Missouri State Wins In Closing Seconds

Freshman QB Cody Kirby rolled untouched into the end zone from two yards away with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter to bring the Missouri State University football Bears from behind for the third time in the contest on their way to a 42-38 win over the Central Arkansas Bears in a non-conference shootout Saturday night at Plaster Field.

Kirby’s third touchdown of the game moved Missouri State to 3-1 for the young season and provided Bears’ second-year head coach Terry Allen with the 100th victory of his coaching career. Allen is now 100-69 in a career which has spanned 15 seasons at Northern Iowa, Kansas and Missouri State. Central Arkansas fell to 1-3 with the loss.

Central Arkansas took a 31-28 lead on a field goal with 9:41 left in the game as the Bears punted four straight times in the second half after punching up four straight touchdowns in the first half for a 28-21 halftime lead. A tipped pass was intercepted by UCA after Central Arkansas took the lead but MSU forced a punt and then drove 80 yards on eight plays to regain the lead. TB Kingjack Washington got 63 yards on four carries and TB Gerald Davis went in from the four to give MSU a 35-31 edge with 3:10 left in the game.

After UCA’s first kickoff went out of bounds, FB Waylon Richardet fielded a short kick and returned it 26 yards to the UCA 39. Kirby then hit McElvane for 11 yards to the 28, for nine yards to the 17 and for 15 yards and a first down at the two. On the first play after a UCA time out, Kirby kept the ball and went over the left side of the line and breezed into the end zone for the winning TD with 21 seconds left. UCA tried a long pass from its own 27 on the final play of the game but MSU CB Roger Wright batted it away to seal the Missouri State victory