Central Pulls Away In Fourth Quarter For Victory Over Bulldogs

Box Score

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The University of Central Missouri scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Truman Bulldogs for a 44-23 victory on Saturday night at Stokes Stadium. Dallas Grier led Truman with 10 receptions for 105 yards.

The Bulldogs trailed just 20-16 after three quarters after squandering two redzone opportunities earlier with a pair of missed field goals and had a turnover in their first possession that resulted in a UCM touchdown.

Truman fumbled away the football just two plays into the game and Central's Hayden Hawk connected with Ronrei Lloyd for a seven-yard TD pass to put the Mules up 7-0.

Conrad Schottel found Jared Haferbier for 31 yards on a third and nine play in the Bulldogs next possession but the drive stalled out at the Mules' 13 as Derek Koon hit from 31 yards out to make it 7-3.

Central answered with a field goal in their longest drive of the night as they consumed over six minutes and gained 75 yards before Zach Gebhardt hit from 30 yards away to make it 10-3.

The Bulldog kick return team found their magic again as Garrett White took the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to the Mule 45 and was followed by two 17-yard completions to Grier with the last being a tying touchdown at the 14:29 mark of the second quarter.

The Mules wasted little time in responding as the Hawk-Lloyd tandem hooked up for a 42-yard pass play on first down and six plays later Hawk steamed in from seven yards out for the go-ahead score.

Gebhardt tacked on a 30-yard field goal after Koon missed from 32 yards out on Truman's next possession.

The Bulldogs got the only score in the third quarter as Grier set up the drive with a 23-yard punt return. Schottel and Grier connected for a 14-yard pass play and Tremaine Millender bulldozed in on fourth and goal from the two for six points. The extra point attempt hit the right upright and bounce out making the score 20-16 at the 3:39 mark of the quarter.

The Truman momentum took a serious hit after forcing a Central punt early in the fourth quarter.

On the first play from scrimmage, a bad snap resulted in an 11-yard loss and a high snap on fourth down resulted in the ball going out the back of the endzone for a Mules' safety.

Central would score on their next three possessions to put the game out of reach.

Schottel found a streaking Tony Pucci for a 39-yard touchdown reception with 51 seconds left in the game.

Schottel completed 23-of-41 passes for 253 yards with no interceptions after missing last week with an injury. Grier caught 10 of the passes for 105 yards to vault into third place all-time in Truman career receptions and receiving yards. The senior now has 185 receptions for 2,444 yards.

White averaged 5.4 yards per carry for 76 yards on 14 rushes. He added the 84 total kick return yards for 160 all-purpose yardage on the night.

Hawk threw for 301 yards on 28-of-31 completions and one touchdown with Lloyd gathering nine balls for 156 yards. LaVance Taylor chewed up 92 yards on 19 carries.

Truman will open a new chapter in their storied history next Saturday as they will begin their quest for their first Great Lakes Valley Conference title as they open league play at Quincy (Ill.) University. The Bulldogs and Hawks will kick off at 1:00 p.m. from Flynn Stadium.

Game Notes:

Austin Zoda led the Truman defense with 10 total tackles while Connor Nagel and Matthew Bell added nine and eight apiece.
Truman had six tackles for loss compared to the Mules' two.
Nic Abbate registered the lone sack of the night for either team and it came on a key third down play with the score 20-16.
The defense allowed a season-low 477 yards of total offense by the Mules. However Central scored on all seven redzone opportunities.
Jared Haferbier had a new career high of seven receptions for 72 yards and a long of 31.
Tony Pucci's 39 yard touchdown reception was the first for his Bulldog career and longest reception to date.
A.J. Hartfield added 47 yards rushing on eight attempts for a 5.9 yards per carry average.
LaVance Taylor paced the Mules with 175 all-purpose yards on 92 rushing, 26 receiving and 57 on three kick returns.
It was the eighth straight win by the Mules in the series, their longest winning streak in the 97-game history. The two teams will not play next season which will end a 67 consecutive year streak. The 97 games played between the Mules and the Bulldogs is the fourth oldest rivalry in Division II Football dating back to 1905.

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