(Peru, Neb.) – After a great afternoon of festivities and a perfect evening for a football game, the end result was not the desired one for the Peru State football team. 
 
The visiting Midland University Warriors were the opponents in the newly-renovated Oak Bowl christening and went away after ruining the party with a 28-14 win.
 
With the win, Midland improves to 1-0 on the season while the Bobcats fell to 0-1.
First Half Action
 
On Midland's opening drive, the 'Cats forced the Warriors to punt and Peru State took over on their own 23-yard line.  After two rushing plays gained only two yards, Bobcat quarterback Bo Shepard (Gretna) completed a pass to Leighton Chicoine (Lincoln) which went for 38 yards for the first, first down of the 2014 season.  However, the series of downs found the Bobcats coming up short and forced them to punt.
 
Peru State's defense shut down the Warriors again, but the Bobcats could not move the ball on the next series and had to punt again with Midland taking over on their 17-yard line.
 
The Warriors then put together a 12-play, 83-yard drive resulting in a one-yard touchdown.  With the PAT, Midland led 7-0 with 2:12 remaining in the first period.
 
After Tyler Audsley (Prescott Valley, Ariz.) returned the ball 28 yards on the kickoff, he came in to quarterback.  Audsley found Jake Coughlin (Omaha) for 40 yards and a Bobcat first down on the Midland 31-yard line.  Three plays later, Aaron Smith (Houma, La.) ran for 16 yards to the Warriors' 17-yard line for another first down.  Peru State called a time out and eventually gained another first down when Nate Tromblee (Lincoln) took the ball to the Midland six-yard line.  On Smith's third rush of the drive, he scored from four yards out to make it 7-6.  A Greg Conry (Harlan, Iowa) PAT tied it at 7-7 at the 14:56 mark in the second quarter.

 
Later in the quarter another Bobcat possible scoring drive was thwarted when the Warriors recovered a Bobcat fumble on their 18-yard line.  Two plays later, Peru State appeared to be back in business as Alex Wessels (Weeping Water) recovered a Midland fumble on the Warriors' 24-yard line.  Two short rushing attempts moved the ball to the 21-yard line and incomplete pass forced Peru State to attempt a field goal which went wide right.  With 4:38 left in the first half, the score was knotted at 7-7.
 
Neither team was able to mount much of a drive during the rest of the first half.
 
Second Half Action
 
Audsley started the second half with a return of 33 yards to give the 'Cats decent starting field position at their 42-yard line.  Smith caught an eight-yard pass from Shepard to start the drive and then after no gain on a rush, Smith went for ten yards to Midland's 40 for a first down.  Shepard found Chicoine again for 14 yards and the Bobcats were now on the Warriors' 26-yard line.  A false start moved Peru State back and eventually Midland intercepted a Bobcat pass and took over on their nine-yard line.
 
Midland put together a 14-play, 74-yard drive which resulted in a missed field goal and the game remained tied at 7-7 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
 
After forcing Peru State to punt on their next series, the Warriors then put together a 12-play, 52-yard drive which did result in a four-yard touchdown run.  With a PAT, Midland now led 14-7 with 14:39 left in the game.
 
Peru State did move the ball in their next series, but the drive stalled on the Midland 46-yard line, forcing the 'Cats to punt.  The Bobcats held Midland on their next drive and once again took over, this time on their 32-yard line.  On the third play of the drive, Peru State fumbled and the Warriors got the ball on Peru State's 31-yard line.  On the second play, Midland completed a 27-yard pass for a touchdown and with the PAT; the Warriors led 21-7 with 5:43 to go in the game.
 
 

A 15-yard Audsley kickoff return was aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty and Peru State started their next drive on their 46-yard line.  After two incomplete passes, Shepard ran for 14 yards to the Midland 40-yard line for a first down.  Another first down eventually followed when on fourth-and-five, Shepard found Gabe Hoins (Papillion) for six yards to take the ball to the Warriors' 29-yard line.  Peru State's drive eventually stalled on the Midland 23-yard line after a fourth down attempt did not gain enough for a first down.
 
The Warriors took over and on the fifth play of the drive; a Warrior took the ball down to the Bobcats' two-yard line where they punched it in on the next play.  Following the PAT, Midland led 28-7 with 1:08 left in the game.
 
Audsley once again gave Peru State good field position after a return of 31 yards to the Midland 45-yard line.  After an incomplete pass, Smith took the ball for 13 yards for a first down.  On the next play, the Warriors were flagged for a roughing the passer and Peru State got the ball on Midland's 17-yard line.  Following an incomplete pass, Shepard found Hoins for ten yards, good enough for another first down.  Tromblee took the ball to near the goal line with Smith running it in with 15 seconds left on the clock.  Conry's kick was good and the score stood Midland 28 to Peru State 14. 
 
Peru State tried an onside kick which was recovered by Midland and the Warriors ran out the clock to take the opening game win.
 
Team Statistics
 
Midland had 17 first downs compared to Peru State's 15.  The Warriors outgained the 'Cats in both rushing and passing as they finished with 365 yards total with 178 on the ground and 187 through the air.  The Bobcats had 284 of total offense with 131 coming on the ground and 153 in the air.
 
Peru State fumbled three times while losing two and the Warriors lost one of two fumbles.  Midland was penalized seven times for 70 yards while the Bobcats were flagged four times for 30 yards.
 
Offensive Statistics
 
Smith led the Bobcats in rushing with 52 yards on 19 carries and he scored both touchdowns.  Audsley added 32 yards on six carries.
Shepard was 11 of 28 for 109 yards and had one interception.  Audsley was two of six for 44 yards.
 
Chicoine, Coughlin, Smith, Hoins, and Tromblee each caught two passes.  Chicoine had 52 yards receiving while Coughlin added 47.
 
Special Teams
 
Cody Sullivan (Roca) punted six times averaging 32.2 yards and had a long of 47 yards.
 
Logan Paben (Columbus) returned three punts for 27 yards.  Audsley had two punt returns for 21 yards and added five kickoff returns for 128 yards. 
 
Defensive Statistics
 
Shane Lloyd (Ridgecrest, Calif.) led all tacklers with five solo and seven assists.  Lloyd also had a half-tackle for a loss of one yard.
 
Paben finished with five solo and five assists and broke up one pass.  Sullivan added four solo tackles and five assists.
 
Jon Draeger (Dunbar) and Derreon Richardson (St. Louis, Mo.) were each credited for two tackles for losses with Nevada Harlan (Maize, Kan.) was credited for one tackle for a loss.  Draeger and Briar Burr (Wood River) each had one pass break-up.
 
Wessels had the lone fumble recovery and Audsley finished with one interception and half a tackle for a loss.
 
Upcoming Game
 
Peru State will be back in action this coming Saturday night when they host Friends University at 7 p.m. in the Oak Bowl.  The Cardinals opened their season with a convincing 33-7 win over Doane College in Crete.
 
This will be the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC)/Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Crossover Challenge featuring the teams which finished fourth in their respective conferences last season.
 
Swenson Presentation
 
At halftime of the Friends contest, Peru State will recognize its Swenson Award winners for the 2013-14 year.  The Swenson honor is presented annually to the top male and female student-athlete for the previous year.