Mules Football Concludes Regular Season at Lindenwood

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 8, 2017) - It's the final week of the MIAA regular season and Mules Football is on the road in search of their fourth straight eight-win season.

OPPONENT: Lindenwood Lions (4-6, 4-6 MIAA)

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017 - 1 p.m.

WHERE: St. Charles, Mo. - Harlen C. Hunter Stadium

ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action. The Tailgate Show will begin at 11:50 a.m. on the UCM Sports Network.
• The game will also be webcast online through Central Missouri's Blueframe Internet portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. It is a pay-per-view webcast. MIAA Network content is available live via live DVR and is immediately archived for on-demand viewing after each event. 
• All MIAA football games are also available for viewing on The MIAA Network Apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. 

KICKOFF
• It's the final game of the regular season this weekend at the Mules are on the road. UCM takes on Lindenwood with a 1 p.m. kick off to wrap up the 2017 season. 
• The Mules got one back in the win column with a 52-24 drubbing of Northeastern State last Saturday. They have now won four of their last five games. 
• Lindenwood comes in on a two game winning streak with wins over Missouri Southern and Nebraska-Kearney. The Lions are 4-6 on the year. 
• In the preseason coaches and media polls, UCM was selected to finish third in both, which would match their place from a year ago. Lindenwood was picked ninth in both the coaches and media polls. 
• Central Missouri finished 2016 at 4-1 on the road last year, with their only loss coming in the NCAA Playoffs against Harding. UCM is 29-16 all time on the road with Coach Svoboda on the sidelines. 
• At home, Central Missouri is a perfect 4-0. All three of their losses have come away from Warrensburg. The Mules have also won eight straight home games dating back to last year. 

STORY LINES
• The Mules look for their second straight win and try to close the season with five wins in their last six games.
• The Lions have four wins this season, two at home and two on the road. Following a four-game losing streak Lindenwood has won back-to-back games for the first time all season. 
• The Mules play four of their 11 regular season games in Warrensburg this season (one home game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City). In the last eight seasons (including 2017) they have played more games on the road in six of them. 
• The Mules have finished each of the last 10 seasons with a winning record after their win at Washburn they are guaranteed their 11th straight winning season and 19th in the last 20 years.

MULES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• For the first time this season, the Mules are not ranked in either the AFCA poll or the d2football.com poll. The Mules had been at least receiving votes in each of the first nine AFCA Polls this season and in the top-25 eight weeks out of the season. 
• Under head coach Jim Svoboda the Mules have been ranked in the AFCA Poll 31 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of five times. 
• This week was the third week of NCAA Regional Rankings and the Mules fell once again. The Mules ranked 10th in Super Region III which consists of the MIAA, GAC, GLIAC, GLVC.  The top seven teams in the rankings at the end of the year qualify for the postseason along with the top seven from the other three super regions for a 28-team field. The top team in each super region receives a bye into the next round when the field is cut to 16. 

SERIES HISTORY
• The Mules are undefeated against Lindenwood in the six games they have faced each other, all in the last six year. 
• Central Missouri has scored at least 30 points in all six games and have scored 40 points in three games.
• This marks the seventh straight season the two teams have played. 
• The Mules have held the Lions under 10 points in each of the last two meetings. Lindenwood had scored exactly 28 points in the four previous games. 
• Jim Svoboda is 6-0 lifetime against the Lions while this is Lindenwood Coach Jed Stugart's first matchup against the Mules. 

LAST MEETING WITH LINDENWOOD
• The Mules ended 2016 at home needing a win to make the playoffs. They made quick work of the Lions with a 35-7 win, and even holding a 35-0 lead in the fourth quarter. 
• The Mules scored four rushing touchdowns on the afternoon, two from quarterback Garrett Fugate. Gabe Vandiver and Marquel McNac also found the endzone. Vandiver also had a three yard touchdown reception. 
• Fugate passed for 378 yards in the game and ran for 94, totaling three touchdowns. Jaylen Zachery had 11 catches in the game for 162 yards
• On defense, the Mules picked up seven sacks in the game, led by Mark Cushing's two. Josh Powell, John Embrey, Kolesen Crane, Alex Lackey, Dalainey Taala and Wyatt Hendrix all had at least a half of a sack. 

