KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Ol' Hickory Stick will be on the line in this season opening conference game between the Bulldogs and Bearcats. Truman will be looking to break a nine-game losing streak to Northwest.
Truman is coming off a 4-7 season, a two-game improvement from 2009. The Bulldogs lost their final two games of the 2010 regular season by a total of four points, with both scores coming in the final minute of action.
Northwest is the defending MIAA?champion and will be bringing a conference record 46-game winning streak into Stokes Stadium. The Bearcats were 12-2 last season and are under the direction of new head coach Adam Dorrel.
This is the 77th time the Ol'Hickory Stick, the oldest trophy game in Division II, will be up for grabs and the 91st overall meeting between these two original members of the MIAA. The Bulldogs lead the series 54-32-4 but Northwest has won the last nine. Due to conference expansion, this game will end a 65-year consecutive meeting streak as the two team will not face each other until 2014 (in Maryville)?and 2015 in Kirksville.
Calling The Shots:
• Senior transfer J.B. Clark has earned the start for the Bulldogs against the Bearcats on Thursday night. Clark, a transfer from FCS - Lehigh University (Pa.), is no stranger to rivalry games as he was a two-time MVP in the oldest series in college football the Lehigh/Lafayette showdown. That game had been played 146 times, 21 times more than a Division III series between Williams/Amherst and 26 times more than Wisconsin/Iowa the BCS.
• Clark earned his first MVP award in the Lehigh/Lafayette game as a sophomore that broke a four-year drought against the Leopards. He passed for nearly 4,000 yards in 19 starts with 37 touchdown passes. He did not play in the 2010 season after recovering from an injury.
Returning All-Conference:
• Sophomore Dallas Grier and senior Dan Tweeton are returning all-conference honorable mention players on the offensive side of the ball. As a true freshman, Grier's 548 yards receiving last season was the most by a Bulldog wideout since Jeff Amundson's 824 yards in 2004 and most by a freshman since Andrew Blakley's 805 in 1999. Grier had 33 catches for an average of 54.8 yards per game and a long of 66 against Missouri Southern.
• Tweeton is the veteran of the offensive line having played in 27 games over the past three seasons, including the final 10 games in 2010. The O-Line was 38th in Division II last year in sacks allowed a just under 1.5 per game and fifth in the MIAA. Fellow senior Aaron Tjarks is second in longevity with 23 games played and 22 straight.
Getting The Carries:
• While the Bulldogs lose their top rusher from last season (quarterback Phil Davis, 833 yards), a pair of seniors and a junior will give the 'Dogs a triple threat look in the backfield. Junior Will Mosquera was second in rushing last season with 417 yards on 96 carries. In the last four games, Mosquera carried the ball 14.5 times per game and had a season-high 83 yards against Washburn.
• Senior Harnish Ayora had six rushing touchdowns last season and opened the 2010 season with 95 yards rushing and a pair of scores in the victory over St. Joesph's College (Ind.). The 25 carries was the most by a single Bulldog player last season. For his career, Ayora has 599 yards rushing and a 3.2 yards per carry average.
• Senior Donald Harvey is a dual threat as both a runner and receiver. Harvey has a career 713 yards rushing in 33 games while making 51 catches for 429 yards. In the season finale against UNO last year, Harvey went for a career-high 131 yards on the ground on 17 carries and scored three touchdowns.
Making The Catch:
• Following Dallas Grier's lead, the Bulldogs employ some veteran receivers with seniors Andy Mundwiller, Anthony Brown, juniors Michael Mayszak, Caleb Roberts and sophomore Paul Taylor. The group averaged 148.5 yards per game and a 12.7 yards per catch in 2010. Roberts was third on the team in catches out of the tight end position with 17 going for 177 yards.
Offensive Notebook:
• The Bulldogs were 80% in the redzone last season with 36 scores (25 touchdowns). In 2009, they were just 67% in the redzone with only 16 touchdowns in 36 opportunities.
