Eagles fans got their first taste of Central Methodist University football under the Dave Brown era Saturday night at Davis Field. 

Coach Brown took over the troubled program in March. This season marks his first as head coach after a successful career as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division II level.

Coach Brown took his first step into turning around a CMU team that finished 1-10 a year ago, a record that was compounded by further trouble off the field.

And while a 48-7 loss isn’t how Brown or his coaching staff hoped to kick off a new season, he said Saturday’s game was a way to learn his team’s identity.

“I think there were good things and bad things to learn from,” Brown said after Saturday’s game. “It’s hard to say what we expected because we needed to learn who we were. I just told the team that we need to learn who we are as competitors. Was it the outcome we wanted? Absolutely not. I was proud that we fought the whole time. Somewhere in this game, we’re going to learn things that will help us down the road.”

Graceland proved to be the veteran team Saturday night, scoring on most of its drives behind the stellar play of sophomore quarterback Cade Ross. The Yellowjackets came to Fayette with one victory already under its belt after winning a lopsided affair the previous week over Doane (NE).

Ross put his team on the board twice in the first quarter. The first was on an 11-yard run three and a half minutes into the game. The next came on an 11-yard pass to Gerald Moore. A two-point conversion attempt on the first score failed, and the Yellowjackets relied on a solid performance by kicker Alex Tuyo, who split the uprights for five point-after attempts.

Graceland scored four touchdowns in the first half to take a 27-0 lead into halftime. The Yellowjackets scored twice more in the second half before Central was finally able to penetrate the endzone late in the fourth quarter.

Central came close in the third quarter, bringing the ball within two yards from the goal line, but an interception at the 1-yard line kept the Eagles scoreless.

Eagle sophomore Garren Vroman, who shattered records as a running back at Fayette High School, picked up 18 of his 35 total rushing yards on four rushes during that drive. He nearly broke into the endzone on a three-yard pass reception that brought CMU within one yard of what was almost the first touchdown of the season.

He also made the tackle that saved a touchdown just five yards shy of the endzone on the interception.

Coach Brown had high praise for Vroman after Saturday’s game. 

“Garren does a great job for us. He is what you want out of anybody,” Brown said. “You’re really fortunate when he’s a local kid. He showed up at every weight workout all summer. He did everything right. He outworks everybody. He’s got the demeanor you want, and he’s a competitor. Those are the guys we have to build around.”

That third-quarter drive was also the first time the Central offense had crossed into Graceland territory all night. 

“The shock of that first game wore off, and then they were able to settle in and execute a little more,” Brown explained. “We just have to get into a rhythm. We had too many penalties, especially in the kicking game, that put us back in the hole early. We made some adjustments and fixed that.”

Central’s first score of the season came with just 4:34 left on the game clock. The Eagles marched down the field on a six-play drive that went 75 yards, culminating with a five-yard rush from junior running back Kam Cole.

The fourth-quarter touchdown would be Central’s only score of the night. But Brown said he expects his team to make significant strides before heading out on the road next week.

“They were in game two, and we were in game one. You make your most improvements between games one and two. And I expect that out of our guys when we come back next week,” he said. “We had a lot of young guys playing out there tonight. They know what a college football game is now. We have the chance to make some big strides this week.”

Those young players showed their opening night jitters, committing 11 penalties that resulted in the loss of 105 yards. Graceland was flagged 13 times for 115 yards.

Central committed two turnovers, one interception, and one lost fumble.

“We had too many self-inflicted wounds, as far as penalties, turnovers, and those kinds of things. We’ll get those things cleaned up,” Brown said.

While the time of possession was nearly identical between the two teams Saturday, Graceland put up a total of 502 offense yards, 308 in the air and 194 on the ground. Central’s two quarterbacks combined for 133 passing yards. Junior starter Joe Cambridge completed nine of 16 passes for 91 yards. Freshman Jordan Gile racked up 42 yards on 5-for-7 passing.

While Gile is likely the Eagles’ future starter, Coach Brown said he didn’t want his first taste of college football to be as a starter. “Jordan did some good things as he came in. I wanted to get his feet wet and get him in there. “And Joe [Cambridge] has established himself as a guy who understands the offense and can go out there and operate. He did some good things, especially in the second half.”

Cole led Central’s rushing game with 50 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Vroman had 11 carries for 35 yards and two receptions for 14 yards. Charles Johnson recorded 36 yards on six carries with a long of 23 yards.

Senior AJ Allen led the receiving corps with six grabs for 71 yards. 

On the defensive side, Lontas Mcclinton led the Eagles with eight total tackles, followed by Nyjahl Vaughn, KeShawn Wilson, Dylan Holt, and Le’Marcus Washington with five each.

Devin Watson forced a fumble, with the recovery coming from Vaughn. In addition, Vaughn recorded an interception to close the third quarter. 

The Eagles head out for the first of two back-to-back road games next week. On Saturday, they travel to Canton to face Culver-Stockton College for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Wildcats fell 28-7 at Missouri Valley on Saturday.

Next Saturday, Central Dubuque, Iowa, to face 0-2 Clarke University. The Pride lost their season opener on August 26 to Midland, 22-14, and fell at Benedictine 63-14 last week.

“The first step next week is to go win a road game,” Brown said.

Central returns home on Saturday, September 23, to host William Penn on Family Weekend at 2 p.m.