SOUTHERN DROPS FINALE

Late mistakes costly in Lions` season-ending loss Complete game statistics located at: http://www.mssu.edu/athletics/football/2005/05FBMS10.HTM Season statistics located at: http://www.mssu.edu/athletics/football/2005/TEAMSTAT.HTM JOPLIN, Mo. -- Two turnovers in the final seven minutes proved to be the Lions` undoing Saturday in a 22-21 loss to Emporia State in the season finale for both teams. The Lions finish the season at 3-7 overall and 2-6 in the MIAA. ESU ends at 4-6 overall and 3-5. Missouri Southern held a 21-10 lead with just over seven minutes left, but an Adam Hinspeter fumble at the Southern 42 was returned 29 yards by ESU`s Cade Armstrong to the Lion 13. Two plays later, Seville Ko carried it in for a 13-yard TD run with 6:51 to play. The two-point conversion pass failed and MSSU held a 21-16 advantage. Southern drove 35 yards to near midfield on its next drive, but Troy Johnson came up with an interception at the Southern 49. After taking over at the Lion 46, ESU got a 22-yard completion from Ben Purkeypile to Ryan Hulings and a 17-yard run from Seville to the MSSU 7. Seville, with a 7-yard TD run, then gave the Hornets their first lead since early in the third quarter. The Lions trailed 10-7 at halftime after a near even first half. Emporia State, with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was aided by a facemask penalty on a fourth-down stop, opened the scoring with 2:58 gone in the second quarter on a 9-yard scoring pass from Justin Whitworth to Scot Schoenfeld. The Lions would answer just 1:39 later with a six-play, 70-yard march that was capped by the first of two rushing touchdowns on the day from junior tailback Dartangan Johnson. Hinspeter completed two big passes on the drive, including a 46-yarder that featured a juggling, diving grab by Tedaryl Mason and a 25-yarder to Dustin Bromley to the ESU 1. Jeff Edwards kicked a 36-yard field goal with 53 seconds left in the half for a three-point Hornet lead at the break. Southern took command in the third quarter, as Emporia`s first two series of the half ended on a punt and on downs. The Lions, meanwhile, scored on two of their first three possessions. MSSU`s first series saw the Hinspeter connect with Bromley and sophomore Colin Bado on two key third-down conversions before a 23-yard run from freshman Ronnell Newman put the Lions in Emporia territory. Hinspeter capped things with a 33-yard TD pass to Bromley that gave the Lions a 14-10 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Hinspeter and Bromley hooked up on passes of 43 and 20 yards to set up Johnson`s second 1-yard scoring run of the day to make it 21-10. Bromley finished with a career-best seven catches for 156 yards in his final collegiate game. After Emporia reclaimed the lead at 22-21, the Lions took over at their own 16 with 2:45 to go, but failed to convert on a fourth down. After stopping the Hornets on their ensuing series, MSSU got the ball back with 12 seconds to go. Hinspeter hit Bado going out of bounds with a 25-yard strike to the ESU 46. The Lions` last play of the game saw Bado come up with a pass at the Emporia 7-yardline where he was down with no time left. Hinspeter completed 24-of-35 passes for 389 yards on the day. Bado caught five passes for 77 yards. Johnson finished with 100 combined yards, gaining 51 rushing and 50 receiving. Defensively, sophomore B.J. Russow led the effort with 11 tackles (seven solo), including four for losses and one sack. Senior Matt Crane added nine tackles. Notes: Hinspeter finished the season with 200 completions in 295 attempts and set the team`s single-season completion percentage record (67.8 percent). His 200 completions ranks second on the MSSU single-season list and his 2,531 passing yards puts him third on the single-season charts. Hinspeter also had 2,555 total offensive yards this year, a figure that`s sixth in Southern single-season history. ... Bado`s 65 receptions this season is third on the MSSU single-season list, between a 60-reception season for Rod Smith and a 68-catch year for Smith. Bado`s 798 receiving yards is fifth on the seasonal charts. ... Bromley began the day outside the top 10 in single-season receiving yards but ended up in sixth place with 750 yards. He came up just short of joining the single season top 10 in receptions with 42 this year. ... Missouri Southern tied the school record for sacks in a season, first set in the 11-game season of 1991. This year`s team tied the record in 10 games. The Lions also had their most tackles for loss (93) since joining the MIAA in 1989. Courtesy: MSSU Sports Information