No. 7 Morningside corrals Chargers for 22nd straight year
The Mustangs football team dominated crosstown rival Briar Cliff 63-6 on Saturday in the annual “Battle for the Saddle” game.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
|
|
28 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 63 |
Team Stats
Briar Cliff (IA)
| Game Statistics | Briar Cliff (IA) | Morningside |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 258 | 360 |
| Rushing Yards | 19 | 178 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of Poss. | 34:38 | 25:22 |
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the 22nd straight year, the saddle stays at Morningside University.
The seventh-ranked Mustangs football team dominated crosstown rival Briar Cliff 63-6 on Saturday in the annual "Battle for the Saddle" game.
Morningside held the reins right away. By the time the first quarter was over, the Mustangs led 28-0 and when the teams entered their respective locker rooms for halftime, that lead increased to 56.
"I thought we played well, and we took the game seriously," head coach Steve Ryan said. "I think we're playing good football against good teams."
Max Hough got the horses running with a 74-yard scamper to the end zone with 9 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the first quarter. That ended up being the longest scoring play for the Mustangs in the win.
Drew Sellon and Griffin Kraft caught touchdown passes of 23 and seven yards from quarterback Zack Chevalier during the first quarter, while Nolan Feller earned a 17-yard TD run that all together, gave the Mustangs that 28-point cushion.
Then, the Mustangs added 28 more points during the second quarter.
Sellon caught his second touchdown at the 13:40 mark, good for 38 yards. Hough also tacked on a second touchdown to his name with a 1-yard run at the 10:22 mark.
After that, Sioux City East High School alum Kelynn Jacobsen found paydirt thrice. His first touchdown of the rivalry came with 5:42 remaining in the second from 38 yards, then caught another Chevalier throw from 10 yards out with 2:28 left in the half.
"It's still the same preparation every week," Jacobsen said. "I expect to get on the field every week, and when I do, I'm just ready to make a play."
Jacobsen's third touchdown – which gave Morningside a 63-0 lead early in the third quarter – came from six yards out.
With his memorable day, Jacobsen is fifth on the Mustangs with 194 receiving yards. He's also fifth in catches with 14.
Jacobsen led the receiving corps with 129 yards, followed by Sellon's 108 yards.
"We haven't been quite connecting with him as much as we've wanted," Ryan said about the former Black Raider. "He's a Sioux City guy, so for him to have a big game against Briar Cliff, it was good to see that."
Chevalier was 21-for-25 for 328 yards and six TDs. He did not throw an interception.
Hough led the rushing attack with 99 yards on 11 carries, while Trent Lane had 64 yards, and Feller had 26.
The Mustangs collected 538 offensive yards.
Blake Bellamy had the most tackles among Mustangs defenders on Saturday, with nine. Five of them were solo.
Cade Harriman and Isaac Pingel each had eight tackles.
Bellamy and Cale Pittenger both had 2.5 tackles for loss. The Mustangs had 10 total tackles for loss for 40 yards.
Briar Cliff, held to 277 total yards, scored its touchdown in the fourth quarter.