Central Methodist dropped a challenging road game to No. 23 MidAmerica Nazarene University, 35-3, Saturday afternoon in Olathe, Kan.

The loss drops Central 2-4 overall and 1-1 in Heart South Division play. The Pioneers won their second straight game, improving to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the South.

MNU scored 14 points in each of the first two quarters, while Central’s lone score of the game came on a 32-yard field goal by Cristobal Salgado in the opening minutes of the second period.

Leading 28-3, the Pioneers scored their final touchdown on a 3-yard run in the third to seal a 32-point win over the Eagles.

Christian Hall led CMU’s offense on the ground, carrying the ball 12 times for 72 yards. Max Thomas caught five passes for 32 yards to lead the receiving core.

CMU quarterback Jordan Gile was busy, but couldn’t rack up the yardage. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 79 yards without an interception. He also ran the ball nine times for 16 yards.

Salgado split the uprights once on three field goal attempts.

Treyvion Hourel Jr. led the defense with 11 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior defensive end Caleb Justice recorded the only sack of the game for the Eagles in the first quarter.

As a team, Central generated 277 yards of total offense compared to 294 for the Pioneers. However, the Eagles committed 10 penalties for 89 yards.

Central will take the next weekend off for a bye week. The Eagles return to Davis Field for Homecoming next Saturday, October 18, for another tough test against a another ranked opponent. The game against No. 3 Benedictine College kicks off at 1 p.m. on homecoming weekend. CMU stays home the following week, October 25, for a 1 p.m. game against Baker.