Football Recap: Truman 17, Langston 12

Box Score
Truman (Mo.) State University 17 (1-1)
Langston (Okla.) University 12 (1-1)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Football team got two big plays from a pair of seniors to defeat #23rd-ranked Langston (Okla.) of the NAIA, 17-12 in front of a packed Stokes Stadium on Family Night. The Bulldogs evened their record to 1-1 on the season on won their third straight home opener.

Nick Dolezal connected on a 29-yard field goal to cap off a 15-play, 68-yard drive to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter. Vince Garcia started the possession with three carries for 18 yards which opened up the passing lanes for Devonte Black. Black hit Joey Schenck for 10 and Chico Orlando for 13 yards on back-to-back plays and later found Orlando for 17 more to move the ball to the Lions' six.

A long kickoff return by Langston that started their drive near midfield they pushed the ball down to the Bulldog 20. Before the Lions could go for it on fourth and three, they were called for an illegal substitution foul that forced the kicking unit onto the field. Truman's Chris Stanton got a piece of the 42-yard attempt to turn the ball over to the 'Dogs.

Four plays later, Garrett White turned in the first big play by busting a 58-yard rush for a touchdown at the 7:52 mark of the second quarter to pad the Bulldog lead to 10-0.

The Lions milked the clock and scored right before half when quarterback Mark Wright called his own number from nine yards out but the point-after failed after a botched snap. The 14-play drive consumed nearly seven minutes of second quarter time.

The Lions had another bad snap on a field goal attempt midway through the third quarter that would have trimmed the lead to one. However, Langston's Chace Green picked off Black at the Truman 27 to set up the Lions with another chance.

The Bulldog defense rose to the occasion again with Nick Reichert and Devin Gillespie sacking Wright on first down and later forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down to give Truman the ball at their own five still leading by a 10-6 score.

White kept the ensuing drive alive with a five yard run on third and two then gained 11 and 18 yards to move the ball across midfield. Facing a third and 11 from the 24, Black threw towards the endzone where Kurt Loyd made a tough catch after being stride for stride with the Langston defender to haul in the pivotal touchdown reception.

The pesky Lions responded by marching 80 yards in eight plays with Mark Thigpen scoring from 13-yards out but the two-point conversion was picked off in the endzone, preserving a five-point Truman advantage.

With one timeout left and 3:39 on the clock, the Lions elected to kick off. Black found Felix Neboh for 10 yards on second and 8, then ran for 16 yards on the next play. Langston burned their final timeout with 56 seconds left, but Black turned in his longest run of the night to clinch the victory going 28 yards on third and five.

White gained 124 yards on the ground on 20 carries with Black adding 80 on nine. Black completed 10-of-16 passes for 101 yards with Chico Orlando hauling in six catches for 58.

Langston's Wright completed 15-of-28 for 171 yards with Cordera Frazier catching seven for 106.

The Bulldogs will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play next Saturday with a road trip to Missouri S&T in Rolla. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

--Want to stay up-to-date with what's going on with the Bulldogs?--
Support Truman Athletics || Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram || Subscribe to your favorite team's newsletters/releases || Receive text alerts of scores/big news

Print Friendly Version