2016 Missouri Southern Lions football team

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]

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

2016 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 NW Missouri St. $^		11	–	0					15	–	0
No. 10 Emporia State ^		10	–	1					11	–	2
No. 21 Central Missouri ^		9	–	2					9	–	3
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 ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

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 T.J. Fleeton Jr QB 4 Brayden Scott So WR 10 Jordan Morrison Sr TE 11 Alex Crehan  Fr WR 12 Jeff Shuster  Fr WR 17 Scott Lathrop  Sr RB 18 Jay Hadley Sr WR 19 Carson Day So WR 21 Terrell Crawford Sr RB 29 Del'shaun Higgins  Fr RB 32 Justise Keith  So RB 33 Brice Gahagans  Sr WR 34 Chad Nolan Sr RB 46 Malcom Nelson, Jr.  Fr OL 54 Jonathan Villanueva Sr OL 59 Mitch Moore Sr OL 61 Antonio Carranco  Sr OL 63 Mike Dzierzega Jr OL 66 Cristian Mora Sr OL 68 Jonathan Boos  Sr OL 71 Isaac Wold Sr OL 72 Seth Peterson  Sr OL 73 Joe Brawner Sr OL 74 Lars Lindquist  Sr OL 75 Jarrell Jackson Jr OL 76 Brock Whalen Sr WR 80 Brandon Martin Jr WR 82 Jocqui Davis Sr WR 83 Anthony Cannon Sr WR 89 Ben Evans Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 3 Ricky Green Sr CB 12 Brian Hanserd Sr LB 15 E.J. McKenzie Sr S 20 Chris Goss III Sr S 24 Idrissa Simpson Sr LB 27 Justin Legier So DB 30 Marquez Cohen  Sr DB 36 Ben Belay Fr CB 37 Grady Howell Jr DE 42 Roderick Earvin Sr LB 46 Trevor Plafcan So LB 46 Devin Williams-Pennick  Jr S 47 Garrick Fausett  So DE 53 Dominique Nunez Sr DE 91 Chris Williams Sr DE 92 James Wooten Sr DT 93 Stephan Randall Sr DL 96 Jeremy Boykins Sr DE 98 Travelle Smith Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 39 Brock Renken Jr P 22 Kye Stoneham Sr P 25 Stetson 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	Site	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
Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source: [8]

Game summaries

Fort Hays State

See also: 2016 Fort Hays State Tigers football team

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

See also: 2016 Missouri Western Griffons football team

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

See also: 2016 Emporia State Hornets football team

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

See also: 2016 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team

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

See also: 2016 Nebraska–Kearney Lopers football team

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

See also: 2016 Washburn Ichabods football team

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

See also: 2016 Central Missouri Mules football team

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

See also: 2016 Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team

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

See also: 2016 Northeastern State RiverHawks football team

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

See also: 2016 Lindenwood Lions football team

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

See also: 2016 Pittsburg State Gorillas football team

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

External links

• Official website