The William Jewell College (WJC) football team beat the Missouri University of Science and Technology Oct. 18 by a score of 34-27, extending the Cardinal’s conference record to 4-0.
The Cardinals were able to score in the first quarter to make the score 6-0 on two field goals by Brandon Womack, junior. The first was a 20-yard field goal and the second a 46-yard field goal, the longest of his career and second longest in Jewell’s history. Womack was named Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Special Teams Player of the Week.
Jewell’s Le’Andre Nebbit, junior, recovered a Missouri S&T fumble and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. The Miners then scored a touchdown and field goal before quarterback Nick West, junior, hit Staton Rebeck, sophomore, for the 20-yard touchdown. The Miners were able to score a field goal before the end of the quarter to make the score 20-13 at halftime.
Trejuan Mask, first-year, burst for a 67-yard touchdown run to start the second half. Missouri S&T put up another score in the quarter to make the Cardinal’s lead 27-20 at the end of the quarter.
Missouri S&T was able to tie the game at 27-27 when DeSoto Dickson scored on a 4-yard run. After a 3-and-out by the Cardinal’s offense, S&T fair-caught the punt from Zane Kitchell, junior, at their own 12 yard line. On third down, Jewell’s Thomas Clanton, senior, made an interception and returned it 33 yards to put the Cardinal’s offense 22 yards from a score. On second down, West was able to find Rebeck again for the game-winning 20-yard touchdown with 2:59 left in the game. After the win, the Cardinals move to 4-3 (4-0).
Before the game, Missouri S&T was leading the nation in sacks with 28, an average of 4.7 per game. Jewell’s offensive line only gave up 3 sacks on the day.
“Our lineman played well and protected well,” Quentin Riser, senior, said.
The Cardinal’s defense was also able to limit the Miner’s run game and force them to pass.
“We we able to stop the run and make them one-dimensional,” Eric Jackson, senior, said. “We feel our front seven pass rush is the best in the conference, which helps our defensive backs make plays.”
The Cardinals are currently tied for first in the conference with the University of Indianapolis. They will look to keep their conference championship hopes alive this weekend as they take on Quincy University (4-3 (2-2)).
“We can’t overlook anyone. We’re focused on Quincy and we’re going to take it one game at a time. I feel that wherever the season takes us as long as we’re all on the same page we can beat anyone,” Quentin said.
Jewell will continue to rely on strong team chemistry and upperclassmen leadership in the last four games of the season.
“We understand how to play off of each other, and that comes with age and maturity,” Quinlan Riser, senior, said. “We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
The Cardinals play Quincy Saturday, Oct 24 at 1:00 p.m. at Greene Stadium.