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As the second second of Missouri's most important victory since 2014, Emanuel Hall has walked the stands in search of her mother, Shannon Simmons.
The 6 foot 3 inch receiver ran to the side line and kissed her, which he had to do a lot lately.
After an absence of four games due to a groin injury and the death of his father, Hall returned Saturday and led Missouri to a thwarted 38-17 victory over No. 13's Florida. He was the first catcher in Missouri with four catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. The Gators are No. 11 in the playoff standings.
"This has been the most difficult year of my life," Hall told reporters.
Hall started the season with the air of the favorite target of US quarterback Drew Lock. Known last season for the road to go, it turned into a multidimensional weapon in the first four games of Missouri and led the nation in receiving.
He injured his knee after the Missouri victory over Wyoming on September 8 and played in the first and last round of the match the following week in Purdue. Hall played the following week in Georgia, which, he said, "was probably a mistake" because the injury has worsened.
Then his father, Daton, died suddenly on October 11th. Emanuel returned home to Nashville and moved away from the team.
"Without football, I'm not sure he would have been able to handle this situation," Lock said. "He grew up. He becomes a pretty fast man. "
Tuesday was Hall's first practice since September 21 and marked the first time he was able to run without pain. Hall said his groin injury was so severe that he could not run earlier in the season.
He did not know if he would play Saturday, but decided to try himself shortly before kick-off. Lock almost immediately looked for Hall and knocked him down after being caught off guard by his speed.
Once Lock has found it, the rest is taken in hand.
Hall's first take was an 11-yard gain on Florida's 27-yard line to set up the first touchdown. Lock had a lot of short passes in Missouri, then looked at Hall in second place. The next play, Larry Rountree, found a gap to fill for a 27-yard score, giving Missouri a quick lead of 7-3 with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Florida defense guarding Hall, tight half Albert Okwuegbunam was not discovered and split in two for an easy 22-yard touchdown to extend the Missouri lead to 14-3. Okwuegbunam left the match with a bruise on the right shoulder and his status after the match was unknown.
"You can not really protect me, Albert, Nate and Jalen (Knox)," said Hall. "It really puts a lot of pressure (defensive backs). When everyone is in good health, this offense is in my opinion the best in the country. "
Hall set up the next Missouri touchdown with a 41-yard catch on third base to move the strings on Florida's 13-yard line. Rear Damarea Crockett scored on a set of options shortly thereafter to extend the MU lead to 21-3 with 6:06 remaining in the first period.
The Missouri offense averaged 482 yards per game when Hall was in good health. The Tigers' attack averaged 100 yards less without him. On Saturday, the Tigers collected 482 yards of offense.
"We know what he brings to the game plan," Odom said. "It continues to manifest itself whenever we have it there. It's really like two touchdowns. "
While Hall was absent, Missouri lost their games against South Carolina and Kentucky. He should have won and given a chance to scare Georgia in the 43-29 loss to the Tigers on 22 September.
Hall said it was difficult to watch the games finish that way, so he did not want Missouri to miss out on a chance to run away with the game in the second half.
"For the season to slide as she did, it was really bad," he said. "It's something we could do. We knew we could do it and we did it tonight. "
In the second half, the Missouri defense, which had been effective all night, forced Gators' first shot at three shots to give Missouri room for maneuver.
Lock found true rookie Kam Scott for a 41-yard touchdown, extending Missouri's lead to 28-10.
As Florida gained ground at the end of the third quarter, the Missouri offense took over the field with a need for points to prevent a possible rally.
On the first run, Lock found a 21-yard catcher for Missouri to leave Missouri territory to take it back to the Gators' 49-yard line. Missouri then managed to take the ball six minutes late and eventually ended the race with a 40-yard pitch from Tucker McCann to take the score to 38-17 with 9:08 left.
"When you grow up, you have your blanket. I slept and froze for about four weeks, "Lock said. "But the little blankie came back and did some games for us."
Hall is still optimistic that the Missouri can finish the season strongly and that the Tigers will be favored in their last three games.
He has never considered the idea of redshirt and wants to end his career on a positive note and not as someone who gets on top of the team preserving his eligibility.
"I'm definitely going to play that and keep going," said Hall.
Dad would be proud.
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