Javelinas' opponent rebounded from rough start in '08
Central Oklahoma seeks to repeat as North champs
KINGSVILLE — It is Year 2 of Central Oklahoma’s three-year stay inside the NCAA doghouse. While the Bronchos are ineligible to participate in the Division II football playoffs, life on the outside isn’t all bad.
Second-year coach Tracy Holland said he thinks the Bronchos are getting their house in order.
“The thing that I like the most with this coaching staff is we’ve come in and we had a plan we wanted to execute. We haven’t deviated from that,” said Holland, whose 24th-ranked UCO ballclub (1-1) faces No. 11 Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday at Javelina Stadium in a Lone Star Conference crossover game.
“Despite the 0-4 start we had last year we have continued to execute our plan and I would say the most gratifying part is how the players have believed in it and responded to it and grown,” Holland said. “I really do believe we’re moving in the right direction.”
(Scoop Note: The Bronchos were not barred from the NCAA playoffs)
WT's struggling defense issued challenge
West Texas A&M defensive coordinator Colby Carthel isn't mincing words when he talks about the Buffs defense.
At Tuesday's weekly WT media luncheon, Carthel described Saturday's game at Central Washington (WT's third straight against an opponent that has been ranked at some point this season) as the time the Buffs will find out "whose momma raised a coward."
Judging by Carthel's no-nonsense attitude, the Buffs - particularly on defense - have some maturing to do.
"Central Washington is playing smash-mouth football. They took it right to the defending national champions (in a 13-10 victory against Minnesota Duluth last week)," said Carthel, in his fourth season at WT. "I'm sure watching our film where Central Oklahoma ran for 288 yards against us, they are licking their chops. We are going to have to meet them in the hole. Something has got to give."
Bulldogs look to turn things around against Rams
The Southwestern Oklahoma football team is trying to turn its program around under new head coach Dan Cocannouer. SWOSU went just 3-8 last season — including a 24-2 loss to Angelo State — and is off to an 0-2 start this season.
After opening the season with a 48-17 loss to Emporia State, the Bulldogs lost to Eastern New Mexico 45-7 last Saturday. They have lost their first two games by an average score of 46.5-12.
They will try to get their season going in a positive direction Saturday when they travel to San Angelo to face a 1-1 Angelo State team coming off a hard-fought loss to Texas State. Southwestern Oklahoma’s most glaring struggles have been on defense. Through two games, the Bulldogs’ defense has allowed 575.5 yards per game. Opponents have scored 13 touchdowns against them in two games.
Last week against Texas A&M-Commerce, SWOSU struggled to find much offensive rhythm the entire game as the Bulldogs were limited to just 180 yards on 66 plays, an average of 2.7 yards a play. SWOSU turned the ball over four times, all of which came by interception.
(Scoop Note: SOW played Eastern New Mexico last week, not Texas A&M-Commerce)
For Mustangs, big plays come in small packages
Any hope the Southeastern Oklahoma Savage Storm had of mounting a second-half comeback last Saturday quickly vanished on their first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Storm quarterback Dallas McCutcheon threw the ball; Midwestern State linebacker Matt Ellerbrock tipped it; and MSU cornerback Brandon Williams picked it off.
It was the third interception of the night for the Mustangs and the first of what Williams hopes will be many more for him before the 2009 season is over.
“We (the defense) are supposed to run to the ball every time,” said Williams, who had one interception prior to this season. “Coach is always telling us when you run to the ball good things are going to happen. He (McCutcheon) threw it, I ran to the ball, Ellerbrock tipped it and it went right into my hands — although I did have to dive for it. Everybody was where they were supposed to be and everybody was doing their job — not trying to cover for someone else. We’re one unit as a defense and right now we just click. "
At 5-8, Williams is the shortest of the three senior cornerbacks Micah Hill and Antoine Cumby are both listed at 5-10 that head coach Bill Maskill affectionately refers to as “our midgets.”
Tailgating adds spice to football season
— It’s that time of year again – the most anticipated sporting season of America. Did you guess football? You’re close. Actually, it’s tailgating.
