13th ranked Emporia State gets come from behind win over Missouri Western

September 21, 2024-Emporia State came from down ten points in the third quarter to defeat Missouri Western 30-27 on Saturday afternoon on Jones Field at Welch Stadium.
 
The #13 Hornets got on the board first with a 25 yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Gundy to Trenden Collins with 4:21 left in the first quarter.  The Emporia State defense forced a three and out on the ensuing possession and Caden Dodson hit a 25 yard field goal with 1:08 left in the period for a 10-0 lead.
 
The Griffons responded with two  big plays to take their first lead.  The Hornets drove to the Western 23 yard line before failing to convert on fourth down. Missouri Western took four plays  to go 71 yards, with Brandon Hall scoring from 52 yards out to make it 10-7 with 5:02 left in the second quarter.   Emporia State responded with a nine play 58 yard drive down to the Western 17 but Dodson's 34 yard field goal attempt missed to give the ball back to the Griffons at the ESU 20 with 2:28 left.  On the next play from scrimmage Kody Kirk hit Tyler Carey for an 80 yard touchdown to put the Griffons up 13-10 as Rylan Miller blocked the extra point with 2:19 remaining in the half.  Going against s strong wind in the second quarter, Dodson was only able to get off an 11 yard punt, setting the Griffons up near midfield.  Six plays later Kirk and Carey hooked up again, this time from 13 yards out to give Western a 20-10 lead at the half.
 
The teams traded punts to start the second half before Tyler Schultze picked off Kirk and returned it 44 yards down to the Western 16 yard line. After three incompletions Dodson was able to convert a 33 yard field goal to pull the Hornets within 20-13 with 9:36 left in the third quarter.  The Hornets would tie the game on their first drive of the fourth quarter capped off by a 26 yard touchdown pass from Gundy to Tyler Kahmann with 12:42 left in the game. 
 
A 56 yard punt return by Jonas Bennett set the Griffons up at the Hornet six yard line with 7:28 remaining in the game.  After a tackle for loss on first down, Hall scored from seven yards on a pass from Kirk to give Western a 27-20 lead. 
 
Emporia State would get the ball back after a punt with 2:25 left at the MWSU 45 yard line.  Gundy would go three for three for 48 yards capped off by a 30 yard touchdown pass to Kahmann with 1:42 left to tie the game at 27.  Western took over with 1:35 left at their own 27 yard line and drove to the Hornet 38 yard line with three seconds left.  Cody Watson missed a 55 yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime.
 
The Hornets had the ball first in the extra frame, but only gained seven yards before Dodson hit a 36 yard field goal to give Emporia State a 30-27 lead.  On the Griffons possession, they picked up a first down with an 11 yard rush by Jayden Williams.  After a tackle for loss and an incomplete pass, Kirk connected with Bennett at the five yard line but Caleb Mondi and Arich Ansley were able to hold him short of the first down. Facing fourth and one Kirk found Williams open in the endzone but he was not able to haul in the pass as Emporia State survived for the 30-27 victory.
 
Gunnar Gundy went 49 of 74 for 454 yards with three touchdowns and added 39 yards on 13 carries for 493 yards of total offense on 87 offensive attempts.  The completions, passing attempts and total offensive attempts were all Emporia State single game records.  Tyler Kahmann had career highs of 13 receptions for 178 yards with two touchdowns. Trenden Collins had seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown while Zion Jones had career highs of 11 catches for 82 yards. Dodson tied his career high with three made field goals.  Jaaron Joseph had seven tackles with an interception while Tyler Schultze and Arich Ansley each had four tackles and an interception.
 
With the win, the #13 Hornets improved to 4-0 for the second straight season. Emporia State will travel to Northwest Missouri next weekend.  Kickoff from Tjeerdsma Field at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Mo. is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
NOTES
Gundy's 49 completions in 74 attempts broke Braden Gleason's Emporia State records of 48 completions in 67 attempts set at Central Missouri on October 9, 2021.
Gundy's 87 total offensive attempts broke Braxton Marstall's Emporia State school record of 78 set against Lindenwood on September 22, 2018.
Gundy's 49 completions are tied for 11^th in NCAA Division II history while his 74 attempts are tied for 13^th all-time in D2.
Gundy became the first Hornet since Braden Gleason (417 yards vs Southern Nazarene on December 2, 2023) to throw for at least 400 yards.
Gundy's 454 passing yards rank eighth all-time in a single game at Emporia State.
Gundy's 493 yards of total offense rank sixth all-time in a single game at Emporia State.
This was Emporia State's first overtime game since a 34-31 victory at Washburn on October 27, 2018.
This was the first time Emporia State has rallied from a fourth quarter deficit for a win since a 24-21 win at Missouri Southern on October 22, 2022.
The blocked PAT by Rylan Miller was the first blocked PAT by Emporia State since CJ Adams blocked one against Central Missouri on October 8, 2022.