ROLLA, Mo. – Down 21 points midway through the third quarter, the Quincy University football team refused to go away. The Hawks scored the final 24 points of the game, capped by a 36-yard Joe Reif field goal as time expired, to complete a stunning 34-31 comeback victory over Missouri S&T on Saturday (Oct. 24) at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
The victory snapped Quincy's three-game losing streak, improved the Hawks to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in GLVC play and gave QU its third consecutive victory over Missouri S&T.
Missouri S&T controlled the early stages of the game. The Miners marched 89 yards on their opening possession, taking a 7-0 lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Eli Scott to Tyler Gioia. S&T added a 48-yard field goal later in the quarter to build a 10-0 advantage.
The Hawks struggled to get points on the board through much of the opening half, and Missouri S&T stretched the lead to 17-0 with 5:23 remaining in the second quarter on a three-yard AJ Harris touchdown run.
Quincy finally broke through before halftime.
Starting from its own 47-yard line, the Hawks put together an 11-play, 53-yard drive. Bradyn Little connected with Elijah Genenbacher for 14 yards on third down and later found Collin Parsons for a 15-yard gain to move inside the S&T 10. Parsons finished the possession himself, scoring from eight yards out to cut the deficit to 17-7 with 1:38 remaining.
The defense immediately gave the ball back to the offense. Kieran Jackson forced a fumble on S&T's first play of the ensuing possession, with Taylin Scott recovering at the Miner 42.
Quincy capitalized before the break. Little converted a fourth-and-three with a 16-yard completion to Derrick Miller, then found Don Johnson for 11 yards to the S&T eight. Reif connected on a 25-yard field goal with one second remaining, sending Quincy into halftime down just 17-10.
Missouri S&T regained control to begin the second half.
The Miners scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions of the third quarter, first on a six-yard pass from Gioia to Justis Braden and then on an eight-yard Scott touchdown pass to Sam Ryan. With 7:21 remaining in the third, Quincy faced its largest deficit of the afternoon at 31-10.
From there, everything changed.
The Hawks' next possession ended with a fumble at the S&T 20, but the defense forced a three-and-out. A face mask penalty on the ensuing punt gave Quincy possession at the Miner 36 with 3:36 remaining in the quarter.
Little and Parsons went to work. Parsons caught passes of 13 and eight yards on the drive before Johnson hauled in a 13-yard reception to move the ball to the S&T one. On second-and-goal, Little found Parsons for a one-yard touchdown reception pulling QU within 31-17 with 1:25 left in the third.
The momentum carried straight into the fourth quarter.
Missouri S&T faced fourth-and-22 from its own 44 when the Hawks blocked the Miner punt, recovered the loose ball and returned it 22 yards all the way to the S&T one-yard line. One play later, Parsons punched it into the end zone, trimming the deficit to 31-24 with 13:21 remaining.
After an exchange of punts, the Quincy defense came through again, holding S&T to a three-and-out and giving the offense the ball at its own 15 with 3:23 remaining.
The Hawks then produced their biggest drive of the afternoon.
Little found Genenbacher for gains of 13 and nine yards before converting third-and-seven with a 16-yard completion to Johnson. Troy TW Crozier took over from there, catching three consecutive passes for 13, eight and 17 yards to move Quincy from the S&T 41 all the way to the three.
After an incompletion on first-and-goal, Parsons powered in from three yards out for his fourth touchdown of the afternoon, and Reif's extra point tied the game at 31-31 with 1:12 remaining.
Parsons' four-touchdown performance was the first of his collegiate career. He now has 15 total touchdowns this season.
Quincy's defense had one more stop to make.
A holding penalty backed S&T up on the first play of its ensuing possession, and the Hawks forced a punt after three plays. Zach Mally returned the kick 10 yards, giving Quincy possession at its own 26 with just 33 seconds remaining.
The Hawks did not play for overtime.
Little opened the drive by finding Tykell Hammers for 18 yards to the Quincy 44. On the very next play, he connected with Miller for 33 yards down to the Missouri S&T 23. Little then found Genenbacher for four more yards, and S&T used a timeout with three seconds remaining.
Reif came onto the field for a 36-yard attempt and the freshman delivered.
Reif drilled the season-long 36-yard field goal as time expired, completing the 21-point comeback and sending the Hawks home with a 34-31 victory.
Quincy finished with 472 yards of total offense and 27 first downs, including 368 yards through the air. The Hawks converted all three of their fourth-down attempts and were a perfect 6-for-6 when reaching the red zone.
Little turned in his second 300-yard passing performance of the season, completing 38-of-57 passes for 368 yards and a touchdown. His 38 completions was a career high and went to seven different receivers as Quincy spread the ball around throughout the afternoon. Five different Hawks finished with at least 50 receiving yards.
Parsons led the way with a career-high 85 receiving yards on 13 catches, including his first career receiving touchdown. Miller added 63 yards on three catches and surpassed 900 career receiving yards, while Johnson turned in 58 yards on four catches, both career-highs. Genenbacher finished with seven receptions for 56 yards, and Hammers added four catches for 55 yards.
Parsons also carried the ball 25 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 196 yards from scrimmage and four total touchdowns on the afternoon. It marked his first career four-touchdown performance.
Defensively, Taylin Scott led the Hawks with 11 tackles and recovered a fumble, recording his fifth double-digit tackle game of the season. Jordan Elmore added 10 stops, reaching double figures for the seventh time this season and fourth consecutive game. Brevin Jackson followed with nine tackles and a tackle for loss.
Matt Austin finished with four tackles from the defensive line and hit 100 career tackles during the contest.
Reif was perfect when called upon, converting all four extra points and both of his field goal attempts. It marked the first multi-field goal game of his collegiate career, with his 36-yard game-winner establishing a new season long.
The Hawks return to the road next weekend for a Halloween matchup with the University of Indianapolis. Quincy and UIndy will kick off at 1:00 PM on Saturday, Oct. 31 from Key Stadium.
