LSC Roundup 8-27

Bulldogs fall to Emporia, 27-7 - SWO Sports Information
WEATHERFORD – Southwestern Oklahoma State University had its moments but could not generate enough offensive fireworks before falling 27-7 to visiting Emporia State in the season-opening football game for both teams.
The Bulldogs were able to scratch out 177 yards of total offense and turned the ball over two times, including having two breakdowns in the punting game.

Emporia got 391 yards on the night, 226 of which were on the ground. ESU quarterback Tyler Eckenrode completed just eight-of-20 passes but two of which went for touchdowns, including a 69-yarder that opened the game’s scoring.
The Hornets built their margin to 21-0 midway through the second quarter before the Bulldogs got on the board. SWOSU linebacker Jaron Burgess scooped up a fumble at the Hornet’s two-yard line and gave the Bulldogs a golden opportunity.
Two plays later Dwight Pete crashed in from one-yard out and SWOSU had ESU’s lead trimmed to 21-7 with 9:31 to play in the first half.

SWOSU never really got close after that point. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on five of their final nine possessions and deepest penetration was the ESU 36-yard line.

The Hornets put the game away in the second half on a pair of field goals by Zackary King of 35 and 37 yards. Kings last put the Hornets up 24-7 with 9:03 to play.

SWOSU was led offensively by quarterback Mike Van De Ripe who came in for starter Dustin Stenta after the third series. Van Deripe was 12-of-31 for 111 yards passing and picked up another 24 on the ground.
Defensively, SWOSU had a number of standouts including cornerback Marvin Tribble who came up with two pass interceptions and nearly a third if not being whistled for being out-of-bounds. Two players had double figures in tackles, safties Anthony Laws with 18 and Jonathan Darby added 15.

The Bulldogs will next play Saturday, Sept. 11 at home against West Texas A&M. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Fast Lane Field.

SE Falls Hard in Season Opener - SOSU Sports Information
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The season opener for Southeastern Oklahoma State got off to a rough start and never recovered as Henderson State reeled off 469 yards of total offense en route to handing the Savage Storm a 44-13 loss on Thursday night in Arkadelphia, Ark. The SE offense sputtered at times, racking up 304 total yards, but getting outgained in both phases of the offense as HSU racked up 469 yards of total offense.

Logan Turner completed 26 passes in his Storm opener out of 48 attempts en route to 205 yards and a pair of scores. Robbie Morris turned out to be his favorite target, hauling in eight catches for 83 yards, while Mike Hill and Caleb Jones each had a TD grab.

Three turnovers did not help the SE cause.

Baylen Laury led the squad on the ground, but posted just 29 yards on 10 carries as the Storm totaled just 49 yards rushing on the night. Steven Harris paced the defense, racking up 12 tackles, while Lionel Gillespie added five stops and a sack and Brandon Ford recovered a fumble.

The contest got off to a rough start for the Savage Storm, fumbling the game’s opening kickoff, before allowing 21 unanswered points to open the game, on three TD passes to three different receivers from quarterback Nick Hardesty.

SE put together its best drive of the first half inside the final five minutes of the second quarter as SE marched 84 yards in 14 plays aided by a pair of completions to Morris, converting on a fourth down play and a third down play, respectively.

The drive culminated in a two-yard TD toss from Turner to tight end Caleb Jones with 21 second remaining, but a failed PAT would leave the Storm trailing 21-6 at intermission.

Southeastern’s woes continued into the second half as the Reddies added a one-yard touchdown run by Georgio Hall, followed by a pair of Eric Torres field goals from 23 yards and 40 yards, respectively, mounting a 34-6 lead. SE got on the board again early in the fourth quarter when Turner found Mike Hill from six yards out to finish off an 11 play, 68 yard drive that covered 3:22 of clock time and bridged the third and fourth quarters. Following the extra point the Storm closed the gap to 34-13 with 14:14 to play.

