The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Sports

Discussion

October 11, 2008

Truman opens Gorillas’ eyes

By Jim Henry

jhenry@joplinglobe.com

One week ago, Truman State’s 26-20 double-overtime victory over Nebraska-Omaha was the shock heard around the MIAA.

“I don’t think anyone saw that coming,” Pittsburg State wide receiver Kendall Fisher said. “When we heard it during the game, that was kind of a shocker. Especially in this league, it means you can’t overlook anyone any week. Nebraska-Omaha was ranked pretty high at the beginning of the year.”

“I think it caught everybody’s eye,” PSU offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “Truman State is a team that for a lot of people in the conference, it’s always been a tough place to go play there. Nebraska-Omaha is kind of feeling its way around the MIAA right now.

“(Truman) has eight returning starters on defense and a very good quarterback who can do a lot of things. It was surprising to hear it, but on the other hand, especially after watching video, you understand exactly why it did happen.”

Why did it happen?

“They physically got after Omaha, and Omaha is known as being a physical football team, kind of like the Gorillas and (Northwest Missouri) Bearcats,” Beck said.

Truman State, which scored the winning touchdown on free safety Demetrius Levant’s 57-yard interception return in the second overtime, comes to Pittsburg to play the No. 14 Gorillas at 2 p.m. today. The Gorillas have won the last 19 games over Truman State, and the Bulldogs haven’t won in Carnie Smith Stadium since 1969.

The Gorillas are looking to bounce back from last week’s 35-10 loss to Northwest Missouri.

“We’ve actually had a real good week of practice,” Fisher said. “We cut back a little bit on Tuesday (30 minutes shorter).”

“I expected when we came (to practice) pretty much to get dogged ... push us pretty hard,” defensive back Ferrari Welch said. “But they just came in and talked to us. They reassured everybody that we’ll be all right. One loss won’t keep us from going (to the playoffs). ... Keep up the tempo, get back into the swing of things so we can get more victories.”

“It’s pretty well the same things we’ve been doing,” Beck said. “Just because you lost a game doesn’t mean you have to revamp everything. We came out and tried to fix our mistakes that we made on Saturday and do the same things we’ve been doing.

“I like the way our schedule is where we bring them back in on Sunday. We talk about the game on Saturday and then it’s pretty well over with. Then we give them Monday off. We told them on Sunday you can go ahead and sulk and feel sorry for yourself, but we don’t have time on Tuesday to deal with that. So when you get to practice on Tuesday, you have to be ready to go and let’s focus on Truman.”

The Gorillas, averaging 30.0 points and 403.8 yards total offense, were held to 228 yards and 10 points by the Bearcats.

“Northwest just played extremely well and we did not play very well,” Beck said. “When you put those two together, you don’t get a very good outcome. But that’s how things go sometimes.”

Truman State, led by senior quarterback Matt Ticich, averages 23 points and 294.8 yards per game. Ticich has completed 89 of 179 passes for 1,080 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bulldogs, however, average just 63.4 yards per game on the ground.

By contrast, the Gorillas average 187.3 yards on the ground. Tailback Caleb Farabi, limited to 28 yards last week, is second in the league with 678 yards, and quarterback Mark Smith has added 320 yards on the ground and hit 69 of 109 passes for 1,092 yards, 10 TDs and three interceptions.

Text Only

Pittsburg State Sports

Missouri Southern Sports

High School Sports

Purchase Globe Sports Photos


Facebook
Opinion

Local News

Poll

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, taking aim at childhood obesity, intends to restrict sales of sugary soft drinks to no more than 16 ounces a cup in city restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and arenas. Do you think this is a solution?

Yes.
No.
     View Results