ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Spartans dropped their final contest of the 2021 season with a 35-23 final to St. Ambrose after honoring their seniors on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day.
Despite a late fourth quarter push, the Spartans could not overcome an early hole they found themselves in, falling to 4-7 overall and 1-6 in the Mid-States Football Association.
The first quarter opened pleasantly for the home team as the Fighting Bees were forced to punt after three big plays from
Jaylen Cowley,
Joe King, and
Collin Thomas for the Missouri Baptist defense. SAU quickly got the ball back on an interception from sophomore linebacker Connor Dertz on the second play of the ensuing drive.
The Spartan defense forced another three-and-out, but this time
Kohl Williams got to the punter in time to block the kick to force a loose ball. Sophomore defensive back
Zeppelin Velder quickly picked the ball up and ran it five yards into the end zone for an early MBU score. The point after attempt was missed, limiting the Spartan lead to 6-0.
SAU running back Kaden King responded for his team immediately. King took a handoff on the third play of the next drive and ran it 58 yards into the other endzone to tie the game at six. Joe Namio made the PAT to take the lead.
The visitors scored again with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter after John Benckendor capped off a 13-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass. A few drives later, Benckendor collected another touchdown pass for the Fighting Bees, finding Blake Wittman open for the 69-yard score.
The MBU offense continued to sputter in the second quarter but were able to set up a retaliation before halftime. Munn found
Kaleb Quenichet for a pair of receptions, first for 14 yards and then for 15 yards. A few plays later,
Ronald Allen caught a pass and carried it for 20 yards before getting downed at the eight-yard line. A failed rush and a pair of incompletions set
Odaine Reid up for a 30-yard field goal that he sent through the uprights to pull within 12 points.
The Spartans were shutout in the third and surrendered two more touchdowns to King on the ground before responding with 4:57 left in the game.
A
Joe King interception on his own one-yard line left the Spartan offense with some work to do. Multiple rushes to
Darius Morrison gave the Spartans breathing room before he broke off a 26-yard reception from Munn.to put his team deep into SAU territory. Munn then rushed for a first down on the following play and then found
Shane Becker in the corner of the endzone the play after for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Rahkeem Hawkins punched in the two-point reception on the PAT.
Down 35-17, the MBU defense forced a three-and-out to pave the way to one last scoring drive from their offense. Midway through what would be their final drive of the season, Munn found Becker once again, this time for a 29-yard reception. The team continued to eat up yards before Munn found Triplett for a two-yard touchdown pass.
A failed onside kick put the SAU offense on the field for the final kneel to kill off the rest of the clock.
The Spartans end their 2021 campaign with a 4-7 overall record and an 0-6 record in the MSFA Midwest.
