Lopers Rally But Fall at UCM 36-35

Reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner Zach Zebrowski threw for 526 yards and five touchdowns, including one with 5:49left, to help No. 11/12 Central Missouri slip past Nebraska Kearney, 36-35, Saturday in Warrensburg.

The Mules (3-1, 1-1) move to 11-4 all-time against the Lopers (2-2, 2-1) who had to visit Warrensburg for a second straight fall.

"The first half was not good. We didn't play well at all and put ourselves in a bad spot. I just told them at half time 'I don't care about the score. I just want to go out and play football.' I didn't feel like we were playing football especially offensively. We finally decided to start playing and looked pretty dog gone good," said UNK head coach Ryan Held.

In a game with more twists and turns the mountain road, Zebrowski finished 45 of 69 and completed passes to 11 different teammates. Sacked twice and picked off twice, he made several key scrambles throughout the afternoon and ended with 35 yards on nine carries. Central Missouri finished the game running 97 plays (633 yards) to just 48 for UNK (367 yards). Thus, they had a 17 minute advantage in time of possession.  

"This team fought today and there were moments where you can say we can be really good. There are not moral victories but, at the end of the day, the Lopers fought and had a chance to win after getting behind big at halftime," said Held. "And let's be honest; that quarterback is special."

The Lopers were down 27-7 at the break as UCM tallied 20 points over the final 6:34 of the second quarter. The explosion featured a 68-yard pass from Zebrowski to senior receiver Zach Paterson and a six-yard scoring toss to senior receiver Jake Lippe with seven seconds left in the half.

However, UNK got off the deck and scored 28 of the next 31 points to take a 35-30 lead. This explosion featured an 88-yard "pick six" by senior corner Kendal Brewer (Kansas City), a 78-yard scoring strike from quarterback Reagan Jones (Wichita) to senior tight end Tuni Fifita (Milpitas, Calif.) and the first collegiate TD's for junior running back Isaiah Harris (Millard South) and junior receiver Tristan Hervey (Cedar Park, Texas).

"We just worried about one drive at a time and it's amazing we took the lead. But we still have those plays that, if you're going to beat a team like that, you must execute at the moment of truth. Whether it's getting more yardage for the field goal or the spy on the quarterback," said Held.  

Brewer's third pick of the year gave UNK it's first lead of the day and with 11:05 left to go. The Mules followed with a 12-play, 65-yard drive that included a 3rd & 1 conversion with 6-6 junior receiver Michael Fitzgerald capping things with a 10-yard TD grab.

On UNK's next drive, a 21-yard pass from Jones to Fifita moved the ball all the way to the Mules 37-yard line. However, the Lopers gained five more yards and a 49-yard field goal attempt by redshirt freshman Trey Prichard (Monument, Colo.) with2:17 left was wide right. The Mules got good penetration on the play and the ball banged off an offensive linemen's helmet.

UCM went three-and-out on its next drive and punted the ball to the Loper one-yard line. However, the Lopers were called for roughing the punter and thus the Mules ran out the clock. Had UNK taken over at the one, it had no timeouts left and there were maybe 35 seconds left on the clock.

Jones finished 14 of 23 for 238 yards, three TD's and one INT. He also rushed eight times for 74 yards including a game-best 44-yard run. Junior back Jadarrius Thomas (Marietta, Ga.) ripped off a 35-yard run to help setup UNK's first TD of the game which was a 35-yard pass from Jones to senior receiver Reggie Anderson (Gaithersburg, Md.).

Next, freshman receiver Dijmon Wheeler (Norman Park, Ga.) had four catches for 28 yards with eight others between one and two catches. Hervey's first score as a Loper covered 23 yards and came with 4:50 left in the third.

"We've got to get that (short-yardage on 3rd and 4th downs) fixed. It's hard for our defense to have to keep going out there. It's frustrating but pleasing to see an outfit come together," said Held.  

Defensively, UNK limited UCM to 8 of 18 on third down and had two red zone stops (10 and 19-yard lines) in the first half. Safety Jamere Jones (Maryland) had 18 tackles, the most by a Loper since linebacker Tyke Kozeal had 23 in a 2015 game vs. Missouri Western. Linebacker David Lilly (Wahoo) added 11 stops and brought back an INT 27 yards to the Mules 13-yard line in the third quarter. However, UNK fumbled on the next play. Finally, senior end Quillan Felton (Lithonia, Ga.) had two tackles for loss including a 12-yard sack.

Besides Zebrowski, veteran receiver Jack Pospisil (10 recep., 100 yards) haunted the Lopers again with reserve back LaAngelo Ball running for 71 yards on 17 carries. Paterson, thanks to the 68-yarder, totaled 195 yards on six catches with All-MIAA linebacker Cale Miller at six tackles.

UNK heads to Southwest Minnesota State next Saturday. The Mustangs fell to 0-4 today after a 62-0 loss to Minnesota-Duluth.