No. 20 Mules Football Stays Home to Battle Griffons

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 12, 2018) - Coming off their first win of the season, No. 20 Central Missouri Mules Football looks to make it two in a row at home this Saturday.

OPPONENT: Missouri Western Griffons (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)

WHERE: Warrensburg, Mo. - Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 - 1 p.m.

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 5:50 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 returns to Warrensburg for their third game of the season. The Mules will host Missouri Western for their first afternoon game, Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.
• The Mules defeated Northeastern State at home last week 62-10, after coming off of an season opener loss to Fort Hays State on the road 20-16.
• Missouri Western just came off a win as they upset No. 5 Fort Hays State 23-13. The Griffons also loss their season opener to Northwest Missuri State on the road 28-6.
• In the preseason coaches and media polls, UCM was selected to finish third in both which would match their place from a year ago. 
• At home, Central Missouri was 4-1 last season. and is 33-9 under Coach Svoboda. All time, the Mules are 238-183-13 and 2018 will be their 87th season at Walton Stadium. 
• Missouri Western was picked to finish 9th this season in the MIAA Preseason Coaches and 8th in the Media Poll. 

SERIES HISTORY
• Central Missouri needs one more win to even up the all-time series. Central Missouri is 16-17-1 all time against Missouri Western, but has won the last three. Coach Svoboda won his first ever meeting with Missouri Western before losing four straight from 2011-14. Four of the last five matches have been decided by four points or fewer. Last year, the Mules picked up a 66-44 win at home. 

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST MISSOURI WESTERN 
• Both teams were tied at 20 at the half after the Mules jumped out to a 20-10 lead. 
• The Mules then scored more than 20 points in each of the next two quarters to put away the Griffons. 
• UCM gained 614 yards of total offense against the Griffon defense with 327 yards on the ground and 287 through the air. 
• Brook Bolles threw four touchdown passes.
• Devante Turner rushed for more than 200 yards gaining 211 on 19 attempts. He scored twice as did Koby Wilkerson who gained 80 yards on teh ground. 
• Kyrion Parker had two receiving touchdowns and gained 92 yards on just two receptions. 

MULES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• UCM was ranked 18th in the preseason American Football Coaches Association preseason poll. They were one spot below that, 19th in the d2football.com preseason poll. After a loss in week one the Mules dropped in the AFCA poll to No. 21 before moving up to No. 20 in week two. They're ranked 19th this week in the d2football.com poll.

ABOUT THE GRIFFONS
• The Griffon offense is very good at limiting mistakes, having not allowed a sack or an intercpetion yet through two games.
• Quarterback Dom Marino has 304 yards on 25-54 passing, but is yet to throw for a score yet.
• Marino also leads the team in rushing with 149 yards on 27 attempts and a touchdown. 
• Missouri Western is being outscored 41-29 through two games. They have three touchdown this season, two rushing and a punt return. Kicker Tyler Basch is 3-5 on field goals, with two more than 40 yards.
• The Griffons have forced four turnovers with three interceptions, two by Jabbar Miles and a fumble recovery. They also have four sacks on the year.

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 58-25 in conference games under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules are 4-4 in MIAA games against Missouri Western under Svoboda. 

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules finished 2017 undefeated at home at 4-0 and are 34-9 at home under Jim Svoboda, and winners of nine straight.  
• They've started out the 2018 season with a 62-10 win over Northeastern State.
• The Mules are 239-183-13 overall and 2018 will be their 87th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 30-17 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following the 2018 season-opening loss at Fort Hays State. 
• 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. 

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 51-8 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. UCM led 34-3 at the half against the RiverHawks on their way to a 62-10 win. 
• The Mules are 11-20 all-time under Coach Svobda when trailing at halftime after the win over the Lions. 

21 AND UP
• UCM is 64-13 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 62-7 during the Svoboda era and 36-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 291 straight games and have a chance to reach 300 in 2018.
• The streak dates back to week three of the 1991 season.

2018 MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Central Missouri leads the MIAA in total offense with 558 yards per game.
• They are also second in total defense, allowing just 287 yards per game. 
• UCM is third in rushing offense averaging 269.5 yards per game and second in passing at 288.5 yards per game. 
• Devante Turner (5) and Koby Wilkerson (10) are both in the MIAA top-10 in rushing, as they finished last season. Turner's averaging 82 yards per game while Wilkerson is at 71.5. 
• Ryan Sass is fifth averaging 74.5 yards per game. His seven receptions are the fewest in the top five. Kyrion Parker's 64.5 yards per game average has him ranked seventh and his two receiving touchdowns are tied for second. 
• Trevore Sanders leads the MIAA with four pass breakups. 
• Carter Nicoli is one of four defenders in the MIAA with at least two sacks. 

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 561-512-51 (.521) record in 1,124 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 66-29 (.695) 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 .695 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 travel to Topeka, Kan. next week to take on the Washburh Ichabods Saturday, Sept. 22 with a 1 p.m. kickoff.