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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules fell behind early and never recovered as they fell to Fort Hays State 45-17 on a cold, wintery Saturday afternoon at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. The Mules finish the season at 7-4.
The Tigers (7-4, 7-4 MIAA) led 14-0 after two scoring drives in the first quarter. Treveon Albert hit Garrison Hendricks for a three-yard scoring strike on the opening drive and following a Hendricks punt return to the UCM eight, Quinten Darby rushed one in from two yards out to put Fort Hays State in front for good.
The Mules got on the board on their next drive when
Will Mondragon booted a 23-yard field goal to make it 14-3 early in the second quarter.
The Tigers made it 21-3 on their ensuing possession when Darby scored his second rushing touchdown of the day, a one-yard plunge with 11:33 to play in the half. Following a UCM three and out the Tigers took over on their own 38 and drove 62 yards in nine plays for another score. Albert found Ed Williams for a 16-yard touchdown on third and nine at the Mules 16. The PAT was good and FHSU led 28-3 at halftime.
The Mules took the opening drive of the second half deep in to Tiger territory as they tried to get back into the game.
Hayden Hawk found
Cullen Rosine for a 30-yard gain to the FHSU 23 and then hit
Sean Gorman for 22 yards, but as he fought to get into the endzone he fumbled at the one and the Tigers recovered.
Two drives later the Tigers were forced to punt from their own 32.
Clayton Cooper blocked the punt and
Alex Strong recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown to pull UCM within 28-10 with 7:08 to play in the third.
The Mules tried an onside kick, but the ball went out of bounds and Fort Hays State took over at the UCM 39. Seven plays later, Drew O'Brien booted a 33-yard field goal and the Tigers led 31-10.
Following another UCM three and out, FHSU wasted no time in adding to their lead. Albert hit Williams again, this time for a 19-yard score and FHSU led 38-10.
Ray Harris capped an 11-play 75-yard drive with a leaping one-yard touchdown to make it 38-17 in favor of the Tigers, but Fort Hays State added another touchdown on the ensuing possession, an eight-yard run for Edward Smith and a 45-17 lead.
The Mules were out-gained 384-314 as the Tigers rolled up 289 yards rushing and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. The Mules averaged 4.4 yards per rush and had 142 yards on the ground and 172 through the air.
LaVance Taylor finished the day with 149 yards on 22 carries and added five receptions for 26 yards. He finishes the season with 1,654 yards rushing, a new UCM single-season record. He broke the old record of 1,591 yards in 1987 for Elliott Eley. His 2,267 all-purpose yards is also a new single-season record for UCM. His 3,677 career rushing yards are the second most in program history as are his 5,880 career all-purpose yards.
Hawk finished the day 20-of-38 for 172 yards,
Justus McMullen had five catches for 35 yards.
Smith led FHSU with 144 yards rushing on 12 carries to go along with one touchdown. Kenneth Iheme had 114 yards on 29 carries. Albert was 9-of-17 passing for 95 yards and three TDs and added 28 yards on 14 carries.
Williams had four catches for 44 yards and two scores.
Defensively,
Ricky Spratley led the Mules with 11 tackles and a sack.
Travion Vaughn had eight tackles, while
J.R. Alexander and
Ramond Hunter had seven apiece. Brock Long led FHSU with 11 tackles. Justin McPhail had nine stops and Daniel Lindsey finished with eight and two tackles for loss.
