TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Missouri State won its season finale here Saturday, 27-24, over Indiana State in overtime as Bears’ quarterback Cody Kirby took things in his own hands to score the game-winner on two running plays in overtime.
After Indiana State gained just two yards on its overtime possession, the Sycamores settled for a 39-yard field goal by Braulio Martinez to retake the lead, 24-21.
Kirby then picked up six yards on the Bears’ first overtime play on a quarterback keeper and then turned the corner on another keeper for 19-yards and the game-winning touchdown on the next play and securing a 27-24 MSU win.
The Bears (4-7, 3-5) claimed their first win in four games and won their third Missouri Valley Conference game for the first time since 2004. Indiana State finished 0-12 and 0-8 in the league while extending its losing streak to 26 games.
It looked as if the Sycamores’ streak was going to end when Darrius Gates dashed 77 yards to the Missouri State one-yard line with 48.6 seconds left in the fourth, setting up a one-yard score by Ryan Roberts on the next play. The three-play, 92 yard drive capped an improbable 21-0 run for ISU and gave the Sycamores a 21-14 lead with just over 40 seconds remaining.
After the ensuing kickoff, the Bears took over on their own 46 with 39.9 seconds left. A pair of completions, first to Miguel Warren for five yards and then to Chase Mejia for 14 yards, moved the ball to the ISU 34 with 21 seconds to go. After a pair of incomplete passes, the Sycamores were whistled for a facemask penalty on Kirby with 2.3 seconds left, moving the ball to the 19-yard line. On the next play, Kirby hit senior Chris Geisz in the endzone for a touchdown as time expired, and Matt Hottelman made the extra point to force overtime, 21-21.
The second half started with the Sycamores using their rushing attack to keep the Bars on their toes. After the Bears built a 14-0 lead, Indiana State marched 95 yards on its second possession of the second half, as Gates capped a 95-yard touchdown drive with a seven-yard rush to bring the Sycamores back within 14-7. The 14-play drive started when the Bears fumbled deep in ISU territory after gaining possession on a fumbled Indiana State punt attempt. The Bears turned it back on the very next play, surrendering momentum back to the home team.
Gates sparked ISU’s next drive with a 67-yard run from scrimmage to the MSU 5 yard-line. On fourth-and-goal at the MSU one, Gates stretched it into the endzone just as three Bears brought him down. The score tied the game, 14-14, with 12:25 left and capped an 82-yard scoring drive that took just nine plays.
With 3:21 left in the fourth, the Bears took over at their own 19 yard line. On third down, Kirby fired an 18-yard strike to Jared Emry to the MSU 40, but the drive stalled at the MSU 41. Jordan Chiles punted deep to the Indiana State eight yard line with 1:28 remaining.
The deep punt looked good for the Bears initially before Gates’ 77-yard run and Roberts’ go-ahead score.
Missouri State led 14-0 at halftime behind the rushing efforts of sophomore tailback Kingjack Washington who returned to the Bears’ starting lineup after missing the last two-and-a-half games with an ankle injury.
The Bears got on the board first, marching 91 yards for their longest scoring drive of the season on just four plays on their second possession of the game to take a 7-0 lead. On the drive, Washington had a season-long 45-yard run and was subsequently tackled out of bounds to tack a 15-yard penalty against the Sycamores onto the play. Miguel Warren later carried for 11 yards to the ISU 16 yard-line before he found paydirt on the next play for his first touchdown of the year.
After fumbling a punt return at their own 37 on their next possession, the Bears’ defense held tough and came up with a big fourth down stop at their own 23.
Twelve plays later, Washington scored from two yards out at the 10:11 mark of the second quarter to give the Bears a 14-0 lead. The 77-yard drive took 4:51 off the clock and gave Washington his third score of the season.
The Bears took over on their own 40 yard line with 1:18 left in the half and put their two-minute offense into action. A 25-yard pass completion from Cody Kirby to Jared Emery on the first play put the Bears at the Indiana State 35-yard line and set up a Matt Hottelman 35-yard field goal attempt that went wide right with 13.5 seconds remaining to go in to the locker rooms with a 14-0 advantage.
Washington finished with 113 yards on 20 carries, while Kirby passed for 193 on 17-for-35 passing and a touchdown. Kirby also had 259 yards total offense, while Jared Emery led MSU’s receiving efforts with three catches for 43 yards.
The Bears outgained ISU 439 to 343, but lost three fumbles and had all four of the game’s turnovers. Indiana State was 3-for-17 on third down, and Gates finished with 237 rushing yards for ISU which has now lost 26 consecutive ball games.
