It took nearly 59 minutes to accomplish it, but Missouri Western’s first lead of the game proved to be the game winner Thursday night over Central Missouri in the season opener.

Defensive nose guard Arbanis Elliot’s interception with two minutes to play set the table for a Raphael Spencer 3-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining that gave the Griffons a 10-9 win and their 11th victory in the last 12 meetings against the Mules.

Spencer rushed for 161 yards on 30 carries, leading a Missouri Western offense that experienced growing pains for the majority of the night.

Redshirt freshman TJ Lafaver made his first career start at quarterback for the Griffons, and struggled in his debut,  going 3-12 for 14 yards through the air with three interceptions.   Skyler Windmiller, Missouri Western’s other redshirt freshman quarterback, played the majority of the second half, going 5-11 for 69 yards.

But it was the Missouri Western defense that shined in the opener, holding a high-powered Central Missouri offensive attack to just nine points, and keeping the Mules out of the red zone.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Mules got on the board first in the second with a  LaVance Taylor 47-yard touchdown run with 6:06 remaining in the half.  Cornerback Mike Jordan blocked the extra point, keeping the score at 6-0 heading to halftime.

The Griffons scored their first points of the 2014 season with 1:21 left in the 3rd quarter on a John Schmiemeier 34-yard field goal that made it a 6-3 game.

The Mules answered with a Will Mondragon 29-yard field goal with 8:03 left in the 4th quarter to extend their lead to 9-3.

But the momentum shift came just before the two-minute warning, with Central pinned back against its own end zone.  Elliot intercepted Mules quarterback Hayden Hawk’s pass from his defensive tackle position on 3rd and 18 that gave the Griffons the ball on the Central five-yard line.

Spencer then scored on 3rd and goal from three yards out to give the Griffons their first lead of the game with 1:28 remaining.  The defense held and time ran out on Central’s final drive to secure the one-point victory.

This is the fewest the Griffons have scored in a victory since September 7th, 2002.  Western defeated South Dakota 10-3.

Next up for the Griffons (1-0, 1-0 MIAA), a trip to Edmond Oklahoma to take on Central Oklahoma (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) Saturday, September 13th at 6:00 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —