Fayette, Mo. – The David S. Calloway era began Saturday night, as the Central Methodist University Eagles kicked-off their 2016 season against the Peru State College Bobcats. Central fell to the Bobcats by a final of 39-14 at Davis Field. It was the first game for CMU on the newly updated artificial surface.
With the loss, Central Methodist opens the season at 0-1, while Peru State College improves to 1-0.
The Bobcats jumped on the Eagles early, scoring on their first offensive drive of the evening. Peru State put together a 12 play 50 yard drive to score a six-yard rushing touchdown and never looked back. The PAT was blocked, but that was about all that went the Eagles way in the first 15 minutes of the game. Peru State would also tack on a 30-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the quarter, to extend their lead to 9-0.
The Central offense came alive following the Bobcats' field goal. CMU put together an eight play drive for 52 yards that spanned from the end of the first quarter, to the first minute of the second quarter. Quarterback Caleb Bedford (JR/Houston, Tex.) raced in for a three yard touchdown to put the Eagles on the scoreboard, and Raul Palacios (SO/Milan, Mo.) made the extra point to cut Peru's lead to 9-7.
The Bobcats then struck for the next three scores; all touchdowns to take a commanding 29-7 lead late into the third quarter.
Caleb Bedford rushed for another score with under six minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Eagles could not muster much of a comeback; falling 39-14.
Bedford finished the game 15-31 passing for 142 yards. He was sacked three times, and ran the ball 11 times for 49 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively for the Eagles, Travis Burris (SO/Jefferson City, Mo.) led the team with 12 tackles, while Logan Rowles (SR/California, Mo.) chipped in with 11 tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.
The Eagles will now hit the road for two weeks, as they face #6 Grand View University next Saturday at 12 noon, followed by a meeting at Culver-Stockton College on September 10th. CMU returns home to Davis Field Saturday September 17th for their annual Hall of Fame Game. Kick-off is slated for 2pm from Davis Field against #23 William Penn University.
For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.
