#11 Emporia State cannot complete comeback in 34-31 loss at Missouri Western

September 30, 2023-The #11 Hornets came back from a 24-6 deficit to tie the game with 46 seconds left but Missouri Western got a 41 yard field goal with four seconds left as the Griffons posted a 34-31 victory on Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
Emporia State opened the scoring when Jaylen Varner pulled in a one handed 25 yard touchdown pass from Braden Gleason The PAT was blocked as the Hornets led 6-0 with 11:37 left in the first quarter.  The rest of the half belonged to the Griffons as they scored  24 straight points to take a 24-6 led into the half.
 
Western started the run with an eight yard touchdown pass from Armani Edden to Caleb Martin with 6:26 left in the first.  Seth Cromwell scored the first of his two touchdowns on the ground on the opening drive of the second quarter to give MWSU a 14-6 lead.  Reagan Jones came on to relieve Edden in the second quarter and found Will Schwartz for a three yard touchdown with 7:51 left in the half. 
 
Emporia State was driving at the end of the half when Gleason was pressured and his pass was ruled backwards and recovered by Ison Robinson at the Western 22 yard line with 4:04 left.  The Griffons drove to the Hornet six yard line and on third and four Edden scrambled for what was first ruled a touchdown with 1:19 left. After video review it was determined that Edden fumbled at the one yard line.  Emporia State stuffed three straight rushing attempts  before settling for an 18 yard field goal as time expired to give Missouri Western a 24-6 lead at the break.
 
Arich Ansley picked off Edden on the opening drive of the second quarter and the Hornets quickly got down to the Western five yard line.  On fourth and three Gleason's pass to Varner was broken up by the Griffons Brayden Wright with 11:52 left in the quarter.  After a Western punt the Hornets drove 81 yards in seven plays for the first score of the second half.  Billy Ross Jr's seven yard run and Caden Dodson's PAT made it 14-13 with 2:29 left in the third.
 
Emporia State forced another punt and took over at their own ten yard line with 14:08 left in the game.  The Hornets converted two third downs on the drive before Ross scored from two yards out with 10:29 left.  Gleason then found Zion Jones for a two point conversion to cut the deficit to 24-21. On the ensuing drive Cromwell burst through for a 51 yard touchdown to put the Griffons up 31-21 with 8:02 left in the game.  Jones returned the kickoff 60 yards to the Western 39 yard line and six plays later Gleason hit Tyler Kahmann for a two yard touchdown to bring ESU back within three points with 6:02 left.
 
The Hornets got another stop on the next drive and Emporia State took over on their own 12 yard line with 2:49 left.  On first down Gleason hit Tommy Zimmerman for a 48 yard gain down to the Western 40.  A pair of ross rushes around scramble by Gleason gave the Hornets a first and goal with 1:31 left. Another scramble by Gleason put the Hornets at second and goal from the three yard line when the Griffons called timeout.  Ross was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on second down and ESU called time out with 55 seconds left.  On third down Kahmann hauled in a pass from Gleason in the endzone but was ruled out of bounds on the catch with 50 seconds left. After a replay review the play stood and Dodson come on to tie the game at 31 with a 24 yard field goal with just 46 seconds left.
 
Jalen Lampley returned the kick-off 41 yards out to the Griffon 47 yard line with 36 seconds left.  Brandon Hall gained nine yards on back to back carries to get the Griffons into Hornet territory with 16  seconds left when they spiked the ball.  A completion to Jonas Bennett got Western to the ESU 24 yard line and they spiked the ball with eight seconds left.   Cody Watson put the Griffons ahead 34-31 with a 41 yard field goal with just four seconds left.
 
After a short kick off the Hornets took over at their own 25 yard line.  Gleason completed a pass to Zimmerman who got to the 34 before lateralling to Zion Jones who was hit by Wright at 34 yard line as time expired.  Wright was flagged for targeting on the play, giving ESU one last untimed play.  Gleason's desperation throw was picked off by TreVon Holmes to end the game.
 
Gleason went 29 of 44 for 363 yards with two touchdowns and added 36 yards on ten carries.  Kahmann was the top receiver with 100 yards on nine catches and a touchdown while Varner grabbed nine receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown.  Ross ended the day with 69 yards on 17 carries and added 14 receiving yards on three catches. Defensively Jordan Williams and Zach Dortch Jr each had eight tackles with Williams have 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
Emporia State will be back in action oin Saturday, October 7 when they travel to #3 Pittsburg State. Kick-off from Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kan. is set for 2:00 p.m.
 
NOTES
Gleason moved past Brent Wilson into second place on the Emporia State career lists for passing yards, total offense and touchdown passes.  He now has 8,910 passing yards, 9,760 yards of total offense and 85 touchdown passes. 
Gleason passed ESU's Brent Wilson (8621 yards from 2012-15) and NWMSU's Blake Bolles (8668 yards from 2007-10) to move into ninth in career passing in the MIAA.
Gleason passed ESU's Brent Wilson  (9516 yards from 2012-15) and UCO's Chas Stallard (9723 yards from 2014-17) into eighth on the MIAA career list for total offense.