Story courtesy of Victory Sports Network

SALINA, Kan. -- The Fifth Annual Victory Sports Network Senior Classic saw the Nationals down the Americans for the fourth time in the history of the game, 17-13, at Salina Stadium on Saturday (April 30). The Americans jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead before giving up 17 second half points to drop the all time series record to 4-1.

Rocky Mountain (Mont.) quarterback Kasey Peters struck first for the Americans with a 12-yard touchdown pass to William Penn (Iowa) wide receiver Bernard Luster to put the Americans ahead, 7-0 with 7:37 left to play in the first quarter. C.J. Gradoville added a 23-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the first half to send the Americans into the break with a 10-0 advantage.

On the first Nationals possession of the second half, Kansas Wesleyan quarterback Doug Webster wasted no time finding Kashif Walls of West Virginia Tech for a 55-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead down to three, 10-7 with 11:58 left to play in the third quarter.

With 2:19 left to play in the third quarter, the Nationals knotted the scoring at 10 with a 25-yard field goal by Casey Wieder of Ottawa (Kan.). The Americans answered with a 3- yard field goal with six seconds left in the third quarter by C.J. Gradoville

The Nationals finally took the lead with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter when Peru State (Neb.) quarterback Curtis Thompson found Walls with an 80-yard strike for his second touchdown of the game to put the score at 17-13. The Americans would try to rally late, but turnovers and execution on fourth down kept them from closing the gap.

Nationals Offensive Player of the Game Kashif Walls of West Virginia Tech caught three passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns and set a new single-game record for receiving yards in a game. Fred Whitted took home the Defensive Player of the Game award for the Nationals with a 37-yard fumble recovery return, three pass breakups and two tackles.

The Americans Offensive MVP was Matt Stuart of Montana State University – Northern, who caught three passes for 94 yards to lead the Americans in receiving. Defensively, the award went to Cody Carroll of Malone (Ohio), who totaled five tackles, two being for a loss. He also added one and a half sacks and a pass break up for the Americans.