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Lindenwood is on something of a hot streak having won two straight games for the first time this season. The Lions are coming off wins against Nebraska-Kearney at home and last week defeated Missouri Southern in Joplin. 
• The Lions have scored 30 points in three of their last four games, in which they are 2-2. The only time they failed to reach 30 was a 19-0 shutout loss to Northwest Missouri. 
• Lindenwood has a new head coach this season. Jed Stugart is in his first year at the helm of the Lions taking over for Patrick Ross who served for the previous 13 years and was the winningest coach in Lions history. Stugart comes with 10 years of prior head coaching experience. He got his start at MidAmerica Nazarene and was most recently at Sioux Falls for seven years, with NCAA playoff appearances  in his final two years. 
• Lindenwood is scoring 26.9 points per game this season, but 33 points at home. The Lions gave a scare to then-14th ranked Fort Hays State in a close 38-35 loss. Defensively, the Lions are fifth in the MIAA surrendering 26.8 points per game.  
• At the quarterback position, Najee Jackson has started all 10 games. He's thrown for 2,144 yard with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing  55.2% of his passes. He has also gained 227 yards on the ground and scored four times rushing the ball. All of Jackson's eight interceptions have come in just three games. He has two games with at least three picks this season, and four have come in the last two weeks, despite the team's success. 
• The rushing attack has been shared between Calen Campbell and Shakeem Wharton. Campbell has 98 carries for 583 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for 5.9 yards per carry. Wharton is also averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has 442 yards on 89 attempts with six scores. 
• Jackson's favorite target this season has been Deantrell Prince. He is sixth in the league with 636 receiving yards while his 44 catches are tied for fourth. 
• Northeastern State has given up 29 sacks this season, most in the MIAA. They are also last in the league with eight total sacks on defense. Prince has scored four times and averages 14.5 yards per reception. Kendell Sparks has played in all 10 games and has 31 catches for 353 yard and two touchdowns. DeSean Warren has matched Prince with four receiving touchdowns and has 357 yards on 26 catches. 
• Defensively, Darrius Williams leads the team with 90 tackles which is fourth in the MIAA. The Lions have some of the fewest takeaways in the league with seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Bakari Triggs has three of the seven interceptions. 
• Travis Spraul has hit six field goals this season in nine attempts. He has a long of 40 which came  against Washburn and he is 3-4 from between 30-39 yards. 
• Lindenwood has matched the Mules offense converting 46.2% of their third down attempts to tie for the league lead. They have trouble getting off the field though as opponents convert 48%. 

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules scored 30 points for the fifth straight week, and continued to be an offensive juggernaut at home, defeating Northeastern State 52-24. It is the fifth straight years the Mules have scored 50+ points against the RiverHawks. 
• Central Missouri stumbled a bit out of the gate as Brook Bolles threw an interception on the game's first play from scrimmage. That was about the only hiccups the Mules offense encountered on their way to a 720 yard and seven touchdown day. 
• Northeastern State quickly tied the game at seven with a 46 yard touchdown pass, but it was all Mules after that. They scored three straight touchdowns and took a 31-14 lead into halftime. 
• Out of the break, the Mules tacked on another three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, all on the ground from three different running backs. Koby Wilkerson and Devante Turner each scored their second touchdowns of the game and Steven Ford sealed the game with his first career TD. 
• For the second straight week, Bolles set a new career-high in passing yards. He threw for 380 yards and one touchdown along with one interception. Bolles accounted for 480 yards of total offense, rushing for 100 more. Wilkerson was also over 100 yards rushing with 138 yards on just 13 carries and two scores. Turner scored twice as well and ran for 97 yards on 16 carries. Wilkerson added 88 yards in the passing game to lead all Mule receivers. 
• On defense, Diaron Rhodes was again the Mulse leading tacker. He made eight stops, four solo and had a pass breakup. Monteze Latimore was all over the secondary as he knocked down four passes and had three tackles. UCM forced two turnovers, getting a fumble recovery on a kickoff from Codie Bell. Tyron Taylor forced the fumble and also had an interception. Dylan Albertson finished with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 10 yards. 

