ST. LOUIS – To celebrate 35 years of excellence in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the league is recognizing some of its all-time top moments.

The league divided those moments into 10 categories, and have selected the top events in each. Some of the events qualify in multiple categories, so if it’s not on this list, the moment could be coming later in another yet-to-be released Top Moment segment.

Series No. 7:

INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

No. 1

Dec. 2, 2017

• No. 5 Sam Houston State 54, South Dakota 42

Sam Houston State built a 41-14 halftime lead in this second-round playoff game, but QB Chris Streveler led a ferocious comeback that had the Coyotes trailing 44-42 with 10:45 to go. Streveler set a league record with 571 yards of total offense and became just the third in league history to surpass 500 passing yards in a game (with 520).

No. 2

Nov. 4, 2006

• Western Illinois 46, Indiana State 41

Herb Donaldson had 328 rushing yards and became the third (and the most recent) player in league history with six rushing touchdowns as the Leathernecks rallied from a 21-10 deficit.

No. 3

Jan. 5, 2019

North Dakota State set an FCS record with seven national titles, surpassing the previous record of six held by Georgia Southern. NDSU’s Easton Stick became the all-time FCS leader in wins by a QB, capping his career with a 49-3 record as a starter, breaking the 48 by NDSU’s Brock Jensen.

No. 4

Sept. 30, 2017

• South Dakota 38, Western Illinois 33

WR Jaelon Acklin set league records for receptions (19) and yards (343) in a losing effort against visiting South Dakota. Three of his 19 catches went for touchdowns. WIU trailed 38-6 before scoring with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter.

No. 5

Nov. 19, 2014

• South Dakota State 47, Montana State 40

In the penultimate game of his career, RB Zach Zenner had 252 rushing yards and five touchdowns in this playoff road win at Montana State. He established the league career records with 416 points, 6,548 rushing yards and 8,211 all-purpose yards.

OTHERS CONSIDERED

Sept. 15, 2012

• Indiana State 27, Drake 10

S hakir Bell scored two TDs and averaged 10.6 yards per carry while setting a league record with 349 rushing yards against Drake. It remains the 10th-best figure in FCS history.

Sept. 15, 2012

• No. 15 Illinois State 54, Eastern Illinois 51, 2OT

A 25-yard TD from Matt Brown to Tyrone Walker sealed the come-from-behind victory. Brown established a school record with 473 yards passing and had seven TDs (five passing,two rushing).

Nov. 8, 2008

• South Dakota State 52, Illinois State 21

Ryan Berry threw for a school- and league-record seven touchdowns in a blowout win against Illinois State. Berry established school records for career completions and TDs in the game.

Dec. 15, 2017

• North Dakota State 55, Sam Houston State 13

Bruce Anderson tied a league playoff record with 30 points scored (five touchdowns). He had 183 rushing yards and three scores and added 54 receiving yards and two TDs.

Sept. 28, 2002

• Southern Illinois 48, Eastern Michigan 45

Muhammad Abdulqaadir set what was then a conference record with 312 yards at Eastern Michigan. It stands as the most yards by a league running back versus an FBS opponent.

Sept. 28, 2002

• Northern Iowa 29, Cal Poly 26, 3OT

UNI kicker Mackenzie Hoambrecker made five field goals and lifted the Panthers to a 29-26 triple-overtime victory over Cal Poly. He hit a 57-yarder to force overtime with 14 seconds remaining.

Nov. 12 2005

• Illinois State 70, Indiana State 28

WR Laurent Robinson set what was then a school-record with 14 catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns, while Luke Drone accounted for six TDs with 440 yards passing and five TDs.

Oct. 1, 2016

• No. 15 South Dakota State 52, No. 7 Western Illinois 14

Dallas Goedert became the first tight end to grab four TDs in a game as he had eight catches for 204 yards in a blowout home win against visiting No. 7 Western Illinois. Goedert holds the league record for a tight end with 2,988 career yards.

Nov. 24, 2012

• South Dakota State 58, Eastern Illinois 10

South Dakota State earned its first-ever playoff victory as Zach Zenner ran for a school-record 295 yards and scored three touchdowns against visiting Eastern Illinois – led by QB Jimmy Garapolo – in a first-round game on a bitterly cold day at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

Nov. 8, 2003

• Illinois State 48, Missouri State 43

Steve Rush of Missouri State had 410 all-purpose yards and scored five times: 9, 88, 74, 75 and 80 yards. He’s the only to eclipse 400 yards in MVFC history.

Nov. 13, 1999

• Western Illinois 46, Northern Iowa 27

Ryan Helming became only the second player in league history to throw for more than 500 yards in a game as he had 541 in a loss at Western Illinois.

Oct. 10, 1998

• Illinois State 38, Northern Iowa 23

Kevin Glenn threw for 457 yards and ran for 60 in leading the Redbirds to a road win in the UNI-Dome. His 61 passing attempts are the sixth most in league history.

