ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Football (3-6, 2-5 MIAA) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:44 remaining and the defense held in the final seconds as MoWest topped Washburn, 27-24, on Saturday afternoon at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph.

In a game that featured four lead changes, MoWest scored first on an 11-play, 71-yard drive ended by a 14-yard touchdown run by Brandon Hall with 6:28 left in the first quarter.

Washburn (2-7, 1-6 MIAA) answered, scoring 10 unanswered and leading 10-7 with 5:24 to go in the second quarter. The Ichabods recovered a MoWest fumble at the Griffon 27-yard line, and scored five plays later to grab the lead.

MoWest, however, drove 72 yards on 11 plays right before halftime, as Lattrel Armstrong's first career field goal from 33 yards out tied the game, 10-10, at intermission.

On its second series of the second half, MoWest took advantage of a short field, and Armstrong knocked through a career-long 44-yard field goal to put the Griffons back in front, 13-10, with 8:39 left in the third.

The Griffons got the ball back late in the third quarter and marched 79 yards on five plays, including a 33-yard touchdown run by Hall to give MoWest a 20-10 advantage headed to the fourth.

Hall had a season-best 130 yards rushing on 23 carries for a season-best two rushing touchdowns.

Washburn responded quickly, completing four passes – one of them being a 10-yard touchdown pass from Keller Hurla to Henry Mohrmann to make it a 20-17 game with 13:18 to play.

The Bods struck again quickly just three plays later when MoWest quarterback Kane Donovan was picked off by Jordan Finnesy, giving Washburn a first down at the Griffon 12.

The Bods scored just three plays later, and suddenly Washburn led 24-20 with still 10:55 to play.

Washburn got the ball back with 7:10 to go, but a three-and-out by the MoWest defense gave the MoWest offense plenty of time to come up with a go-ahead drive.

The Griffons did just that, converting on two fourth downs in the final five minutes. The second fourth down conversion was on 4^th-and-goal from the two-yard-line when Donovan scored on a draw play, putting MoWest up 27-24 with 1:44 to go.

Washburn benefited from a pair of Griffon penalties on their final series, getting all the way to the Griffon 12-yard line with just 14 seconds left.

On a second down with 11 seconds left, Washburn QB Logan Madden was rushed by Grant Finley, and a throwaway to the sideline by Madden was called an intentional grounding penalty with only seven seconds left. Washburn was out of timeouts, and the 10-second runoff expired the remaining time.

Donovan finished with 213 all-purpose yards – 140 through the air and a career-best 73 yards on the ground. MoWest outrushed Washburn in total yards 215-39, and outgained them in total offense 355-277.

Brecken Manus led MoWest with nine total tackles. Khalid Sereal and Marvin Gant each had a sack.

MoWest is back on the road Saturday to face No. 13 Northwest (8-1, 7-0 MIAA) at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen).