St. Joseph, Mo. - Missouri Western scored on three of its first four possessions and received a second half jolt when Javerious McGuinn took a kickoff back for a touchdown, and the Griffons held off Missouri Southern, 35-27, on Saturday night at Spratt Stadium.

The Griffons (2-1) led 21-7 at halftime and were set to get the ball to start the second half. Missouri Southern, (0-3) however, opened the second half with trickery, recovering their own pooch kick at the Griffon 35-yard line and scoring two plays later.

A Missouri Western three-and-out led to another scoring drive for Southern, which ended with a 24-yard field goal from Reese Drake. On the ensuing kickoff, McGuinn returned the kick roughly five yards deep in his own end zone and sprinted down the sideline for six. It was the first time a Griffon returned a kickoff for a TD since Cooper Burton did so against Northeastern State in 2021.

Southern didn't go quietly, however. The Lions punched in another touchdown with 12:19 left in the fourth, but the Griffons responded. Leading 28-24, Missouri Western's Jake Leader recovered an onside kick at midfield, and the Griffons scored six plays later on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kane Donovan to Jake Berrey.

Southern knocked in another field goal with 3:27 remaining to make it a one-score game, but Missouri Western held the ball on offense for the final 3:22, getting a pair of critical first downs to salt the game away.

Donovan was on point for the Griffons, completing a remarkable 16-of-17 through the air for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also had a one-yard TD run. Brandon Hall had another big night, toting the ball 22 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. The effort puts Hall over 2,000 rushing yards in his career at 2,112. That puts him at eighth most career rushing yards in program history currently.

Berrey was the lead receiver for MWSU with five grabs for 85 yards and a score. Jaden Brown led the Griffs defensively with six tackles. Marvin Gant had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Missouri Western broke up eight passes in the defensive backfield. Antonio Taylor had the most of those with four.

For Southern, Luke Sampson completed 25-of-41 for 304 yards and three scores. His top target Deontay Campbell caught nine passes for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Missouri Western is back on the road to face No. 21 Emporia State (3-0) on Saturday. Kickoff from Welch Stadium in Emporia, KS is set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Varsity Network App and at GoGriffons.com/listen with pregame coverage starting at noon.

Emporia beat No. 4 Pittsburg State on Saturday, 24-21.