By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
Missouri Southern’s plan Thursday night was to grab a quick lead, then let the backups play most of the final three quarters.
Mission accomplished.
The Lions scored just 17 seconds after the opening kickoff, and the reserves piled up most of the yardage in a 66-9 victory over Haskell on Thursday night before a crowd of 2,417 at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Running back Toderick Hunt and quarterback Collin Howard combined for 280 yards and six touchdowns off the bench as the Lions got off to a 2-0 start for the third consecutive year. The final nine games of the season are MIAA affairs, starting Sept. 13 at Pittsburg State.
Hunt, 215-pound junior from Jasper, Texas, gained 175 yards on 21 carries, including touchdowns of 5 yards in the second quarter and 47 and 12 yards in the first six minutes of the fourth period.
“The offensive line did a really good job,” Hunt said. “There were a couple of times where you had to make some guy miss, but the line did a great job. The holes were parting like the Red Sea.
“We wanted to use this game to sharpen, to make sure we’re doing things right. Plus, Coach was going to make us practice if we didn’t perform. That’s a motivator by itself.”
“The thing I really like about Todd is every time he gets extended action, he’s better at the end than he is at the beginning,” Lions head coach Bart Tatum said. “I like backs like that. The more reps you give him, the better he gets.”
Howard, 200-pound redshirt freshman from Webb City, broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown on his first carry late in the first half and added third-quarter scores of 30 and 25 yards. He finished with 105 yards on seven attempts.
“Coaches were talking about everybody getting some playing time, so I was looking forward to it,” Howard said. “The first two (touchdowns) were options where you could pitch off the end, just like the Webb City offense. The last one was a draw play.
“The linemen did a great job, made it easy for me. All I have to do is run.”
“He’s a winner, and Roland is a winner,” Tatum said. “It doesn’t shock me whatsover that he came out and produced like he did.”
The Lions rolled up 404 yards rushing and 517 total yards while posting their second-highest point total in school history.
The Lion defense limited the Indians (0-2) to 20 yards in the second half and 114 for the game. The Lions logged three quarterback sacks and nine tackles for loss, including two apiece by backup nose tackle Clarence Leverette and backup linebacker Josh Woodard and 1.5 by backup end Cruz Johnson.
“We really wanted the shutout,” strong safety Skyler Vandiver said. “Giving up that one touchdown, we were all pretty upset about that, but you just have to overcome that and come out and play. We ran to the ball real well. It was nice to get people who don’t get playing time sometimes out there.”
Haskell middle linebacker Greg Nilges, 5-foot-10, 175-pound freshman, made 21 tackles, including 13 solo stops.
The Lions scored on their first six possessions while building a 38-7 halftime cushion. The Lions outgained the Indians 260-94 in the first two quarters, and 56 of Haskell’s yards came on Quentin Haynes’ touchdown sprint around left end with 5:50 left in the half.
Defense ignited the Lions’ quick start as cornerback Jordan Patton intercepted Tyler Sessions’ pass on the game’s first play and returned it 29 yards to the 1.
Quarterback Adam Hinspeter scored on the Lions’ first play, and on his final play of the game, he hit Isaac Norman down the middle with a 67-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter.
In between, fullback Elreo Smith scored from the 2 for his first MSSU touchdown, and Brian Malette kicked a 29-yard field goal.
“It worked out perfectly,” Tatum said. “I was proud of our guys coming out ready to go and getting some numbers up on the board so we could start rolling people in the game.”
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