The Central Methodist Eagles returned two major offensive starters who had been out since week one on Saturday but were again denied their first win of the season with a 35-17 loss at Missouri Valley College in Marshall.

Coach Dave Brown and the Eagles welcomed back starting quarterback Jordan Gile and running back Garren Vroman. Gile had played a handful of snaps in recent games but was unable to produce any meaningful minutes on the field. Likewise, Vroman, a Fayette native in his junior season at Central, has been out since starting the season opener.

Vroman’s return was another lift for a struggling rushing game that began to turn itself around last week in a heartbreaking loss at home to Clarke University. On Saturday, he helped the ground attack to its best game of the season with 50 yards on nine carries. And Coach Brown said he intentionally throttled Vroman down in his first game back.

“We were holding him back a little bit on purpose. We didn’t want to all of a sudden go in there and try to shoulder the load like he had to in game one,” Brown explained.

Vroman’s return to the offensive backfield helps solidify a two-back threat that Brown has been anticipating all season. Dawan Lomax, a junior from Boonville, is the other side of that one-two punch. He transferred to Central this year from Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

“He’s been a guy who came in the spring, and we’ve been excited about that addition,” Brown said. “We knew we needed more depth. He’s battled some injuries and some different things early in the year. But now that he seems to be closer to being fully healthy, you can see why we were excited to add him in there. Between him and Garren, now you get a great combination. Two guys who are very similar but different enough to give defensive issues as they try to prepare for us. Having him in there to just lighten the load on everybody else was exciting. But then to see the production, he’s doing a great job learning what we need out of that position.”

Lomax paced the rushing game with his second 100-plus yard game in a row with 118 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Lomax also made one pass reception that resulted in a 42-yard touchdown.

Gile stepped back into his starting role at quarterback, completing 11 of 19 passing attempts for 148 yards and a touchdown.

Brown said that was another significant return to an offense that put up respectable numbers on Saturday.

“You wish he didn’t miss some of those games in between. He made some mistakes that in the game, and I had to remind myself that this is only game three and not game five,” Brown said. “As he continues to improve, our receiving corps is starting to be healthy enough and have the depth. As everybody continues to get in there together, they’re going to get a better rhythm as a unit.”

Central is still in the hunt for its first win of the season. And while Saturday marked the Eagles’ fifth straight loss, it showed significant improvement in what Coach Brown said was his young team’s best game of the season.

“I think this is as well as we have played collectively,” Brown said. “Obviously, it’s still not enough yet. But it was it was a jump over the week before. As long as we’re taking a step every week, that is all you can really ask anyone. You just hope the steps start getting bigger.

“We’ll keep plugging away, keep working, and the guys aren’t backing off anything. To their credit, the desire is there. Now, they have to get the know-how. And that’s where we come as coaches to keep teaching them and see how big of steps we can take to keep going.”

Missouri Valley opened the scoring with a 41-yard touchdown rush from Tavion Campbell. The Vikings failed on their two-point conversion attempt, making the score 6-0 with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

Central turned around and took the lead on its next possession. Gile slung a screen pass to Lomax on third down, who turned it into a 42-yard catch and run for a touchdown. The kick from Oscar Simon was good to put the Eagles in front 7-6.

“Our guys did a great job as we executed that play,” Brown said. “The whole line did a great job.”

Missouri Valley scored twice more in the first half, both on short-yardage runs, with a successful two-point conversion and a point-after attempt to take a 21-7 lead into the break.

The Vikings quickly made it a three-score game, as Campbell returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to start the third quarter. 

The Eagles answered four minutes later with a nine-play, 69-yard drive that stalled before reaching the end zone. A kick from Simon sailed through the uprights for three points.

One more score from Valley on an 18-yard pass gave the Vikings a 25-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Central found pay dirt once more early in the final period. Lomax again crossed the goal line, this time from nine yards out to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive with 12:30 left in the game.

Central’s 17 points are the most the Eagles have scored in a single game all season. Brown and his coaching staff are tasked with turning around a program was left nearly in ruins before he was hired in March 2023. Now in his second year leading the Eagles, the program is taking steps forward. And while the win-loss ratio is certainly now what any CMU fan wants, the Eagles are making strides as a program.

The Eagles finished last season with one win, a five-point victory over Culver-Stockton on the road in week two. Coach Brown said that while it was nice to pick up the win, the team didn’t have a strong enough foundation to carry that victory forward.

“This year, as hard as it is with it coming later, it’s going to come,” Brown said. “It’s going to be there, and our guys are going to be better prepared to maintain it once we get it. Hopefully, it’s sooner than later. We’ve gotten a little closer. We just need that breakthrough.”

Central returns home to host Missouri Baptist (3-1) on Saturday for Homecoming. The Spartans have won their last three games.

Coach Brown expects Mo. Baptist to bring a balanced offense that establishes the run early. “There’s a little more pro-style in that they’ll use some tight ends, full backs, and things like that,” he said. “Defensively, they’re really based in what they do. They just do it well. They’re a big physical team. It’s going to be a good challenge for us at home. It should be a good game Saturday.”

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Davis Field. 

Central then heads into a bye week, but will play its next game on a Thursday. Instead of waiting two weeks for their next game, the Eagles will host Grand View on Thursday, October 17, under the lights at Davis Field. This will also give CMU more time to prepare for its following game at Baker University on Saturday, October 26.