Records Fall in Mules Thrilling OT Win

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (Sept. 21, 2019) - What a ball game we had in St. Joe. The No. 21 Central Missouri Mules raced out to a 24-0 lead at half and led 30-0 in the third, before hanging on for a 48-45 overtime win over Missouri Western to improve to 3-0.

How it Happened
• The wild game saw 1,206 yards of total offense, 702 from the Mules and 504 from the Griffons.
• Each team picked up 27 first downs and rushed for 168 yards.
• It was a fairly clean game with no turnovers and 11 combined penalties, six for UCM and five for the Griffons.
• The Mules averaged 8.07 yards per play and 26.7 yards per catch, once again demonstrating their quick-strike, big-play ability. 
• It started as well as it could for the Mules with the offense and defense getting it done. The defense forced three-and-outs on the Griffons first three possessions and the Mules turned them into 10 points.
• The Mules offense used a little trickery to score a touchdown on their first drive. Brook Bolles found Zach Davidson from 35-yards out for a 7-0 lead on a flea flicker pass.
• Later in the quarter, the Mules went up 10-0 as Chris Diddle connected for a 40-yard field goal.
• The two teams traded missed field goals on back-to-back possessions. The Griffons picked up their first first-down of the game late in the first quarter and at 13:31 in the second, a 49-yard field attempt came up short giving the ball back to the Mules.
• The trickery continued as the Mules opened up the playbook. A halfback option saw Koby Wilkerson fling a 28-yard pass to Brook Bolles to get inside the MWSU 10. The drive came up empty though as the Griffons weren't fooled on the Mules fake field goal attempt.
• UCM caught a break on their next possession as what looked like a fumbled punt return was wiped out on a kick-catch interference penalty. They capitalized on the penalty driving 64 yards on 11 plays and finding the endzone as Brook Bolles hit a wide open Shae Wyatt for a 17-0 lead. 
• The quick-strike offense struck again. Nearing the end of the half, the Mules needed just 44 seconds to move the ball 86 yards and take a 24-0 lead. Bolles hit Wyatt for 55 yards to set the Mules up on the one and Koby Wilkerson one play later did the rest, finding the endzone.
• UCM added on midway through the third quarter. Shae Wyatt scored his second touchdown of the game making multiple defenders miss on his way to a 72 yards touchdown for a 31-0 Mules lead.
• On the ensuing kickoff, the bid for a shutout was broken. Trey Vavel brought it back 91 yards and a two-point conversion made it a 31-8 game.
• It took only one play for the Mules to get the touchdown back. Bolles found Davidson for his second touchdown of the game. Davidson outran everyone on his way to an 80-yard score.
• After the Mules were stopped on fourth down, the Griffons had their best-sustained drive of the night to score their first offensive touchdown. From seven yards out, Deron Thompson capped a 10-play, 67 yard drive with a rushing score.
• The Griffons cut the lead to 14 with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Steigerwald to Cooper Burton to 8:54 left to play. 
• Again, it didn't take long for the Mules to answer. Bolles found Davidson for his third touchdown of the game, a 68-yard score. 
• That's when the Griffons scored three times in less than six minutes. After cutting the lead to seven, 45-38 with 1:43 left, the Griffons recovered an onside kick and marched down the field for the game-tying score with 1:02 left to play.
• The Mules had a chance with the ball and under 60 seconds left, but after driving into Griffon territory, they couldn't score sending the game into overtime. 
• The Griffons had the ball to start overtime and the Mules defense came up with their biggest drive of the game. They didn't allow a first down and the Griffons missed a 38-yard field goal to give the ball back to the Mules needing just any score to win.
• UCM leaned heavily on Devante Turner in OT. He carried the ball inside the 10 and it was Chris Diddle who played hero. Diddle knocked in a game-winning 23 yard field goal as the Mules held on, 48-45.

It Was Over When...
• Chris Diddle kicked the game winning 23-yard field goal in overtime to send Mules home happy. 

Mules Stat Leaders
• Brook Bolles had himself a career-day with 506 yards on 19-36 passing with five touchdowns. 
• Zach Davidson was Bolles' deep threat target catching 5 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns.
• Davidson was also a weapon punting the ball. He punted four times averaging 51.3 yards with a long of 67.
• Shae Wyatt also caught five passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
• Devante Turner rushed for 81 yards on 19 attempts.
• Koby Wilkerson added 62 yards on the ground with a score. He was also 1-1 throwing the ball for 28 yards. 
• Codie Bell led the Mules defense with 10 tackles. 
• Ubong Udom, Javon Kirk and Azaiah Bello all had a sack.
• Chris Diddle was 2-2 on field goal attempts hitting from 40 and the game-winner of 23. 

For the Griffons
• Wyatt Steigerwald threw for 336 yards going 24-44 with three touchdowns.
• Devon Holmes caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
• Cooper Burton and Cam Grandy also had receiving touchdowns.
• Markel Smith led the rushing attack with 67 yards on the ground.
• Deron Thompson and Jared Scott each had rushing scores.
• Anthony Williams had a game-high 15 tackles.
• Trey Vavel brought back three kicks for 132 yards and a touchdown. 

News and Notes
• Brook Bolles hit a couple of milestones. First he surpassed 300 career pass completions. He became just the 10th Mule to ever complete 300 passes. Bolles also went over 5,000 passing yards, just the seventh Mule to reach that figure. With five touchdown passes, Bolles also passes Tommy Corwin for ninth all-time with 38.
• Not only did Bolles throw for his first 400 yard game, he set a new school record throwing for 506 yards, the first Mule to ever throw for 500 yards in a game. His 520 yards of total offense is also a single-game record.
• Bolles had three touchdown passes of more than 6 yards: 72, 80, and 68.
• The win broke a 17-17 series tie all-time among these two teams. It's their fifth straight win over the Griffons, their longest winning streak since winning seven straight from 1986-1992.
• This is the second time the Mules have started 3-0 under Coach Svoboda. They went 3-0 in 2016 on their way to an NCAA postseason berth. 
• Zach Davidson's 225 receiving yards are third most in a single game in school history and just five short of the school record. 
• The Mules' 702 yards of total offense is the sixth time in school history the team surpassed 700 yards. 
• This was the Mules first overtime game since Sept. 24, 2016.

Up Next
• The Mules return home for the first time since opening night. UCM takes on Washburn Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.