ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist kept pace with the No. 1 team in the nation for the first half, but in the second, the dynamic shifted. Nick Ferrer finished the day with six passing touchdowns as the University of St. Francis (Ind.) Cougars defeated the Spartans 56-23.
 
Missouri Baptist (2-6, 1-3 MSFA) had a near perfect start on Saturday as the team marched 70 yards on nine plays for the first score of the game. Thanks in part to a pass interference call on the drive, Kendall Davis finished things off with a three-yard touchdown run to make it a 7-0 game. The Spartans nearly made it 10-0, but Ethan Metzler's field goal attempt from 31-yards out was wide left.
 
St. Francis responded at the end of the quarter. Justin Green began to find daylight though the Spartan defensive line and led the team downfield for its first score of the game. Green, the No. 2 running back in the nation scampered in for a 15-yard score to tie the game at 7-7.
 
Just moments later, the No. 1-ranked Cougars took their first lead of the game. Green picked-up to runs for a total of 46 yards on the drive before Nick Ferrer hooked-up with Will Chrisman for a 19-yard touchdown to make it a 14-7 game.
 
The see-saw battle continued as the Spartans brought out a little trickery. On the next drive, D'Ante Cox took the snap, flipped it back to Dominic Demarath who fired a pass to Cox for a 38-yard score to tie the game at 14-14.
 
St. Francis needed only one play of its own to tie it as Ferrer continued to impress. The Cougar quarterback found Duke Blackwell for a 50-yard touchdown pass and catch.
 
Down by a score, the Spartan defense got in on the action. On senior day, Donvontae Johnson made a big play as he forced a fumble by Andreas Gomez-Espino and rumbled 78 yards to pay dirt. A botched two-point conversion allowed the Cougars to keep their lead.
 
The Cougars added a score to make it 28-20 before tipped interception gave the visitors another shot at the end zone with 54 second remaining in the half.
 
Ferrer completed the first pass to Casey Coll for a 13-yard touchdown to put the Cougars up 35-20 at the half.
 
After the break, the scoring slowed to a drizzle in the third quarter. Donvontae Johnson picked-off Ferrer and put the Spartans deep into St. Francis territory. Ethan Metzler knocked-down a 41-yard field to make it a 45-23 game, but the Cougars responded aggressively.
Ferrer found Sean Boswell open over the middle, who hauled-in a 52-yard score to make it a 45-23 lead just minutes into the final quarter of play.
 
The Cougars added another pair of touchdowns in the final quarter as they extended their record to 8-0 in 2017.
 
The Spartans were led defensively by Donvontae Johnson. The senior finished second in tackles with nine, but a forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception, and made his case for MSFA Defensive Player of the Week in the coming week.
 
In his second start of 2017, Tim Brenneisen tossed for 204 yards on the day to lead the quarterback corps.
 
Ferrer had an impressive day on the St. Francis side. The senior signal-caller tossed six touchdowns and 446 yards overall. The Cougars finished the day with 686 total yards of offense.
 
Missouri Baptist ended the 2017 home schedule on Saturday and will head out on the road for the final three games of the season beginning with Trinity International (Ill.) next weekend in Deerfield, Ill.