The #10 Emporia State football team never trailed in a 34-22 victory over Missouri Western at Welch Stadium in Emporia on Saturday. ESU ripped down the field to open the game on a four-play drive that took less than a minute capped by a 19-yard touchdown run from Camden Crooks. The Griffons answered with back-to-back field goals before quarterback Jamison Sarver flipped to Ondraye Beasley on an end-around for a 45-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, but Western scored less than a minute later to pull within 14-12. Malik O’Atis picked up his first touchdown on the season on a three-yard score early in the second and one field goal by each team made it 24-15 at the half. The teams combined for nearly 700 yards of offense in the first half. ESU had the only points in the third quarter on another Brandon McCary field goal while Western’s offense floundered as they misfired on eight-straight passes to open the second half. Victor Chionuma ran in a one-yard score in the fourth to put ESU up 19 with just under 14 minutes to go. Western answered to get within 12 but couldn’t get any closer. Western had three turnovers in the game after giving it away just twice all season and Hornet head coach Garin Higgins said it was a big emphasis in the win.
Quarterback Jamison Sarver finished 32-for-49 for a career-high 390 yards and two touchdowns and said that, now in his sophomore season, the game is slowing down for him.
The Hornets finished 5 of 6 in the red zone with three touchdowns while Western was just 3 of 5 in the Hornet scoring area and came away with just three field goals. Aidan Hicks led ESU with 11 tackles while Landon Boss had a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss including one sack and a forced fumble. ESU moves to 5-0 with the win for the first time since 2015.The Hornets are on the road for the first time in over a month Saturday, October 10 when they travel to Missouri Southern for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff. Coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9.
