2016 Missouri Southern Lions football team

2016 Missouri Southern Lions football
Conference	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
2016 record	2–8 (2–8 MIAA)
Head coach	Denver Johnson (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator	Corey Fipps (2nd year)
Defensive coordinator	Kenny Evans (2nd year)
Home stadium	Fred G. Hughes Stadium (capacity: 7,000)

2016 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#1 NW Missouri St. $^		11	–	0					13	–	0
#9 Emporia State ^		10	–	1					11	–	2
#20 Central Missouri ^		9	–	3					9	–	2
Fort Hays State		7	–	4					8	–	4
Pittsburg State		7	–	4					7	–	4
Washburn		7	–	4					7	–	5
Missouri Western		4	–	7					4	–	7
Central Oklahoma		3	–	8					3	–	8
Lindenwood		3	–	8					3	–	8
Missouri Southern		2	–	9					2	–	9
Northeastern State		2	–	9					2	–	9
Nebraska–Kearney		1	–	10					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

The 2016 Missouri Southern Lions football team represented Missouri Southern State University in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. The Lions played their home games in Fred G. Hughes Stadium in Joplin, Missouri, as they have done since 1975.^[1] 2016 was the 48th season in school history.^[2] The Lions were led by second-year head coach, Denver Johnson.^[3] Missouri Southern has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since 1989.^[4]

Preseason

The Lions entered the 2016 season after finishing in 11th place last season with a record of 1–10, under Johnson.^[5] On August 2, 2016 at the MIAA Football Media Day, the Lions were chosen to finish in 10th place in the Coaches Poll, and 11th in the Media Poll.^[6]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Along with Johnson, there were 9 assistants.

Name	Position	Seasons at MSSU	Alma Mater
Denver Johnson	Head Coach	2	Tulsa (1981)
Kenny Evans	Defensive Coordinator	2	Northeastern State (1982)
Corey Fipps	Offensive Coordinator	2	Harding (2004)
Charles Alexander	Defensive Backs/Recruiting Coordinator	2	Ohio State (2002)
Bill Bleil	Offensive Line	1	NM Highlands (1982)
Rashad Watson	Secondary	4	Alabama A&M (2002)
Bret Story	Wide Receivers	2	Newberry (2003)
Josh Dalton	Running Backs	2	Missouri Southern (2002)
Caleb Lewis	Kickers	2	Missouri Southern (1999)
Darius Hart	Defensive Line	1	Oklahoma State (2011)
Reference:[7]

Roster

2016 Missouri Southern Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Fleeton, T.J.T.J. Fleeton Jr QB 4 Scott, BraydenBrayden Scott So WR 10 Morrison, JordanJordan Morrison Sr TE 11 Crehan, AlexAlex Crehan  Fr WR 12 Shuster, JeffJeff Shuster  Fr WR 17 Lathrop, ScottScott Lathrop  Sr RB 18 Hadley, JayJay Hadley Sr WR 19 Day, CarsonCarson Day So WR 21 Crawford, TerrellTerrell Crawford Sr RB 29 Higgins, Del'shaunDel'shaun Higgins  Fr RB 32 Keith, JustiseJustise Keith  So RB 33 Gahagans, BriceBrice Gahagans  Sr WR 34 Nolan, ChadChad Nolan Sr RB 46 Nelson, Jr., MalcomMalcom Nelson, Jr.  Fr OL 54 Villanueva, JonathanJonathan Villanueva Sr OL 59 Moore, MitchMitch Moore Sr OL 61 Carranco, AntonioAntonio Carranco  Sr OL 63 Dzierzega, MikeMike Dzierzega Jr OL 66 Mora, CristianCristian Mora Sr OL 68 Boos, JonathanJonathan Boos  Sr OL 71 Wold, IsaacIsaac Wold Sr OL 72 Peterson, SethSeth Peterson  Sr OL 73 Brawner, JoeJoe Brawner Sr OL 74 Lindquist, LarsLars Lindquist  Sr OL 75 Jackson, JarrellJarrell Jackson Jr OL 76 Whalen, BrockBrock Whalen Sr WR 80 Martin, BrandonBrandon Martin Jr WR 82 Davis, JocquiJocqui Davis Sr WR 83 Cannon, AnthonyAnthony Cannon Sr WR 89 Evans, BenBen Evans Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 3 Green, RickyRicky Green Sr CB 12 Hanserd, BrianBrian Hanserd Sr LB 15 McKenzie, E.J.E.J. McKenzie Sr S 20 Goss III, ChrisChris Goss III Sr S 24 Simpson, IdrissaIdrissa Simpson Sr LB 27 Legier, JustinJustin Legier So DB 30 Cohen, MarquezMarquez Cohen  Sr DB 36 Belay, BenBen Belay Fr CB 37 Howell, GradyGrady Howell Jr DE 42 Earvin, RoderickRoderick Earvin Sr LB 46 Plafcan, TrevorTrevor Plafcan So LB 46 Williams-Pennick, DevinDevin Williams-Pennick  Jr S 47 Fausett, GarrickGarrick Fausett  So DE 53 Nunez, DominiqueDominique Nunez Sr DE 91 Williams, ChrisChris Williams Sr DE 92 Wooten, JamesJames Wooten Sr DT 93 Randall, StephanStephan Randall Sr DL 96 Boykins, JeremyJeremy Boykins Sr DE 98 Smith, TravelleTravelle Smith Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 39 Renken, BrockBrock Renken Jr P 22 Stoneham, KyeKye Stoneham Sr P 25 Broce, StetsonStetson Broce Sr	Head coach Denver Johnson Coordinators/assistant coaches See coaching staff Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2016-08-04

