Impressions from Abilene
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-> It was very hot in Abilene, with temperatures reaching the upper 90s under a cloudless sky. That had to be hard on the visiting teams, who did not have as much cooling equipment as the home teams. Louisiana College’s Wildcats bore the brunt of the sun all day, facing west, and had no misters or fans at all.
-> McMurry’s Ty Sellers (named ASC offensive player of the week) put in a bravura performance against Austin College, totaling 309 total yards and passing for two scores along the way. He accounted for 82% of the Indians’ total offense, which raises one question: Is he trying to do too much? I’m not certain that the moves which got him away from Austin defenders will get him away from those from Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor, or even Texas Lutheran.
-> The McMurry offensive line allowed more ’Roo penetration than I expected. This needs to improve if McMurry wants to finish above .500.
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-> On the other side, Austin has got to be counting the days until it gets to the SCAC. The defense can make some plays, but the offense forces them to be on the field too much. McMurry held them to 64 yards; the Kangaroos’ one scoring drive went for 66. Yes, it was a long day if you made the five-hour drive from Sherman to Abilene. Unless it can improve dramatically on offense, Austin might not win a game in this, its ASC swan song.
-> How scary is this? Hardin-Simmons rolled up nearly 700 yards of offense in less than three full quarters against an overmatched Louisiana College side. And they did it after losing both their quarterback, Jordan Neal, and their top running back, Quinton Jones. Jones had over 100 yards in less than a half.
-> Neal’s replacement, sophomore transfer Jordy Bernhard (Indiana), completed his first six passes on the way to a 17-of-25, 270-yard performance in about three quarters, though he did throw two interceptions. Not bad for someone who had never taken a snap under game conditions in Abilene. The quarterback of the future became the man of the hour after Neal broke his collarbone on the Cowboys’ first series.
 Thurston Ashley, in a rare moment standing still. Photo by Josh Bowerman for D3football.com |
-> Hardin-Simmons has two sets of twins on the roster; once again, the Galushas dominated play, especially Will. It’s scary how quickly he can take over play. He made three consecutive plays one series, ending with an immense tackle on an attempted fake punt which forced a fumble and kept the runner short of the first down. Rob actually won the statistical battle, though, with eight tackles to Will’s seven.
-> For all their impressive play, No. 4 Hardin-Simmons still has to improve in one area before taking on the likes of No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor: execution. There were a total of 26 penalties called on the day, including 16 against the Cowboys. Hardin-Simmons was called for numerous, and obvious, illegal blocks and illegal offensive formations, even after accounting for the flag-happy side judge who threw the majority of the flags.
-> Louisiana College just had a dreadful day, though they kept it interesting in the first half. Losing the ball on eight drives (seven by turnovers, one on downs) certainly didn’t help the Wildcat cause.
-> Folks in Abilene love their football. All the games we attended (including a high school game Friday night) had healthy crowds.
-> Did I mention it was hot? Shotwell Stadium’s press box isn’t air conditioned, but a nice breeze kept things tolerable. HSU’s press box was a very popular place on a day where the temperature on the field was well over 100.
-> Finally, a shout out to both bands. Hardin-Simmons’ Cowboy Band is “world-famous” but McMurry’s was actually a bit larger (60 to 57), and in this observer’s mind, somewhat more musical. McMurry’s band has doubled in size over the last two years, and Hardin-Simmons’ has also increased.
If you’re looking for more details from the games themselves, see either my McMurry-Austin College story and Josh Bowerman’s photo gallery or my Hardin-Simmons-Louisiana College story and the photo gallery.
A hearty thanks to both McMurry SID Patrick Stewart and Hardin-Simmons SID Chad Grubbs for their hospitality. Thanks too to Josh, who not only made it possible for me to attend, but spent all day on those baking fields shooting photos for D3football.com, McMurry, and Hardin-Simmons.
I’m already looking forward to my return to Abilene on Oct. 22, when I’ll be covering Mary Hardin-Baylor’s return to the Forty Acres.