• For the season, Truman was 38% in third down conversions, up from 35% in 2009. The offense converted on third and short yardage situations 52% of the time (three yards or less) and 42% of the time under six yards to gain. However, Truman found themselves with seven or more yards to go on third down 76 times out of 167 downs last year with a just a 30% success rate. The largest third down converted a year ago was a third and 22 by penalty against Washburn.
• The Bulldogs averaged 4.8 yards per playand 324.2 yards of total offense. They were at 4.2 and 278.0 in 2009.
• Last year the team rushed for 1,933 yards, the most by a Bulldog squad since 1997's 2,015 yards. The team has not had a 1,000 yard season rusher since Jerard Leverson in 2003 (1,012).
• The best single-game performances last year for the team were both against Nebraska-Omaha (336 rushing and 218 passing).
Returning All-Conference On Defense:
• The Bulldogs feature four returning all-conference performers on the defensive side of the ball in 2011. Senior Michael Elliott garnered honorable mention all-American honors last season after also being named to the first-team all-MIAA defense. Elliott led the team with 91 total tackles (50-41) notched three interceptions and forced a team-high three fumbles. Two of his career six interceptions have been returned for touchdowns. Elliott had the team-high in single-game tackles with 14 against Nebraska-Omaha.
• Senior linebacker Adam Reynolds was fourth in stops a year ago with 53 and was second on the team in tackles for loss with 9.5. Reynolds was an honorable mention MIAA choice.
• Junior Patrick Blackwell was the team's sack master last year with eight for 51 yards and 10 total tackles for loss for 56 yards. Blackwell was a key reason for the Bulldogs being second in the MIAA in sacks per game (2.45) and 34th in Division II.
• Fellow junior Tremaine Millender was also an honorable mention all-MIAA pick. Millender was second in tackles on the team with 61 but was also a key contributor in special teams with 19 kick returns for 505 yards and a 96-yard touchdown against Nebraska-Omaha.
Speaking of Sacks:
• The D recorded 27 pass sacks in 2010 for 216 yards, five more and nearly 100 more yards than 2009. 14 players were credited with sacks last year with Blackwell (8.0) and M.J. Kang (2.5) leading the balanced attack.
Defensive Notebook:
• Truman returns seven starters, including the top five in tackles on the defensive side of the ball and 28 returning letterwinners.
• Junior Richie Schumacher tied for second in total tackles with 61 a year ago and added seven tackles for loss.
• The defense had 19 takeaways in 2010 with one going for a touchdown return (Elliott against Missouri Southern). The Bulldogs offense score on the ensuing possession just six of those turnovers. Truman was third in the MIAA in turnover margin.
• The Bulldogs held four opponents to under 100 yards rushing and 300 yards of total offense last season. The low point rushing was by St. Joesph's College, who was set back for a -14 yards in the season opener while the most yards gained by an opponent on the ground was 299 against Nebraska-Omaha. The opposing teams averaged 146.6 yards on the ground, the fewest allowed by a Bulldog team since 2006.
• Levi Terrell of Nebraska-Omaha had the opponent high for rushing yards in a game with 226 in the season finale.
• The pass defense allowed 242 yards per game and kept seven of the 11 teams under 300 yards passing. Only Missouri Western's senior quarterback Drew Newhart eclipsed the 400 passing yard barrier with 413 against the 'Dogs while the two Harlon Hill finalists (Eric Czerniewski and Blake Bolles) were held to 267 and 149 respectively.
• Opposing teams were 36-of-42 (85.7%) in the redzone last year with 29 touchdowns and seven field goals.
• On third downs, opponents were only 34% successful which was second in the MIAA. Teams were 50% from inside of three yards but just under 30% when faced with a third and greater than seven. On fourth down, opponents were just 10-of-28 (36%).
• Sophomore Derek Koon will handle both place kicking duties this season after just being called upon for field goals and extra points in 2010. Koon was 11-of-18 in field goals with a long of 41 against Missouri Southern. However, Koon was just 2-of-8 outside of 30 yards during his freshman season. He converted on 22-of-26 extra point tries and led the team with 55 points scored.
