Football Prepares for Final Road Game of 2018

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 1, 2018) - With the 2018 season winding down, Central Missouri Mules Football will play their penultimate game of the year Saturday, and their final road game of the season.

OPPONENT: Lindenwood Lions (3-6, 3-6 MIAA)

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 - 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 and Jayda Hill on the sidelines. The Tailgate Show will begin at 11:50 p.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-to-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
• Central Missouri is on the road for the final time this season. They travel to St. Charles, Mo. to take on Lindenwood with a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday, Nov. 3. 
• The Mules finally got one back in the win column last week, snapping a three-game losing streak. They defeated Nebraska-Kearney 42-35, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:19 left on the clock. 
• The Lions have dropped back-to-back games to Northwest Missouri and Fort Hays State. This is the Lions final home game of 2018 and their senior day. 
• In the preseason coaches and media polls, UCM was selected to finish third in both which would match their place from a year ago. 
• The Mules are yet to win on the road this season at 0-4. They lost their last road game to Pittsburg State, 48-28 back on Oct. 20. 
• Lindenwood at 3-3 is doing about as expected this season. They were picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches poll and ninth in the media poll. 

SERIES HISTORY
• The Mules are undefeated against Lindenwood in the seven games they have faced each other, all in the last seven years. 
• Central Missouri has scored at least 30 points in all seven games and have scored 40 points in three games.
• Jim Svoboda is 7-0 lifetime against the Lions while this is Lindenwood Coach Jed Stugart's second matchup against the Mules. 

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST LINDENWOOD
• In the final game of the regular season against Lindenwood, UCM got quite the scare, but prevailed 31-24 scoring 17 fourth-quarter points.
• With just over 14 minutes left to play, UCM found themselves down 10, 24-14 before scoring 17 unanswered points to come back for the win. Alex Langer made a 47-yard kick to tie and Devante Turner's touchdown with 2:07 left proved to be the difference. 
• UCM rushed for 143 yards and threw for 262. Brook Booles was 18-for-34 with two touchdowns
• Kyrion Parker had two receptions including a touchdown.
• Turner rushed 16 times for 76 yards and two scores. 

MULES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• UCM was ranked 18th in the preseason American Football Coaches Association preseason poll and hovered around that spot for the first three weeks before falling out of the rankings. 

ABOUT THE LIONS
• The Lions have lost back-to-back games for the second time this season, falling at home vs. Northwest Missouri and at Fort Hays State.
• Cade Brister has been one of the top quarterbacks in the MIAA this season. He's thrown for 1,846 yards on 167 completions and has 17 touchdowns to six interceptions. He's also rushed 149 times for 391 yards and added four more scores.
• Nash Sutherlin and Cameron Sanders have split the carries out of the backfield. Sutherlin has rushed 87 times for a team-leading 602 yards and five touchdowns while Sanders has 374 yards on 76 carries and three touchdowns.
• The Lions offensive line has been pourous however, having already given up 26 sacks this season.
• Lindenwood's defense is in the plus in the turnover department, 12-9 with nine interceptions and three fumbles. Darrius Williams and Drew Seers lead the defense. Williams has 95 tackles while Seers has 80 and 12 tackles for loss.
• Erik Henneman has been Brister's go-to guy at receiver. He leads the team with 42 catches for 504 yards and has seven touchdowns. 

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules finished 8-3 in conference play in 2017 and placed third in the league standings for the third consecutive season. 
• UCM now stands at 61-29 in conference games under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules are 7-0 in MIAA games against Lindenwood under Svoboda. 

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules finished 2017 undefeated at home at 4-0 and are 37-10 at home under Jim Svoboda.
• Their loss against Emporia State snapped an 11 game home winning streak. 
• The Mules are 243-184-13 overall and 2018 will be their 87th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 30-20 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following their 48-28 loss to Pittsburg State last weekend. 
• The Mules finished 2017 at 5-2 away from Warrensburg. They were 4-2 in true road games and had a win in their only neutral site game. 
• UCM is still searching for their first road win of 2018. 

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 54-8 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. UCM led 21-7 at the half against the Lopers on their way to a 42-35 win.
• The Mules are 12-24 all-time under Coach Svoboda when trailing at halftime after falling to Pittsburg State last weekend. 

21 AND UP
• UCM is 67-17 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 65-7 during the Svoboda era and 39-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 298 straight games and have a chance to reach 300 by seasons end.
• The streak dates back to week three of the 1991 season.

2018 MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Central Missouri leads the MIAA in total offense with 497.0 yards per game and are second in scoring offense at 36.7 points per game. 
• They lead the league in passing at 311.3 yards per game, the only team to average more than 300 passing yards per game. 
• Jeremy Hunt is second in the MIAA in passing yards with 2,065 yards and is first in yards per game at 258.1. His 17 passing touchdowns are also tied for the most in the league. 
• Shae Wyatt and Kyrion Parker are second and fourth in the MIAA in receiving yards with 705 and 655 yards. Parker's nine touchdown receptions are also tied for the league lead. 
• Devante Turner's 596 rushing yards ares sixth in the MIAA. 

GAME CHANGING PLAYS
• The Mules defense came up big in their win against Nebraska-Kearney. Though they rank near the bottom of the MIAA in interceptions and sacks, the defense won the turnover battle 3-0 with three fumble recoveries and all three led to touchdowns.
• Jacob Wiggins had a strip sack and Codie Bell returned a fumble 45 yards into UNK territory to set up the game-winning touchdown. 

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 564-515-51 (.522) record in 1,130 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 nine 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 69-33 (.676) during his eight-plus seasons leading the Mules. He has led the Mules to four postseason appearances.
• He is third on UCM's career wins list.
• Svoboda's .676 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 made back-to-back postseason appearances. UCM pulled the same feat in 2016-17 with a berth in the NCAA Playoffs in 2016 and a victory in the 2017 Mineral Water Bowl. 
• 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.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 215 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured two national championships, two MIAA regular season and two MIAA tournament championships. 
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 161 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won 10 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, women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015, and women's soccer and women's basketball) and 12 national championships overall.
• In 2016-17 and 2017-18, Central Missouri won the first two MIAA's Commissioner's Cup trophy for the conference's top overall athletic department. 

UP NEXT
• The Mules will play their regular season finale Saturday, Nov. 10 and host senior day as they take on Northwest Missouri with a 1 p.m. kickoff.