AC's running game beginning to jell
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Millsaps (1-1), winner of two of the last three SCAC titles, lost their opener in overtime to Mississippi College before beating Bellhaven last Saturday. Of course, a small drop in production may have been expected when you lose a quarterback the caliber of Juan Joseph and veteran receivers.
At Trinity (2-0), the seemingly yearly winner of the SCAC since 1993, the Tigers are breaking in a new quarterback too and have been fortunate in wins against McMurry (31-26) and Texas Lutheran (22-21) during the first two weeks. Both victories over ASC members went down to the wire.
DePauw (1-0) opened impressively and is the only SCAC team currently ranked in the top 25 and Centre (2-0), who was 7-3 last year, is also in the mix. These two mix it up this weekend in Indiana.
Rhodes, 4-6 last season, has also started at 2-0 with wins over Westminster (Mo) and Haskell Indian Nations. They’ll host Trinity this weekend with a chance to make noise.
And then there is Austin College. The Kangaroos, who are also 2-0, have gone 9-11 over the past two seasons. However, six of those losses have come by a total of 27 points.
In coach Ronnie Gage’s fourth season at the helm, could the Roos, who were 5-5 last season, be ready to post their first winning season since 2000 and play a role in the SCAC race?
They may find out Saturday as they host defending champion Millsaps in Sherman.
“It’s our fourth year and our first recruiting class (are seniors,)” Gage said. “We’ve gotten a little better each year.
“So we feel like we’re on the edge of doing some good things. We just want to be a contender in this conference. Honestly, I think in this conference, the bottom and the top, has come to the middle. It’s turned into an exciting, competitive conference. There are some good games this first week. It’s going to be a fun year.”
The Roo offense has racked up 64 points and averaged 467 yards a game over the first two weeks thanks in large part to the play of running back Ross Hasten and quarterback Andy Braly, both seniors.
Hasten, who led the conference in all-purpose yards a year ago while earning All-SCAC honors, has averaged 122 yards a game and scored four touchdowns.
Braly is a duel threat, averaging 86 yards a game on the group, while completing 57 percent of his passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
“Both of them have been have been playing extremely well,” Gage said. “But the offensive line is getting better every week and that’s the key.”
Another key to the Roos has been the play of receivers Phillip Garcia and transfer Greg Harrell. The pair has combined for 13 receptions and 175 yards in an offense that focuses on running the football.
“Both those guys present a threat outside that maybe opens things up for us.” Gage said.
Defensively, Austin’s gamble of moving Evan Coachman, an All-SCAC receiver last season has paid off so far. Coachman picked off two passes in the 30-27 win over McMurry. The second came in the end zone late in the game to seal the victory.
“The kids came into camp really excited.” Gage said of his team’s good start. “For the first time there’s a little buzz in the air and it felt like football.
“They are playing with a lot of confidence that we can compete and things have just clicked so far.”
Still Gage knows that his team faces a tough test on Saturday against the Majors.
“We certainly not where they’re at right now,” he said. “They’ve got a really good program.
“We are hoping we can make a game out of it. The last two years we haven’t been able to do that and were disappointed. We just want to play well and feel good about ourselves win or lose. It’s going to take a great effort.”
Injury bug bites Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons’ high hopes for this season took a big hit this past weekend in their 37-22 loss to Linfield. Worse yet, the Cowboys, who dropped from No. 4 to 15th in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll, suffered several major injuries as they reach the middle of a brutal five-game stretch to start the season.
The biggest loss is perhaps the loss of quarterback Justin Feaster, but leading returning receiver ZaVious Robbins (knee) also went down along with both starting cornerbacks Anthony Knight (knee) and Lee Grounds (broken hand.)
Despite the setbacks, Cowboy coach Jimmie Keeling remained optimistic.
