Nixa, Mo. - The No. 22 Central Methodist football program claimed its first outright Heart South Division Title since 1975, defeating Evangel University 17-7 in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon in Nixa, Mo.
Central finishes the regular season with a 9-2 overall mark and a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. Evangel ends it season at 5-6 and 2-3 in Heart South play.
The nine wins for the Eagles in 2021 marks only the second nine win campaign in program history, with the last nine-win season coming in 1930 (9-0).
CMU struck first with a 16-yard pass from quarterback Paxton DeLaurent to Katavious Taylor just before halftime to take a 7-0 lead
Central added to its lead at the 11:29 mark in the third quarter as, Roberto Palacios scored on an 11-yard TD pass from DeLaurent to push the lead to 14-0.
Evangel trimmed the lead to seven with 11:57 to go in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass.
Senior Samuel Petrin put the game out of reach, as the Bunnell, Fla. native connected on a 40-yard field goal with 7:00 minutes to go in the game, putting Central up 17-7. That proved to be the final score as CMU went on to earn their ninth victory of the year.
DeLaurent threw for 94 yards with two touchdowns. He also led the rushing attack with 93 yards on 13 carries. Senior running back Armand Keely carried the ball 16 times for 82 yards, averaging 5.1 yards/carry.
Senior wide receiver Kooper Wilson led the receiving core with four catches for 46 yards.
Anthony Hernandez and London Chambers led the CMU defense with eight tackles, while Khari Henley and Darian Bell both recorded interceptions. Le'Marcus Washington and Mujahid Camel each recorded a sack.
Central will now await the NAIA Postseason Coaches' Top 25 poll on Saturday to see if they qualify for the 2021 NAIA Football Championship Series.
The 16 teams competing in the NAIA FCS will be announced on the Live National Championship Selection Show Sunday, Nov. 14 at 6:00 p.m.
To watch the Selection Show schedule, please click here.
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