LIVONIA, Mich. – Maybe they just really enjoy playing football.

For the second consecutive game, the Missouri Baptist football team needed more than 60-minutes of playing time to prove they were superior. For the second consecutive game, they did just that. The Spartans got the better of a winless Madonna University team, beating the Crusaders 44-37 in overtime. The Spartans moved to 2-1 on the season, and kept Madonna without a win at 0-4.

On an afternoon where they gave up 37 points to a Madonna University team that had yet to score a point through three contests this year, it would be difficult to say the Missouri Baptist Spartan defense was the difference in the game. But it would be equally difficult to say that they weren't. Despite having a penchant for giving up big plays early in the game, the Spartan defense registered an incredible 12 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Junior Rakweon Ramsey accounted for four of those, and also had 12 tackles and six tackles for loss. Sophomore Giovanoi Sanes and senior Jeremiah Austin had three and a half sacks each. It was a dominating performance, in the context of not being dominating at all. In fact, the defense gave up 361 yards, although to be fair 137 of those came on two big plays in the first quarter of the game.

Not to be outdone, the MBU offense found its footing this week, putting up 491 yards of total offense. Much of that came through the air as freshman QB Ashton Strother had another strong week, completing 25 of his 35 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. Strother spread the ball around to six different receivers, including five receptions for redshirt freshman wide-out Kameron Sloan for 129 yards and nine catches for 122 yards for sophomore Gavin Claud. Sloan and Claud both had touchdown receptions. On the ground, junior running back Darius Morrison announced his return after a one-week absence with 87 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Graduate student running back Ronald Allen had 55 yards and a touchdown as well.

Madonna came in scoreless through their first three games, but it took just five plays and two minutes and one second to change all that.  The big play was a 64-yard QB scramble by Crusader QB Arthur Brantley to set Madonna up at the Spartan 15-yard line.  From there it took only 3 plays before Brantley hooked up with wide receiver D'vonta Garrett and Madonna had their first lead of the season, and their first lead ever in the short history of the series between MU and MBU, 7-0.

The Spartans wasted no time evening things up. After the ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds and set MBU up with first and ten at the 35-yard line, Morrison took a handoff, found the left sideline and would not be caught as he broke away for a 65-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and the game was tied at seven with just two minutes and 11 seconds elapsed on the clock.

But the explosive start wasn't over yet. After the kickoff, the second Crusader possession of the game started at the Madonna 19 yard line. Three plays later, Brantley found Novell Chestnut in a soft spot in the middle of the Spartan defensive line. Chestnut broke a few tackles, then broke away from all pursuers and scored from 73 yards out.  Three minutes and forty seconds into the game, it was Madonna leading 14-7.

The next MBU drive ended with a 30-yard field goal from Sophomore kicker Jonah Cox. That drive included a 42-yard completion from Strother to Sloan to put the Spartans in scoring position.

After a three and out, MBU put together an eight play – 61 yard drive that resulted in Morrison's second touchdown of the day, this one from three yards out. With 6:51 left in the first quarter, the Spartans lead 17-14.

The Spartan defense continued to settle in and forced another Crusader three and out. The offense got the ball back with 4:28 remaining in the opening quarter and put together a nine-play drive culminating in an Allen 1-yd touchdown run and the Spartans had seemingly righted the ship and led 24-14.

The Crusaders weren't so quick to go away. Madonna answered with a nine-play drive and a touchdown pass from Brantley to Luke Pfromm.  The extra point was blocked by Sanes as the Spartans lead 24-20. Later in the half, Crusaders kicker William Stoyano knocked one through from 30 yards to get Madonna within one at 24-23.

If it wasn't for some questionable game management at the end of the first half, Madonna may have regained the lead. The Crusaders drove to the Spartans three yard line with no timeouts when they were flagged for an illegal participation penalty resulting in a 10-second runoff that ended the first half. The Spartans lead 24-23 at the break.

The third quarter turned into much more of a defensive slugfest, as only Madonna could manage points as a result of two more Stoyano field goals, from 42 and 36 yards. That was enough to give the Crusaders the lead after three quarters, 29-24.

The Spartans were saving their late-game heroics for the fourth quarter. MBU completed their longest scoring drive of the game, 11 plays and 71 yards, with Morrison's third touchdown of the game with 11:45 left to go in the fourth quarter. However, the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful. The Spartans had regained the lead, but only at 30 to 29.

Madonna wasted little time in answering back. Following a seven-play, 75-yard drive resulting in a touchdown and a two-point conversion they led…again…37-30.

The Spartans then engineered their final touchdown drive of regulation. When Strother found Claud on a 24-yard slant route resulting in the receiver tumbling just past the goal line, and Cox was able to take on the extra point, the game was back to even at 37-37 with 5:44 left to play. The touchdown pass was the sixth of the season for Strother, and it was Claud's second touchdown reception of the year.

Neither offense was able to move the ball for the remainder of the regulation.

It was the second time in as many games that the Spartans went to overtime. In Week 2 it took four of them before they turned back Iowa Wesleyan University 25-23.  This time, it only took one.

The Spartans got the ball first to start the extra frame. Three plays in, Strother lofted a beautiful strike from 18 yards to Sloan on an out-route in the front right corner of the endzone. Sloan made the catch and got a foot down to give the Spartans the overtime lead 44-37.

But the Spartan defense had some unfinished business. Following back-to-back incompletions by Brantley, MBU finished the game in style. First, it was Austin with an 11-yard sack. Then Ramsey put a bow on the game with a 1-yard sack, the 12^th of the game for the Spartans and the fourth individually for Ramsey.

The Spartans had gutted it out, and won again.

Next up for MBU is a clash with fifth-ranked Marian. Kickoff is set for next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Central time at Spartan Field. Madonna will travel to Judson University next week in a battle of two teams looking for their first victory of the season.