Northwest Missouri, Missouri State win on opening night of college football

Dreamstime/TNS

Second-ranked Northwest Missouri State began defense of its Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship Thursday night, beating Fort Hays State 33-19 in Maryville.

The Bearcats won for the 13th straight time at home and for the 11th straight home opener. Northwest rushed for 249 yards and held the Tigers to 13 on the ground.

Braden Wright threw a 9-yard touchdown to Jamar Moya and also moved into eighth place in Bearcats history for career completions. Wright also had two carries for 66 yards, including a 50-yard rush.

Senior transfer running back Kevin Dominique ran for a team-best 86 yards, including a 13-yard score.

In other MIAA games Thursday:

  • Chad Dodson Jr. threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns as Pittsburg State beat Central Missouri 21-10 at home.

  • Washburn scored 31 unanswered points in a 45-3 home win over Lincoln.

Missouri State wins opener

Jason Shelley accounted for two touchdowns to lead Missouri State to a 27-14 victory at Central Arkansas on Thursday night.

Coach Bobby Petrino entered 12-4 in career season openers, collected his first in three tries with Missouri State, ranked eighth in the FCS coaches poll.

Shelley, last season’s Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year who set programs single-season records for yards passing (3,347) and total offense (3,789) in his debut, was 18-of-30 passing for 266 yards with a touchdown against Central Arkansas. He added another 51 yards rushing on 13 carries and a score.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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