After an encouraging start, an exhausted Hornet defense allowed 41 unanswered points to the top-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats on route to a 41-14 defeat at Welch last Thursday.
Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Braxton Marstall was efficient on ESU’s first offensive possession of the year, leading the Hornets on a 12 play, 88-yard scoring drive. A mixture of quick passes and crafty scrambles by Marstall was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to redshirt-sophomore receiver Justin Brown with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
The Hornets’ early 7-0 lead marked the first time Northwest Missouri had trailed in over 450 minutes of game time dating back to last season.
“We got into a good rhythm there at the start and kept it going for the whole drive,” Marstall said. “It was definitely a good way to start the game.”
The Bearcats moved quickly down the field on their next drive looking to even up the score, but were held to a field goal with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter. An impressive goal-line stand by the Emporia State defense gave the Hornets a 7-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
“It definitely got us fired up,” said Gabe Cleveland, junior linebacker. “Anytime you come out and are able to shut down a team like that on the first drive, you definitely have some confidence.”
Unfortunately, the start of the second quarter also seemed to mark the beginning of a different game for the Hornets.
After a quick three-and-out on offense, the Emporia State defense was put on its heels by a fast-paced Bearcat drive. Northwest Missouri traveled 71-yards in 1:38 on only 4 plays, taking the lead from the Hornets permanently on a 11-yard touchdown run with 13:46 left in the second.
Now trailing 10-7, Emporia State’s offense was unable to do much of anything against the Bearcat defensive front. The Hornets would go three-and-out on six of their next seven possessions, getting negative yardage on four of them.
“We played really well for one quarter is how I look at it,” Emporia State head football coach Garin Higgins said. “After that, we could never flip the field offensively which resulted in some tired legs and minds on defense.”
By the 11:06 mark in the 4th quarter, the score read 41-7 in favor of Northwest. The Hornet defense was seemingly on the field for the entire game as ESU lost the time-of-possession battle by over 13 minutes.
Marstall was 8-16 passing for 63 yards and a touchdown before being replaced in the 4th quarter. He also recorded 31 yards on the ground, but was sacked three times. Junior Oklahoma A&M transfer Jaylen Lowe took over under center for the Hornets with 11:00 remaining and lead them to their second touchdown against the Bearcats’ second-string defense.
“I believe we’re a lot better team than we showed tonight,” said Higgins. “The student section was unbelievable, packed, that’s what we’ve got to have. I need to tell them, just like I told the team, one game does not define who we are.”
