(Peru, Neb.) – It did not take a last-play of the game field goal for the 12^th-ranked Bobcats to win on Saturday. But, after allowing the Eagles back into the game at 38-24, the Peru State Bobcat football team came back to put it away to finish with a 51-24 win over Central Methodist University (CMU) in Fayette, Mo.

The 'Cats spoiled CMU's homecoming and improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). Central Methodist fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in HAAC play.

With Missouri Valley College losing to Baker University on Saturday 13-10, Peru State is just one game out of first place behind Benedictine College who is 6-0 in the HAAC and 7-1 overall. The Bobcats are now tied with Baker and Missouri Valley in second with 5-1 marks.

The seventh win matches the 2003 and 2009 teams win total and trails only the 2000 team which finished 8-2.
First Quarter Action

Peru State took a commanding lead in the first quarter as the Bobcats deferred to the second half after winning the toss.

On the second play of the game, cornerback Logan Paben (Columbus) intercepted an Eagle pass on their 16-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage for Peru State, quarterback Tyler Audsley (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) ran a quarterback keeper for 16 yards for the first score of the game. The PAT by Levi Cockle (Lincoln) was good and with just 52 seconds gone in the game, the 'Cats led 7-0.

After stopping CMU on their next possession, Peru State wasted no time as they scored on four plays, going 61 yards with fullback Ethan Bray (Liberal, Mo.) going the final three yards for the second Bobcat touchdown. A Marcus Spearman (Platte City, Mo.) run of 33 yards was the big play of the drive. Cockle's point after was good and Peru State led 14-10 with 11:10 left in the first quarter.

Another good defensive stop was followed by another four-play drive for a touchdown for Peru State. The 71-yard drive was capped off by Audsley's second touchdown of the game – a ten-yard run with 7:57 left in the first. "Hawaii", otherwise known as Kalena Rodero-Workman (Kapaa, Hawaii) had a run of 25 yards to start the drive and Audsley found J.D. Faxon (Odell) for a 36-yard reception on the second play. Cockle's kick was good and the 'Cats led 21-0 at that point in the first.

After holding the Eagles again, Peru State put together a 4:47 drive that resulted in a 46-yard field goal by Greg Conry (Harlan, Iowa). With 35 ticks left on the clock in the first quarter, the Bobcats led 24-0.
Second Quarter Action

CMU managed to get a field goal in the second quarter to cut it to 24-3. The Eagles were also driving near the end of the first half when freshman safety Darvel Collins (St. Louis, Mo.) intercepted a CMU pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. With Cockle's kick, Peru State now led 31-3 with 1:12 left in the half.

Third Quarter Action

The teams traded possessions to begin the half and Peru State started its second drive of the second half on their 25-yard line.

After a 13-yard reception by Lance Steffen (Murdock) from Audsley, Spearman took the second play of the drive and ran 62 yards to pay dirt. The point after by Cockle was good and Peru State led 38-3 with 10:48 left in the third.

CMU put together a 19-play, 82-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock to cut it to 38-10. The, the Eagles stopped the Bobcats again. This time, CMU had a 10-play, 73-yard drive that took over three minutes off the clock and it was now 38-17 with 19 seconds left in the third.
Fourth Quarter Action

Another good defensive stance by Central Methodist gave them the ball back on their 25-yard line. Then, the Eagles continued to try to make a game of it as they put together a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:46 off the clock and got within two scores at 38-24 with 8:42 left in the game.

On the Bobcats' next possession, it only took them 2:18 to increase the lead. Peru State had a five-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off by Bray's second score of the game – a 54-yard run. Cockle's kick was good and with 6:24 left in the game, the 'Cats led 45-24.

After stopping CMU on their next possession, Peru State put together their second-longest drive of the game in terms of time as they had a 12-play, 52-yard drive resulting in a score with 32 seconds remaining. Aaron Smith (Houma, La.) had a two-yard run for the touchdown. Cockle's kick was blocked, but that would be the final scoring of the game as Peru State won 51-24.

Team Statistics

The overall statistics were pretty even as CMU finished with 20 first downs while the Bobcats had 19. Both teams picked up the majority of their first downs on the ground.

Peru State had 468 total yards of offense with 339 yards coming on the ground and 129 through the air. The Eagles finished with 346 total yards of offense with 227 rushing and 119 passing.

The Bobcats won the turnover battle as they grabbed three interceptions while giving up one fumble.
Offensive Statistics

Bray and Spearman each finished with over 100 yards on the ground as Bray gained 125 yards on 21 carries and had two touchdowns. Spearman finished with 121 yards on just six carries with one touchdown. Audsley had 52 yards rushing and two touchdowns while Smith had three carries for 13 yards and scored the final touchdown of the game.

Audsley was ten of 13 passing with 129 yards and no interceptions.

Seven different Bobcats caught passes from Audsley against CMU. Lance Steffen (Murdock) had three catches for 35 yards and Spearman grabbed two passes for 22 yards. Finishing with one catch each were Kalena Rodero-Workman (Kapaa, Hawaii), Bray, J.D. Faxon (Odell), Nate Tromblee (Lincoln), and Ryan Twehous (Central City). Faxon had the longest reception of the day which went for 36 yards.

Special Teams Statistics

Cockle made six of seven PATs while Conry hit a 46-yard field goal. Conry had a good game punting as his six kicks went for 281 yards, good for an average of 46.8 yards per punt. In addition, Conry had several kickoffs that were touchbacks.

CMU held Garret Campbell (Santee, Calif.) to just 11 yards on his three kick-off returns. Faxon and Steffen each had one punt return gaining ten and seven yards respectively.

Defensive Statistics

Curtis Larsen (Plattsmouth) had an exception game defensively for Peru State as he finished with 12 total tackles – 11 of which were unassisted. Larsen also had one tackle for a loss and one interception.

Jake Kelley (Beggs, Okla.) added ten tackles – seven solo and also had a tackle for a loss. Cody Sullivan (Roca) had eight solo tackles, one sack, and one tackle for a loss.

Jon Draeger (Dunbar) and Zach Lempka (Sterling) finished with six and five tackles respectively – both had three solo tackles. Draeger was credited with two and one-half sacks.

Paben and Collins each finished with one interception.

CENTRAL METHODIST BOX SCORE

KNCY Player of the Game Comments

For his outstanding kicking efforts, Conry was named the KNCY Player of the Game.

Coaches Comments

Bobcat outside linebacker coach Derek Derr provided the coaches' post-game comments. Derr, who was pleased with the team's effort and win said, "Working with great kids makes me look like I know what I am doing and it is a pleasure to work with them. We have had some injuries, but it has given some other guys to get a chance to play which just helps the team be deeper in the positions."

Derr continued, "Defensively we shut down their offense earlier and then our offense took advantage of their field position. Today, we had some guys with some big plays, including Curtis picking off another interception."

Continuing Derr added, "We ask the team to buy in and take ownership in what they are doing and they are doing that. The 7-1 record feels good, but we take it one game at a time. We call it 'the grind' as we have three hard days of practices – Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday – so we will keep that up for the rest of the season."

In conclusion, Derr noted, "The football culture has changed here in the last couple of years. The guys are buying in and believing in what they are doing. You can see the results of what the whole team is doing."

Upcoming Game

With Missouri Valley's loss, the game this week between the Vikings and the Bobcats looms as one of the top games in the NAIA next Saturday. It will be Homecoming for the Bobcats and they will play this game at their third "home" field – this time at Pioneer Field in Nebraska City. Game time is set for 2 p.m.