ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Facing a 31-31 tie with 46 seconds left to play vs. No. 11/10 Emporia State, Griffon Football showed their quick start to this season is nothing to scoff at.

Missouri Western State put together a six-play, 29-yard drive, culminating in a 41-yard field goal by Cody Watson with four seconds in the ballgame to give the Griffons a 34-31 Homecoming win over Emporia on Saturday afternoon at Spratt Stadium.

After Emporia State (4-1, 3-1 MIAA) opened the scoring to go up 6-0, Missouri Western responded to take a 7-6 lead with 6:26 left in the first quarter thanks to an 8-yard touchdown throw from Armani Edden to Caleb Martin. The Griffons (4-1, 3-1 MIAA) then increased their lead to 14-6 with another score, an 8-yard from Seth Cromwell.

Missouri Western kept Emporia off the scoreboard and extended its lead to 21-6 with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter after Will Schwartz caught a 3-yard pass from Reagan Jones. The Griffons continued to expand their lead, scoring again to go ahead 24-6 with Watson's first field goal of the day.

Missouri Western kept building its lead after Emporia made it a 24-21 game, scoring again with 8:02 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 51-yard TD gallop by Cromwell. The Hornets rallied to tie the game at 31-31 before the Griffons reclaimed the lead on Watson's game-winner.

Edden led Missouri Western's passing attack with 240 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown and one interception. The signal caller also added 56 yards on the ground.

Brandon Hall paced the Griffons rushing attack by accumulating 86 yards over the course of the game, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Cromwell also added 74 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

Edden's most prolific target in the ballgame was Jalen Lampley, who caught four passes for 76 yards. Jonas Bennett got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in five balls for 63 yards.

Ison Robinson showed out for the Missouri Western defense, recording one recovered fumble. TreVon Holmes added 11 tackles and one interception in the win.

The Griffons won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time, with Missouri Western turning those takeaways into three points. Missouri Western put together a stellar outing on the ground, gaining 247 rushing yards while averaging six yards per carry and out-rushing Emporia State by 115 yards. Missouri Western converted on 53.8% of third-down attempts on the day.

Defensively, Missouri Western held up fairly well against the Emporia State rushing attack, holding the Hornets to 132 yards on the ground.

• Emporia State outgained Missouri Western State 495-490 in the contest.
• Missouri Western won the turnover battle 2-1 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
• Missouri Western had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, putting up 17 points.
• Missouri Western converted 7-of-13 third downs while Emporia State was successful on 3-of-11.
• The Griffons had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Holmes, who had 11.
• Missouri Western forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
• Missouri Western won the time of possession battle 35:54 to 24:06.
• Edden completed 65.4% of his passes on the day, going 17-for-26 while averaging 9.2 yards per attempt.
• Braden Gleason led the Hornets' passing attack, completing 29 of his 44 attempts for 363 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
• Holmes picked off Gleason to end the game, notching Gleason's first pick of the season.
• Tyler Kahmann was Emporia's leading receiver with 100 yards and one touchdown.
• This is MWSU's first win over a ranked team since Sept. 12, 2019.