(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – The University of Central Missouri Mules came into Saturday’s game against the Northeastern State RiverHawks with a record of 6-3 and needing to win out to maintain playoff hopes.
Northeastern State came looking to build off their first victory of the season a week ago against Missouri Southern. The game kicked off at 1 p.m. with the temperature around 50 degrees.
The RiverHawks won the coin flip and elected to defer their selection to the second half, so the Mules received the opening kickoff. Franklin Hunt ran the kickoff to the enemy 46-yard line. Quarterback Brooke Bolles took the field and rifled a pass to the middle of the field, which was intercepted by the RiverHawks.
The RiverHawks couldn’t take advantage of the defensive effort, going three-and out after losing 6 yards on the drive. The Mules took over on their own 25 looking to avenge their first drive mistake. Bolles immediately looked to use his legs to get his squad on the scoreboard, rushing for a first down right away. Devante Turner ripped off a 28-yard run to set up an impressive Brooke Bolles touchdown scramble.
After Alex Langer knocked in the PAT kick, the Mules had a 7-0 lead. Northeastern took over looking to match the score, and that’s exactly what they did. The passing game, led by quarterback Cade Yeager, looked very impressive on the drive. Yeager hit Reshawn Eubanks for a 46-yard touchdown bomb, and with the point after, tying the game.
The Mules’ high powered offense continued to roll on their next possession. Koby Wilkerson led the charge with a string of nice runs, the last being a 5-yard touchdown dash which gave the Mules a 14-7 edge.
The Mules’ defense dominated the Riverhawks offense on the following drive, forcing a three-and-out and opening the door for the team to pull ahead. That’s where the Mules’ all-time leader in receptions, Jaylen Zachery, came in and caught two passes for 37 yards to move the chains.
Koby Wilkerson caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brooke Bolles, who shuffled around to get room to throw a nice pass to give the Mules a 21-7 lead. The touchdown put the RiverHawks in a must-score situation. Unfortunately for them, the Mules’ defense had other plans. After Abdul ran for 23-yards, the Mules stifled the opposing offense. Monteze Lattimore deflected a pass to end the drive.
The Mules then sustained a lengthy offensive drive, but came away with nothing as their field goal attempt was blocked. The RiverHawk offense was unable to capitalize on the special team’s effort, going three-and-out. This put the Mules offense back on the field quickly.
Wilkerson and Bolles worked their way down the field, looking like a dynamic duo.
Bolles scrambled 23 yards to paydirt for the second time of the afternoon, pushing the lead to 28-7.
The next two drives of the game were scoreless, and the Mules lost a fumble after Bolles was hit from behind. The fumble gave the RiverHawks their chance to score, doing so on a pass to Zac King, who had the best game of his career Saturday. The score cut the lead to 28-14.
The Mules wanted to get in the end zone once more before halftime, but ultimately settled for a field goal to take a 31-14 lead into the locker room.
The second half began with a quick, scoreless RiverHawk possession. The Mules moved their way all the way from their own 4 yard line to the enemy two before Wilkerson fumbled the ball, recovered by the RiverHawks.
The rare turnover gave the RiverHawks the break they needed, and they didn’t squander the chance. Yeager and King hooked up for several catches on the drive to set up a 19-yard field goal that made the score 31-17.
The Mules couldn’t muster any points on the following possession, but their defense forced a RiverHawk three-and-out. When the Mules got the ball back, Kyrion Parker showed what he could do, taking a catch 41 yards. The offense kept trucking down the field and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Wilkerson.
The RiverHawks found themselves down 38-17 and needing a touchdown to stay in the game. Their offense was helped out by three devastating penalties on the Mules, and finally scored with a pass to Isaiah Upshaw.
With another Mules score likely putting the game away, Devonte Turner got the call to show why he’s near the top of the MIAA rushing leaderboard. Turner ran for a big first down and later a 12-yard touchdown to give his team a 45-24 advantage.
The RiverHawks’ next drive was a quick one, with Tyron Taylor intercepting Yeager’s pass.
The Mules’ offense had some more fireworks left in them, leading a nice drive to set up a Steven Ford TD run. The run set the score to 52-24, which would be the final after the Mules recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
Mules coach Jim Svoboda commented after the game that his team is maintaining their hopes for the MIAA playoffs. For this weekend’s game at Lindenwood is a must win. The game will be the Mules final regular season game of the 2017 season.