MULES ALL TIME RECORDS
• Several Mules are climbing up the all-time single season and career rankings as the season is starting to wind down. Wide Receiver Jaylen Zachery has already become the Mules all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards in program history and continues to add to his totals, currently at 165 receptions and 2,609 receiving yards. He is also moving up the all-purpose yards list and is fourth at 4,294. 
• Monteze Latimore picked off his 11th career pass to move into a tie for sixth-place. He and Diaron Rhodes are in a battle for most pass breakups. Latimore has 30 while Rhodes is at 27.
• Quarterback Brook Bolles is slowing making his way towards a few single-season top-10 lists. He is already fourth in total offense at 3,687. He moved up to fourth this week in single-season passing yards at 3,223 which is seventh. He also entered the top-10 in completions and attempts.
• Additionally, Devante Turner is also near some single-season top-10 lists at running back. He needs 220 more yards to reach 1,000 and 270 more yards for 10th all-time in a single season. He is also one rushing touchdowns shy of the top 10 and six points scored. 
• Kicker Alex Langer is tied for ninth in single season extra points with 44. 

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules finished 9-2 in conference play in 2016 and placed third in the league standings for the second consecutive season. 
• UCM now stands at 56-24 in conference games under Jim Svoboda.
• At 7-3 the Mules are all alone in third place. Fort Hays State remains undefeated atop the league with Northwest Missouri at 8-2. 

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules finished 2017 undefeated at home at 4-0 and are 33-9 at home under Jim Svoboda, and winners of eight straight.  
• The Mules are 238-183-13 overall in their 86th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 29-16 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following the loss to Central Oklahoma.
• The Mules finished 2016 at 4-1 away from Warrensburg. They went a perfect 4-0 in true road games.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 50-7 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. Their 44-14 halftime lead against Missouri Southern was their largest this season. After not having a halftime lead for the first five games, UCM has gone into the break with the lead in four of their last five games.  
• The Mules are 10-20 all-time under Svoboda and 2-3 in 2017 when trailing at halftime after the loss to the Bronchos. 

21 AND UP
• UCM is 61-13 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 59-7 during the Svoboda era and 35-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• The Mules scored seven touchdowns Saturday to keep their MIAA record streak of consecutive games without being shutout intact and improve to 287 games. The Mules averaged 54.25 points per game at home this season. 
• The streak dates back to week three of the 1991 season.

2017 MIAA AND NCAA STAT LEADERS
• Central Missouri boasts one of the best offenses in the country. They are in the top-12 in the NCAA in both scoring offense and total offense per game. At 539.3 yards per game, UCM is second in Division II in total offense. UCM's 41.7 points per game ranks 12th in the country. 
• Brook Bolles has been playing tremendously of late He is the current Division II leader in passing yards with 3,223 and total offense, averaging 368.7 yards per game. He is also third in yard per completions averaging 15.72. Bolles has six straight games with more than 300 yards passing and his 19 touchdown passes are fourth in the MIAA. 
 • The Mules deploy two of the top-5 rushers in the league in a pair of redshirt-freshmen, Devante Turner and Koby Wilkerson. Turner is fourth in the MIAA with 780 yards and is second in the league and is 20th in Division II averaging 6.72 yards per carry. Teammate Koby Wilkerson has 657 rushing yards and is fifth in the MIAA. Turner also has 14 rushing touchdowns this season to lead the MIAA and is 14th in Division II. 
• Three Mules are in the league's top-20 in receptions. Jaylen Zachery is third with 46. He is also fifth in the MIAA with 750 receiving yards. Kyrion Parker is 19th in the MIAA with 29 catches. Parker is the Mules big play receiver and his 20.59 yards per catch with 11th in Division II and third in the MIAA. He sits seventh in the league with 597 receiving yards & his 29 receptions are by far the fewest of any WR in the MIAA top-10. 
• The Mules' 23 sacks are the fifth most in the MIAA. Kolesen Crane and Austin Miller each have four. Monteze Latimore has 17 passes defended which is tied for the MIAA lead and three interceptions.
• Punter Zach Davidson sits third in the NCAA and second the MIAA in punting  average. On 40 attempts, he is averaging 43.8 yards per kick with nine kicks of 50+ yards and 13 inside the 20.  
• Alex Langer is averaging 1.3 field goals made per game, the third most in the MIAA and 18th most in the NCAA. His .813 FG% (13-for-16) is 17th in the NCAA. 

