Beau Pribula accounted for 348 total yards and four touchdowns Thursday night as Missouri waxed Central Arkansas 61-6 in each team’s season opener in Columbia, Mo.
A Penn State transfer, Pribula completed 23 of 28 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 10 times for 65 yards and two scores. Pribula entered the season in a battle for the starting job with holdover backup Sam Horn.
Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz planned to play Pribula the first half and Horn the second half, then make a decision on a permanent starter for a Sept. 6 visit from Kansas. However, Horn never got his chance in the second half because he came in to run one play in the first quarter and was promptly knocked out with a leg injury.
After halftime, Horn was seen on the sideline with a leg cast and crutches.
Pribula started out with the biggest possible bang, throwing his first pass of the year 49 yards to Marquis Johnson for a touchdown just 3:54 into the game.
Blake Craig bombed field goals of 49 and 55 yards on the Tigers’ next two possessions, and Pribula followed with a 31-yard scoring jaunt with 6:48 left in the half. Pribula then led the team on the first of two 99-yard touchdown drives, capping it with a 1-yard flip to Brett Norfleet with eight seconds remaining for a 26-0 halftime lead.
Missouri added two more third-quarter touchdowns. Ahmad Hardy (10 carries, 100 yards) scored on a 4-yard run on the second half’s first possession. Pribula added a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:54 left in the third quarter to cap another 99-yard march.
Backup quarterback Matt Zollers found Jude James for a 40-yard strike at the 11:05 mark of the fourth quarter. Marquise Davis tacked on a 3-yard TD run before Dante McClellan returned an interception 83 yards to make it 61-0.
The Bears, an FCS-level team that plays in the United Athletic Conference, were outgained 560-232 in total yards. Quarterback Luther Richesson connected on 13 of 23 passes for 73 yards and the one interception. Richesson did guide his team to a consolation touchdown, a 3-yard pass to Manny Smith with 22 seconds remaining.
