Canton, Mo. – The Central Methodist University football team played their second straight road game on Saturday evening in Canton, Missouri against the Culver-Stockton College Wildcats. CMU rolled the points on the Wildcats in the second quarter and never looked back, defeating Culver-Stockton 53-35.
"It was definitely exciting to get a victory, but we still have a lot of work to do moving forward," said CMU head football coach David S. Calloway.
The victory Saturday, marked the first head coaching win for David S. Calloway at CMU; as the Eagles now sit at 1-2 overall. With the loss, Culver-Stockton College falls to 0-3.
Neither offense could get in gear during the first quarter of play Saturday. Central Methodist moved the ball 48 yards on their first offensive drive, in just five plays. The drive would stall out, and the Eagles settled for a 29 yard field goal from Raul Palacios (SO/Milan, Mo.) to give CMU the early 3-0 lead.
The fireworks began early in the second quarter for CMU, as they struck for 22 points and took a 25-7 lead into halftime. Eagles' quarterback Caleb Bedford (JR/Houston, Tex.) rushed for a nine yard TD just a minute into the second quarter, but the Palacios PAT was no good leaving CMU with a 9-0 lead.
Just a few minutes later, Caleb Bedford hooked up with Adam Weiland (SR/Sullivan, Mo.) for the games' second touchdown, extending the Eagles lead to 16-0.
Following a Wildcats touchdown, CMU responded with a 14 yard touchdown pass from Caleb Bedford to Dillon Britt (SR/Kearney, Mo.) to make the score 23-7. Then right before halftime, the Eagles defense scored a safety, allowing the Eagles to take a 25-7 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles offense continued to attack, scoring 21 points in the third quarter. Culver-Stockton tallied 28 points in the second half, but the damage had already been done and CMU would go on to win the game by a final of 53-35.
Offensively for the Eagles, they finished with 194 passing yards and 384 yards on the ground. Culver-Stockton proved they can throw the ball, accumulating 429 passing yards, while only finishing with 28 rushing yards.
Eagles quarterback Caleb Bedford had himself a night, finishing 14-for-25 for 194 yards and five passing touchdowns. He also ran the ball 11 times for 38 yards and one rushing touchdown. The three-headed monster in the Eagles backfield of Tevin Reid (JR/Memphis, Tenn.), Royce Long (SR/Stockton, Calif.), and Kevin Denis (SR/Boynton Beach, Fla.) all had monster games on the ground. Reid finished with 11 rushes for 132 yards and a touchdown. Long ran the ball 10 times for 93 yards, and Denis ran the ball 13 times for 74 yards.
On the receiving side, Marco Bailey (JR/Los Angeles, Calif.), Dillon Britt, Keenan Honore (SR/Anchorage, Alaska), Slater Stone (SO/Paris, Mo.), and Adam Weiland all finished with one touchdown each.
Defensively for Central, Logan Rowles (SR/California, Mo.) led the team with 10 total tackles. Garan Evans (FR/Cape Girardeau, Mo.) finished with one interception, and Wes Davis (SR/Boonville, Mo.) recovered a fumble, that was forced by Tarus Moore (FR/Columbia, Mo.).
CMU returns home to Davis Field this coming Saturday, September 17th for their annual Hall of Fame Game. Kick-off is slated for 2pm from Davis Field against #23 William Penn University.
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.