AROUND THE MIAA
• Fort Hays State remains the only undefeated team left in the MIAA. They moved to 10-0 after defeating Northwest Missouri. For the Bearcats, they've lost two straight for the first time since 2001. 
• With the Mules falling out of the national rankings, the MIAA is back to having two teams in the top-25. Northwest Missouri drops from No. 8 to No. 18 following their loss while Fort Hays State climbs up to No. 5. 
• Additional matchups this weekend sees Northwest Missouri at Missouri Western, Washburn at Emporia State, Nebraska-Kearney at Fort Hays State, Missouri Southern at Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma at Northeastern State. 

A WIN OVER LINDENWOOD WOULD...
• Be their seventh straight over the Lions.
• Be their second straight win.
• Give the Mules eight wins for the fourth straight year. 
• Finish the year at 4-2 on the road. 
• Keep the Mules postseason hopes alive.

A LOSS TO LINDENWOOD WOULD...
• Be their first loss to Lindenwood in team history
• Give the Mules a two game road losing streak and move them to 3-3 in away games.
• Snap a three year streak of at least eight wins. 
• Likely end any postseason hopes. 

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 558-511-51 (.520) record in 1,120 total games.
• The Mules have won 10 or more games three times in the history of the program and have posted 12 seasons of eight or more wins.
• UCM won a school-record 11 games in Jim Svoboda's first season in 2010.
• UCM has won or shared 12 MIAA championships in school history with the last coming in 2003.
• The Mules have qualified for the postseason eight times in their history, including two trips to the NCAA-II Playoffs, the last coming in 2016.

SVOBODA AT THE HELM
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a record of 63-28 (.692) during his seven-plus seasons leading the Mules. He has led the Mules to three postseason appearances.
• He is third on UCM's career wins list.
• Svoboda's .692 winning percentage is the fourth highest for a UCM coach.
• UCM posted the second most wins in a two-year span in school history in Svoboda's first two seasons.
• The Mules appeared in the postseason in each of Svoboda's first two seasons. UCM made the NCAA-II Playoffs in year one under Svoboda and earned a bid to the Kanza Bowl in his second season. It is just the second time in school history that Mules Football has made back-to-back postseason appearances.
• UCM hosted the first ever playoff game in school history and won the school's first two playoff games in Svoboda's first season in 2010.
• The Mules have set or tied 86 school offensive records and 21 MIAA offensive records during Svoboda's tenure.
• The Mules became the first team in NCAA-II history to have a 5,000-yard passer (Eric Czerniewski) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Anthony Stewart) in the same season when they accomplished that feat in 2010.

MULES IN THE PROS
• There is one former Mule currently on an NFL roster. Tight end Delanie Walker is in his 12th season in the league and his fifth with the Tennessee Titans. Walker signed a four-year deal with the Titans, and a two-year extension through 2018, after playing in Super Bowl XLVII with San Francisco.
• Walker finished 2016 with 65 receptions for 800 yards and seven touchdowns, and has 405 catches for 4,814 yards with 31 touchdowns in his career.
• In 2015, he caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards, his first career 1,000 receiving yard season, and six touchdowns and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. He made the Pro Bowl for a second consecutive year in 2016 as well. 
• Walker was inducted into the UCM Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2015.
• This season, Walker has 37 catches for 395 yards. 

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 213 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles, one MIAA Tournament crown and two NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 157 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships during Hughes' tenure (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.
• In 2016-17, Central Missouri won the inaugural MIAA's Commissioner's Cup trophy for the conference's top overall athletic department. 

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 252 student-athletes named to the 2016-17 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 22 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 20 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had five student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective sports. 
• All-time UCM is fourth in NCAA-II with 103 Academic All-Americans.
• Carly Thomas of Jennies Bowling was awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.

UP NEXT
• The regular season is in the books. Any hopes for a postseason game rest squarely on the shoulders of the Mules this week.