SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State racked up 430 yards of total offense and held visiting Northern Iowa to three field goals and a late touchdown to secure a 35-16 senior day thrashing of the No. 15 Panthers here Saturday.
Bears quarterback Jordan Pachot was 27-of-35 for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns to pace the MoState offense with Raylen Sharpe hauling in 11 receptions for a career-high 160 yards and a pair of scores. It was Sharpes’s sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season to tie the club record set by Ty Scott in 2021.
“Our guys showed heart, grit and determination,” said first-year head coach Ryan Beard. “It was a clear demonstration of where this program is heading.”
The victory was MSU’s third in the last four meetings with UNI in a series dominated by the Panthers for most of its duration. Saturday’s 19-point victory was the second-highest in the rivalry for the Bears (4-6, 3-4 MVFC).
The Bears never trailed and racked up 24 first downs on the afternoon with their fifth 400-yard offensive output of the campaign.
After leading 21-3 at the intermission, the Bears held off a third-quarter push by the Panthers (6-4, 5-2 MVFC) who tacked on field goals of 48 and 38 yards from senior Matthew Cook. His 38-yarder was his third of the day and made it a 21-9 game with 5:09 left in the stanza.
But Pachot and company were up to the challenge, embarking on a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown march that consumed the next seven-plus minutes. Pachot hit an open Sharpe on the far sideline for a 10-yard score to put things on ice. The Bears converted two third-down opportunities on the drive, including a 35-yard strike to Sharpe to the UNI 10-yard line before the scoring pass to him two plays later that made it 28-9 with 12:56 to go.
Jacardia Wright had four carries on the game-clinching drive and finishing the day with 78 yards on 15 carries before leaving the game with an injury on MSU’s next possession.
MoState made it 35-9 four minutes later after forcing UNI’s third punt of the game. From their own 32, the Bears needed just five plays before a 14-yard sprint to paydirt by Jayden Becks to give the home club a 26-point cushion.
UNI scored its only touchdown of the contest with 3:24 to play with a 66-yard pass from Theo Day to Sam Schnee for the final 35-16 margin.
Day was 14-of-35 for 182 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions – one by PJ Hall and one by Todric McGee.
Hall led all MSU defenders with 9 total tackles, while McGee and Devin Goree accounted for 7 stops apiece with Goree adding three QB hurries.
Jmariyae Robinson added 97 yards on 8 receptions to boost the Missouri State offense.
The Bears took control of the game in the first half, posting touchdowns in three of their first five possessions to take a 21-3 lead into the intermission.
A 19-yard touchdown pass from Pachot to Robinson with 6:32 left in the opening quarter put MSU on top 7-0 with the Bears capitalizing on a turnover on downs. A 34-yard completion to Sharpe on fourth-and-two pushed MSU into the red zone where Robinson scored on the next play.
UNI cut into its early deficit with a 29-yard field goal by Cook in the final minute of the opening period, but the Bears regained control in the second. A 14-yard pass to Sharpe made it 14-3 early in the second after Pachot had a 29-yard completion to him and a 28-yarder to Hunter Wood earlier in the drive to cover 75 yards in just seven plays.
After a clutch interception from McGee gave Missouri State the ball deep in UNI territory three minutes later, it took Pachot and company just two plays to cash in again. A three-yard scoring strike to Gary Clinton gave MoState an 18-point lead going into the intermission.
Sharpe’s 175 all-purpose yards was two shy of his career high set earlier this season vs. NDSU, while Pachot’s second career 300-yard effort was just 15 yards off his previous career high set at Youngstown State.
The Bears wrap up the 2023 season next Saturday when they travel to Brookings, S.D. to take on top-ranked South Dakota State at 2 p.m.
