The Langston Lions were defeated in overtime 24-21 by MidAmerica Nazarene in the home opener of the 2023 season on August 26th at W.E. Anderson Stadium.
The 24-21 defeat marks The Langston Lions’ first collegiate season-opening defeat in three years. After Langston’s defense limited MidAmerica to a field goal in overtime period, Langston had a field goal of their own blocked and suffered their first loss of the year.
Photos were provided by KMD Media
The Lions had a sluggish start to the game. The first quarter of the game ended with MidAmerica Nazarene leading 7-0 after Adrian Parsons caught a 32-yard pass from Myles Hymes for the team’s first touchdown. Mydre Strother, a junior defensive back from Dallas, Texas, said, “We could have just executed better. If we didn’t execute them, then what you’ve seen is what happened. Big plays happen.”
During the second quarter, Nazarene found their groove and scored another touchdown at the start of the period on a 1-yard run by Shawn Cherry. The Lions found a way to score on their own as time expired thanks to an 18-yard throw from sophomore quarterback Wrentie Martin to Ivory Wilwright IV. With a 14-7 deficit heading into the break, Langston hoped to turn things around for the second half. “We started off kind of slow, you know, using a couple of miscues here and there to get in the game. Then you know, us guys didn’t pick it up, but we just started off slow to begin,” Martin said.
For the remainder of the game’s normal base period, Langston and MidAmerica continued to trade turnovers, attempts in the end zone, and even touchdowns. With the score tied at 21 leading into overtime, all of the similarities came to an end, and a loss for the Lions. “They (the coaches) always had us in a position to succeed on every down, so as far as playing fine, I think it was good, and we were in a good position on every play,” Martin said.
The Lions played defense first in overtime, with Nazare starting in the red zone on the Langston 25-yard line. After making several defensive stops, Langston managed to limit Nazarene to just a field goal, giving themselves a chance to score a touchdown and win. Following a few plays, Langston was forced to settle for a field goal to attempt to move on into a second overtime. The ball was snapped, but the kick was blocked, resulting in Langston’s first loss in a home opener in three years.
For MidAmerica Nazarene, Adrian Parsons was the MVP as he piled up 296 yards through the air while connecting with Myles Hymes for 123 receiving yards. Tyler Travis led Langston’s offensive effort on the field with 84 yards gained from 19 attempts, and Ivory Wilwright was the team’s top receiver with three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Wrentie Martin completed 9 of 23 passes for 104 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in his first start at quarterback for the Lions. Martin also gained 41 yards and a touchdown rushing as well. James Grace led the defense with eight total tackles, seven of which were solo, and one sack.
By the time you all are reading this, Langston will have hosted their second game at home against Louisiana Christian University on September 16. The third home game won’t be until Oct. 7 in the “Battle of the Bell” against Panhandle State.
Julian Austin
Staff Writer
Julian Austin is a junior broadcast journalism major.
Story ideas, opinion editorials, calendar events and advertising requests can be sent to dthom34@langston.edu. You may follow The Gazette on Instagram @lu_gazette.
The Gazette serves as the student voice of Langston University. It is produced within the Department of Communication as a teaching tool and local news source for the campus community. The views and opinions expressed within are those of the writers whose names appear with the articles and do not necessarily represent the views of Langston University.