Nov. 7, 2009

• Illinois State 25, Western Illinois 7

Only one in league history has six field goals in a game. ISU’s Zach Kutch did it in this win against Western Illinois. Three of his makes were 40+ yards.

Oct. 30, 2010

• Northern Iowa 34, Youngstown State 30

UNI’s Tirrell Rennie rushed for 194 of his 1,291 yards in the win at Youngstown State, keeping the Panthers’ 2010 league title and playoff hopes alive. His career rushing total ranks second all-time for an MVFC QB.

Sept. 17, 2005

• Murray State 27, Indiana State 15

Sam Logan set a league record that stood for 13 seasons as he had 17 receptions (151 yards) against the Racers. The Sycamores jumped out to a 15-7 lead but lost by 12.

Nov. 17, 2001

• Western Illinois 52, Indiana State 15

WR Frisman Jackson became the only player in league history with two 250-plus-yard receiving games with 286 against Indiana State. He had 266 against Southern Utah earlier in 2001. 

1994

Buck Phillips of Western Illinois is the only player in Valley Football history with three returns for touchdowns, including two punts and an interception. He was league Newcomer of the Year.

Sept. 1, 2012

• Kansas 31, South Dakota State 17

RB Zach Zenner tied an NCAA record and is the second player in Valley Football history with a 99-yard TD run.

 

NFL AWARDS OF NOTE

Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa – NFL MVP (1999, 2001) with St. Louis Rams

Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa – Super Bowl MVP (Super Bowl XXXIV vs. Tennessee) with St. Louis Rams

Bryce Paup, Northern Iowa – NFL Defensive MVP (1995) with Buffalo Bills

NFL Pro Bowl Selections 

• Bryan Cox, Western Illinois (1993, 1995, 1996) with Miami Dolphins

• David Johnson, Northern Iowa (2017) with Arizona Cardinals

• Rodney Harrison, Western Illinois (1999, 2002) with San Diego Chargers

• Bryce Paup, Northern Iowa (1995) with Green Bay; (1996, 1997, 1998) with Buffalo Bills

• Bart Scott, Southern Illinois (2007) with Baltimore Ravens

• Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa (2000, 2001, 2002) with St. Louis Rams; (2008) with Arizona Cardinals

• Carson Wentz, NDSU (2018) with Philadelphia Eagles

• Frank Winters, Western Illinois (1997) with Green Bay Packers

BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD WINNERS

• LB James Milton, Western Illinois (1998)

• LB Edgerton Hartwell, Western Illinois (2000)

• DE Kyle Emanuel, North Dakota State (2014)

• DE Karter Schult, Northern Iowa (2016)

EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD WINNERS

• Jerry Kill, Southern Illinois (2004)

• Mark Farley, Northern Iowa (2007)

• Craig Bohl, North Dakota State (2012)

• Craig Bohl, North Dakota State (2013)

SENIOR BOWL MVP

• Daurice Fountain, Northern Iowa (2017)

RECORDS OF NOTE

All-Purpose Yards (22 players with 300+ yards in a game): 410, Steve Rush, Missouri State (2003)

• Zach Zenner closed his career in 2014 with a league record 8,211 all-purpose yards.

Total Offense (6 players with 500+ yards in a game): 571, Chris Streveler, South Dakota (2017)

Points Scored (4 players with 6 TDs in a game): Most recent: Herb Donaldson, WIU (2006)

FGs in a Game (10 players with 5+ FGs in game): 6, Zach Kutch, Illinois State (2009)

Rushing Yards (133 players with 200+ yards, 4 with 300+): 349, Shakir Bell, Indiana State (2012)

Passing Yards (38 players with 400+ yards in game, 3 with 500+): 541, Ryan Helming, Northern Iowa (1999)

TD Passes in a Game (7 with 6 or more): 7, Ryan Berry, South Dakota State (2008)

Pass Receptions in a Game (12 with 14 or more): 19, Jaelon Acklin, Western Illinois (2017)

Receiving Yards in a Game (39 players with 200+ yards in a game): 343, Jaelon Acklin, Western (2017)

TD Receptions in a Game (9 with 4 in a game): Most Recent: Cade Johnson, SDSU (2018)

Longest Rush: 99 yards (twice, most recent by Zach Zenner, South Dakota State (2012)

Longest Pass: 99 yards (Jay Johnson to Kenny Shedd, Northern Iowa, 1990)

Longest Punt: 90 yards (Thomas Bouldin, Indiana State, vs. Southern Illinois, 2017)

Longest KO Return: 100 yards (15 times, by 13 different players)

Longest Punt Return: 96 yards (Josh Lee, Youngstown State, 2011)

Longest Interception Return: 100 yards (6 times)

Longest Fumble Return: 100 yards (Bryan Presume, SIU, 2012 & Tsali Lough, Indiana State, 2016)

Interceptions in a Game: 3 (8 times)

Tackles in a Game: (16 players with 25 or more in a game): 31, Tim Carver, Eastern Illinois (1994)

Sacks in a Game: (5 players with 5 or more in a game): 6, John Jurkovic, Eastern Illinois (1986)