ST. LOUIS - At home, the Spartans took care of business as they got an early lead and never looked back on their way to a 42-7 victory against the Clarke Pride.
MBU opened up the game with possession and they marched the ball down the field and capped off a nine play drive with a 13 yard touchdown pass from Jordan Simpson to Shane Becker.
Following the touchdown, Clarke was driving down the field with intentions of getting on the scoreboard with their first drive, but a fumble recovered by Dabrien Moss gave MBU the ball back. The Spartans did not get much going, but went for it on fourth down and it paid off as Simpson's hard count gave him a free shot down the field where Joseph White came down over two Pride defenders with a jump ball before running into the endzone for a 70-yard touchdown.
Clarke took the following kickoff to the endzone on a 99-yard scamper to paydirt to make it 14-7. The Spartans had a little wind taken out of their sails, but Zeppelin Velder revamped the squad with an interception brought back to the four yard line leading to Lionel Banks first touchdown of the afternoon.
The Missouri Baptist defense held strong the rest of half and Banks got back into the endzone once more before the halftime break.
Moss was all over the field throughout the afternoon as he racked up 19 total tackles including three for a loss, and the Spartans found themselves in the backfield all throughout the contest as they tallied four sacks.
The Spartan defense bent but would not break in the second half as they did not allow Clarke to get any points following their initial touchdown. Kaden-Lutjen Williams picked off a pass on the four yard line, and the defense held strong on a fourth and goal from the one yard line to help out the cause.
The two scores in the second half came off of an end around pass play from Julian Williams to Conner Ackerson and a four yard rush from Jordan Kern in the waning moments of the game to give MBU the 42-7 victory at Spartan Field.
White's one reception for 70 yards made him the leading receiver, and Jared Steward led the ground game as he gained 59 yards on 16 carries throughout the day.
The Spartans showcased their power on both ends of the ball today and picked up their first win of the new season putting them at 1-1. Next Saturday the Spartans will return to Spartan Field to take on Culver-Stockton at 1:00 P.M.
