Wildcats struggle with consistency on offense, lose season opener by four touchdowns

CANTON, Mo. — Running more plays for more yards with substantially more minutes of possession gave the Mount Mary football team an overwhelming advantage Saturday night in opening the season with a 42-14 victory over Culver-Stockton College at Ellison Poulton Stadium.

The Wildcats trailed only 13-7 at halftime, but they struggled to move the ball outside of one play in the second half.

Midway through the third quarter, C-SC quarterback Drake Day connected with Kyle Dixon on a 75-yard pass play for a touchdown that pulled the Wildcats within 28-14.

However, C-SC managed just 100 yards otherwise in the second half and managed just 4.8 yards per play over 21 plays. Overall, the Lancers ran 18 more plays and averaged 6.1 yards per play in the second half.

Overall, Mount Mary churned out 436 total yards, ran 32 more plays and possessed the ball for 24 more minutes.

The Lancers led 13-0 before the Wildcats engineered a 96-yard drive featuring a 62-yard hookup between Day and Dixon. They connected again for a 33-yard touchdown pass that made it 13-7 with 14:17 remaining in the half.

Day completed 11 of 22 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Dixon caught five passes for 189 yards, while Demarion Cobb led the ground game with nine carries for 24 yards.