By Jim Henry Globe Sports Editor The Joplin Globe Sat Oct 01, 2011, 11:35 PM CDT
Heroics from field-goal kickers almost always occur in the waning seconds with the game on the line.
But on Saturday afternoon Missouri Western’s Greg Zuerlein swung the momentum toward the Griffons early in the second quarter with one swing of his right leg.
Zuerlein drilled a 57-yard field goal to headline a five field-goal performance, and the Griffons spoiled Missouri Southern’s homecoming with a 35-23 victory before 5,280 fans at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Zuerlein, who joined the Griffons after an All-American career at Nebraska-Omaha, also connected from 27, 46, 34 and 47 yards to tie the school record. The 47-yarder in the opening seconds into the fourth quarter concluded a five-play drive that lost 10 yards.
Trailing 7-3, the Griffons moved from their 20 to the Missouri Southern 11, with big chunks coming on a 17-yard screen pass to T.J. Fannin, a 16-yard run by Michael Hill and two consecutive personal foul penalties against the Lions.
On first down from the 11, an errant snap toward Hill went for a 19-yard loss, and a third-down quarterback sack by Kenny Smith left the Griffons facing fourth-and-39 from the 40.
What appeared to be an obvious field-position punting situation, Zuerlein trotted onto the field and his 57-yarder in calm conditions split the uprights with several yards to spare.
The Lions’ first personal foul penalty came when defensive back C.J. Broades hit the receiver and jarred the ball loose. The officials apparently ruled the Broades left his feet to make the hit.
“We knocked the ball loose and got a roughing penalty called,” Lions coach Bart Tatum said. “The ball was on the ground and our guy scooped it up. I was baffled. Instead of it being our ball with with lead, they kick a 57-yarder.
“I had no idea he would try a 57-yard field goal, but the kid is a talent.”
After Zuerlein’s bomb, the Griffon defense recorded two three-and-outs, and the offense scored on Zuerlein’s “chip shot” from 46 yards and Travis Partridge’s eight-yard pass to Adam Clausen for a 16-7 lead.
Missouri Southern’s Eric Murdock booted a 48-yard field goal — it barely cleared the crossbar — to cut the Griffons’ lead to 16-10 at halftime.
But the Griffons widened their lead to 25-10 in the first five minutes of the second half on Partridge’s 46-yard quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 when he bounced to the left and found a crease around the end and Zuerlein’s 34-yarder.
The Lions (1-3, 1-3 MIAA) scored with six minutes left in the third quarter on Collin Howard’s three-yard pass to tight end Austin Lepper, but they missed the extra point, leaving the Griffons with a 25-16 lead.
Howard, who left last week’s game with a head injury, exited this week after twisting an ankle in the fourth quarter. He hit 12-of-23 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Backups Kyle Webster and Blake McDonald seemingly played musical quarterbacks on one fourth-quarter drive — six QB changes during a 10-play, 77-yard march capped by Webster’s eight-yard TD to Ne’Ronte Threatt that pulled the Lions within 28-23 with 9:40 left. Webster hit 3-of-3 passes for 32 yards and ran twice for 17 yards on the series, and McDonald completed his two passes for 12 yards.
“We were just trying to go with what works, and I think they were having trouble adjusting to what me and Kyle bring to the table,” McDonald said. “As long as we can mix it up and confuse the defense as much as possible and move the ball, that’s what we’re going to do. You don’t avoid something that works, and at the time it was working.”
But the Griffons (3-2, 2-2) answered with a nine-play, 53-yard drive that led to Partridge’s six-yard touchdown and a 12-point lead.
McDonald directed the Lions from their 20 to the Western 16 on the ensuing drive before it ended on Shane Simpson’s end-zone interception.
“I was proud of those guys. They did a good job,” Tatum said. “Blake was really good outside of the last play when he tried to squeeze it in. We had what we wanted on the sideline with Landon (Zerkel, who had seven catches for 106 yards) matched up one-on-one. He chose to throw it to the inside receiver, kind of forced it and it ended up getting picked. Outside of that play, he really did well.”
The Griffons rushed for 263 yards against a Missouri Southern defense that had allowed 172 yards total on the ground through three games. Michael Hill gained 125 yards on 21 carries, and Travis Partridge ran for 96 yards and two scores and completed 15-of-30 passes for 120 yards.
“We didn’t tackle,” Tatum said. “Western has a good football team, but we typically tackle a lot better than that.”
Defensive backs Brian Rodgers and Breon Matlock led the Lions with 14 and 11 tackles, respectively.
Copyright 2011 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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