MARYVILLE, Mo. - A pair of red-zone turnovers and two explosive plays from the University of Central Missouri cost the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat football team in a 35-30 loss to the Mules.

The Bearcats fumbled at the 6-yard line and tossed a 100-yard interception return for a pick-six touchdown to thwart two potential scoring drives. The Mules posted two touchdown passes of 73 and 63 yards to gain the upper-hand in an MIAA football matchup on Northwest's 100th Homecoming celebration.

Northwest, which did not have to punt in the 60-minute affair, produced 451 yards of total offense and limited the Mules to 30 rushing yards and 352 passing yards. Northwest dips to 4-4 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA, while UCM moves to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.

Bearcat quarterback Chris Ruhnke posted his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season with a 321-yard performance Saturday against the Mules. Ruhnke went 31-of-46 passing and tossed two touchdowns. Ruhnke's scoring plays went for 19 yards to Jake Weber and  41 yards to Eric Richardson in the second quarter. 

Weber was selected as the Don Black Award recipient. The award is presented to the most valuable player in the annual Homecoming game. The award has been given out since 1972 and 47 student-athletes have received the honor. Don Black was a running back for the Bearcats from 1951 to 1953 and helped lead Northwest to an MIAA title in 1952. Weber caught six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Northwest forced UCM to punt on the first series of the game after five plays. The Bearcats marched 58 yards in seven plays, but a fumbled hand off between Ruhnke and Te'Shaun Porter resulted in a lost fumble at the 6-yard line.

After another UCM punt, Northwest got on the board with a 19-yard scoring strike from Ruhnke to Weber on a 3rd-and-8 with 4:08 left in the first quarter. UCM drew even at 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter on a five-yard run by Keyon Butler.

Northwest marched right back down the field and went up 14-7 on a 41-yard touchdown strike from Ruhnke to Richardson with 12:24 left in the second quarter. UCM took eight plays and went 75 yards to level the game again at 14-14 with 9:07 remaining in the half.

Northwest ate up 6:13 off the clock on an 11-play, 44-yard drive, but holder Henry Martin was stopped one yard short on a fake field goal run around the right end to give the ball back to the Mules with 2:46 left in the half. 

UCM's Zach Zebroski was sacked and fumbled on a third-down play by Langden Kitchen with 2:23 to play before intermission. Carter Olesen recovered the loose ball at the 27-yard line. Four plays later, Tank Young cashed in the turnover with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to boost the Bearcat lead to 21-14 with 1:36 on the clock.

Dominic Myers flipped the field quickly with a 46-yard punt return to give Northwest a short field at the 21-yard line with 1:02. However, Northwest could not convert the opportunity into points as UCM's Jevean Brown blocked Noah Guastella's 41-yard field goal attempt.

Zebrowski connected with Zach Patterson on a 73-yard touchdown pass on the very next play to get the contest tied 21-21 with :27 left in the half.

Guastella booted a 20-yard field goal with 10:09 left in the third quarter to give Northwest it's fourth lead of the game at 24-21. 

After a UCM punt, Northwest drove deep in Mules' territory and looked to make the contest a two-score game. After scrambling to the 7-yard line in a 3rd-and-15, Ruhnke was intercepted in the end zone by UCM's Isaac Montgomery and he returned the miscue 100 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six gave UCM it's first lead of the day at 28-24 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

Guastella drilled his second field goal of the day with a season-best 45-yard boot with 12:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. Guastella's field goal trimmed the UCM lead to 28-27.

UCM turned to a flea-flicker to dent the scoreboard again. Zebrowski got the ball back in his hands and hit Patterson for a 63-yard touchdown pass with 10:50 left in the game. The score gave UCM a 35-27 edge.

The Bearcats drove back into UCM territory on its next possession looking to even the score. However, the UCM defense slowed down the Bearcats at the 17-yard line and Guastella kicked his third field goal of the game - this one from 33 yards out to slice the UCM lead to 35-30 with 6:03 to play.

UCM converted three first downs and took the clock from 6:03 to :05 before turning the ball over on downs to Northwest at the Bearcat 31-yard line. Northwest's last desperate pass went incomplete short of the 50-yard line and the Mules walked away with a five-point victory.

Northwest will have an open week before returning to Bearcat Stadium Nov. 2 to take on the Northeastern State Riverhawks with a 1:30 p.m. kick.

NOTES: Northwest is 45-2 when scoring 30 or more points under head coach Rich Wright ... both losses scoring 30 or more points have come against Central Missouri (L, 41-38 last season and today) ... Northwest holds a 63-37-2 lead in the all-time series with UCM ... UCM snapped an eight-game losing streak in Maryville with its win today ... UCM's last win in Maryville came Sept. 20, 2003 (52-24) ... Northwest has lost back-to-back Homecoming games for the first time since 1994 ... Northwest is 125-14 in Bearcat Stadium since the 2001 season ... Northwest is 13-10 in one-score games under the direction of head coach Rich Wright ... Northwest is 1-2 in one-score games this season (W, 14-9 vs. Emporia State; L, 21-14 at Nebraska-Kearney; L, 35-30 vs. Central Missouri) ... Guastella's 45-yard field goal was a career-long ... his previous career-best was a 38-yard field goal earlier this season at Washburn ... Guastella is 10-of-14 on field goal this season, including 8-of-10 in his last three games ... Guastellas had made 18 career field goals to rank tied for No. 10 in Bearcat history.