The Central Methodist University football team was unable to rally from a 42-7 first-half deficit as NAIA No. 4 and unbeaten MidAmerica Nazarene University defeated the Eagles 56-28 Saturday evening. CMU's 28 points was the most allowed in a single game by MidAmerica Nazarene this season.
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MidAmerica Nazarene jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, with three touchdowns in the first 10:04 of the game. Central Methodist answered with a six-play, 67-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Bryant Jackson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) to junior Eric Carrillo (Chula Vista, Calif.) to cut the Pioneers' lead to 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. MNU added three more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 42-7 lead into halftime.
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The CMU offense got the ball moving in the third quarter. On third-and-four, Jackson connected with junior Bradley Carter (El Cajon, Calif.) for a 29-yard touchdown to finish a 10-play, 80-yard drive and cut the MNU lead to 42-14. MidAmerica Nazarene answered on its next possession with an 11-yard touchdown carry to extend its lead to 49-14 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
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On CMU's next possession, the Eagles drove the ball 68 yards in nine plays, scoring on an 18-yard pass from Jackson to freshman Kyle Whiteman (Springville, Tenn.). The touchdown pass to Whiteman cut the MNU lead to 49-21 with 3:04 left in the third quarter. The CMU defense came up big on MidAmerica Nazarene's ensuing possession, as sophomore Taylor Combs (Tipton, Mo.) forced a fumble by the MNU quarterback, which was recovered by senior Will Jackson (Fulton, Mo.) at the MNU 19-yard line. Faced with fourth-and-two, Jackson completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior Caleb Haynes (Higginsville, Mo.), which brought the Eagles to within 49-28 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
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The CMU defense got another big play, with junior Kyle Wright Kyle Wright (Hallsville, Mo.) intercepting a MidAmerica Nazarene pass on the Pioneers' first play from scrimmage on the next possession. MidAmerica Nazarene got the ball right back with an interception on CMU's next offensive play. On MNU's ensuing possession, junior Tony Hall (Shelbina, Mo.) forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman Jacob Moots (Edina, Mo.) to give CMU the ball back at its own 34-yard line. The CMU offense was forced to punt, and MidAmerica Nazarene drove the ball 64 yards in seven plays for a touchdown to make it 56-28 with 7:53 remaining in the game. The CMU offense fumbled on its final two possessions as the Pioneers earned the 56-28 win to remain undefeated.
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MidAmerica Nazarene finished with 521 yards of total offense, while CMU had 277 yards. Jackson completed 20-of-32 passes for 228 yards and four touchdowns. Carter was the leading receiver for the Eagles, finishing with seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Haynes had five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown, while Carrillo and Whiteman had three catches and a touchdown each for 40 and 31 yards, respectively.
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Defensively, junior Tyler Belt (Macon, Mo.) finished with 13 tackles, while sophomore Bryan Plenge (Kahoka, Mo.) and senior Matt Fraley (St. Robert, Mo.) had 11 tackles and one pass breakup each. Hall added nine tackles and a forced fumble.
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Central Methodist dropped to 2-6 on the season with the loss, while MidAmerica Nazarene improved to 9-0 with the win. The Eagles will travel to Avila University for their final road game of the season Nov. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo.