1999 MULES' FOOTBALL FACT SHEET - GAME 10

The Game: Missouri Southern State College at CMSU, Nov. 6, 1 p.m.; CMSU's Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field (10,000 - natural grass), Warrensburg, Mo.; Youth Day and final home game of the season for CMSU.

The Mules (6-3-0, 4-3-0 MIAA): They beat Southwest Baptist University 49-3 last Saturday in Bolivar, Mo., to spoil the Bearcats' Homecoming game. The Mules, with the help of two SBU fumbles, put 21 first quarter points on the scoreboard and coasted to their third straight win, as well as their third straight Homecoming win (CMSU's Missouri Western State College's & SBU's). Junior tailback Jason Graham rushed for 150 yards in 28 carries and scored two touchdowns. Graham now has rushed for 100 yards or more in five consecutive games, the first time a Mules' player has done that since Elliott Eley did it in seven straight games in 1987. Graham's yardage total Saturday pushed his season rushing yardage total to 1,043, making him the first Mules' player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Henry Caldwell rushed for 1,150 yards in 1993. Graham maintained his MIAA rushing lead this week with an average of 115.9 yards per game. Ryan Koob completed six of eight passes for 102 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to tight end Mike Carter for 18 and 20 yards. The Mules still lead the MIAA in total defense (256.3 yards per game) and in rushing defense (110.3 yards per game). Linebacker RheQuan Robinson leads the Mules in tackles with 74. Sack leader Colston Weatherington, who has 11, needs four more to break the Mules' season record of 14 set by Milt Sanderman in 1984.

The Lions (4-5-0, 2-5-0 MIAA): They dropped a 13-6 decision at Missouri Western last Saturday, extending their losing streak to four in a row. The Lions outgained the Griffons 340-294 in total yards, but couldn't overcome four turnovers. One of those turnovers was a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Missouri Western. The Lions also came up short on a fourth-and-goal situation at the Western one-yard line with 7:32 left the game that would have given them the lead, then the Griffons drove 99 yards in 12 plays for the winning score. MSSC owns the MIAA's second-best rushing offense (250.3 yards per game) led by a trio of backs who have scored 18 touchdowns among them. Sophomores Antonio Whitney and Joey Ballard have rushed for 467 and 422 yards, respectively, while red-shirt freshman quarterback Josh Chapman has rushed for 465 yards. Chapman has completed 51.7% of his passes for 508 yards, with Ballard as his top receiver. Ballard has 23 receptions for 211 yards. The Lions also have the MIAA's second-best rushing defense (134.3 yards per game) and rank third in total defense (303.4). Linebacker Jarrett Cook leads the team with 52 tackles, while linebacker Jeremy Walker has five interceptions.

The Coaches: Willie Fritz is in his third season at Central Missouri with a record of 19-12. 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 2-0-0 vs. Missouri Southern. Greg Gregory is in his second season at MSSC, with a record of 5-12-0. He is 0-1-0 vs. CMSU.

The Series: Missouri Southern leads 12-6 and there have been two ties. The Mules have won the last two meetings. The Lions have won six of the 10 meetings since starting MIAA competition in 1989. The last win for the Lions in the series was a 42-29 decision in 1996 in Joplin. Their last win over the Mules in Warrensburg was a 37-32 verdict in 1995.

Last Year: The Mules won 20-13 in Joplin. Dexter Ford's touchdown on the final play of the third quarter put CMSU ahead, then the Mules' defense made the play of the game, with Kenneth Bouie stopping Antonio Whitney on fourth-and-two at the CMSU four-yard line with 1:57 to play. The Lions outgained the Mules on the ground 247-89, with Joey Ballard rushing for 113 yards in 11 carries.

Last Time in Warrensburg: The Mules won 31-10 in 1997 in the first live televised broadcast of a Mules' home game in school history (by Metro Sports cable channel of Kansas City, Mo.).

Mules' Injuries: Linebacker Andy Sims (groin), offensive tackle Dan McGuire (shoulder) and cornerback Antoine Williams (knee) all missed Saturday's game at Southwest Baptist, but all could possibly return for this Saturday. Linebacker Chad Beck, who had replaced Sims in the lineup in the Missouri Western game, suffered a knee injury Saturday and will miss the rest of the season.

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 12:45 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 also will have the broadcast available on its Web site at http://www.klrq.com.

Next Game: The Mules play Northwest Missouri State University Nov.13 at 1 p.m. in Maryville in the Mules' final game of the season. Missouri Southern plays at home Nov. 13 against the University of Missouri-Rolla in a 1 p.m. game.