The 14th ranked Missouri Western football team posted a shutout for the second consecutive season against a non-conference opponent defeating William Jewell 56-0 in front of 4,811 fans in Spratt Stadium. Last season, MWSU defeated Langston University 47-0. The Griffons had 398 yards rushing as Michael Hill led the way going for over 200 yards for the second time in his career. Hill finished with 210 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 26 yards and a touchdown. The Griffons improve to 2-0 with the victory.
The Missouri Western football team dominated the first half of play against the William Jewell Cardinals taking a 35-0 lead into the locker room. In the first quarter the Griffons had 108 yards rushing with 80 through the air. Hill opened up the scoring with a 52 yard run just 48 seconds into the game giving the Griffons a 7-0 lead after the Taylor Anderson extra point.
The Griffons scored its second touchdown of the quarter just four minutes later when Travis Partridge hit Reggie Jordan from 11 yards out with 10:29 on the clock. Hill had 92 yards on eight carries in the quarter while Partridge had 80 yards passing.
The Cardinals used a trick play to get into Missouri Western territory early in the second quarter but Marc Harrison forced a fumble in the end zone which was recovered by linebacker Nick Williams.
Midway through the second quarter the Griffon offense got back on track scoring three touchdowns in four minutes. Dominic Thomas scored his first touchdown of the season on a 29 yard run with 7:36 left in the half. Hill then caught a 26 yard pass from Partridge before Raphael Spencer took his first ever rushing attempt as a Griffon 38 yards giving MWSU the 35 point halftime lead.
The Griffons had 335 yards of total offense in the frame with Hill going for 116 yards on 12 carries. Partridge finished the half with 129 yards and two touchdowns, completing 10-of-15 passes. Reggie Jordan, Derek Libby and Tyron Crockom all had two catches.
William Jewell had 127 yards with 122 coming through the air. Sean Shelton completed 8-of-10 passes for 67 yards while Jon Molzen had 76 yards on two catches.
Yomi Alli had nine tackles for the Griffons while Thomas Swoboda had eight. Griffon defensive end David Bass had one sack in the half which helped him set the all-time career sack record with 31. He broke Kinney Reddings mark of 30.5.
The second half started like the first as Hill broke tackles and tip toed down the sideline for a career long 92 yard touchdown run giving MWSU a 42-0 lead with 10:21 to play in the third.
The Cardinals put together a nice drive midway through the third but a Kirk Resseguie interception late in the third quarter ended the Cardinal threat.
Freshman quarterback Zach Hibbits scored his first touchdown of his career going in from three years out putting the Griffons up 49-0 with 12:20 to play in the game. Hibbits threw his first career touchdown pass late in the fourth to Andrew Molloy giving MWSU the 56-0 victory.
Missouri Western finished with 549 yards of offense with 23 first downs. Spencer finished the night with seven carries for 81 yards and a touchdown while Thomas had five carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively the Griffons held the Cardinals to just 211 yards with 178 coming through the air and 33 came on the ground. MWSU forced three turnovers, had four sacks and had nine tackles for a loss. Alli led the charge with 10 total tackles while Jordan Nicholas and Williams finished with eight.
Shelton had 118 yards passing connecting on 18-of-23 with two interceptions. Molzen had five catches for 92 yards while Shelton had 24 yards rushing on 13 carries. Jimmy DeStafano led the way with nine total tackles.
Missouri Western returns to action next Saturday, September 15 when they play host to the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers on Military Appreciation and Family Day. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm.
— MWSU Sports Information —