Zach Ewing: Gorillas need tougher matchups

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September 10, 2006

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sun Sep 10, 2006, 11:40 PM CDT

By Zach Ewing

Globe columnist

PITTSBURG, Kan. - There he was, the man himself, Pittsburg State football coach Chuck Broyles, the King of Southeast Kansas. He's the Czar of Carnie Smith Stadium, the President of Pittsburg, the captain of the Gorilla Flotilla.

Broyles had an easy smile on his face as he joked with TV cameramen, and with good reason. He had just watched his No. 7-ranked team pummel Panhandle State 87-0 on Saturday night.

It was Pitt State's second breezy victory against an inferior opponent in as many games.

And, I'll admit, I was impressed with my first visit to see the Gorillas. They gained 718 yards to the Aggies' 60. They were talented, disciplined and confident, and, by golly, I should praise them for that.

After the game, though, as I sat watching King Broyles discuss his team's 49-0 halftime lead and field questions about how nice it was for the third-stringers to get a chance, it occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn't be so impressed.

Why shouldn't Pitt State manhandle Panhandle? The Gorillas were bigger, stronger and faster.

Every Panhandle State blitz was stopped in its tracks, every rush seemed like it was in slow motion. One of the Aggies' starting cornerbacks even was playing with a brace on his left knee, limping around as fast as he could.

Watching this massacre was boring. It was pitiful. And - the worst part for the Gorillas - it was useless. All Pitt State learned was that it can hit wide-open receivers, dominate an Oompa-Loompa defensive line and run up the score.

The Gorilla defense tried to motivate itself with goals that would seem untouchable in a normal game: Get a shutout, don't let Panhandle past the 50, force four turnovers.

For Broyles, this was almost like being at the controls of a kid's football video game set on the easiest level.

How are you testing yourself?

Meanwhile, Northwest Missouri State, the Gorillas' biggest MIAA rival and the No. 2 team in the country, was dominating No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha 31-0 on Saturday. That's a win that speaks volumes and tells the Bearcats more about strengths and weaknesses than they'd learn in 10 games against Panhandle State.

If Northwest beats Pitt State at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 4, it'll be hard to overlook the fact the Bearcats have been better prepared by playing better teams.

Even Pitt State's players agreed that playing vastly inferior opponents is no way to prepare for MIAA conference play, which begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at Missouri Western.

"That's a good point right there. It will be different," junior defensive end Justin Shepard said.

"It's hard to play this game," said backup quarterback Geno Waters.

"We knew this team wasn't as good as the teams we'll be facing," sophomore linebacker Trac Hendrix said.

Of course, the Gorillas tried the quality-opponent method this past year. They welcomed Delta State to Pittsburg in Week 1 and paid for it with a 44-31 loss.

But, starting PSU quarterback Mark Smith contends the Delta State matchup might not have been such a bad idea.

"I think playing Delta State helped us a lot," the St. Mary's-Colgan graduate said. "It showed us how good we were and what we needed to work on."

Broyles said playing Panhandle State provided an opportunity for the Gorillas to work on specific offensive strategies, such as pushing the game tempo, the two-minute offense or Smith's pocket presence. Maybe that's why the Aggies, who were pasted by mediocre Emporia State 69-6 in their opener, were fodder on Saturday.

But in many ways, Panhandle State was too bad even to be a glorified practice opponent.

"We were kind of hoping that they'd put Mark under a little more pressure, but it didn't work out that way," Broyles said. "So, he's untested. But he'll be tested next week."

Ah, yes, next week, the first chance we have to figure out if this 87-0 debacle was actually worth anything.

If Pitt State struggles against Missouri Western, remember this: There's nothing wrong with getting the kinks out, but to do that, the opponent has to bring some kind of talent to the stadium.

Address correspondence to Zach Ewing, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or via e-mail zewing@joplinglobe.com.

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