• Junior Eric Phillips has handled the punting duties the past two seasons. In 2010, Phillips averaged 35.9 yards per punt with 22 fair caught and 19 ending inside the opponents 20 yardline. His best punt a season ago was 52 yards against Fort Hays State and his career best is 66 yards against Pittsburg State in 2009.
• Senior Donald Harvey and junior Tremaine Millender took the bulk of the kick returns last season with Millender taking 19 for 505 yards and a touchdown and Harvey returning 16 for 348 yards. Eight different players recorded a kick return in 2010 with an average of 21.3 yards per return. On average, Truman started on their own 31-yardline.
• The Bulldogs saw just 13 punts in 2010 with senior Andy Mundwiller returning eight for 48 yards. Donald Harvey had the longest return of the year with a 42 yard jaunt that set up a comeback against Emporia State in October. Truman averaged 7.6 yards per punt return.
• Coverage-wise, opponents averaged 19.2 yards per kick return with one touchdown and 6.3 yards per punt return. The average starting position following a kick off was at their own 32-yardline.
• Opposing field goal kickers were 8-of-12 with a long of 39 (Southwest Baptist) in 2010.
Tale of Two Halves:
• Truman was outscored by 39 points in the first half of all games (160-121) but in the second half has been outscored by 70 points (192-122). The biggest discrepancy was in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs were outscored 108-61.
All-Time Records:
• The Bulldogs have played 934 games all-time. The Bulldogs are 530-371-34 (.585) all time.
• Truman is 4-2 in overtime games. All six games have been played at Stokes Stadium with the last being on Oct. 24, 2009 against Emporia State (Truman lost 30-24).
• The Bulldogs have finished .500 or above in 70 of the 103 seasons of football played at the University and have had five wins or more in 62 seasons.
• Truman is the winningest NCAA program all-time in the state of Missouri with the .585 win percentage. The University of Missouri has the most wins with 617 with the Bulldogs second with 530.
• Truman's 530 wins is eighth all-time in Division II.
Bulldogs At Home:
• Truman is 228-132-9 (.634) at Stokes Stadium, the longtime home of the Truman Bulldogs. This will be the 81st year of the action at the stadium on campus. Truman was 2-4 in Kirksville last season.
Academic Success:
• The Bulldogs had 39 players earn distinction on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last year, the most of any conference program. To be eligible, a player must have a cumulative grade-point average above a 3.00. The team had a cumulative grade-point average of 2.95 following the 2010 spring semester.
Up Next:
• Truman will host Fort Hays State at 1:00 p.m. next Saturday in Kirksville. The Tigers are under new head coach Chris Brown. Fort Hays dealt the Bulldogs a 34-9 loss in Hays last season with 20 points coming in the fourth quarter to break the game open.
Inside The Series w/Northwest:
- This is the seventh oldest series in Division II?in terms of games played (91). The oldest series in Division II?is Turnpike Tussle between Washburn and Emporia State (107 games). This is the oldest trophy game in Division II (77th meeting).
- Northwest has won 14 of the last 15 games in the series, including the last nine, prior to that the Bulldogs won 19 of 21 games and a series record 11 straight.
- The two teams are responsible for 50 of the 84 conference championships awarded since 1924 when the league was reorganized.
- In the last 10 games played in the series, Truman has averaged 11.6 ppg, 79.4 yards rushing and 190.9 yards passing.
- In the last 10 games played in the series, Northwest has averaged 40.0 ppg, 180.1 yards rushing and 271.6 yards passing.
- The top individual performances during the past decade were:?
- Rushing - 169 yards by?Billy Creason (Northwest)?&?Xavier Omon (Northwest) in 2010 and 2004 respectively.
- Passing - 479 yards by Jake Czeschin (Truman) in 2004
- Receiving - 188 yards by Jeff Amundson (Truman)?in 2004
- Tackles - 15 tackles by Jason Douglas (Truman)?in 2004
- This is the last of 66 straight meetings between Truman and Northwest due to conference expansion. The two teams will next meet in Maryville in 2014 and back in Kirksville in 2015.
- This is the ninth time the Bulldogs and Bearcats have opened conference play against each other with Truman having a 4-3-1 edge (last 1988).
