CHICAGO – The Missouri Baptist University football team remains in search of its first win following a 34-7 loss on the road to No. 6 Saint Xavier University Saturday evening. In similar fashion to last year's meeting between the two teams, the Cougars jumped out to a double-digit lead and didn't look back.
 
The Spartan defense struggled to limit Saint Xavier's big-play opportunities as the Cougars posted seven plays of 20+ yards with two resulting in a touchdown. One area that MBU improved on significantly from Weeks 1 and 2 to Saturday was its third-down conversion rate and time of possession. In fact, the Spartans held an advantage in both possessing the ball for 37:41 while converting on 50 percent (9-of-18) of its third downs. Prior to the game, MBU was just 2-for-29 (.069) on third downs.
 
Midway through the second quarter, the Spartans turned to quarterback Lucas Rockford to see if the true freshman could inject some life into the offense. The Springfield, Ill. product had a chance to shine in his second drive of the game, however, the push towards SXU's redzone came to a screeching halt when Rockford coughed up the ball after being sacked for a 5-yard loss.
 
The Cougars pushed their lead to 27-0 after halftime. For the first in the game though, Missouri Baptist had an answer. The Spartans relied heavily on a costly SXU personal foul on a 3^rd down as well as its rushing attack with 9 running plays and four through the air. Freshman quarterback Lucas Rockford connected with Isaiah King for a 27-yard catch to get inside the Cougars' 10-yard line. He capped off the 14-play, 92-yard drive with his first collegiate touchdown on a 2-yard rush.
 
On the day, Rockford completed 66 percent of his throws (10-for-15) for 97 yards passing and added 50 yards on his feet. For the second week in a row, College of DuPage transfer Chris Baldwin led the MBU rushers with 94 yards on 25 carries. Defensively, the Spartans collected five tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries and six pass break ups. Senior D.J. Johnson led all Missouri Baptist tacklers with 11 (6 solo).
 
For Saint Xavier, quarterback Alex Martinez finished with a stat line of 232 yards on 17-of-31 passing and 2 TDs, a far cry from his 6 TDs in the 2017 matchup. On the ground, Vance McShane led all rushers with 120 yards on just 14 attempts for an impressive 8.6 yards per carry. Martinez locked on a trio of his receivers with Harold Davis pulling in 11 receptions for 179 yards, Elliott Pipkins recording 7 catches for 117 yards and Nick Czeszewski with 7 receptions for 72 yards. Each had one TD reception apiece.
 
Up Next
MBU's three-game road stretch continues next week at NCAA DIII institution University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Last year in St. Louis, the Spartans were held without a touchdown in 30-3 loss to the Falcons. Next Saturday's contest is set for a 12 p.m. start time.