MidAmerica set the tone early with three long touchdowns in the game's first eight minutes as the No. 20 Pioneers shut out St. Ambrose 42-0 Saturday afternoon at Jack and Pat Bush Stadium.

MNU (4-0) threw a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage to go in front 7-0 just 11 seconds into the contest. After the Bees were forced to punt, the Pioneers took Aidan Flynn's 49-yard punt back 74 yards for a score.

SAU (2-3) put together a nine-play, 55-yard drive that reached the MNU eight-yard line before stalling, and the Bees came up empty as Joe Namio's 30-yard field goal bounced off the right upright.

And two plays later, St. Ambrose's deficit was 21 points as the Pioneers again beat the Bees deep, this time for a 78-yard touchdown pass.

MidAmerica Nazarene added two touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 35-0 lead at the half. The Pioneers tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.

MNU completed just 12-of-29 passes but threw for 281 yards as the Pioneers racked up 460 yards of total offense.

Despite being shut out, the Bees found some offensive success, primarily behind Kaden King's 136 yards on 27 carries. But Tomele Staples never had much time as he was sacked 12 times. MidAmerica Nazarene recorded 21 total tackles-for-loss.

Staples completed 14 passes for 153 yards. AK Agee (70 yards) and Henry Wilson (45 yards) each caught four passes. Kameron Bohnsack and King had two receptions apiece, and Colin Shults and Braden Downs each caught one ball.

Maximo Vasquez finished with 18 rushing yards on five carries and Jaedyn Price and Brady Piper also had multiple carries.

Jon Grant and Colin Gudella led the Bee defense with six tackles apiece. Nolan Obert was in on five stops, including 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Brock Mason and Rolando Sepulveda were each credited with four tackles, and CJ Resto, Joe Reinhart and Fikayo Afolarin each had three.

St. Ambrose, whose three losses this season have all come to nationally-ranked opponents, will visit William Penn next Saturday.