Mules Offense Comes To Life in 62-10 Win

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 6, 2018) - The 21st ranked Central Missouri Mules were all smiles Thursday night as they picked up their first win of the season. The Mules scored 48 straight unanswered points on their way to a 62-10 win over Northeastern State.

How It Happened
• Central Missouri picked up 608 yards of offense with 314 through the air and 294 on the ground.
• The Mules defense allowed just 10 points and forced two turnovers.
• UCM played a clean game with just five penalties accepted against them.
• Northeastern State actually started the scoring with a 30 yard field goal on their opening possession.
• The Mules answered with a 34 yard field goal themselves from Alex Langer.
• That's when things started to get fun. The Mules scored two touchdowns in the final 2:21 of the first quarter and the rout was on. The first was on a Jeremy Hunt seven-yard rush. The second came as time expired in the quarter when Kyle Bradley found Kyrion Parker for an 86-yard catch and run on their only play of the drive.
• Langer added a 33 yard field goal early in the second quarter and Hunt threw a pair of touchdown passes before the half expired. He found Devante Turner open in the flat and let him do the rest on a 13-yard score. Less than four minutes later, Hunt hit Zion Perry for a 51-yard score, giving UCM a 34-3 lead at the break. 
• UCM continued where they left off in the first half scoring twice in both the third and fourth quarters. Koby Wilkerson added a touchdown on a nine-yard run less than two minutes into the second half. The Mules scored their 48th unanswered point when Bradley found Seth Hebert in the back of the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown.
• Northeastern State found the endzone early in the fourth quarter on a Craid Davis six-yard run, but the Mules had an answer. Less than a minute later, freshman Dashawn Bates weaved his way for a 60 yard rushing touchdown. Salvatore Garozzo capped the game with a 12-yard rushing score to get the Mules over 60 points.

It Was Over When...
• With four second left in the first quarter, Kyle Bradley hit Kyrion Parker down the middle of the field and let him do the rest, out-running defenders for an 86 yard touchdown to put the Mules on top 17-3.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Kyle Bradley and Jeremy Hunt split the quarterbacking duties with Bradley making his first career start. Though Bradley only competed five passes, two went for touchdown and he threw for 126 yards. 
• Hunt finished the game 11-15 for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the first action of his career.
• Dashawn Bates led UCM on the ground with 76 yards and a touchdown. 
• Koby Wilkerson had a rushing touchdown and 66 yards while Devante Turner ran for 58 yards and caught a pass for 19 more and a score.
• Kyrion Parker caught only one pass, but it was an 86 yard score and he led all Mule receivers.
• Ryan Sass was the go-to target with five catches for 67 yards.
• Zion Perry and Seth Hebert also caught touchdown passes while Salvatore Garozzo rushed three times for 21 and a touchdown.
• Defensively, Trevore Sanders, Tanner Kanak, and Ubong Udom each led UCM with five tackles. Udom also recorded a sack and a hurry.
• Nicoli Carter brought down the quarterback with a sack and Andrwe Houston had his first career interception.

For the RiverHawks
• Cade Yeager threw for 98 yards on 13-30 passing. He also rushed six times for nine yards.
• Kevin Jackson led the RiverHawks with 32 yards on 11 carries.
• Craig Davis had a rushing score and nine yards on seven carries.
• Ryheem Brummitt led the RiverHawks with 49 yards on five catches. 
• J'Quille Washington had six tackles including two for a loss and one sack.

News and Notes
• The Mules picked up 600 yards for the first time since the last time they played Northeastern State, a year ago when they gained 720 yards.
• UCM had four rushing and four receiving touchdowns.
• Four different Mules scored their first career touchdowns - Dashawn Bates, Salvatore Garozzo, Jeremy Hunt, and Zion Perry.
• Central Missouri has now beaten NSU six straight games dating back to 2013.
• The Mules defense is allowed just 15 points per game through two weeks of the season. 
• Three of the Mules eight touchdowns were more than 50 yards.
• UCM scored on their first five possessions of the game. 

Up Next
• The Mules are home for another week. They'll take on Missouri Western Saturday, Sept. 15 with a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Griffons defeated Fort Hays State 23-13.