Mules upset by Truman, 24-21

               The University of Central Missouri Mules made costly mistakes and failed to stop the rush to get upset by Truman State Saturday afternoon at Stokes Stadium, 24-21.
            The Bulldogs (1-3, 1-1 MIAA) rushing attack dominated the game with 229 yards, 193 of which came from Jake Cunningham. He had a 74-yard run in the first quarter to set up a score and a key 67-yard touchdown jaunt in the third quarter.
            Truman jumped on top with a touchdown on its opening drive after being pinned on its one yard line. Vaness Emokpae caught a three yarder from quarterback Matt Ticich to open the scoring. The first quarter ended with the Bulldogs on top, 7-0.
            UCM (2-2, 0-2 MIAA) closed the margin with a 32 yard field goal from Spencer Webb to cap a 10 play, 45 yard drive in the second quarter. The Mules had a chance to close the gap on the next series when Bulldog punter Mickey Masucci bobbled the snap and tried to take off with it, he was tackled for a loss and the Mules had the ball on the Truman 21 yard line. They could only gain seven yards and were forced to try a field goal. Webb missed the 31 yard attempt though.
            The disappointments continued before the half with the Mules driving all the way to the Truman six with a first down and just over a minute before the break. Toby Korrodi was pressured and tried a run up the middle but the ball was stripped and Truman recovered at its own five yard line. UCM went into the half down 7-3 with two more missed opportunities.
            The Bulldogs opened the second half with another score, thanks to another big play and a fourth down conversion. Ticich completed a 51-yard pass to Ryan Bonner before UCM forced the Bulldogs into a third and 23 situation. The Bulldogs completed two 16 yard passes on third and fourth down to get into field goal range and move the lead to 10-3.
            UCM answered that with a methodical 40 yard drive to kick a field goal from 39 out, but the Bulldogs answered again with a big play on the next drive. Cunningham ripped off his 67-yard dash to pay-dirt and TSU led 17-6.
            The Mules showed some fight though, driving down the field to answer on their next possession. A healthy dose of Will Caldwell moved the ball 83 yards in six plays. Truman helped the cause with 25 yards in penalties but Caldwell had a run of 23 yards and followed that with a 16-yard scoring rush to cut the gap. Korrodi completed the two-point conversion to Matt Jacobsen for a 17-14 margin.
            Truman’s Terry Chandler returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards and almost got away but UCM’s Adrian Chapman poked the ball out from behind and Randy Shepherd ran it back to the TSU 41. A late hit by the Bulldogs at the end of the play moved the ball down to the 26. Korrodi threw a 10-yard touchdown to Ted Maxwell on the first play of the fourth quarter for the Mules first lead of the day, 21-17.
            Truman pinned Central Missouri on its own eight with 9:31 to play, and then the trouble started. The Mules had two consecutive false start penalties and were forced to punt from their own two. The Matt Frankel attempt was shanked and Truman set up shop at the UCM 30.
            Ticich threw a 21-yard pass to James Perry on the next play before Cunningham capped the drive with a one-yard plunge on a gutsy fourth down call with 5:56 remaining.
            The Mules went three and out on the next drive and almost returned the favor to get the ball back with nearly three minutes on the clock but a late hit out-of-bounds by Rod Washington gave TSU an automatic first down on third and 11. The Bulldogs then ran the clock down to 1:13 before punting.
            Central Missouri made it interesting with its last-chance drive when Korrodi found Maxwell on third down for a 37-yard hook up to the Bulldog 32. The Truman defense came up big with an 11-yard sack by Kyle Glenn, moving the Mules out of field goal range into the wind. More pressure caused the Mules to gain only six yards on third down and an incomplete shovel pass on fourth and 15 to end the game.
            Korrodi finished with 224 yards on the day while Caldwell had his first 100-yard game of the season with 106 on 16 carries. Maxwell had seven catches for 102 yards as well for UCM.
            The win was Truman’s first in MIAA play since 2004.