Missouri State (1-2) collected three first-half interceptions and tallied 314 yards total offense overall to overtake Southeast Missouri State (1-3), 45-28, in a Saturday night shootout in Cape Girardeau.
It was MSU’s 46th win in the 74-game series and seventh in a row. The Bears also evened their all-time record at 427-427-40.
The Bears got on the board first with 3:46 left in the opening quarter on a 25-yard reception by senior Chris Geisz from sophomore quarterback Cody Kirby. The early touchdown strike capped a 64-yard drive that took the Bears just seven plays.
Kirby later scrambled into the endzone with 6:30 to play in the first half to make it 14-0 Senior cornerback Chris Farrar responded on the final play of the half and returned his first career interception 47 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 at halftime.
The Redhawks broke up the shutout at the 8:49 mark of the third quarter on a 13-yard touchdown by Henry Harris that capped a 47-yard drive. However, the Bears responded on the ensuing drive, marching 78 yards on 9 plays, for their fourth touchdown of the night, a seven-yard strike from Kirby to Clay Harbor caught three passes on the drive and matched a career high with 7 on the night.
The teams exchanged scores in the fourth quarter as Southeast scored on passing plays of 20, 22, and 36 yards. MSU responded with a 95-yard kickoff return.