KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [BOX SCORE] The NAIA West team overcame an early 14-point hole and a late charge by the East to earn the win in the inaugural NAIA Senior Football Classic, 31-28.

A pair of scores early put the East team up as Waldorf (Iowa)’s Hilton Joseph showcased his skills under center early and often. The quarterback led his team on a five-play, 64-yard drive to pay dirt. The drive was capped-off on a one-yard touchdown completion to Kentucky Christian’s Kris Lewis.

It took the East team just six seconds on its second drive of the first quarter to extend its lead by another touchdown. This time, Joseph connected on an 80-yard strike down the sideline to Missouri Baptist’s Isaiah King to give their team a 14-0 advantage after Doane (Neb.)’s Bryce Cooney’s point after. This touchdown was the longest scoring play in the contest.

The West got on the board early in the second quarter. Cooney, who kicked for both teams, knocked-down his lone field goal of the game, a 33-yard kick, to cut the West deficit to 14-3.

Dejon Board set-up the first touchdown for the West on his lone interception of the game. The defensive back out of Avila (Mo.) picked-off Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) quarterback Jordan Lawton and set-up his team with a short field at the East’s 42 yard line.

The scoring drive for the West was started and ended by plays from SAGU (Texas)’s Stephon Free. The running back was the recipient of a 22-yard first-down pass from Ottawa (Kan.) quarterback Connor Kaegi, to put the West at the 20 yard line. After a 14-yard pickup on the ground, Free found his way into the end zone on a two-yard rush to cut the deficit to four, down 14-10.

After halftime, the West squad picked-up right where it left off after its 10 unanswered points heading into the break. Khamren Davenport of Briar Cliff (Iowa) intercepted a Joseph pass, intended for Kris Lewis, to set-up the first of two touchdown drives for his team.

With a drive starting at the East’s 28-yard line, Kaegi used mainly the ground attack as Martreveus Jackson (Texas Wesleyan) and Free shared the work load before a three-yard touchdown strike to Edrick Gonzales of Southwestern (Kan.) gave the West the lead for good.

Free added his second touchdown of the game on a 13-yard rush into the end zone on the following West Team drive to give his squad a 24-14 lead with just 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Connor Kaegi extended the lead for the final score for the West with 11:35 remaining. The touchdown came on a four-yard quarterback keeper to give the West a 31-14 advantage. The early fourth-quarter score put an exclamation point on 31 unanswered points by the West.

The East team responded with its first points since King’s 80-yard catch and run in the first quarter, with 7:54 remaining in the game. This time, Lawton led the drive for the East as he led his team 75 yards on 10 plays in a matter of just under four minutes to make it a 10-point, 31-21 game.

Though the East was able to hold its opponent off the scoreboard, the West was able to utilize a valuable commodity… time. The West took 4:46 off the clock over the course of its next drive and set-up the East on its own 37-yard line with just 3:08 remaining. Joseph, however, found openings in the West defense, which he exploited quickly and efficiently.

The Waldorf signal-caller rattled-off a 19-yard pass to Kendall Johnson of Cumberland (Tenn.) before a 25-yard connection with Lewis to put his team at the West’s 19-yard line. Two plays later, Joseph found Johnson in the end zone to make it a 31-28 game with 2:40 remaining. This, however, was as close as the East got as the West left the field with the win.

Following the contest, Hilton Joseph was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player while Jordan Willis of Peru State (Neb.) was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Willis recorded two sacks and eight total tackles, six of which were of the solo variety.