KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Oct. 1, 2016) -- No. 22 Central Missouri stood toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State during the first half of the Fall Classic at Arrowhead on Saturday, but the Bearcats proved too much in the second half as UCM fell to NWMSU 42-17.
The Mules (3-2) trailed 21-14 at halftime after going back and forth with Northwest in the first half, but the Bearcats outscored UCM 21-3 in the second half and out-gained the Mules 237-77 in the frame.
The Mules recovered a fumble at the Northwest Missouri 35 yard line on the Bearcats first drive of the game, but the drive stalled at the 12 and
Billy Greco's 31-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
After a couple of punts by both teams, the Bearcats (5-0) got on the board first with a one-yard Phil Jackson touchdown run with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. The drive was set up by a short UCM punt that gave NWMSU the ball at the UCM 45.
The Mules answered back with nine-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard
Garrett Fugate to
Jaylen Zachery touchdown to pull UCM even at 7-7. Northwest drove deep into UCM territory on the next possession, but Simon Mathiesen's 40-yard field goal was wide left.
The Mules went three and out on the ensuing possession and the Bearcats answered back to take the lead. Kyle Zimmerman hit Shane Williams for a 13-yard touchdown pass on third and six to put NWMSU in front 14-7.
The Mules came right back with a nine-play, 62-yard drive capped by a Fugate to
Kyle Echols 30-yard scoring strike to tie the game with 4:57 to play in the half to tie the game. Northwest again answered the Mules with an 11-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with a Zimmerman to Kyle Wilson 4-yard touchdown pass on third and two and the Bearcats led 21-14 at the half.
The Mules got the defensive stop they needed to open the second half, but were unable to do anything offensively. After a UCM punt, the Bearcats marched 52 yards in six plays to go in front 28-14 on Cameron Wilcox's 34-yard run on third and three. The Mules stacked the line of scrimmage, but once Wilcox broke through there was no one home to stop him.
The Mules drove deep into Bearcat territory and were knocking on the door to pull within seven, but Fugate scrambled to his left out of the pocket and was intercepted at the Bearcat six yard line. Following a block in the back penalty pinned the Bearcats back at their own three, they drove 97 yards in 12 plays for a Phil Jackson six-yard TD run and the lead was 35-14.
The Mules took the ball deep into Bearcat territory on the next drive, gaining a first and goal at the two, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty drove the Mules back 15 yards and they ended up settling for a 37-yard
Billy Greco field goal to make it 35-17.
The Bearcats tacked on a late touchdown run by Wilcox for the 42-17 final.
NWMSU out-gained UCM 488-285 in the game and had 27 first downs to just 17 for the Mules while each team had one turnover.
Fugate finished the day 18-of-30 for 201 yards and two touchdowns with the one interception.
Tyler Jones caught a team-high four passes for 34 yards. Echols had three for 63 with a TD and Zachery had three grabs for 42 yards and a score.
Xavier Washpun was the leading rusher for UCM with 35 yards on 10 carries. The Mules were held to 84 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Diaron Rhodes led the Mule defense with 11 tackles, while
Jackson Newman had nine and
J.R. Alexander had eight and each player forced a fumble.
Zimmerman finished the night 24-of-33 for 275 yards and two scores to lead NWMSU. George Sehl caught five passes for 76 yards and Jordan Grove had five receptions for 54 yards. Jackson rushed 15 times for 97 yards and two scores, while Wilcox had 61 yards on nine totes and two touchdowns.
Jacob Vollstedt led the Bearcats with 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Kevin Berg had seven stops.
The Mules return home next Saturday, Oct. 8 to host Nebraska-Kearney in a 1 p.m. contest at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. It is Military Appreciation Day.
