Fayette, Mo. The Central Methodist University football team got off to a fast start on Saturday afternoon, and kept the momentum going on their way to a 31-13 victory over the Culver-Stockton Wildcats at Davis Field.
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With the victory, Central Methodist improves to 1-2 on the season, while Culver-Stockton falls to 0-3 in defeat.
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Central Methodist scored on its opening possession on Saturday afternoon, on a four play 80 yard drive. Caleb Bedford picked up 56 of the 80 yards on one scrambling play. Rufus Mason carried the ball the other three times and ran in a touchdown from ten yards out to give CMU the early 7-0 cushion.
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The Eagles would tack on a 33 yard field goal from Luke Longstreet to make it 10-0 in favor of CMU after a quarter of play.
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In the second quarter, Culver-Stockton struck first with their first score of the day to make it a 10-7 ballgame with five minutes and change left in the half. CMU got the ball back twice within the final five minutes of play and scored twice on a pair of touchdown passes from Caleb Bedford to Jamall Williams. The first score was from nine yards out, and the second was a 33 yard touchdown reception.
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At halftime, Central Methodist led Culver-Stockton 24-7 and looked to keep the momentum going in the second half.
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After a scoreless third quarter of play, both teams found the end zone in the fourth quarter. The first score was made by CMU quarterback Caleb Bedford, who ran 78 yards and scored. Bedford finished the day 17-for-26 passing for 183 yards and two scores. He also ran the ball eight times for 126 yards and one touchdown.
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Culver-Stockton found the end zone one more time, but failed to covert on the PAT and fell 31-13 to the Eagles.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by Christopher Collins and Damien Stevens. Collins finished the game with 12 tackles, two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and a half of a sack. Stevens finished with nine tackles, two for a loss and a sack and a half.
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The Eagles will hit the road for the next few weeks, beginning next Saturday when CMU travels to face 18^th ranked William Penn University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm from Oskaloosa, Iowa and the game can be heard live on KIRK 99.9 FM. The Eagles return to Davis Field on October Third for Family Night, when CMU welcomes #25 Benedictine College to town for a 6pm kickoff.
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For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.