LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – It was another close tight battle for the University of Saint Mary football team Saturday afternoon against McPherson College. The Spires fell behind late and managed to climb back towards the end, but the Spires came up just short 28-26 to the Bulldogs.

Saint Mary now stands at 2-6 overall on the season.

The Spires got on the board first with 10:59 left in the first quarter when Jalil Grimes found an opening in the Bulldog defense and sprinted in for a 29-yard score, to put the Spires up 7-0. McPherson would come back with a touchdown of their own on their next possession before Saint Mary added another score with under a minute left in the period. Grimes sneaked into the endzone for his second score from two yards out to make it 14-7 Saint Mary.

The next possession for Saint Mary would stall as the Spires were in the red zone, but unable to put any points on the board. However, the Spires forced a turnover on the Bulldogs' possession as Josh Inserra recovered a fumble by McPherson's Jonathan White. Chris Felts would kick a field goal on that drive and Saint Mary led 16-7 at the break. It took a while for either team to add any points in the third quarter, but McPherson would add a touchdown at the 3:40 mark as Saint Mary led 16-14. After a punt by USM, McPherson added another score on their next drive to take a 21-16 lead just as the fourth quarter started. The Spires would drive the field all the way down to the Bulldogs' five-yard line but had to settle for another field goal as they trailed by just two points. McPherson would later extend their lead to nine points after another touchdown with 6:38 left, but the Spires found some life with less than two minutes left as Grimes found Jordan Hill for a 33-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to two.

Saint Mary would attempt an onside kick on the kickoff but failed to recover and McPherson took a couple of kneel-downs to end the game.

Grimes totaled three total touchdowns and threw for 204 yards, while Hill had 68 receiving yards and a score. Saint Mary totaled 143 yards on the ground as Cole Nequette led the way with 52 yards on 14 carries. Jaxon Curtis led the defense with 10 total tackles, while Inserra and Zachary Scott each had one sack.

Saint Mary will host No. 11 Bethel College on Nov. 6 for their Senior Day at Berkel Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.