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Valparaiso University

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Gundy Morehead State
17
Winner Morehead St. MOR 4-5 , 2-3
13
Valparaiso VAL 1-7 , 0-4
Winner
Morehead St. MOR
4-5 , 2-3
17
Final
13
Valparaiso VAL
1-7 , 0-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MOR Morehead St. 7 3 7 0 17
VAL Valparaiso 7 6 0 0 13

Game Recap: Football |

Shorthanded Beacons Drop Homecoming Heartbreaker

The Valparaiso University football team battled through a series of injuries to key players and finished the game with a true freshman quarterback who is fourth on the depth chart under center in Saturday's Homecoming matchup with Morehead State, a game that saw the visiting Eagles prevail 17-13 at Brown Field.
 
How It Happened
  • The Beacons struck first for the second straight week, this time on a 3-yard touchdown plunge by Dawaiian McNeely (Ceres, Calif. / Central Catholic [Wyoming]). Quarterback Rowan Keefe (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) completed three passes of 15 yards or more on the drive, one each to Michael Mansaray (Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South [South Dakota]), Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield) and Ryan Ricketti (Rocky River, Ohio / Rocky River).
  • The Valpo defense forced a quick three-and-out, but the Eagles came away with an interception. The two teams exchanged punts, then Morehead found the endzone on a 22-yard catch by Craig Cunningham on a pass by Carter Cravens that leveled the score at seven with 2:58 left in the first quarter.
  • The teams exchanged punts again, but then the Beacons put together a scoring drive on their first possession of the second quarter, culminating with Keefe keeping it from a yard out to push it across the goal line to make it 13-7 (PAT missed). Gundy had a 43-yard catch from Keefe to set up the score, which came with 8:40 remaining in the second quarter.
  • The Beacons came up with a takeaway with 6:28 left in the first half, when redshirt freshman Wyatt Little (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead) made an interception at the Valpo 43. Keefe completed passes to Ricketti, Gundy and Brayden Welch (Oregon City, Oregon / Oregon City) on that drive, highlighted by an 18 yarder to Welch. The drive ended on a missed 23-yard field goal attempt with 46 seconds left in the first half.
  • That proved to be a big swing, as instead the Eagles got points before halftime when Thomas Schwartz V nailed a 41-yard field goal as the final seconds ticked off the first-half clock.
  • Morehead State received the second-half kickoff and started with a quick strike as Cunningham had a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 17-13 with 13:18 left in the third.
  • A 41-yard kickoff return by Gundy jumpstarted the first Valpo drive of the second half, but the Beacons eventually turned the ball over on downs on a fourth-and-2 from the Morehead 34.
  • Morehead State traveled backward eight yards on a seven-play, penalty-plagued drive that took 4:20, the team's longest in terms of time of the game. Neither team scored for the remainder of the third.
  • The Beacons fought off the Eagles on a fourth-and-2 at the Valpo 29 with 9:15 left in the fourth thanks to De'Andre Wilborn (Chicago, Ill. / Westinghouse [Georgetown]) and Matt Molnar (Avon Lake, Ohio / Saint Edward) making a stop for no gain to force the turnover on downs.
  • A 31-yard run by Noah Long (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) started a drive that later reached the redzone, but Valpo could not convert on first-and-goal from the 10, eventually turning it over on downs with 3:28 remaining.
  • The Valpo defense made a key stop with Anthony Feltrinelli (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) recording the tackle a yard shy of the sticks on third-and-5, and the Eagles punted. Valpo faced a fourth down from its own 25, but freshman QB Nathan Downey (South Elgin, Ill. / Wheaton Academy) completed a 17-yard pass to Micah Mackay (Zionsville, Ind. / Lutheran) to keep hope alive. Valpo eventually turned the ball over on downs with all zeros on the clock.
Inside the Game
  • Little's interception was the first of his collegiate career.
  • McNeely's rushing score was his fourth this season and the sixth of his career, while Keefe scored with his legs for the second time in his career, both this season.
  • Redshirt sophomore Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) led the team with eight tackles, while Feltrinelli and Wilborn contributed seven apiece. This was the fourth game in which Lendino has notched eight or more stops this season.
  • The defense recorded seven tackles for loss, tied with last week at St. Thomas for the most in league play this season.
  • Long had a team-high 59 rushing yards on nine carries with a long of 31.
  • Gundy accrued a career-high 108 receiving yards on five catches. He became Valpo's first 100-yard receiver since Solomon Davis on Sept. 23, 2023 vs. Marist (175).
  • The Beacons had 339 yards of total offense, the team's highest total since the Aug. 30 season opener vs. Virginia Lynchburg. They outgained Morehead State by eight yards in Saturday's game.
  • Keefe completed nine of his 15 passes for 154 yards.
  • The Beacons continued to avoid penalties like the plague, as they committed just one infraction for 10 yards. In five different games this season, Valpo has been flagged three times or fewer.
  • This marked Valpo's second loss by four points or fewer in 2025. This was the sixth one-score game in the last eight matchups between Valpo and Morehead State.
Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (1-7, 0-4 PFL) will visit Presbyterian, a team ranked in the top 25 nationally in the most recent poll, next week on ESPN+. The game will kick off at noon in Clinton, S.C.
 
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