By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – 16th-ranked Central Missouri scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, building a 14-0 first quarter lead then held off Fort Hays State the rest of the night for a 34-17 win over the Tigers Thursday at Walton Stadium. The Mules (2-0) amassed 514 yards of offense while the Tigers (1-1), who were forced to punt on seven of their eight first half possessions, were held to 223 yards.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

Chico Feltenberber Postgame Interview

Alex Schmidtberger Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

UCM quarterback Garrett Fugate completed 26 of 39 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Jaylen Zachary on strikes of 58 and 13 yards in the first quarter which gave the Mules the early lead.

Malik Thomas, who didn’t play in the second half because of knee discomfort, scored on a three-yard run early in the second quarter to pull the Tigers within seven. The Mules would kick a field goal on the next possession to push their lead to 17-7 where it would remain the rest of the quarter.

The Tiger defense stopped the Mules on fourth down on their first possession of the third quarter, but UCM would get two touchdown runs over the next seven minutes to push the lead to 21.

T.J. Thomas scored on a  nine-yard run to close the gap to 31-17. The Mules then put the game away with a 14-play, 82-yard drive which ended with a 26-yard Billy Greco 26-yard field goal with 0:58 to play to seal the win.

Jacob Mezera completed 15 of 28 passes for 141 yards and an interception. Shaquille Cooper rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries to lead a Tiger ground game that was held to 82 yards.

Alex Schmidtberger recorded 17 tackles to lead the defense. Redshirt freshman Tanner Hoekman recovered a fumble and had an interception.