The No. 21 Central Missouri Mules had big plays in all
three phases of the game Saturday at Hughes Stadium, rolling to a 47-14
win against Missouri Southern.
The Mules (6-2, 4-2 MIAA) special teams units blocked a punt,
recovered an onside kick, blocked a field goal, stuffed a fake punt
attempt, recovered a fumble on a punt return, smashed a 65-yard punt,
and returned a kickoff 48 yards in the game.
On offense the Mules threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns
against the No. 2 pass defense in the nation (allowed only 123.4 ypg
coming in). The passing scores all came from big plays of at least 37
yards each.
The defense had two interceptions, four sacks, and nine tackles
for loss. It held the Lions (4-4, 2-4 MIAA) to only seven points with
the first team in the game.
Central Missouri opened the scoring when junior quarterback Eric
Czerniewski hit junior wide receiver Tim Richmond on a third and 10
play. He made the first defender miss and was off to the races, coasting
in from 44 yards out.
UCM got the next score after senior bandit backer Steven Ehase
picked off quarterback Collin Howard deep in MSSU territory. The Lions
defense was able to hold Central Missouri to a 28-yard Mark Starks field
goal though.
Starks played a big role in the next score a few minutes later
when he executed a perfect onside kick that went high into the air,
giving the Mules plenty of time to get under it and recover at the MSSU
47.
Czerniewski hit Richmond two plays later for their second
scoring combination of the day, this time it was a 47-yard catch and
run, making it 17-0 with 7:15 left until the break. Richmond had a huge
day, catching eight passes for 149 yards. It was the most regular season
receiving yards for a Mule since Todd Devoe had 152 against Emporia
State in 2001.
The Mules sniffed out a fake punt on the next Lion possession
and quickly made them pay for it, going 48 yards from Czerniewski to
junior Sean Thornton on the next play. It was Thornton’s first career
touchdown, and he would double that total later, catching one from 37
yards out in the fourth quarter from backup Tommy Corwin, who got his
first career passing TD in the process.
The Lions got on the board just before the break on a 7-yard TD
pass from Howard to Mark Henderson, cutting the margin to 23-7 with 24
seconds left in the half.
Central Missouri came out in the second stanza and put it away
early, scoring a touchdown on the second possession, thanks to a heavy
dose of senior running back Glenn Milner. He carried the ball three
times for 32 yards, and capped the 6-play, 42 yard drive from two yards
out.
The Lions moved down the field for a 13-play, 71-yard drive to
try and answer, but Mules senior linebacker Max Fairclough blocked the
31-yard field goal. The Mules answered quickly again, this time an
80-yard scoring strike on the first play to sophomore tight end DeMarco
Cosby, making it 37-7 in the third quarter. It was the longest play of
the season for Central Missouri.
It continued to roll for the Mules as junior strong safety Mike
Stevenson picked off a pass from Howard and returned it 37 yards into
MSSU territory. Starks would hit a career long 37 yard field goal after
that, making it 40-7 with 13:02 left in the game.
Czerniewski finished with 317 yards and matched a career-high
with four touchdown passes. The Mules offense piled up 453 yards while
the defense helped win the turnover battle 3-0. They were led in tackles
by Fairclough with nine while sophomore linebacker Cody Scribner had
seven to go with a sack.
The Mules will come back for Homecoming to face No. 22
Nebraska-Omaha next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in a huge game with playoff
implications.
