Box Score Fayette, MO. - William Woods University (1-8) traveled to Fayette to face Heart of America Conference South Division opponent Central Methodist University (1-8) after a week off from division play. Despite an early lead, the Owls fell short within the final minute in a hard fought contest against the Eagles. 

William Woods was the receiver of the opening kickoff in the afternoon competition, taking a touch back to begin their game on the 25 yard line. The drive displayed the offensive promise the Owls have been showing in recent contests. Quarterback Gabe Serri was able to connect with receiver Troy Oliver for completions of 7 and 31 yards respectively, putting the Owls on CMU's 34 yard line in a flash. Jalen Becerra wanted to get involved as well, and did with a reception on third and ten that ended 13 yards closer to the goal line. One yard outside of the red zone now, Chris Hunter found a crease to gain seven yards, and Serri followed it up shortly with a third down rush of eight yards to put the Owls on the two yard line on fourth down. WWU felt aggressive, and drew up a passing play that resulted in a touchdown to receiver Ethan Lollar, the first score of the young athlete's career. The point after try was blocked by the Eagles, but the Owls had still struck first, owning a 6-0 lead. 

Like the offense, the Owls' defense opened the game up well. After just three plays, the Woods forced Central Methodist to punt. With the ball again, the offense looked to build on the early lead. On a third down attempt on their own 33 yard line, Serri found one of the Owls' play makers in Becerra, who did just that, making a play of 37 yards to the other 30 yard line. Lollar continued to stay involved, catching passes of 11 and 8 yards on back to back plays, pushing the Owls all the way to the ten yard line. This time, the drive was capped off by Oliver, who caught the second touchdown pass of the night by Serri. A two-point conversion attempt was successful, and William Woods was on top 14-0. 

Central Methodist's first play of their next drive was a fumble recovered by the Woods, pushing momentum even further in their favor. The drive was stalled by the Eagles' defense at the 24 yard line, bringing kicker Justin Sharkey onto the field. From 41 yards out, Sharkey banged the kick through the uprights, adding three more to the total. 

CMU's first drive of the second quarter showed promise, moving the ball to as close as the one yard line. However, the Owls built a wall on the goal line and stopped the Eagles from scoring on four straight downs. The Woods was only able to push forward about 17 yards before Sharkey was brought on for the punt. On their next drive, Central Methodist was able to get down to the 16 yard line, close enough for Oscar Simon to knock down a 33 yard field goal and put the Eagles on the board, down 17-3. William Woods' final chance before the half on offense ended in a punt, giving the ball back to CMU with 1:07 left on the clock. Instead of forward, the Eagles found themselves moving backward thanks to penalties. On the final play of the first half, Central Methodist attempted to punt, but Evan Workman faced heavy pressure from the Owls' front and was tackled in the end zone, resulting in a safety and two more points for WWU as time expired. 

In the second half, the Eagles came out strong, converting on a pass for 71 yards and a score, closing the gap at 19-9. The Owls found themselves punting again, giving the ball back to Central Methodist's hot offense. Plays of 42 and 21 yards took CMU to the end zone again, and the lead was quickly cut down to four. With just over six minutes left in the third quarter, the Owls had the ball back, looking to fight back. A variety of successful passing and rushing attempts took the Woods' offense down to the nine yard line, where it was Sharkey again slicing a kick down the middle, making the score 22-15. This would be the final time the Owls scored in the contest. 

To open the fourth quarter, Central Methodist was able to find pay dirt again, tying the game at 22-22. Both teams had multiple opportunities to take the lead in the final period, but it was the Eagles who succeeded. With just 1:54 left in regulation, CMU drove the ball down the William Woods' 31 yard line. From here, a rush attempt to the left side was taken across the goal line by the Eagles. William Woods had one more chance with the ball, but simply ran out of time, facing a heartbreaking loss of 29-22. 

"It's a tough one to lose because our guys fought hard to the end," Head Coach Julian Mendez said about the game. "You never want to come out on the losing end but we still have so much to work on to get where we want to be as a program. We have been able to put ourselves in a position to win those close games."

On the offensive side for the Owls, Gabe Serri bounced back well after missing last week's game, going 24-46 for 325 yards and two touchdowns. Troy Oliver led the team with 11 receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Becerra added six for 95 yards, and Ethan Lollar contributed 21 yards and a touchdown as well. Kyle Nunn led the Woods in rushing with 21 yards. 

On the defensive side, it was Darrias Butler at the top of the list with eight tackles. Following close behind with seven were Clarence Jackson and Carleon Jones. Jaylen Wiley Scruggs added an interception. 

Justin Sharkey went two for two on field goal attempts, and had five punts for a resounding 237 yards, equaling 47.4 yards per punt. 

The Owls fall to 0-4 in conference play, and 1-8 overall. William Woods Football is back in action next weekend on Saturday, November 9th for another Heart South conference matchup against Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo. at 1 p.m.