HSU, however, answered the SE score 56 seconds later on a four play, 62 yard drive that ended with a 35 yard catch and run by Josh Sipho, putting the Storm in a 41-13 hole.
A third Torres field goal stretched the Reddie lead to 44-13 with 5:01 to play in the game to set the final tally.

State college football: Southwestern, Southeastern lose openers - NewsOk
Tyler Eckenrode threw for two touchdowns, and Zackary King added two field goals as Emporia State (Kan.) beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 27-7 on Thursday night in a small college football opener at Fast Lane Field in Weatherford.

Emporia State charged to a 24-7 lead by halftime, also getting blocked punt returned for a TD by Gerald Guerrier. Southwestern State's only score came with 9:31 left in the second quarter on Dwight Pete's 1-yard run.

Henderson (Ark.) 44, Southeastern State 13
Nick Hardesty threw three touchdown passes in the first half to lead Henderson State to a season-opening rout of Southeastern State on Thursday night in Arkadelphia, Ark. Hardesty shredded Southeastern State's defense for 355 yards for the game. He added a TD pass in the second half.

Southeastern State quarterback Logan Turner threw two touchdown passes, but the Savage Storm's offense was hampered by three turnovers. Storm running back Baylen Laury, selected by coaches in the preseason as the Lone Star Conference North division Offensive Player of the Year, was held to 29 yards on 10 carries.

Mustangs' defensive line has firepower to click - J. Scott Russell, Times Record News
The Midwestern State defensive linemen have a new position coach for the 2010 season, which only seems fitting since there will be a lot of new faces up front for the Mustangs this season.

The cupboard isn’t bare for Randy Wilkins as he joins the Mustangs after playing at Florida State and coaching at Texas A&M-Commerce.

The Mustangs return three players up front that saw significant playing time, several sophomores and redshirt freshmen who are returning, as well as four or five junior college transfers.

“With it being my first year here we all have a fresh start, Wilkins said. “I think we’ll be strong, but right now we’re a work in progress. We’ll continue to grow as the year goes on. They’re very athletic and are willing to work hard to do what it takes to get better. I feel confident they will respond when the lights come on.”


Carthel Pleased With Team’s Final Scrimmage - WTAM Sports Information
Second and third teams see most of the work on Thursday

CANYON, Texas - West Texas A&M head football coach Don Carthel was more than pleased with what he saw from his team following the Buffs’ final scrimmage Thursday morning at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

“We looked 100 percent better today than we did in our last scrimmage,” Carthel said. “I was pleased with what they did today. The entire team looked good and it showed on the field today.”

Both offense and defensive first-team units played sparingly in the scrimmage, getting all of their repetitions in during the first drive.  Starting quarterback Taylor Harris (Sr-3L, Whitesboro, Texas) guided the offense to a score in the opening drive, going 7-for-11 with 87 passing yards, which ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Hampton (Jr-TR, Bronx, N.Y.).  Backup quarterbacks Tanner Marsh (So-1L, Carrollton, Texas) and Dustin Vaughan (Fr-RS, Corpus Christi, Texas) each received most of the quarterbacking duties throughout the morning and Carthel felt that both players preformed very well.

“Both backups executed the offense very well today,” Carthel said. “I thought both players did a good job getting the ball to their receivers.”

Marsh was 13-of-22 for 158 yards with a touchdown, while Vaughan went 11-of-22 for 85 yards and an interception.  Wide receiver Trevor Hammergren (Fr-RS, Aztec, N.M.) came up big for the Buffs on the receiving end, catching seven passes for 103 yards and a score. Running back Hampton picked up from where he left off on Saturday as he grabbed five passes for 22 yards and a score as well. Wide receiver Ray Magee (Jr-TR, Placentia, Calif.) had five catches for 18 yards and tight end Landon Forga (Jr.-TR, Midland, Texas) caught a pair of passes for 39 yards to go along with a 24-yard touchdown.

“The receivers played great today,” Carthel said. “As a group, they did really well bringing in the ball and not dropping too many passes.”

