National title bid comes up short for No. 6 Mustangs

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Morningside University football team came up short of a national title bid on Saturday, as second-ranked Grand View defeated the Mustangs 36-13 at Mediacom Stadium.

No. 6 Morningside (12-2) scored a touchdown in the second and third quarters, respectively.

The first score came when the Mustangs were in the red zone with 4 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the second. That's when quarterback Zack Chevalier found Griffin Kraft from two yards to put the Mustangs on the board.

Morningside then scored in the third quarter with 9:23 left. Chevalier found Drew Sellon for a 21-yard strike that put the score at that time 23-13, in favor of the Vikings.

Chevalier completed 28 of 50 passes for 266 yards and the two touchdowns. He also threw an interception.

Sellon led the receivers with 12 catches for 155 yards.

Max Hough ran for 58 yards on 17 carries, and Ryan Cole carried the ball twice for four yards.

Colton Dreith had a team-high eight tackles defensively, followed by seven by Isaac Pingel. Pingel also had three tackles for loss and 1.5 total sacks.

Blake Bellamy also was credited with a half sack. Cade Harriman forced a fumble.

Luke Paulsen punted the ball three times for an even 100 yards.