Central Methodist fell to 0-2 on the season with a 35-3 loss at Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, on Saturday to open Heart cross-division play.

The Eagles entered the game with significant changes to its offense. Starting quarterback Jordan Gile and running back Garren Vroman were both sidelined due to injury.

“Garren got banged up late in game one and just wasn’t able to get out of it during the week. Jordan Gile wasn’t available because of injury either,” explained second-year CMU coach Dave Brown.

That means second-string quarterback Alvaro Ortega-Morales, who goes by “Ro,” got the nod for the Eagles at Peru State. Brown said his sophomore backup was taking reps all week with the possibility of starting Saturday’s game.

“It was a game-time decision,” Brown said. “Jordan dressed, and he just wasn’t able to quite move well enough that we felt like he could protect himself.”

Ro completed six of 26 passing attempts for 73 with one interception on the day.

“He made some game-one kind of mistakes, but he did some other things, extending plays and helping us get some things generated, which showed why he’s in that position to be the next man up,” Brown said.

Ro may get the start as well next week at Graceland if Gile is unable to play.

Fayette native Garren Vroman was also absent. Against Peru State, Central gained just 31 yards on 36 rushes.

“We were just a little bit outmatched there, more than I anticipated we were going to be,” Brown said about his rushing game on Saturday.”

Central is a young team. The week prior was the first college game for several players in the green and white. Saturday was their first road game. And Brown complimented his players, particularly on defense, for staying in the game, even after trailing early.

Peru State went up by 19 after the first quarter on long-yardage plays, both in the air and on the ground. The Bobcats scored only two points for the rest of the half, when their defense forced a safety, and scored one touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters.

“The thing that I was proud of with our guys is we got into a hole early but then found a way to get settled in,” Brown said. “Especially the defense. We played some good football. I think we had six straight stops after the floodgates opened to start the game. So proud of our guys for continuing to play the whole game.”

Defensively, CMU’s Delkarai Davis finished the evening with nine tackles, while Matthew Higginbotham tallied eight and David Leach seven. Both Jaylon Williamson and Jarrell Mitchell recorded interceptions. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Dawan Lomax tallied 39 yards rushing while also making three catches for 41 receiving yards. 

Central’s lone score of the game came off the foot of Oscar Simon, who converted a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

CMU held a slight advantage in time of possession, holding the ball on offense for 30:19, compared to 29:41 for the Bobcats.

Brown is tasked with rebuilding a program that had lost a significant number of its players when previous coach David Calloway left in February 2023. Brown was hired the following March.

The Eagles travel to longtime Heart opponent Graceland in Lamoni, Ia., for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday. The Yellowjackets are 1-1 after falling 29-24 at Missouri Valley last week.

“I think they pose a pretty good challenge for us,” Brown said. “Anytime you go on the road and you have those kind of added layers of things you need to deal with, especially with the young team. You have to make sure that our guys are locked in. I’m glad it’s not our first road game.

“It’s another fast, physical football team similar to who we played this last week. It’s a big challenge for our guys. If we’re going to get things going, we have to make sure we improve every week. There was improvement this last week across the board. It just hasn’t quite shown up in that end result yet. So, if we make some other strides this weekend, we’re just trying to work to make sure we put ourselves in a great position to win. And a lot of that comes down to how we execute and how we’re able to get up there and find some ways to be productive.”

Central returns to Davis Field for Family Day next Saturday. The Eagles host Clarke (Ia.) for a 2 p.m. kickoff.