ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Football (0-1) shined offensively and had some eye-popping performances, but No. 20 Augustana (1-0) did as well, and the Vikings came away with a 63-58 win in a season-opening shootout at Spratt Stadium on Thursday night.
In front of a crowd of 2691 at Spratt Stadium, both teams went blow-for-blow in the first half, with the game tied 35-35 at halftime.
Quarterback
Isaiah Tate put on a show, scoring all five of his touchdowns in the first half – four through the air and one on the ground. He completed each of his first 10 passes, and ended up going 18-for-29 for 420 passing yards (second most in school history) without an interception. He finished with 26 rushing yards and 446 yards of total offense (fourth most in school history). His five all-purpose TDs ties a school record, and hadn't been done by a Griffon since 2010 (Dalton Krysa).
Tate's four passing TDs ties for second most in a single game in program history, as he led five consecutive touchdown drives to start the game.
MoWest got the ball to start the second half, but the drive stalled and the Griffons were forced to punt. Augustana's Neal May took that punt 84 yards to the house to put the Vikings up 42-35 with 11:46 left in the third quarter.
Augie never lost the lead after that, leading by two possessions on three different occasions. After Augustana retook the lead, Tate left the game with injury and
Skyler Cassel took over for the rest of the game with 10:39 left in the third.
Through it all, the Griffons never gave in, as true freshman
Peyton Hatfield took a kickoff back 98 yards to the endzone to make it a 48-42 game with 7:29 left in the third.
MoWest got down 63-49 early in the fourth, but it was the Griffons who scored the last nine points of the game. MWSU was gifted a safety when Augustana punter dropped a snap on a punt at the back of the end zone.
In the closing minutes, after a 4
th down stop by the defense, Cassel came in and engineered the final scoring drive, ending with a 32-yard touchdown pass to true freshman
Emmanuel Ellison. Ellison ended with 80 yards on four catches.
The Griffs pulled it to within five and attempted an onside kick with 1:04 remaining, but Augustana recovered and was able to kneel it out from there.
Cassel completed 13-of-18 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. He had one interception.
Malik Moore had a career-night with 198 yards receiving (third most in school history) on eight grabs, including a touchdown.
Crew Myers turned in a career-best 126 yards receiving on eight catches and a score.
Austin Adair had 97 yards receiving and his first career touchdown.
Hatfield finished with two all-purpose touchdowns and 219 all-purpose yards (142 returning, 77 receiving).
Rickie Dunn was the lead running back with eight carries for 44 yards and a score. Altogether, MoWest shattered school records in both total yards (727) and passing yards (635).
Defensively,
Deontae Young,
Evan Williams and
John Pargo Jr. each had a sack.
Ken Pierre-Charles had an interception and six tackles.
Broc Worcester had seven total tackles.
Derrick Robinson had six.
The 121 points are the most combined points scored in a game in program history. Augustana's 63 points ties for the second most scored by an opponent in a single game in program history.
MoWest is on the road next Thursday for its first MIAA game of the season, facing Central Missouri (0-1). Kickoff from Walton Stadium in Warrensburg is set for 7 p.m. The game will be carried on the Griffon Sports Network (GoGriffons.com/listen, Varsity Network App). It'll also be
televised locally on 38 The Spot.
UCM lost at No. 6 CSU-Pueblo Thursday, 44-25.
