The Emporia State football team held off a Missouri Southern fourth-quarter comeback in a 34-21 victory over the Lions on Saturday at Welch Stadium. The Lions outscored the Hornets 17-3 in the frame and recovered one onside kick but the Hornets recovered the second and picked up one first down late to seal the win. The Lions started fast scoring on their third play from scrimmage on a 75-yard touchdown pass, but the Hornets answered with 28 unanswered points to lead 28-7 before MoSo’s fourth-quarter comeback. The win was the 116th for head coach Garin Higgins as the head coach of the Hornets tying Fran Welch for the program record. He was emotional after the game thinking about the people who had helped him build his program at his alma mater.
Landon Boss dominated defensively tying the program record with four sacks in the game as part of his 11 tackles and one interception. He said simplifying the defense in recent weeks has helped the Hornets.
Quarterback Ben Harris finished 28-for-39 for 273 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score but threw two interceptions. Malik O’Atis caught the touchdown pass while Diego Cearns ran for two touchdowns. ESU (3-3, 2-2 MIAA) beat Southern for the 13th-straight time with the victory. The Hornets return to action Saturday, October 18 on the road to face Central Oklahoma. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. with pregame coverage at 6:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9.
