MU notebook: Evan Boehm plays despite ankle sprain

Senior center Evan Boehm was questionable for Saturday’s game at Arkansas State because of a sprained right ankle, but nothing was going to keep him from taking the field.

Boehm has now started 42 consecutive games, every one of his Tigers career, and hopes to break the program record of 50 in a row.

“The ankle wasn’t good midweek, but there’s no way I’m missing a football game,” Boehm said. “I’m playing every single game that I have to play. That record’s mine.”

▪ Senior running back Russell Hansbrough, who was also questionable with a right ankle sprain also gave it a go Saturday. He had four carries for 12 yards in the first quarter, but sat out the remainder of the half.

Hansbrough returned for a 3-yard run on the opening play of the second half, but that was it.

“Russell played a little bit in the first half but wasn’t close to being Russell,” MU coach Gary Pinkel said.

Culkin sets career highs

Missouri junior tight end Sean Culkin set career highs with five catches for 46 yards. That included the go-ahead touchdown, a 21-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Maty Mauk, in the final minute of the third quarter.

Of course, the personal records aren’t what mattered to Culkin.

“I knew early on I had a couple of catches … but I just wanted to win,” Culkin said. “I scored last year against Indiana and we lost. That wasn’t fun at all. This is the first one this year. If we lost, that’s not fun either. I just wanted to help the team win.”

Leftwich finds paydirt

Senior Wesley Leftwich caught his first career touchdown pass, a 32-yard reception from Mauk in the fourth quarter.

“I was beating the cornerback every time and I was trying to tell them to throw the deep one,” Leftwich said. “They called the perfect route, where it’s a go route, and I just knew that if I beat him off the line Maty would get it to me. He got it there.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 11:33 PM with the headline "MU notebook: Evan Boehm plays despite ankle sprain."