The Pioneers used relentless offense and great field position to dominate Culver-Stockton in a 60-14 victory on Saturday. With several key offensive players out with injury, MNU relied heavily on QB
Tyler Herl, RB
James Tillman, and WR
Brett Houchen to pick apart the Wildcat defense. On their first possession, MNU used a 7-play 68-yard drive to get Herl in the end zone for the first of many scores. Tillman scored on a 13-yard rush on the next possession, a 6-play 64-yard drive, and MNU never looked back.
In the second quarter, Tillman broke off a 33-yard touchdown run to put MNU up by 3 scores.
Cody Morrow added to the lead with a 21-yard field goal, Herl connected with
Landon Murrell for a 43-yard strike, and the Pioneers went into halftime with a 29-7 lead. The second half started with back-to-back Herl to Houchen touchdown passes (28 & 15 yards respectively), and the lead ballooned to 43-7. A 49-yard Morrow field goal, a 1-yard
Ashford Johnson TD run, and a 39-yard
Scotty Cates TD run capped off the scoring, and MNU left with a 60-14 victory.
Tyler Herl was 13-21 for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 11 times for 38 yards and a touchdown.
James Tillman carried the ball 10 times for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. And
Brett Houchen caught 7 passes for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 2 rushes for 20 yards.
Brandon Smith led the defense with 3.5 tackles for loss including 2.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, broke up a pass, and recorded an interception.
Joey Oxley had 6 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. And
AJ Rodriguez and 3 tackles and a 20-yard interception return.
The Pioneers are 4-1. The next game is a non-conference matchup with Southern Nazarene (5-1) at Cessna Stadium in Wichita on Saturday at 2:00.
Stats and Play by Play
