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CMU takes home opener in 27-24 battle over Peru State

Kevin Oeth, Sports Editor
Posted 9/7/21

The Central Methodist Football team bounced back with a gutsy 27-24 win over Heart foe Peru State College Saturday afternoon at Davis Field.  

With the win, the Eagles even their overall …

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CMU takes home opener in 27-24 battle over Peru State

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The Central Methodist Football team bounced back with a gutsy 27-24 win over Heart foe Peru State College Saturday afternoon at Davis Field. 

With the win, the Eagles even their overall record to 1-1, while the Bobcats drop to 1-1. It also marks the fourth home opening day victory for Central in the last five seasons. 

The Eagles’ offense started the first quarter fast, as sophomore quarterback Paxton DeLaurent found senior NAIA All-American wide receiver Katavious Taylor for a touchdown at the 8:21 mark. After a missed point-after attempt by the Central special teams, Peru would trim the lead to 6-3 with a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Central's air attack continued to roll, as the Eagles capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive when DeLaurent once again found Taylor for a 34-yard touchdown. The Eagles would take a 13-3 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Peru’s offense looked to get rolling in the second half, but Central’s defense joined in on the scoring. The Eagles pass rush broke through the offensive line allowing junior defensive lineman Cameron Essick to sack freshman Bobcat quarterback Grant Gutschow and force a fumble inside Peru’s own 10-yard line. The ball rolled to the CMU end zone where junior Isaiah Studer scooped it up for a defensive touchdown in the first two minutes of the third quarter. 

On the ensuing possession for Peru, the Bobcats appeared to be gaining traction and reached the Eagle 42-yard line. However, an errant pass from Gutschow found the hands of senior defensive back Brandon Molinari at the 10-yard line for an interception.

The Bobcats would eventually find the end zone with an eight-yard touchdown run from Gutschow, trimming Central’s lead to 20-10 with 2:11 remaining in the third. Peru added another touchdown five minutes into the fourth on a 46-yard touchdown pass, to trim the CMU lead to just three points. 

After Peru's defense held Central out of the end zone, the Bobcat offense once again was driving downfield, this time looking for the go-ahead score. With the ball at midfield, Peru’s offense was pressured by CMU’s defensive line, forcing another errant pass from the quarterback. Senior linebacker Mar'Quess Daniels picked off the pass and returned the interception 52 yards for the touchdown. Senior kicker Sam Petrin added the extra point, giving Central a 27-17 lead with 4:08 left in the game. 

The Bobcats added a touchdown late but weren't able to recover the onside kick, as Central held on for the 27-24 win. 

DeLaurent finished the day with 149 passing yards on eight completions including two touchdowns, both going to Taylor. Senior running back Armand Keely racked up 71 yards on the ground on 10 carries. Taylor hauled in five catches for 123 yards including two scores in his season debut. 

Senior Will Miles led the defensive unit with nine tackles and two sacks, while Daniels collected eight tackles and two sacks. Both Daniels and Molinari recorded an interception and overall the Central defense held Peru to just a 29-percent third-down conversion rate. 

The Eagles head back out on the road for another cross-divisional matchup against Clarke, Saturday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. in Dubuque, Iowa.

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