The Central Methodist football team fell 40-7 to No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Grand View University Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Eagles are now 0-2 on the season, while the Vikings improve to 2-0.

Grand View jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, the Eagles responded with a scoring drive of their own midway through the second period. Brayden Matheney completed a seven-yard pass to Dakota Troost, but a penalty moved the ball back to the Eagles’ 18-yard line. On the ensuing play, Darius Shakor George broke loose for 82 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Joseph Mosley booted the extra point through the uprights, cutting the deficit to 21-7 with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter.

The score remained unchanged for the remainder of the first half.

Trailing 28-7 in the third quarter, Central put together a nine-play drive. On second-and-12, Matheney connected with Moses Ross II for seven yards. Facing fourth-and-eight, the Eagles benefited from a roughing-the-kicker penalty, which gave them a first down at the 42-yard line. Caleb Baker then hauled in a six-yard pass. On third-and-11, Matheney picked up five yards on the ground. Central went for it on fourth-and-six, but Matheney’s four-yard completion to George came up short of the first-down marker.

It marked the longest drive of the second half for CMU.

For the game, Central recorded 11 first downs, including six through the air and three on the ground. The Eagles totaled 195 yards of offense on 60 plays.

Matheney completed 17-of-30 passes for 121 yards.

On the ground, George carried the ball seven times for a team-high 79 yards. Baker caught four passes for 41 yards, while Kason Clark hauled in five passes for 35 yards. Tobias Williams added two receptions for 20 yards, and Elijah Owens recorded a 10-yard reception.

Anthony Schembri had a solid afternoon punting, averaging 40.0 yards per attempt. He placed three punts inside the 20-yard line and recorded a long of 58 yards. Williams added a 32-yard kickoff return.

Defensively, Treyvion Hourel Jr. led CMU with seven tackles and a pass breakup. Peyton Hoover finished the afternoon with four tackles, while Avion Bass recorded three tackles, including the Eagles’ lone sack of the day. Oliver Linss tallied two tackles, including a forced fumble.

After opening the season with back-to-back games on the road, the Eagles debut at home Saturday afternoon against Graceland University (1-1). The Yellowjackets are coming off their first win of the season on Saturday, 61-35 against MidAmerica Nazarene at home. They fell 28-16 at William Penn in the season opener.

Kickoff Saturday is 1 p.m. at Davis Field.​