Despite racking up 569 yards of offense and 32 first downs, the Central Methodist football team lost a shootout at Culver-Stockton College on Saturday, falling 60-44 in an action-packed game with 104 total points scored.

The Eagles now head into the final two games of the season sporting a 2-7 overall record.

The Eagles couldn’t overcome five turnovers and two defensive touchdowns by the Wildcats. Culver now stands above .500 at 5-4 overall on the season.

The two teams traded scores early and Central led led twice in the second quarter, but the Wildcats seized control after halftime behind quarterback Liam Thornton and wideout Kyle Dixon. Thornton finished 20-of-30 passing for 368 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Dixon caught 11 passes for 236 yards and three scores. Culver-Stockton also cashed in on a 58-yard interception return by Kaden Thomas in the first quarter and a 54-yard fumble return by Azaan Tabari in the final minute.

Culver opened the scoring at 9:49 in the first quarter on a nine-yard pass from Thornton to Dixon. Central answered midway through the quarter when backup quarterback AJ Donovan hit Jaylen Joseph for a 43-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt failed, leaving the Eagles trailing by one.

Culver later scored on a 58-yard pick-six to go ahead 14-6 after one quarter.

Central surged ahead in a wild second quarter. Donovan found Elijah Owens for an 11-yard score at just 40 seconds into the period. Central then tied the game 14-14 with a two-point conversion.

Culver regained the lead with a 31-yard field goal four minutes later. But Central would pull in front 21-17 on a 10-yard keeper by Donovan with 6:31 left in the half.

Culver answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass two and a half minutes later to take a 23-21 lead. But Central blocked the point-after attempt, and Treyvion Hourel, Jr. raced 97 yards the other way for two points and retie the game 23-23.

On their following drive, the Eagles went 61 yards in three plays, scoring on a 27-yard run by Boonville native Dawan Lomax. The point-after kick missed, making the score 29-23 in favor of Central.

But Culver had the final say in the first half with a 10-yard scoring run by Thornton in the final minute to send the Wildcats into break leading 30-29. The score capped a 39-point second quarter between the two teams.

Culver created separation in the third quarter, shutting out Central 10-0 in the period with an early 68-yard scoring pass and later a field goal to take a 40-29 lead with 5:40 left.

The Wildcats scored again in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on a one-yard run to go up 46-29. But Central kept swinging. Jamar Nuby scored from a yard out with 8:07 left in the game to cut it to 46-36.

Culver’s Nicholas Jarrett added a six-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left to extend the margin to 53-36.

Later, with time running low, Lomax capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run at 2:36 to bring Central within 10, 53-43. But a final turnover by the Eagles turned into points as Culver scored on a 54-yard scoop-and-score with 34 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Donovan had an efficient day starting behind center for the Eagles, completing 21 of 43 passes for 339 yards with two touchdowns, but threw three interceptions. He also ran for 11 yards on six attempts, including a 10-yard score.

Joseph made two catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, followed by Owens with two grabs for 24 and one touchdown. Lomax led the ground game with 87 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while Nuby added 64 yards and a score on 14 attempts. A dozen Eagles caught passes, including Je’Von Williams (three for 50), Zyon Slade (three for 35), and Ja’Shon Williams (two for 35).

Kicker Cristobal Salgado finished 3-for-5 on point-after attempts.

Despite the loss, CMU’s offense outgained Culver-Stockton 569-542, converted half of its 18 third-down situations, and was perfect on fourth down, converting all four attempts.

Defensively, Jonathan “Trey” Smith III made seven tackles, Ashton Fowler had six stops with two pass breakups and an interception, and Dont’e Lewis added two pass breakups and an interception.

Central Methodist remains on the road this week at Missouri Baptist in St. Louis. Game time is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Eagles return home for the season finale against longtime rival Missouri Valley College next Saturday, November 15, with a noon kickoff.