Mules roll over Hornets, 48-21 on senior day

                On a day when 12 seniors were honored, it was the seniors who came up big in the Mules 48-21 victory over Emporia State on Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg.
            Central Missouri (5-5, 3-5 MIAA) watched the Hornets (3-7, 2-6 MIAA) take the opening drive of the game down the field for a touchdown to fall behind early 7-0. On the ensuing possession UCM responded by going 72 yards, getting the tying touchdown when Toby Korrodi hit Matt Jacobsen for a 22 yard touchdown pass on fourth down. ESU would get the ball back and drive all the way down to the Mules four yard line, but the defense held tough and forced the Hornets to turn the ball over on downs. Central Missouri took advantage of the opportunity and drove the ball 96 yards highlighted by Will Caldwell’s 37-yard touchdown run which gave UCM a 13-7 lead. After forcing an Emporia punt, the Mules offense continued their roll by again driving 72 yards with Caldwell finishing off the drive with a nine yard run. Central Missouri extended its lead to 27-7 when Korrodi connected with Chad Ridley for a 55-yard touchdown catch and run with a little over four minutes remaining in the half. ESU would add another touchdown to head into halftime with the Mules leading 27-14.
            Central Missouri extended its lead back to 20 when Korrodi threw his third scoring strike of the afternoon this time to Jason McCartney on an eight yard pass. ESU would again cut into the lead with a touchdown late in the third quarter to make it 34-21. UCM pushed the lead back to 20 early in the fourth quarter when the combination of Korrodi and Ridley hooked up again for their second touchdown of the afternoon, this time a 27-yard touchdown pass. Jeremy Braden capped off the scoring for the Mules with a 13-yard touchdown run with 6:32 remaining for the final margin.
            Korrodi led the way for UCM through the air going 18-of-24 with 348 yards passing and four touchdowns and no interceptions. Caldwell paced the ground attack with 10 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns, while McCartney and Ridley combined to catch seven passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Kendall Ricketts led the way for the defense with 13 tackles.