JOPLIN, Mo. - The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon football team opened the 2010 season in a less than favorable way, as they suffered a loss to Missouri Southern State on Thursday evening.

The Dragons, although stopping the Lions on the red-zone three times, were unable to put points on the board. MSSU scored 17 in the first half and tallied 13 more in the second to win 30-0.

After winning the coin toss, the Dragons opened with a nine-yard run by E'Boni Lucious-West (Country Club Hills, Ill.). He ended the game leading the team in rushing with 73 yards on 16 carries.

The Dragons could not capture the momentum of the first-play run, as they punted the ball on fourth down of the drive.

The defense forced the Lions to punt on their first possession. In MSSU's next possession they would take a seven-point lead on a one-yard run by Collin Howard. It concluded a seven-play, 49-yard drive.

The Dragons could not gain momentum in their first few possessions as three penalties plagued MSUM as the home team led by two-touchdowns at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions scored a field goal in their first possession of the second quarter as the Dragons made two big stops in the red-zone. The first came on the field-goal and the second was a fumble, that was forced and recovered by Brandon Larson on MSUM's three yard-line with just under a minute left in the half.

MSSU added to their lead in the second half, as they increased their total offensive yards to 578. The Dragons had 199 yards in the game on 59 plays, with 79 yards on the ground.

Junior quarterback Kevin Koch (Elmhurst, Ill.) completed 14 of 28 pass attempts for 82 yards; he also rushed for seven yards and had two interceptions. Junior back-up Bryson Pluta (Winnipeg, MAN) went 3-for-4 on the last drive of the game for 15 yards.

Steven Sumpter rushed for 141 yards on 14 carries, as he led the Lions. The team had a total of 313 rushing yards. The starting quarterback, Collin Howard went 17-for-29 for 230 yards.

The Dragons will have a bye next weekend as they will open conference action on the road against Winona State (Minn.) on Sept. 11. The game is schedule for 1 p.m.