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BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcats closed to within ten points in the early third quarter, but Central Missouri scored the game's final 37 points to pull away with a 60-13 victory in the season opener for both teams.

SBU senior quarterback Steve Gachette threw for 292 yards on 19 of 39 attempts and Charles Johnson caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Bearcats. UCM quarterback Eric Czerniewski threw for a school record 435 yards on 37 of 46 attempts and tossed five touchdown passes. The Mules racked up 616 yards of total offense as eight different players scored.

"We moved the ball well early, but mistakes ruined several crucial possessions in the first half," said head coach Keith Allen. "I'm disappointed in our performance for the great crowd we had. When Central's lead grew in the second half, we compounded the problem by pressing and making bad decisions."

The Mules got the game's opening tally on a 23 yard pass from Czerniewski to Seth Mason with six minutes left in the first quarter. SBU grabbed the lead on 58-yard bomb from Gachette to Johnson in opening minutes of the second quarter. But UCM would score 17 more points in the second quarter, including another touchdown pass from Czerniewski to Mason with four seconds left in the first half.

The Mules led 23-7 at the break. SBU had several missed opportunities in the first half, including a blocked field goal attempt on the game's opening possession. A bad snap late second quarter stopped an SBU drive after they had moved to the UCM 12-yard line.

A 42-yard fumble return by the Cats' Anthony Wiggins closed the UCM lead to 23-13 with 9:52 left in the third quarter. But that was the last time SBU reached the endzone, as Central Missouri ran off 37 straight points with three scores in each of the third and fourth quarters for the victory.

Gachette led SBU with 56 yards rushing on nine carries. Senior Sean Kelley caught four passes for 93 yards including a 75-yard grab in the fourth quarter. SBU sophomore linebacker Shaquille Shedd led the defense with a career high 13 tackles including eight solos. Shedd's fellow linebackers Andre Hicks and Austin Otwell had nine and eight stops respectively.

The Mules' Anthony Stewart rushed for 72 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. UCM's Jamorris Warren caught six passes for 85 yards. Brandon Clark led UCM with five tackles.

The Bearcats travel to Kirksville, Mo., to take on the Bulldogs of Truman State next Saturday evening, with kickoff at 7 p.m.