“Justin’s more than likely out a couple of weeks, at least, and then ZaVious is out for who knows how long. We lost a couple of really good players last week, too. That’s not a good thing, of course, but it’s part of the game,” Keeling said to the Abilene Reporter-News. “Sometimes, you’ll go through an entire year and not lose anybody, and then this year we’re losing folks before we even really get started. But we can’t just throw the towel in. Our guys have tremendous pride and we’re going to fight back.”
Sophomore Taylor Byrd stepped for Feaster and completed seven of 10 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. It appears Permian High grad will get his career start this week.
Running back Derrick Grant could take some of the pressure off the young passer. The sophomore has averaged over seven yards per carry and the Cowboys were pretty deep at receiver entering the season with a couple of D-I guys transferring in. It not a stretch to expect that the HSU offense could still be pretty potent.
The Cowboys' real worries may be on defense. They have given up 68 points and 800 yards in their opening two games, that include 551 through the air. Granted, they played two high-powered offenses in Linfield and Whitworth, but the loss of two corners has to worry a team that ranked at the bottom of Division III in total defense just a couple of years ago.
Hardin-Simmons opens up their America Southwest Conference schedule this week against Louisiana College (1-0), who was impressive in their opener on Sept. 5 with a 56-21 victory over Bacone. The Wildcats have had two weeks to prepare for the Cowboys. This could be LC’s best chance to beat HSU after falling each of the last two games by eight and seven points.
Quick hitters
Howard Payne’s Tre Mason has quickly established himself as one of the top receivers in the South Region. He was named ASC newcomer of the year last season after catching 30 passes for 633 yards and nine touchdowns. The sophomore played a huge role in the Yellow Jackets 23-17 come from behind win over Southwest Assemblies of God. Trailing 10-3 at the start of the first quarter, Mason caught a 65-yard scoring pass from Zach Hubbard early in the second quarter before scoring on a 15-yard run later in the period. In all Mason, accounted for 170 of Howard Payne’s 300 total offensive yards. He caught six passes for 141 yards and added 29 yards on three rushes.
Coach Steve Fanara had hoped to improve the Yellow Jackets' running game this season after averaging just 70 yards per game last season. And according to the statistics, that didn’t happen against SWAG. Howard Payne totaled a net of just 39 yards. However, a closer look at the stats shows three attempts for a total of minus-79 yards in rushing. Rainy weather caused the Jackets to muff a couple of punt snaps that accounted for this negative yardage and helped the Lions build an early 10-0 lead. Without those negative yards, HPU’s rush totals were a more respectable 118 yards. HPU will look to go 2-0 for the first time since 2006 this weekend when they take on Bacone.
It was a story book return for Mary Hardin-Baylor tailback Quincy Daniels in the Crusaders 42-7 victory over Southern Nazarene. The junior missed all most all of last season with an ugly knee injury. But on Saturday, he scored on a 32-yard run the first time he touched the ball. He also scored the second time he touched the ball on a two-yard run. In all, he carried the ball 10 times for 71 yards as UMHB recorded coach Pete Fredenburg’s 100th career victory. The Crusaders featured a three-headed monster at the tailback position as Daniels, Rickie Williams and Desmond Mays, who led the ASC in rushing last season at Mississippi College, combined for 211 yards on 34 carries. UMHB opens their ASC schedule at Texas Lutheran this weekend.
DePauw opened the season with a record-setting day while pounding Anderson 55-7. The Tigers racked up two school records with 665 total yards of offense and 494 passing yards. Quarterback Spud Dick passed for 405 of those yards, while completing 31-of-40 passes and a record tying five touchdowns. Receiver Alex Koors headed a deep receiving corps by grabbing 12 passes for 206 yards and three scores. DePauw hosts Centre (2-0) in the SCAC opener for both teams. The Colonels beat Maryville 24-17, while star runner Jonathon Pinque returning and rushed for a workman 92 yards on 28 carries after missing the opener. The winner of this game establishes themselves as a true contender in the SCAC race.
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