1999 MULES' FOOTBALL FACT SHEET - GAME 6

The Game: Truman State University at CMSU, Oct. 7, 7:08 p.m.; CMSU's Audrey J. Walton Stadium/Vernon Kennedy Field (10,000 - natural grass), Warrensburg, Mo.; game will be televised live by Metro Sports of Kansas City, Mo.; broadcast also will be available on Central Missouri State's PBS station, KMOS-TV.

The Mules (3-2-0, 1-2-0 MIAA): They scored 26 unanswered points in the second half to win 32-18 at Washburn University last Thursday night. Jason Graham rushed for a career-high 138 yards, including 105 in the second half to record his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. He had 101 against Winona State. Dexter Ford, hampered by an ankle injury, carried just four times for one yard. John Holmes threw only nine passes, but completed five for a season-high 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Fullback Nick Goos caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and tight end Mike Carter caught a 69-yard touchdown pass. For Goos and Carter, the scoring catches were the first of their CMSU careers. Carter's touchdown, with 3:35 left in the third quarter, put the Mules ahead to stay. The Mules scored their first fourth quarter points of the season on a 15-yard touchdown run by Holmes and Lee DuBois' second field goal of the game. Defensively, Colston Weatherington recorded five of the Mules' eight sacks to raise his season total to nine and earned MIAA defensive player-of-the-week honors for his performance. The Mules lead the MIAA in total defense, allowing 231.6 yards per game. For the season offensively, the Mules are averaging 179.0 yards per game rushing and 95.8 yards per game passing. Graham has taken over as the Mules' leading rusher with 360 yards in 79 carries (72.0 yards per game). Holmes has completed 43.9% of his passes (25-57) for a total of 412 yards, with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Greg Schmidt is the Mules' top receiver with eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, while Kevin Nickerson has seven catches for 71 yards. RheQuan Robinson and Lamont Truitt lead the Mules defensively with 46 and 37 tackles, respectively.

The Bulldogs (1-4-0, 1-2-0 MIAA): They lost 42-32 last Saturday to defending national champion Northwest Missouri State University at Maryville, but trailed only 28-26 after three quarters. Sophomore quarterback Eric Howe completed 24 of 47 passes for 353 yards with two interceptions and three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Andrew Blakley caught 10 for 126 yards, including touchdown catches of 62 and 24 yards. He also had a 39-yard return of a blocked punt for a touchdown. In addition to Blakley, sophomore wide receiver Kevin Collins had five catches for 130 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown reception on the Bulldogs' first play of the game. For the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 106.2 yards per game rushing and an MIAA-best 253.2 yards per game passing. Howe has completed 52.8% of his passes (95-180) for 1,169 yards with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Blakley has caught 42 for 485 yards and five touchdowns. That's 11 more catches and six more receiving yards than the entire Mules' team has gained in passing yardage. Howe leads the MIAA in passing yardage, while Blakley leads the league in receptions and receiving yards. Deric Johnson is the Bulldogs' leading rusher with 339 yards in 88 carries (67.8 yards per game). He had just 21 yards in 10 carries against Northwest Missouri. Junior strong safety John Naeve leads the team in tackles with 53, after collecting 10 against the Bearcats.

The Coaches: Willie Fritz is in his third season at CMSU with a record of 16-11-0. The Mules were 8-3-0 last season after going 5-6-0 in 1997. Fritz came to CMSU after four years as head coach at Blinn College (Texas), where he compiled a 39-5-1 record. His last two teams at Blinn each went 12-0-0 and won the junior college national championship each year (1995 & 1996). Fritz is 1-1-0 vs. Truman State. John Ware is in his fifth season at Truman State with a record of 27-21. He is 2-2-0 vs. Central Missouri.

The Series: The Bulldogs lead the series 49-28 and there have been five ties. The Bulldogs have won six of the nine meetings in the 1990s. In a seven-year period from 1989 through 1995, the visiting team won each game in the series; the Mules won three times in Kirksville and the Bulldogs won four times in Warrensburg. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings in Warrensburg. The Mules haven't beaten the Bulldogs in Warrensburg since 1988, when they won 17-16.

Last Year: The Mules won 10-7 in Kirksville in a game that saw all the scoring come in the first half. The Bulldogs' only points came on a first quarter pass interception returned for a touchdown by John Naeve. Dexter Ford's first quarter touchdown tied the game, then Shane Meyer's second quarter field goal proved to be the margin of victory. Lamont Truitt's fumble recovery at the TSU 21 helped set up Meyer's field goal, then Truitt's interception at the CMSU one yard line in the third quarter stopped a Truman State drive. The Mules had just 39 yards passing, while the Bulldogs had just 64 yards rushing.

Last Time in Warrensburg: The Bulldogs won 37-34 in double overtime in 1997. It was the Mules' first-ever overtime game. TSU overcame a 17-0 first-half deficit and drove 72 yards in the final 3:30 of regulation to score and force the first overtime. After each team scored a touchdown in the first overtime, the Mules had to settle for a field goal on their second overtime possession, but the Bulldogs got a touchdown from quarterback Nate Minnis to win it on their possession. There were three 100-yard rushers in the game: Wayne Limbrick (106) and Corey Kelley (104) for the Mules and Karega Scott (143) for TSU.

Mules' Injuries: The Mules were without starting offensive tackle John Young for the Washburn game because of a neck injury. He is questionable for Truman State. Reserve defensive back Kowin Casey suffered a neck injury against Washburn and will not be available for Truman State. Cornerback Duane Brisbon did not play against Washburn because of a knee injury, but he is expected to be available for Truman State.

Mules on Metro Sports: Central is 4-1 on Metro Sports, 3-0 at home. This will be the Mules' sixth Metro Sports appearance, after winning 32-18 at Washburn last Thursday night. They beat Missouri Southern State College 31-10 at Warrensburg in 1997. Last year they beat the University of Nebraska-Omaha 42-26 at Warrensburg, lost at Pittsburg State University 32-13 and beat Missouri Western State College 38-28 at Warrensburg.

Mules on Radio: KLRQ-FM (96.1) in Clinton will broadcast the game live with Bob Jackson and Chris Shaeffer calling the game. Air time will be 6:45 p.m. The broadcast also will be available on the TEAMLINE telephone service by calling (800) 846-4700, then entering 3946 and following the instructions for credit card billing. KLRQ will also have the broadcast available on its Web site at http://www.klrq.com.

Next Game: The Mules play at home against the University of Missouri-Rolla Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. in CMSU's Homecoming game. Truman State plays at home Oct. 16 vs. Missouri Western in a 2 p.m. game.