The running game got a break for most of the scrimmage, seeing most of their work in goal line situations. Running back Dandrick Jackson (Fr.-HS, Baytown,Texas) had a couple of runs that went for seven yards to lead the Buffs on the ground.  Linebacker Drew Graham (Jr.-2L, Crowley, Texas) led the Buffs on the defensive side of the ball as he tallied four tackles on the day. Defensive backs Curtis Slater (So.-1L, Houston, Texas) and Mark Okoro (So.-1L, Austin, Texas) each followed with three tackles. Defensive lineman Jonahathan Hatton (Jr.-TR, Tyler, Texas) and linebacker Brian Johnson (Jr.-1L, Arlington, Texas) provided the most penetration to the quarterback on the day, as both players tallied two sacks each.

Thursday marked the final scrimmage for the eleventh-ranked Buffaloes who will open the 2010 season next Thursday, Sept. 2, when they visit #2-ranked Grand Valley State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CDT.


Presidents make ECU move official - Bob Forrest
Ada — It’s official: five Oklahoma schools, including East Central University, will be leaving the Lone Star Conference to join new leagues after the 2010-2011 school year.

The schools involved — ECU, Southeastern, Southwestern, UCO and Northeastern — all announced plans to become ex-LSC members in early July, and since then they had simply been working out the details.

Everyone involved knew where they were headed — ECU, SOSU and SWOSU to join six Arkansas schools in a brand new leage and UCO and NSU to join the established Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association — but the timing was unclear.

“It’s all a matter of a vote by the presidents, and the Presidents’ Council met this week and approved it,” ECU athletic director Brian DeAngelis said Wednesday. “Staying another year (until the 2012-2013 school year) was always an option, but it wasn’t something we wanted to do.”


New era at PSU to debut - Pittsburg Morning Sun
UCO gunning for Gorillas - Pittsburg Morning Sun

LSC Fall Sports Preview Series: Eastern New Mexico - Nick Eatman, LSC Office
This is the last of a 16-part series, analyzing the fall sports of each school in the Lone Star Conference. Today will feature Eastern New Mexico.

Football
For a football program that hasn’t won a conference game in four years, there certainly seems to be a lot of excitement building around the Greyhounds in 2010. Not only are several returning players back on an offense that set numerous NCAA, LSC and school records in 2009, but ENMU is moving from the South to the North Division, where it should be more competitive this year.

“We’re really excited about being in the North,” said head coach Mark Ribaudo, who enters his sixth year as head coach. “We’ve had some really great games against some of the North teams. I’ve been at Eastern for 14 years in different capacities, and some of the greatest games I can remember against those North opponents.”

Last year, the Greyhounds scored a school record in points with a wild 76-56 win over eventual-LSC North champion Texas A&M-Commerce. The team also broke a 39-year NCAA record previously held by Notre Dame, by averaging 93.45 offensive plays per game.

“We’re very excited about what’s going on with the Greyhounds this year,” Ribaudo said. “We’ve had 17 starters returning. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to say we’ve got an older team coming back.”

One of those starters is sophomore quarterback Wesley Wood, who took over in the middle of the and help engineer an offense that led the LSC in passing, averaging 448.0 yards per game.

“Our quarterback is a winner,” Ribaudo said. “Wes Wood had a great spring and we’re looking forward to big things on offense.”

One of his favorite weapons will be wide receiver Jesse Poku, who caught 63 passes for 830 yards and nine touchdowns. Arvin Jackson also returns after a 73-catch season with 848 yards and five scores. Ribaudo said he hopes to bolster the running games this year after averaging just 63.5 yards per game in 2009.

Defensively, the Greyhounds return some senior leadership with inside linebacker Nathan Uland, who led the team in tackles last year with 132, including 18 ½ for loss. Senior cornerback Rodney Mitchell is back after picking of seven passes (second-most in the LSC) last year, with 16 pass deflections.

“There are some good things going on at Eastern,” Ribaudo said. “Again, we’re delighted to be in the North. We’ve got our offense going. If we get our defense up to where we think it should be, we think we can be a really formidable opponent.”
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