KEARNEY, Neb. -- The Mules racked up 494 yards of total offense and held Nebraska-Kearney to 138 en route to a 38-7 win on Saturday at Cope Stadium. The Mules scored 38 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0.
The game got off to a great start for the Mules (2-2) as they forced a fumble on the first play of the game and
Josh Powell recovered at the Loper 28 yard line. The Mules drove to the UNK seven before the drive halted.
Billy Greco's 23 yard field goal attempt was blocked and the game remained scoreless.
After forcing a three and out the Mules got the ball back at their own 42 and drove to the UNK 17, but the drive was thwarted again as
Garrett Fugate was picked off at the Loper 11 and Peyton Lange returned it 89 yards for a touchdown to put the Lopers (0-4) on top 7-0.
UCM responded with a quick six-play drive that covered 63 yards before it stalled at the UNK eight. Greco drilled a 25 yard field goal and the Mules were on the board at 7-3. The Mules took the lead for good on their first drive of the second quarter. The Mules took over at their own four, but on the first play of the drive Fugate hit
Rodney Smith on a swing pass for 37 yards out to the 41. Fugate hit
Andrew Bakker for a 17-yard gain on third and five to keep the drive alive, then found
Kyle Echols for a 27-yard touchdown to put UCM in front 10-7.
The Mules forced another quick punt on the next drive and capitalized with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in Fugate hitting
Ian Toalson for a 16-yard touchdown on a fake field goal. The PAT was good and UCM led 17-7 at halftime.
The Lopers tried an onside kick to start the second half and it backfired on them.
Manuel Cole recovered for UCM and the Mules took advantage. Fugate hit
Jaylen Zachery for a 13-yard score on the fifth play of the half and UCM led 24-7.
The lead grew to 31-7 later in the quarter when
Kenny Mings intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.
Austin Miller hit Romero Cotton as the ball got to him and it popped in to the air where Mings snagged it and returned it for the score.
Markel Smith capped off the day with his first collegiate rushing touchdown, a one-yard plunge that gave UCM the 38-7 final advantage. Smith went over 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career as well, finishing with 105 yards on 21 carries.
Fugate finished the day 16-of-29 for 246 yards with three scores. He also rushed for 38 yards. Echols had a game-high five receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Zachery had four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown as eight different UCM receivers caught passes.
Miller led the defense with 10 tackles and a sack.
Sam Smith had six tackles with two tackles for loss. The defense registered eight tackles for loss and four sacks as a unit as they held the Lopers 78 yards rushing on 34 carries and just 60 yards passing. UCM held Cotton to two yards on nine carries.
Bronson Marsh led UNK with 41 yards rushing on 15 carries. He also completed 10-of-25 passes for 60 yards.
The Mules are back in action next Saturday, Oct. 3 hosting Missouri Southern at 1:30 p.m. on Family Weekend at UCM. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO and 98.5 The Bar with Greg Hassler on the call.
