(Peru, Neb.) – In front of over 800 Bobcat Hall of Fame game fans, the Peru State football team came to play and gave the crowd a 31-24 win on Saturday over MidAmerica Nazarene (MNU) (Kan.).
 
The Oak Bowl was the "hot" place to be as Peru State improved its record to 4-1 on the year while the Pioneers, who had been ranked 22^nd coming into the contest, fell to 3-2.
 
First Quarter Action
 
The Pioneers won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. AJ Flodman (Hickman) got the ball at the goal line and returned it 19 yards which would be the Peru State starting point for their first drive. After gains of one yard and seven yards from DeOndrae Mayo (Ocala, Fla.), quarterback Travis Carnahan (Wahoo) ran three yards for a first down. On the next play, Mayo went 37 yards and Peru State was now in Pioneer territory at their 33-yard line. The 'Cats were able to move the ball to the 25-yard line, but were forced to go for a field goal. John Brady (Hickman) stepped up and kicked a 42-yard field goal and with 10:35 left in the first quarter, the Bobcats led 3-0.
 
MNU put together a good drive on their first possession and had moved the ball down to the Bobcats' 11-yard line. After one incomplete attempt to the end zone, the Pioneers went back to the pass and Justin Barnes (Tallahassee, Fla.) intercepted the ball in the end zone for a touchback.
Peru State would put together a drive which eventually would run out the first quarter clock. The Bobcats led 3-0.
 
Second Quarter Action
 
The first play of the second quarter was a Peru State punt which went into the end zone. MNU would start on their 20-yard line. The Pioneers would get the ball into Peru State territory before a MNU fumble would be recovered by Travis Reed (Hickman) all the way back into Pioneer territory at the 23-yard line.
 
After a one-yard gain by Mayo, Carnahan went 19 yards to the Pioneer three-yard line. Mayo would gain a yard before Mason Smith (Grain Valley, Mo.) went into the end zone for his first Bobcat touchdown. Brady's PAT was good and with 10:47 to go in the first half, Peru State was up 10-0.
 
Again, the Pioneers would put together a drive which went for 16 plays down to Peru State's 13-yard line. A tackle for a loss by Stephen Bowers (Papillion) and Myles Hicks (Independence, Mo.) stopped the fourth down attempt.
 
Peru State could not sustain any momentum from the play and was forced to punt after one first down. The Pioneers did put together a scoring driving that went eight plays and 52 yards which resulted in a 26-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 15 seconds left on the clock.
 
The Bobcats did gain nine yards on the last play of the half and went into the locker room with a 10-3 lead.
 
Third Quarter Action
 
After Peru State's defense forced MNU to punt after a couple of first downs on their first possession of the second half, Flodman took the punt back 28 yards. The Bobcats would start their first drive of the second half in Pioneer territory at the 40-yard line.
 
Carnahan would go 11 yards on the first play. After a short loss, Justin Haystrand (New Port Richey, Fla.) went 23 yards down into the MNU red zone at the seven-yard line. After Smith gained two yards, Ki'Jana Owens (North Platte) scored from five yards out. After Brady put the PAT through the goal posts, Peru State led 17-3 with 9:26 left in the third quarter.
 
After MNU returned the kick-off to their 25-yard line, it only took the Pioneers one play as they completed a 75-yard touchdown pass. After the PAT was good, it was back to a one-score contest at 17-10.
 
After the teams traded possession, Peru State started another drive on their 22-yard line. After Owens went five yards, Smith rambled for 18 more. Smith then had carries of nine and six and Peru State was at the MNU 40-yard line. Carnahan then found David Bond (New Port Richey, Fla.) for a 40-yard touchdown pass. After Brady's kick was good, Peru State was once again up by 14 at 24-10 with 1:25 left in the third.
 
That would be how the quarter ended.
 
Fourth Quarter Action
 
After Peru State forced a three-and-out on MNU's first possession of the fourth quarter, Flodman returned the punt 17 yards. The Bobcats started this drive in MNU territory at the 37-yard line.
 
Two short run gains were followed by six yards by Carnahan for a first down. Two more short gains were then followed by 19 yards from Haystrand moving Peru State down to the two-yard line. It would take the 'Cats three attempts to get into the end zone when Carnahan went in from one-yard out. Brady's kick was good and the Bobcats had a 31-10 advantage at that point.
 
After the teams traded possessions, MNU would score again on three plays going 62 yards, all on pass plays to make it 31-17 with 2:34 left in the game.
 
When it looked like the Bobcats would be able to run the clock out, they could not do so and gave the ball back to MidAmerica Nazarene with 44 seconds left. It only took the Pioneers 29 seconds to put another score on the board to cut the lead to 31-24.
 
MNU attempted the onside kick which was recovered by Barnes which allowed Peru State to go into the victory formation at that point.
MIDAMERICA NAZARENE GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
MNU actually had some better statistics than Peru State, but was not able to capitalize on such. Plus, a lot of their yardage did come late in the game with their final two scores.
 
The Pioneers finished with 23 first downs compared to 17 for Peru State. MNU had 403 total yards with the Bobcats having 356. Peru State did most of their damage, as they usually do, on the ground with 285 yards rushing.
 
Both teams had two fumbles and lost one. Peru State did when the turnover battle, though, as they nabbed two MNU passes.
 
Offensive Statistics
 
Smith, in his first time in the backfield which was due to a number of injuries, took advantage of his opportunity as he finished with 69 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown. Mayo added 62 yards while Haystrand finished with 59 yards. Carnahan added 56 yards and a touchdown while Owens went 29 yards and had a score.
 
Carnahan went three for four passing for 71 yards and one score.
 
Bond caught the touchdown pass for 40 yards while Jake Coughlin (Omaha) and Flodman each had one reception.
 
Special Team Statistics
 
Alec McClendon (Pampa, Texas) punted four times averaging 41.3 yards. He had one touchback and one that stopped within the 20-yard line.
 
Flodman had two punt returns for 45 yards and three kick-off returns for 76 yards.
 
Brady averaged 58.8 yards on his six kick-off attempts with one touchback.
 
Defensive Statistics
 
Ismael Calvillo (Tucson) had one of his best games of his career as he finished with eight total tackles – three of which were solo. In addition, Calvillo added a big sack for a loss of 11 yards. Barnes also finished with eight tackles – two of which were solo – and an interception.
 
Andrew Shackelford (Parrish, Fla.), Desmond Stirgus (Raytown, Mo.), Gunnar Orcutt (Omaha), and Collin Weingaertner (Omaha) each finished with five tackles. Shackelford had four solo tackles while Stirgus finished with three. Each had a tackle for a loss. Orcutt was credited for a pass break-up.
 
Bowers had two tackles for losses of three yards while Michael Bullard (Nassau, Bahamas) had the other Bobcat interception.
 
Upcoming Game
 
Peru State will face its second-straight ranked opponent next Saturday when they travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to take on second-ranked Baker. The Wildcats are 5-0 and survived a 44-37 thriller at Benedictine. Baker was last year's NAIA runner-up. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Then, the Bobcats will be off a week before heading to Des Moines to face Grand View on Oct. 14.