Advertisement

No. 5 Missouri State football victorious in season-opening win at Central Arkansas

wyatt d. wheeler, springfield news-leader
·3 min read
2

CONWAY, Ark. — The start of what Missouri State hopes will be a dream season started on the right track.

Fifth-ranked Missouri State (1-0) came away with a 27-14 win at Central Arkansas on Thursday night in Conway, Arkansas. It's the first time MSU has opened a season with a win since 2016.

Two MSU touchdowns in the final 1:05 of the first half set the tone for the rest of the night. The Bears will open their home slate on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. against UT Martin in a rematch of the first round of the 2021 FCS Playoffs in which the Skyhawks won 32-31 at Plaster Stadium.

Star quarterback Jason Shelley threw for 266 yards with one touchdown while rushing for a gain of 76 yards and another score. Wide receiver Ty Scott finished the game with eight catches and 160 yards.

REACTION: Missouri State football is starting to hold itself to a higher standard, as a top 5 team should

The turning point came after MSU scored its first touchdown of the night on a five-yard scramble for a 10-0 lead. Central Arkansas quarterback Will McElvain, trying to score before the end of the half, was picked off by Tahj Chambers with 38 seconds left. A Shelley 14-yard pass to Scott was followed by a 33-yard scramble to get to the UCA 10. Two plays later, Shelley kept a play alive with his legs before finding Hunter Wood in the back of the endzone for the 17-0 lead before the break.

TAKES: Missouri State vs. Central Arkansas football: Five takeaways from Bears' Week 1 win

All of Central Arkansas' points came in the fourth quarter as it struggled to get anything going through the air. After UCA scored its first touchdown, the ensuing kickoff to Missouri Valley Football Conference first-team kick returner Montrae Braswell was returned 98 yards for a touchdown — a year after he returned a kick 96 yards for a score against UCA at Plaster Stadium.

McElvain finished the game with 173 passing yards and two interceptions. Freshman All-American running back Darius Hale ran for 100 of UCA's 168 rushing yards. The purple Bears were held to just 39 passing yards in the first half before MSU backed its corners back while holding on to a 17-point lead.

Outside of Shelley, Missouri State struggled to get the ground game going with Kansas State transfer Jacardia Wright rushing for 38 net yards during the game. MSU's offensive line struggled for the majority of the night while allowing four sacks and counting on Shelley to bail it out with his presence in the pocket.

Kicker Jose Pizano finished the contest with made field goals of 36 and 37. UCA missed a pair of kicks from the redzone.

Scoring Summary

  • 2Q 5:58 — Pizano 36-yard field goal. MSU 3-0

  • 2Q 1:05 — Shelley five-yard run. PAT good. MSU 10-0

  • 2Q 0:03 — Shelley 10-yard pass to Wood. PAT good. MSU 17-0

  • 3Q 1:10 — Pizano 37-yard field goal. MSU 20-0

  • 4Q 12:21 — McElvain 12-yard run. MSU 20-7

  • 4Q 12:07 — Braswell 98-yard kick return. MSU 27-7

  • 4Q 9:35 — McElvain seven-yard pass to Butler. MSU 27-14

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.-

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State football beats Central Arkansas in season opener