Mules Rack Up More than 600 Yards of Offense in Win

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 16, 2017) - Central Missouri was in an old-fashioned shootout with Missouri Western Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg. The Mule came on top 66-44 in a wild affair that saw more than 1,000 of combined total offense.

How It Happened
• The score was tied at 20 at halftime and that is when things really got fun. MWSU scored the first points of the second half with a 42-yard field goal, but the Mules then scored 22 points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth to put the game away.
• After Missouri Western took a 30-27 lead, Central Missouri scored 18 straight points in the final 3:32 of the third quarter.
• Missouri Western scored on a four-yard touchdown run to cut the Mules lead down to eight, 52-44. The Mules scored two touchdowns in less than 30 seconds on a Koby Wilkerson 14-yard run and fumble return touchdown from Austin Miller.
• The Mules scored in all three phases of the game with eight offensive touchdowns, one defensive touchdown, one field goal and one safety coming on special teams.

It Was Over When...
• It seemed like no lead was big enough in this game with both teams scoring on big plays. Of the 13 offensive touchdowns, three were on plays of more than 60 yards. Even ahead 15, 59-44 with three minutes to play, the Griffons were one big play away from getting back into it. It was the Mules though who had one more big play in them. Carter Nicoli brought down quarterback Corey Bertini and jarred the ball loose and Austin Miller scooped it up and brought it to the house for an 11-yard score, giving us our final, 66-44.

Mules Offensive Numbers
• After scoring just six points, Central Missouri put up 66 in their largest scoring day since 2006. Quarterback Brook Bolles completed just 12 passes on 26 attempts but made them count. Four went for touchdowns and he racked up 287 yards through the air. Bolles averaged almost 24 yards per completion. 
• Kyrion Parker accounted for two of those touchdown passes, his only two catches of the day, including one TD pass than went 71 yards. He finished with 92 yards.
• Parker wasn't the only Mule with a long touchdown reception. Jovante Siglar had a catch and run of 81 yards for a score. He too had two receptions and totaled 99 yards.
• UCM did it on the ground too picking up 327 yards. Devante Turner averaged 11.1 yards per carry and totaled 210 with two touchdowns. He finished just 16 yards shy of making the all-time top-10 list for rushing yards in a game. It was the most for a Mule back since LaVance Taylor had 264 in the Texarkana Bowl in December 2014.
• Turner was joined by Wilkerson who also found the endzone on two occassions. He chipped in with 80 rushing yards on 17 carries.
• Of Bolles' 12 completions, he spread the ball around to seven different receivers. No Mule receiver had more than two catches. 

Defense and Special Teams
• Though UCM gave up 44 points, there were still some bright spots on D, Miller's fumble return for a touchdown to ice the game being the brightest. He also led the Mules with 10 tackles after missing the game at Fort Hays. 
• The Mules brought down MWSU quarterbacks five times for a total of 34 yards.
• After just one turnover through the first two games of the season, the Mules came out with five takeaways - three fumbles and two interceptions.
• Alex Langer continued his success on field goals. His 32-yarder in the fourth quarter makes him 6-for-6 on field goal attempts this season. 
• The Mules also picked up a safety when Griffon return man Shamar Griffith stepped out of the endzone on a kickoff then went back and took a knee, giving UCM a 42-30 lead.

For the Griffons
• The Griffons totaled 395 yards of offense, mostly on the ground. They rushed for 284 yards, getting 137 and touchdowns from Josh Caldwell. Quarterback Dom Marino had a 67-yard run for a score and picked up 81 on the ground.
• Missouri Western doesn't sling the ball all that much. Marino and Bertini combined to go 14-for-24 for 146 yards.
• Derek Gray chipped in 54 yards on the ground with a score in the second quarter from eight yards out.
• Missouri Western had two sacks in the game and six takeaways. They picked off three Bolles passes and recovered three more fumbles. 

News and Notes
• The Mules entered the all-time top-10 in a few offensive categories in this one. The 66 points are the ninth most all-time and most since putting up 78 against Lincoln in 2006.
• The 110 combined points are the most ever in game, bettering the 109 points scored in 2010 55-54 win against Illinois State.
• For just the fourth time in school history, UCM totaled more than 800 all-purpose yards. Their 810 are the fourth most all-time.
• The 614 total offensive yards are good enough to crack into the top-10 all-time, at No. 10.
• Senior Jaylen Zachery went over 1,000 career kickoff return yardage in the game. He ran back four kicks for 85 yards and moved into eighth all-time with 1,036. He also moved into seventh place all-time in all-purpose yards. Zachery gained 145 yards on the day and now stands at 3,769 for his career. 
• Diaron Rhodes moved into sole possession of the UCM record for career pass break ups with 24 after picking one up today. Monteze Latimore also moved up on the all-time charts with now and is fourth all-time with 20.

Up Next
The Mules are back on the road next week for another tough test. The face currently 14th ranked Emporia State Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.