KEARNEY, Neb. (
Oct. 7, 2017)-- Central Missouri Mules Football (4-2, 4-2 MIAA) bounced back from last week's loss with a solid 45-7 rout against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (2-4, 2-4 MIAA)
on Saturday afternoon at Cope Stadium.
How It Happened
• The Mules racked up 529 yard of total offense against the Lopers doing most of their damage through the air with 340 passing yards while adding 189 rushing yards.
•
Brook Bolles got the Mules on the board at the
6:19 mark in the first quarter on a one-yard run. The touchdown was the first of three on the day for Bolles.
• UCM opened things up in the second quarter scoring three touchdowns and racking up 348 yards on total offense in the first half.
• The Mules made it a 14-0 lead just six seconds into the second quarter when Bolles hit
Kyrion Parker for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Parker caught the ball in stride with no one around him on broken coverage by the Lopers.
• The Lopers kept it from being a shutout on their next drive as they went 71 yards on 14 rushing plays for nearly eight minutes. Dayton Sealey punched in UNK's lone score on a three-yard run to cap a Loper drive that did have not have a single pass attempt.
• At 14-7 with seven minutes left to play until halftime, the Mules scored two touchdowns to break the game open. Both UCM touchdowns came in the final minute of the first half.
• Bolles scored his final touchdown of the day with 59 seconds left to play in the first half on a two-yard scamper. He went untouched into the end zone as he pushed the Mules lead to 21-7.
• On the ensuing kickoff, UCM loaded one side of the field for an on-side kick and kicked to the opposite direction to recover the ball at UNK 36-yard line.
• The Mules immediately drove the short length of the field in four plays, scoring on a nine-yard run by
Koby Wilkerson and took a 28-7 lead into halftime.
• UCM added a touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter.
Alex Langer hit a season-long 43-yard field goal at the
11:26 mark, making a 31-7 advantage for UCM. Langer has made a field goal in every game this season for the Mules.
•
Devante Turner added the fourth rushing touchdown of the day with just over two minutes to play in the third. He scored on a five-yard run that initially looked to be stopped for no gain, but kept his legs moving to push the Mules lead to 38-7.
• With a majority of the starters done for the day, including Bolles, backup quarterback
Kyle Bradley finished out the game and scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard run at the
5:30 mark.
It Was Over When…
• Thanks to three touchdowns in the second quarter, the Mules held a 28-7 lead at the start of the second half and put it away when Langer nailed a field goal at the
11:26 mark to make it 31-7.
Mules Stat Leaders
• Bolles had his best game of the season accuracy wise, completing 27-of-37 passes for 325 yards through the air and one touchdown. He also did some work on the ground rushing for 42 yards on eight carries and scoring two touchdowns.
• Wilkerson had 64 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown to lead UCM, while Turner had 45 rushing yards with a touchdown as well. Wilkerson also had a catch for 21 yards.
• UCM had seven players finish with 20-plus receiving yards.
Jaylen Zachery had the most catches with six for 55 yards. Parker led the way in receiving yards with 89 on five catches and one touchdown.
Seth Hebert had 68 yards on three catches and
Kyle Echols had four catches for 53 yards.
Jovante Siglar and
Wesley Thomas had 34 and 22 receiving yards, respectively.
• Defensively,
Connor Flagel led the way for the Mules with 11 tackles, seven of which were solo.
Tyron Taylor was not far behind with nine tackles.
Wyatt Hendrix record the lone sack for the defense. As a unit, the Mules held the Lopers offense to just 199 total yards.
For the Lopers
• Steve Worthing only completed 6-of-19 passes for 58 yards and added just six yards on the ground for 64 total yards on the day.
• Thomas Russell led the ground game for UNK with 72 yards on 17 carries. Sealey added 27 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
• Blake Holtmeier was the only Loper to bring in more than one catch, finishing the day with two for 25 yards.
• Punter Grant Buschkoetter booted the ball eight times for 285 yards averaging 35.6 yards on each kick.
News and Notes
• With his six catches, Zachery is now the all-time leading receiver in career receptions with 150 after
Saturday's performance. He needs just 19 receiving yards to be the Mules all-time leader as well.
• The Mules are now 7-2 all-time against the Lopers and have now won five straight against them. Under head coach
Jim Svoboda, UCM is now 5-1 against UNK.
• Bolles has thrown for 300 yards in three straight games for the first time in his career.
• UCM took its first lead into the halftime this season.
Up Next
The Mules are home next week for Homecoming against the Missouri Southern Lions. Kickoff is set
1:30 p.m.
