By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western football team got down by two possessions on four separate occasions against Central Missouri Thursday.
Yet, the Griffons were right there until the bitter end, trying to send the game to overtime in the final minute.
However, four turnovers, including two interceptions in the fourth quarter, stopped the effort short and Central Missouri came away with a 45-38 win over the Griffons at Spratt Stadium Thursday night.
Turnovers were a problem for Missouri Western in the first half as well. The Griffons lost a fumble inside their own 20 midway through the first quarter, which led to the first UCM touchdown three plays later.
The Griffon offense had its fair share of nice moments Thursday, too. After the lost fumble, Missouri Western marched 83 yards on eight plays on the next drive and scored on a 25-yard touchdown run from Jared Scott, tying the game at 7-7 with 3:53 left in the first quarter.
Leading 10-7 at the start of the second quarter, UCM (1-0) took advantage of a missed Missouri Western field goal early in the second, and drove 80 yards on seven plays, eventually scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Zach Zebrowski to Zion Perry to lead 17-7.
The Griffons (0-1) answered right back with a seven-play, 58-yard series that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Reagan Jones to Jonas Bennett on a 4th down play.
The Griffon defense came up with a stop on the ensuing drive, but a Jones interception deep on the Missouri Western side gave Central Missouri a short 33-yard field.
Seven plays later, the Mules scored again to go up 24-14 with 14 seconds left in the first half. It seemed like that'd do it for the first two quarters.
Well, on a squib kick from Brett Grupe, MWSU's Jaden Brown picked up the ball and ran 56 yards - all the way to the 12-yard line with two seconds to go before the break.
The Griffons sent out Cody Watson, who connected on a 29-yard field goal to make it a 24-17 ballgame at halftime.
Missouri Western got the ball to start the second half, but went three-and-out on each of their first two series of the third quarter.
Central Missouri, meanwhile, had back-to-back touchdown drives to begin their second half, leading by as many as 14 on two separate occasions.
And yet, Missouri Western kept crawling back in it. A one-yard touchdown run by Sam Cromwell and a four-yard touchdown pass from Armani Edden to Caleb Martin made it 38-31 early in the fourth.
UCM then burned some clock on a 13-play, 74-yard march. Having been stopped short of the end zone, the Mules lined up for a 25-yard field goal to try and go up by 10 with 5:35 left.
Groupe's kick was blocked by Ison Robinson and Brandon Johnson. The ball then bounced off the turf and into the hands of Brayden Wright, who ran it back 76 yards the other way for a game-tying touchdown. 38-38 with 5:35 to go.
"There was a lot of different, weird things that kept happening all night that kept us in it," Missouri Western coach Tyler Fenwick said after. "I think it's a testament to our kids, who kept fighting and competing and playing."
But, Central Missouri's aerial attack Thursday was hard for Missouri Western to stop most of the night.
Four plays after that blocked FG, Zebrowski found Arkell Smith wide open for a 58-yard touchdown to put UCM back in front 45-38 with 3:54 to play.
Missouri Western had two more possessions in the final 3:54 with a chance to tie each time, but both ended with Edden interceptions.
Zebrowski, a Southern Illinois transfer, was outstanding for UCM Thursday. Entering the game in the second quarter in relief of starter Cedric Case, he completed 29-of-39 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns.
Arkell Smith had 11 catches for 136 yards and a score to lead UCM in receiving.
Edden, a Hawaii transfer, played all but two series for MWSU at quarterback, completing 15-of-23 passes for 180 yards and a score.
Jonas Bennett, who changed from running back to wide receiver this season, was stellar for the Griffons with 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Jared Scott finished with nine carries for 68 yards and a score. UCM outgained Missouri Western in total yards 599-362, including 486-247 through the air.
UCM was 11-of-18 on third down, while Missouri Western was just 1-of-7 in that category.
"We have a lot to learn from it," Fenwick said of the game. "There's a lot of things we can improve upon. There's a lot of mistakes, but they're all fixable mistakes. They're all things, whether it's ball security, reads, tackling, whatever. They're all things I think we can control."
Missouri Western goes on the road next Saturday to face Lincoln University. Kickoff in that game is set for 6 p.m. The game will be on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) with pregame starting at 5.
Tyler Fenwick postgame
Full game broadcast
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