Elsewhere around the region …
Not yet, upstarts: Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-0, 1-0 ASC) got all it could handle from visiting Texas Lutheran (0-2, 0-1). The Bulldogs started the scoring when Sean Salinas hit Jason Trahan with a 20-yard pass to put the Bulldogs up 7-0. UMHB scored three straight touchdowns before TLU could respond. Trailing 21-7, Salinas again found Trahan, this time for 27 yards, to close to within seven at the half. Salinas’ third touchdown pass of the night, this time to Darrell White, covered 6 yards to knot the score at 21. The score remained tied into the fourth quarter, when the Crusaders’ Justin Bryson scored from 8 yards out. The Bulldogs got to midfield on their next possession, but consecutive sacks by Stephen Morton/Elex Reed and Jerrell Freeman forced TLU to punt. That was the last time TLU would threaten, and Mary Hardin-Baylor ran out the final 3:16 to seal the win.
Salinas had another good night, completing 24 of 37 for 272 yards, three touchdowns, but two interceptions. The Crusaders only threw seven passes all night, completing four and suffering one interception. Andy Padron got the lion’s share of playing time at quarterback for UMHB; the senior was 3-for-4 for 96 yards and gained 60 yards on 13 carries. The game was played before a UMHB-record crowd of 6,438.
Front and Centre: The Centre Colonels improved to 3-0 (1-0 SCAC), defeating Rhodes (1-1, 0-1 SCAC) 31-27. Junior quarterback Kevin Phelps accounted for 255 yards of Centre’s offense in a back-and-forth game that was over only when Jacob Coleman intercepted Mark Oliver on Rhodes’ last possession. Rhodes’ Tyler Lake had 111 yards rushing and Oliver completed 20-of-34 for 204 yards as the Lynx lost despite out-gaining the Colonels 404-361.
A win’s a win’s a win: For the second time in as many weeks, the Trinity defense came up big on the last drive, this time to preserve victory at Redlands (0-2). Ted Barnhart intercepted Bulldog quarterback Nick Brown in the Tiger red zone with time running down. Quarterback Jacob Cannon gave Trinity a 28-25 lead when he found Austin Kremers on an 8-yard scoring pass with 1:42 remaining. Trinity (3-0) led 21-3 before going into an offensive slumber that lasted the better part of two quarters. Robert Kelner had a career-long 70-yard punt return touchdown for Trinity.
Climbing back on track? Two big plays by RoShawn Johnson helped lead East Texas Baptist (1-1, 1-0 ASC) to its first win of the season against visiting Howard Payne (0-2, 0-1 ASC). Johnson returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a score. He later added a 77-yard touchdown reception. Sixteen tackles and a forced fumble by ETBU linebacker Micah Huckaby led to ASC defensive player of the week honors. The Yellowjackets lost despite outgaining the Tigers 427-266 and running 36 more offensive plays.
One in the books: After a two-week delay courtesy of Hurricane Katrina, Millsaps (1-0) got its season off to a successful start by edging past Concordia-Selma (2-2), 24-23. The Majors staved off overtime by blocking a Concordia extra point try with 2:45 remaining. Eryc Lorino led the Majors with 141 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Tyson Roy, Millsaps’ leading rusher in 2004, aggravated a nagging injury and was replaced in the first quarter after gaining just 15 yards.
Two down: Sul Ross State, the surprise of the young ASC season, improved to 2-0 (1-0 ASC) with a 36-17 win over visiting Mississippi College. The win was the Lobos’ first ever against the Choctaws (0-1), who were opening their season after a two-week Katrina-related delay. The visitors were flagged for 167 yards in penalties while the home side had a single foul for five yards. The Chocs closed to 19-17 in the fourth quarter on the strength of a ten yard run by Kalvin Smith, but Sul Ross scored twice to pull away. Lobo quarterback Austin Davidson completed 17-of-25 for 279 yards and one touchdown. The 2-0 start is Sul Ross’ best since 1988, when they also started with two straight victories.
Pool B bound?
