The Central Methodist University football team managed just 28 yards of total offense against one of the nation's top defenses as NAIA No. 9 Missouri Valley College shut out CMU 33-0 Saturday afternoon.
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The Eagle defense played a hard-fought game, holding Missouri Valley to field goals twice after the Vikings started drives inside the CMU 25-yard line. Missouri Valley started six of its 14 drives in CMU territory, but was forced to punt on two of those possessions.
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On Missouri Valley's first possession of the game, Central Methodist held the Vikings to -6 yards on six plays, including tackles for losses by senior Will Jackson (Fulton, Mo.) and junior Cody Cross (Moberly, Mo.). The Vikings scored a touchdown on their next possession to take a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
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After an interception was thrown by CMU, the Eagle defense answered again. On 1st-and-20 from the CMU 39, junior Travis McDowell (Greenfield, Mo.) intercepted a Missouri Valley pass at the CMU 5-yard line. The Eagles were forced to punt on their next possession, and the Vikings took over at the CMU 23-yard line. Missouri Valley had 2nd-and-3 from the CMU 6, when juniors Matt Curts (Bolivar, Mo.) and Tony Hall (Shelbina, Mo.) tackled the MVC running back for a 1-yard gain, and a pass breakup by senior Antonio Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) on third down held the Vikings to a field goal. The Vikings added another touchdown on a drive that lasted nearly eight minutes in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead into halftime.
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In the third quarter, the Eagle defense again forced the Vikings to punt on their first possession. Missouri Valley started its next possession on the CMU 21, but a 6-yard tackle for loss by Hall on 3rd-and-2 held Missouri Valley to a field goal. The Vikings were forced to punt on their next two possessions before added a touchdown and two more field goals to finish the game with the 33-0 win.
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CMU's best scoring opportunity came in the middle of the fourth quarter, when the Eagles drove from their own 20-yard line to the Missouri Valley 4-yard line before the Viking defense got an interception at the goal line to preserve the shutout win. On that drive, sophomore Bryant Jackson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) completed passes to four different receivers.
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The Eagles dropped to 2-5 on the season with the loss, including three losses to NAIA Top-20 teams. Missouri Valley improved to 7-1 with the win. CMU will be back in action Oct. 30 against unbeaten and NAIA No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene University. The Eagles will host the Pioneers in a 6 p.m. contest at Davis Field.