VALPARAISO, Ind. – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist came within seven of NCAA Division I FCS opponent Valparaiso University on Saturday, but was unable to get its offense going in a 55-7 loss.

Missouri Baptist (0-7) struggled to move the ball in both the rushing and the passing game as Valparaiso found success with both. The Spartans recorded just 50 yards of passing and 72 yards of rushing on the day.

In the first quarter, Valpo began the game with a big play on special teams. Morgan Jarrett blocked Tyler Hach's punt, which set-up the Crusaders for a first and goal opportunity in their first possession. Brandon Hall took the ball, in his first carry of the day, to the house to make it a seven-point deficit for Missouri Baptist. The blocked punt was the first of two for the Crusaders.

Hall grabbed his second touchdown on the next series. The junior running back broke-off a 43-yard rush before a nine-yard touchdown scamper to put the home team up 14-0 with just three minutes off the clock in the first quarter.

MBU cut the deficit to seven just minutes later. Crusaders' starting quarterback Ben Lehman was picked-off by defensive end Nathaniel Wurmb, who returned the ball 35 yards to the two yard line of Valpo, to give MBU a first and goal opportunity. JP Lowery ran it in on the ensuing play to make it a 14-7 deficit. This, however, was as close as it got for Missouri Baptist.

For Valparaiso, Brandon Hall led all running backs with 122 yards and two scores on the ground. Ben Lehman also passed for 196 yards and two touchdowns as they led Valpo to a home win on homecoming. This was the Crusaders' second consecutive homecoming win, after defeating Campbell University a season ago.

Missouri Baptist will now try to regroup and heal as the team missed quarterback Jordan Norwine with a shoulder injury and was without wide receivers Dalton Barcom and Cole Lema for the second half.

Next-up for MBU will be an NCAA Division II matchup with the Tiffin University Dragons. Game time is scheduled for 12:30 CST in Ohio.