MOUNT PLEASANT, IOWA – Missouri Baptist University football travels to Mount Pleasant, Iowa on Saturday to take on the Iowa Wesleyan University Tigers. The Spartans, heading into Iowa with momentum after a 31-14 victory last Saturday in the season opener, look to take home a win in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
GAME COVERAGE
Date: September 4, 2021
Kickoff: 3 p.m.
Location: Mapleleaf Athletic Complex (501 E Mapleleaf Dr., Mount Pleasant, IA 52641 United States)
Watch: www.iwtigers.com/liveEventVideos
Live Stats: bit.ly/3jG4N9N
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
An incredibly young Iowa Wesleyan team is coming off a disappointing final season in the NCAA Division III ranks, picking up a lone victory against Westminster College in three games during the spring. Despite being young, the Tigers have quite a bit of talent on the offensive side of the ball, led by freshman quarterback Gavin Esquivel. Esquivel put up strong numbers in the spring, collecting 924 passing yards and six touchdowns on 131 passing attempts.
The Spartan defense will also look to shut down a strong receiving core in Jaden Harris, Shomari Wilson, and Braedin Ross. Harris, a freshman, had a breakout game in the spring against Westminster, reeling in four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team last week in the season opener with six catches and 79 yards. Wilson showed that he too is a major player in the Tiger offense last season, with a 117-yard performance against Greenville University. Ross also posted his best performance in the game against Greenville, grabbing seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Iowa Wesleyan is fresh off a season-opening loss in their return to the NAIA after being absent from the league for nine years. Saint Ambrose University won the contest 45-13 in a road game for the Tigers. Despite the score, they were able to generate 305 yards of total offense with 273 passing yards behind a strong day from Esquivel. The Spartans will look to shut down a potentially potent Tiger offense while keeping their own offensive momentum from the victory on Saturday.
SPARTANS COMING IN HOT
Missouri Baptist football posted their best season-opening performance in their eight-year history after a 31-14 win over Lyon College. The Spartan offense tallied 418 yards of total offense while the defense stifled the Scots. The team picked up two MSFA Midwest weekly awards in Zack Kern (defensive) and Gavin Claud (special teams) and made a couple of cases for offensive player of the week in Josh Munn (3 total touchdowns, 223 passing yards) and Ronald Allen (121 rushing yards, one touchdown).
In addition, Tyler Ball and Jacob Triplett had huge games on the outsides, combining for 11 catches and 153 receiving yards. On defense, MBU had contributions from all over the lineup. Collectively, the unit hurried the quarterback four times, broke up four passes, and got a huge take away from Terrell Powell when he picked off a Scot pass in the second quarter.
The team was firing on all cylinders on Saturday against Lyon College and has a chance to go 2-0 to start a season for the first time in the history of the program.