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 pm	at Fort Hays State		Lewis Field Stadium • Hays, KS		L 10–22	4,134
September 10	6:00 pm	Missouri Western		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO		L 14–51	4,274
September 17	2:00 pm	at Emporia State		Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		L 21–49	5,304
September 24	6:00 pm	No. 1 Northwest Missouri State		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO		L 21–45	5,267
October 1	2:00 pm	at Nebraska–Kearney		Ron & Carol Cope Stadium • Kearney, NE		W 24–14	2,005
October 8	3:00 pm	Washburn		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO		L 13–45	5,674
October 15	6:00 pm	Central Missouri		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO		L 7–56	2,526
October 22	2:00 pm	at Central Oklahoma		Wantland Stadium • Edmond, OK		L 42–63	1,985
October 29	2:00 pm	Northeastern State		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO		W 45–33	4,236
November 5	1:30 pm	at Lindenwood		Harlen C. Hunter Stadium • St. Charles, MO		L 28–42	1,563
November 12	3:30 pm	Pittsburg State		Fred G. Hughes Stadium • Joplin, MO (Miner's Bowl)		L 31–45	5,748
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central.

Source: ^[8]

Game notes

Fort Hays State

Missouri Southern at Fort Hays State

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri Southern 0 3 7 0 10 • Fort Hays State 7 6 6 3 22 Date: September 1 Location: Lewis Field Stadium, Hays, KS Game start: 7:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:54 Game attendance: 4,134 Game weather: Sunny and Breezy, 79°F Referee: Lonnie Brickman

Missouri Western

Missouri Western at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total • Missouri Western 7 21 6 17 51 Missouri Southern 0 6 2 6 14 Date: September 10 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 6:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:45 Game attendance: 2,474 Game weather: Overcast, 72°F Referee: Dwight Neibling

Emporia State

Missouri Southern at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri Southern 0 7 7 7 21 • Emporia State 28 14 7 0 49 Date: September 17 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 5,304 Game weather: Sunny, 77°F Referee: John Adams

Northwest Missouri State

Northwest Missouri State at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total • #1 Northwest Missouri State 0 28 7 10 45 Missouri Southern 13 0 8 0 21 Date: September 24 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 6:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:58 Game attendance: 5,267 Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 85°F Referee: Danny Harris

Nebraska–Kearney

Missouri Southern at Nebraska–Kearney

1 2 3 4 Total • Missouri Southern 14 0 3 7 24 Nebraska–Kearney 0 7 0 7 14 Date: October 1 Location: Ron & Carol Cope Stadium, Kearney, NE Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 2,005 Game weather: Clear, 75°F Referee: John Steiger

Washburn

Washburn at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total • Washburn 3 7 14 21 45 Missouri Southern 0 0 0 13 13 Date: October 8 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 3:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:09 Game attendance: 5,674 Game weather: Clear, 71°F Referee: Dwight Neibling

Central Missouri

Central Missouri at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total • Central Missouri 14 28 7 7 56 Missouri Southern 7 0 0 0 7 Date: October 15 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 6:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:52 Game attendance: 2,526 Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 77°F Referee: Craig Helser

Central Oklahoma

Missouri Southern at Central Oklahoma

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri Southern 0 14 7 21 42 • Central Oklahoma 14 21 7 21 63 Date: October 22 Location: Wantland Stadium, Edmond, OK Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 1,985 Game weather: Sunny, 79°F Referee: Brian Moore

Northeastern State

Northeastern State at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total Northeastern State 10 3 0 20 33 • Missouri Southern 7 14 10 14 45 Date: October 29 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:24 Game attendance: 4,236 Game weather: Mostly sunny, 80°F Referee: Sean Johnston

Lindenwood

Missouri Southern at Lindenwood

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri Southern 7 0 7 14 28 • Lindenwood 0 21 7 14 42 Date: November 5 Location: Harlen C. Hunter Stadium, St. Charles, MO Game start: 1:30 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 1,563 Game weather: Partly cloudy, 63°F Referee: John Steiger

Pittsburg State

Pittsburg State at Missouri Southern

1 2 3 4 Total • Pittsburg State 14 3 14 14 45 Missouri Southern 0 7 14 10 31 Date: November 12 Location: Hughes Stadium, Joplin, MO Game start: 3:30 pm CST Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 5,748 Game weather: Clear, 63°F Referee: Lonnie Brickman

References

1. "Fred G. Hughes Stadium". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
2. "Missouri Southern Lions Football 2015 Media Guide" (PDF). 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
3. Schremmer, Mark (2015-03-31). "Lions to hire former Tulsa assistant as head coach | Local Sports". joplinglobe.com. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
4. "The Fort Scott Tribune - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
5. "Southern Football Picked 10th/11th in MIAA Preseason Football Poll". Retrieved 2016-08-05.
6. "NWMSU Tops Football Polls". Retrieved 2016-08-05.
7. "Missouri Southern State Athletics – 2016 Football Coaching Staff". Retrieved 2015-08-04.
8. "Missouri Southern State Athletics - 2016 Football Schedule". Retrieved 2016-08-04.

External links

• Official website