Huntingdon is off to a fast start in 2005. In only their third year, Mike Turk’s young Hawks (or should that be the Hawks’ young Turks?) are putting some serious offensive numbers on the board, nearly 400 yards per game. The running game takes precedence, but quarterback Zach Golson is no slouch. Though two games, he has completed nearly 60% of his passes and averages just over 150 yards per game. The Hawks could find themselves in the hunt for a Pool B bid if they can win two of their next three (Rhodes at home, Millsaps at home, Trinity on the road). From there they’d likely need to win out against Colorado College, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Westminster, and Maryville to merit consideration. Of the four closing games, only Westminster is a road contest. 8-1 (7-1 against Division III opponents) might not be good enough for a bid given the program’s lack of pedigree, but it’s fun to think about. Zero wins in ’03, to four wins in ’04, to possibly eight in ’05, to … ?
We’ll try catch up further with Huntingdon later in the season.
South Region Game of the Week
DePauw (1-1, 0-0 SCAC) at Trinity (3-0, 0-0 SCAC): The annual grudge match between the challenger and the owner of twelve straight conference championships happens is set for Saturday in San Antonio. It could be a wet mess if Hurricane Rita makes herself felt in San Antonio.
DePauw narrowly lost to a good Wesley team in Week 1 and destroyed Hope on the road last weekend. Trinity has won three games but has yet to impress; the team’s largest margin of victory has been a scant 11 points against struggling Austin (0-2).
The “Black Flag” has provided just enough stops to carry a team very much in search of its offensive rhythm. Running back Jerrold Jones had his best game of the season (89 yards on 28 carries) against Redlands, but Trinity really needs more from the running game to keep DePauw’s dangerous offense off the field. DePauw quarterback Ross Wiethoff earned SCAC Offensive player of the week honors on Saturday by completing eight of 11 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He added 41 yards and a score on nine carries, and even caught a 41-yard pass from wide receiver Brian Culp. In just the first half, DePauw tallied 337 yards of total offense. DePauw also blocked three Hope kicks.
Those who have been following the SCAC for many years have wondered when Trinity would finally be knocked off its perch. This could be the year unless Steve Mohr’s squad can consistently deliver on the promise it has (intermittently) shown.
Other SCAC games
Centre (3-0) at Washington & Lee (2-0)
Bellhaven (0-2) at Millsaps (1-0)
Rhodes (1-1) at Huntingdon (2-0)
Oberlin (1-1) at Rose-Hulman (2-1)
Sewanee (0-3) at Maryville, Tenn. (1-2)
ASC contests
No. 2 Mary-Hardin Baylor (2-0, 1-0 ASC) at Louisiana College (0-2, 0-1)
No. 4 Hardin-Simmons (2-0, 1-0) at Mississippi College (0-1, 0-1)
Sul Ross (2-0, 1-0) at Howard Payne (0-2, 0-1)
McMurry (2-0, 1-0) at Texas Lutheran (0-2, 0-1)
East Texas Baptist (1-1, 1-0) at Austin (0-2, 0-1)
Both the Sul Ross/Howard Payne and McMurry/Texas Lutheran games are intriguing for a number of reasons. First, if you said that you expected the visitors to be 4-0 and the home teams 0-4, well, if you said that, you’d be a liar. Both Howard Payne and Texas Lutheran have played well enough to get a win (or two) had a few breaks fallen their way. The question this week is whether or not McMurry and/or Sul Ross can continue this season’s inspired play, or if HPU and TLU will finally break into the win column. It’s no easy question to answer.
South Region Top Five
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-0, 1-0 ASC)
2. Hardin-Simmons (2-0, 1-0 SCAC)
3. Trinity (3-0, 0-0 SCAC)
4. DePauw (1-1, 0-0 SCAC)
5. Centre (3-0, 1-0 SCAC)
Honorable mention: Huntingdon (2-0), Texas Lutheran (0-2, 0-1 ASC), Millsaps (1-0, 0-0 SCAC)
Next week
After three straight weeks, it’s time to take a break and catch games from home. Sure, I’d love to see DePauw-Trinity but it’s just not in the cards. As I write this, it looks like another hurricane — Rita — may impact either the Texas or western Louisiana coasts about the time some teams kick off. Stay tuned to D3football.com for updates regarding possible game cancellations, and pray (or hope, or both) that the Gulf Coast catches a break this time around.
I’ve gotten some great ideas and feedback from readers already this year — thanks! Questions, comments, and story ideas are always welcome at ron.boerger@d3football.com.