Tailgating has been around since the 1800s, when fans carried picnics to games. After all, there was no fast food, so biscuits and home-cured ham slabs in buckets were just the ticket for early fans noshing and enjoying the leather-headed sport, according to the tailgate fan website. Today, it’s much the same as it was. It’s still a gathering of people who enjoy other people and food, and who especially enjoy football. The American kind.
These days, tailgaters are still keeping it simple, often with a loaded-down pickup truck with the Coleman grill and ice chest full of grill delights and ice cold beverages.
And Northeastern State University students and fans are no different. For NSU senior Jackson Cates, proper tailgating at a RiverHawks game is about going big.
“Everybody usually does big couches, big trucks, gaming systems, good food – oh yeah, and live music,” said Cates. “Sometimes it’s like an outdoor living room but better.”
How the LSC teams stack up in the national statistical rankings (Top 20 or top team if none in top 20)
Total Offense - Eastern New Mexico 2nd, Texas A&M-Kingsville 15th
Rushing Offense - Central Oklahoma 47th
Passing Offense - ENMU 1st, West Texas A&M 14th, TAMK 15th
Scoring Offense - Abilene Christian 18th
Total Defense - Midwestern State 2nd, TAMK 4th, Tarleton State 12th, ACU 20th
Rushing Defense - ACU 4th, MSU 11th, TAMK 13th
Passing Defense - MSU 10th, TAMK 14th
Scoring Defense - MSU 1st, TSU 6th, ACU 16th, TAMK 16th
JJ Harp is first in passing yards per game, Brandon Noohi is 18th, and Josh Neiswander is 19th.
Jesse Poku is third in receiving yards per game, Ryan Lincoln is 9th, and V'Keon Lacy is 19th.
JJ Harp is first in total offense, Brandon Noohi is 13th, Billy Garza is 17th.
Seven extra session games mark week two of the soccer season
Complete Release
Seven Lone Star Conference teams had games that could not be decided in 90 minutes in the last week, four of which saw all 20 minutes of golden goal overtime run out without a decision. Non-conference play continues this week. It is the last week before conference matches start for the men, while the women have two more weeks of non-LSC play ahead of them.
Players of the Week
MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Nick Auditore, Midwestern State, Sr., F, Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS
Auditore scored a pair of goals to lead Midwestern State to a 5-0 win over Regis (Colo.) Sunday afternoon at the MSU Soccer Field. The senior forward from Phoenix, Ariz. placed each of his four shots on frame as the MSU also claimed a win over No. 13 Metro State last week at the MSU Soccer Field to improve to 3-1 on the season.
MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Allen Thomson, Midwestern State, Jr., D, Pretoria, South Africa/Tuksport HS
Thomson organized a defense which allowed one goal while limiting the opposition to just 10 shots and only four on goal in wins over No. 13 Metro State and Regis (Colo.) last weekend at the MSU Soccer Field. The Mustangs held Metro to eight shots Friday night before holding Regis to two long-range shots with none falling on frame on Saturday.
WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Brandie DeBacker, Angelo State, So., F, New Braunfels, Texas/Canyon HS
DeBacker scored a goal in each game as the Rambelles bounced back from a rough start with a pair of home wins over the weekend. DeBacker’s first goal of the weekend came in the first half to knot the game 1-1 against Missouri Western. ASU went on to win the game 2-1. Her second goal came on Sunday with the game with Emporia State tied, 1-1, to give the Rambelles their second straight win. She took six shots on the weekend with four shots on goal while playing in 87 minutes per game.
WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Michelle Sumner, Eastern New Mexico, Sr., D, Los Lunas, New Mexico/Los Lunas HS
Sumner was a key player on a defense that posted over 182 shutout minutes over two games, with the only goal allowed coming in overtime against undefeated Fort Lewis College.
WOMEN’S GOALKEEPER
Sierra Cardenas, Eastern New Mexico, So., GK, Wheat Ridge, Colorado/Wheat Ridge HS
Cardenas posted a shutout in a victory over Colorado Christian and had a shutout through regulation at Fort Lewis, making seven saves in the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment