 yards and Missouri State gave first-year head coach Dave Steckel his first victory in the home opener, holding off Division II Chadron State. After a humbling, 63-7 loss at Memphis, the Tigers stopped Chadron State on fourth down at the Missouri State 28 with under four minutes left to preserve the victory. Breck Ruddick completed 19 of 34 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown and ran for another score to lead the Missouri State offense. Chadron State took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter and pulled within one, 14-13, in the third quarter on a 36-yard field goal by Randy Wentz. Ruddick answered on the Tigers’ next possession, engineering a 75-yard, six-play drive capped by his 55-yard scoring run. Derek Jackson led Chadron State on the ground, picking up 133 yards on 18 carries, including a 73-yard dash for a second-quarter score.

North Dakota State 44, Weber State 14

FARGO, N.D.

Carson Wentz threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as North Dakota State beat Weber State. Wentz scored on a 27-yard run before Jadrian Clark and Cam Livingston combined on a 68-yard pass play to tie the game in the first quarter. But Wentz threw touchdown passes of 55 and 47 yards to Chase Morlock and then a 23-yarder to Zach Vraa to go up 28-7 at halftime. The Bison (1-1) had 407 yards offense by halftime and finished with 586. Morlock finished with 136 yards receiving on seven catches and added 76 yards rushing. The four-time defending FCS champion Bison won their 24th straight home game. They were coming off a loss at Montana. The Wildcats (0-2) also scored on a 100-yard kickoff return by Eric Wilkes.

South Dakota State 55, Southern Utah 10

BROOKINGS, S.D.

Brady Mengarelli ran for three touchdowns as South Dakota State beat Southern Utah. Mengarelli scored on runs of 13 and 37 yards in the second quarter and added a 10-yard scamper in the third as the Jackrabbits (2-0) notched their fifth straight home-opening win. He led all rushers with 143 yards on 17 carries. Zach Lujan was 19-for-27 and 314 yards passing, including two touchdowns, and Dalton Douglas tossed a 77-yard TD pass to Dallas Goedert. Jake Wieneke hauled in both of Lujan’s touchdown throws and finished with 205 yards on 11 receptions. Trailing by a touchdown late in the first quarter, South Dakota State took control with 48 unanswered points ignited by Jay Carlson’s 40-yard field goal. Ammon Olsen led Southern Utah (0-2) with 137 yards passing and a touchdown.

Southeast Missouri State 27, Southern Illinois 24

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO.

Ryan McCrum kicked a 42-yard field goal with five seconds left to lift Southeast Missouri. The winner came on second down after Tay Bender hit DeMichael Jackson for 14 yards on third-and-7, followed by a 7-yard pass to Paul McRoberts. Southern Illinois (0-2) had 469 yards but had seven turnovers, including a lost fumble on a sack on third-and-goal from the 6 with less than four minutes to play. Mark Iannotti was 26 of 38 for 294 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times. Michael Ford had two picks for the Redhawks (1-1), returning one 21 yards for a touchdown. Bender threw for 159 yards and a touchdown and Jackson ran for 186 yards on 30 carries. Southeast Missouri led 17-7 after one quarter but the Salukis went up 21-17 at the half.

Associated Press