JOPLIN, Mo. — College football has made its return and Missouri Southern, they hosted the number fifth ranked Northwest Missouri Bearcats Thursday night.

The Lions had the Bearcats on its heels, but Southern dropped a tough one losing 31-24.

Offensively, MSSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Sampson threw for 307 yards on 13 of 22 passing attempts with three touchdowns. Junior running back Nathan Glades rushed 61 yards on 15 carries. Senior wide receiver Jaedon Stoshak had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman David Bethune scored the opening touchdown on a 68-yard pass and that would be his only catch. Redshirt Senior Ezekiel Lang caught two passes for 65 yards. Redshirt junior Deontay Campbell finished the night with two catches for 27 receiving yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, Missouri Southern senior linebacker Colton Winder had 15 tackles, seven of which were solo tackles. Junior defensive back Halid Djibril was right behind Winder with 13 tackles, eight solo tackles.

Southern will be back in action on the road next Thursday, September 7th in Topeka, Kansas to face the Washburn Ichabods at 6 p.m.