Missouri St. drops road game at Youngstown St.: Saturday’s college football highlights

Quarterback Mitch Davidson threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday in leading Youngstown State to a 44-28 victory over Missouri State in Youngstown, Ohio.

Bryce Oliver had six catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns for the host Penguins.

Bears quarterback Jordan Pachot finished 25 of 28 for 390 yards and two passing touchdowns; he was intercepted once.

Pachot put Missouri State (3-5) on the board first with a 9-yard scoring run early in the game, but that was the Bears’ sole lead of the day. Youngstown State improved to 5-3.

In other Saturday action:

Pittsburg State 55, Sioux Falls 6: The Gorillas romped in their homecoming game at Carnie Smith Stadium. A two-QB approach paid dividends again for Pitt State, with Ty Pennington tossing two TD passes and Chad Dodson Jr. a third. Antwan Squire gained 96 yards with two TDs on 10 carries as PSU improved to 8-0. Sioux Falls fell to 3-5.

Northwest Missouri State 52, Washburn 31: The Bearcats broke it open with a 28-point outburst in the second quarter on Washburn’s homecoming in Topeka. Jay Harris rushed for 123 yards and three TDs on 24 carries for Northwest (4-4). Sam Van Dyne threw for three TDs as well, but he also tossed three picks for the Ichabods (1-7).

Missouri Western 44, Northeastern State 0: The Griffons (6-2) left no doubt in their Hall of Fame Game victory at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph as Jared Scott rushed for two touchdowns and Armani Edden passed for two.

No. 11 Central Missouri 35, Missouri Southern 7: The Mules (7-1) took control of Saturday’s Hall of Fame Game at Hughes Stadium in Joplin, where Marcellous Hawkins ran for 179 yards and a pair of TDs on 27 carries. MSSU fell to 4-3.

Emporia State 39, Nebraska-Kearney 17: Emporia State quarterback Braden Gleason gave the Hornets (6-3) a happy homecoming at Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, throwing for five touchdowns against the UNK Lopers (2-7).

Missouri S&T 57, William Jewell 20: At Rolla, the hosts rolled to a 33-6 lead by halftime. CJ Ward threw three TD passes for the Cardinals (2-6), Gunnar Palacios four for Missouri S&T (3-6) ... but this one was won in the trenches: Missouri S&T rolled up 376 yards on the ground.

Fort Hays State 34, Central Oklahoma 0: The hosts coasted through their annual Hall of Fame Game in Hays, Kan. Tigers QB Jack Dawson offset two picks with three TDs and Shane Watts rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries for FHSU (7-2).

Eastern New Mexico 62, Lincoln 17: In a game played Thursday night in Jefferson City, the winless Blue Tigers got a pair of TD passes from Xzavier Vaughn but were no match for their visitors from New Mexico.

Ottawa 42, Avila 14: It was all Braves in the second half as Ottawa (5-4) outscored the Eagles 21-0 after intermission. But it was all Wynton Ruth all game long: The Braves’ bruising ball-carrier rushed for 268 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries. Ottawa improved to 5-4 while Avila fell to 2-7.

Benedictine 30, Baker 6: At Liston Stadium in Baldwin City, Kan., the Ravens’ Dalton Witherspoon rushed for 158 yards and a pair of TDs on 24 carries to lead Benedictine to a rout of the host Wildcats. Benedictine improved to 7-2; Baker dropped to 6-2.

MidAmerica Nazarene 28, Missouri Baptist 21: The Pioneers led 14-0 early, then had to hang strong late against an upset-minded guest at the Olathe District Activity Center. Shawn Cherry carried the ball 20 times for 132 yards and a TD and Adrian Parsons passed for two TDs for MNU (7-2).