WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 7, 2018) - Central Missouri Mules Football concludes the 2018 regular season this weekend at home against one of their oldest rivals. The team will also celebrate Senior Day with a pre-game on-field ceremony.
OPPONENT: #19 Northwest Missouri Bearcats (8-2, 8-2 MIAA)
WHERE: Warrensburg, Mo. - Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 10 - 1 p.m.
ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler and Joe Moore calling the action and Danielle Sachse on the sidelines. 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-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 wraps up the regular season this weekend at home taking on No. 19 Northwest Missouri State.
• The Mules won their second straight game last weekend when they held off Lindenwood 31-28. The Mules jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a three-point win.
• The Bearcats lost just their second game of the season last week, 17-16 to Fort Hays State. It is the second straight season the Tigers have gotten by the Bearcats by a single point.
• 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 4-1 at home this season and defeated Nebraska-Kearney 42-35 in their last home game, scoring with 1:19 left to break a 35-all tie.
• The Bearcats were picked to finish first in the league in both the preseason coaches poll and the media poll and are currently tied for first with Fort Hays State.
SERIES HISTORY
• Northwest Missouri has gotten the better of UCM in the aughts, winning 16 of 19 matchups, including a playoff game in 2010. The last Mules win came back in 2012. Since then, the Bearcats have won the last five. Northwest Missouri also holds the advantage all time at 60-35-2.
PREVIOUSLY AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI
• It was another memorable game for the Mules last season taking on Northwest Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium as the game came down to the final seconds.
• Two touchdowns were scored in the final 34 seconds.
Kyrion Parker gave UCM a 20-17 lead, but the Bearcats drove 68 yards in just 23 seconds to take a 24-20 lead with seven seconds left to play.
• The Mules totaled 72 yards on teh ground while
Brook Bolles was 17-for-43 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
• Northwest Missouri leads the MIAA in both scoring offense and scoring defense. They average 36.5 points per game while allowing just 12.5 on defense.
• They are second in total offense at 422 yards per game and are the only MIAA allowing fewer than 300 yards of total offense at 275.1.
• The Bearcats use a committee approach with their specialists, as they don't have a rusher, passer or receiver in the top-five in the MIAA. Freshman quarterback Braden Wright has thrown for 2,007 yards on 156 completions with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions.
• Isaiah Strayhorn is the team's leading rusher with 607 yards and five touchdowns. Wright has also done damage on the ground with 482 rushing yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns.
• Shawn Bane has caught 37 passes for 612 yards and five touchdowns. Alec Tatum has 31 receptions this season for 481 yards and two scores.
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 62-29 in conference games under
Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules are 1-7 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.
• The Mules got back in the win column, 42-35 over Nebraska-Kearney two weeks ago.
• The Mules are 244-184-13 overall and 2018 will be their 87th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 31-20 in road games during the
Jim Svoboda era following their 31-28 win over Lindenwood 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 finished 2018 1-4 on the road.
WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 55-8 during the
Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. UCM led 24-14 at the half against the Lions on their way to a 31-28 win.
• The Mules are 12-24 all-time under Coach Svoboda when trailing at halftime after falling to Pittsburg State.
21 AND UP
• UCM is 68-17 under
Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 66-7 during the Svoboda era and 39-1 when scoring 40 or more points.
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 299 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 494.1 yards per game and are second in scoring offense at 36.1 points per game.
• They lead the league in passing at 306.1 yards per game, the only team above 300 yard/game.
•
Jeremy Hunt is second in the MIAA in passing yards with 2,255 yards and is first in yards per game at 250.6. His 19 passing touchdowns are third in the league.
•
Shae Wyatt and
Kyrion Parker are third and fourth in the MIAA in receiving yards with 746 and 725 yards. Parker's 10 touchdown receptions are also tied for the league lead.
•
Devante Turner's 695 rushing yards are fourth in the MIAA.
MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 565-515-51 (.522) record in 1,131 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 70-33 (.680) 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 .680 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.
