By David Boyce

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- As a team playing an independent football schedule, Southwest Baptist put quite a scare into Central Missouri in the season-opener for both teams.

The Bearcats actually held an eight-point lead with 7:05 remaining in the third quarter Thursday evening in front of 6,973 fans at Walton Stadium.

But that’s when the Mules really flexed their MIAA muscle and were determined to send their crowd home with a smile.

By scoring the final 19 points, Central Missouri played like the team that was picked to finish third in the MIAA.

Although the Mules pulled out a 39-28 victory, it sure wasn’t easy, especially when they were staring at a 28-20 deficit.

“This helps the guys know that not every game is going to be a blowout or a perfect game,” said Central Missouri junior quarterback Eric Czerniewski, who threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns. “You are always going to have to battle through the ups and downs.”

Clutch plays brought Central Missouri back. The first one came on fourth and eight at Southwest Baptist’s 30. Czerniewski tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tywon Hubbard. The Mules failed on the two-point conversion and trailed 28-26 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game for Central Missouri was made by freshman defensive back Brett Ginn.

Ginn, who played his senior season at Shawnee Mission West, forced a fumble and recovered it at Southwest Baptist’s 35.

“That was the game changer right there,” said Central Missouri senior defensive end Layne Kreter.

The Mules needed six plays to score a touchdown, which came on a 5-yard pass from Czerniewski to DeMarco Cosby six seconds into the fourth quarter.

Once again Central Missouri failed on the two-point conversion, but held a 32-28 lead. The Mules tacked on another touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game to build a double-digit lead.

“We came with the mentality in the second half that we got to set the tempo,” Kreter said. “We got a lot of young guys and guys with a lot of courage and with a lot of energy. We were lackadaisical in the first half and then we stepped it up.”

Still, the game was much closer than the final score indicated.

Southwest Baptist, which plays in the MIAA in all other sports, definitely looked strong enough in the first half to compete in the conference in football. The Bearcats will return to the MIAA in football in 2013.

In the first eight minutes of the game, Southwest Baptist looked overmatched, but by halftime the Bearcats belonged on the same field with Central Missouri, taking a 21-20 halftime lead.

Central Missouri stopped the Bearcats on four plays in the game’s opening drive. The Mules took over at their 30 and their first play from scrimmage went 70 yards for a touchdown on a pass from Czerniewski to running back Anthony Stewart.

Southwest Baptist ran only four offensive plays in its next drive and punted. Central put together a nine-play, 60-yard drive and scored on a 25-yard pass from Czerniewski to DeMarco Cosby.

The touchdown play gave Central Missouri a 13-0 lead with 7:56 left in the first quarter.

“We could have mailed it in when we were down 13-0,” Southwest Baptist coach Keith Allen said. “I’m proud of our effort. We fought the entire game.”

From that point on Southwest Baptist played MIAA-caliber football. The Bearcats scored late in the first quarter on a 51-yard run by Thaddeu Everson and took a 14-13 lead with 7:30 left in the second quarter on a 30-yard run by Justin Duhaney and the extra point by Brock Jolly.

The Mules responded to their first deficit of the 2009 season by marching 56 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 1-yard run by Czerniewski for a 20-14 lead.

Southwest Baptist, though, was playing with a lot of confidence. The Bearcats were unfazed about starting at their 23 with 2:30 left in the second quarter. Southwest Baptist scored on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Steven Gachette to Johnnie King and 1:22 was still left on the clock.

“The thing I was concerned with is their quarterback is a heck of a player,” Central Missouri coach Willie Fritz said. “You go through all preseason camp and you don’t ever tackle your quarterback. You aren’t able to finish plays. We sacked him a bunch, but we probably missed another 10. A lot of that was poor angles and a lot of it was him.”

Key play: Central Missouri freshman defensive back Brett Ginn forced a fumble and recovered it at Southwest Baptist 35 with the Mules trailing 28-26.

“I saw the ball drop to the ground and I just hopped on it like we do in practice every day,” Ginn said. “The referee pointed and I just got excited.

“I was trying to calm down and I just could not breathe. I had to get some water. It took a lot out of me. It took more out of me coming to the sideline than the actual play.”

Offensive star: Central Missouri junior quarterback Eric Czerniewski threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another.

Defensive star: Central Missouri senior defensive end Marc Tiernan came off the bench had seven tackles and 1 ½ sacks.

On Friday: Pittsburg State begins its season with new starting quarterback John McCoy and tailback Terrance Isaac, two players who grew up away from the Midwest. McCoy is from the Boston area and loves his Red Sox, and Isaac grew up near New Orleans and lived through Hurricane Katrina.