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Truman State University Athletics

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Football

Game Notes: Bulldogs Prepare For Big Showdown With Saint Joseph's

Truman State University Bulldog Football Game Notes:
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –A high stakes November showdown will take place this Saturday as the Truman Bulldogs host the Saint Joseph's College Pumas for Senior Day at Stokes Stadium at 1:00 p.m. The Bulldogs have won five straight and seven of nine heading into the game.

The Match-Up:
Two teams with nearly identical stats are set to square off on the Stokes Stadium turf on Saturday. The game features the top two rushers in conference only statistics in Saint Joseph's Braxton Shelton (108.8/g) and Truman's Garrett White (94.0/g) while the teams are 1-2 in rushing defense with the Pumas allowing 45.6/game and the Bulldogs 50.2/game in league games.

Overall, the teams are both scoring 30 points per game and allowing 21 with the Pumas averaging a league-best 430.3 yards per game in total offense with Truman putting up 350 yards in all games this season.
Truman has allowed just three quarterback sacks in five GLVC games while the Pumas have given up nine. On the flip side, Saint Joseph's have notched a league-best 26 sacks to Truman's second place ranking with 21 QB sacks.

About The Bulldogs (7-2; 5-0 GLVC):
It's been since 2001 since a Truman Football team has reeled off five straight victories and has won eight games during a season. The Bulldogs won their fifth straight on Saturday with a 35-27 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan College.  Truman built up a 35-7 lead early in the third quarter before the Panthers scored 20 straight points and had the ball down eight. The Bulldog defense quelled the rally with a key stop and the first-team offense ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

Garrett White earned GLVC Player of the Week honors with his second straight 100-yard rushing game and fourth of the season. White ran for a career-high 158 yards and three touchdowns, including a 57-yard scamper on his second play of the day. He leads the team with 803 yards rushing and a 6.7 yards per carry average while scoring nine touchdowns.  White enters this week with the second highest single-season rushing total by a Bulldog in 10 years (833 – Phil Davis in 2010).

Quarterback Conrad Schottel has completed 60% of his passes for 1525 yards with 12 touchdowns to two interceptions. Dallas Grier and Jared Haferbier each have 33 catches with Grier accumulating 400 yards receiving to Haferbier's 263.

Linebacker Matthew Bell leads the defense with 68 total tackles and is tied with Nic Abbate with five sacks this season. Bell has 10 tackles for loss and an interception while Abbate has 15 tackles for loss and 45 total tackles.

Truman has 67 tackles for loss this season for 299 yards after recording 75 for 304 last season.

The Bulldogs also feature one of the top special teams units in Division II football. They are eighth in Kickoff returns at 26.5 per, second in net punting at 39.4 and first in punt return defense allowing a -1.57 yards per return. Junior Jacob Lamp averages 40.7 yards per punt, senior Derek Koon has made 48 career field goals and returners Aaron Hartfield and Tremaine Millender average over 30 yards per kick return.

About the Pumas (6-3; 3-2 GLVC)
Saint Joseph's pushed co-conference leader Indianapolis on Saturday. The game was tied at 17 apiece in the fourth quarter before the Greyhounds got a 26-yard pass from Connor Barthel to Kevin Teglia and turned a second interception on the day into a field goal to lead 27-17 with just under eight minutes left to play. Billy VandeMerkt found Alphonso Hines for a touchdown pass to close the gap but the Greyhounds did not allow the Pumas back onto the field as they converted on three third downs and consumed the final six minutes to secure the win.

The Pumas have rushed as a team for over 2000 yards this season with Braxton Shelton leading the way with 956 yards on 154 attempts and Kobi Cook adding 640 on 118. VandeMerkt has completed 59% of his passes for 1460 yards and 13 touchdowns with Julian Walker and Alphonso Hines each catching over 30 passes and over 400 yards.

Defensively, the Pumas have registered 33 sacks and 82 tackles for loss along with eight interceptions and six fumble recoveries. Joel Wimbley leads the team with 78 total tackles and seven sacks while Gary Yeoman has 7.5 sacks and 49 total stops.

The Coaches:
Gregg Nesbitt is in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. He is 19-23 overall on the Bulldogs sideline with the team going 14-1 during his tenure when leading at the half. Nesbitt played and lettered for the Bulldogs in the late 70s, returned to be an assistant coach in the early 90s and is now in his third stint as a member of the Truman community.

Cory Sanders started as the defensive coordinator for the Pumas in 2010 and was elevated to head coach in 2011. After a 2-8 season, the Pumas were 6-5 last season overall, the first winning season since the 2006 campaign for the school. Sanders is a graduate of Saint Joseph's and was a three-year captain of the Pumas playing in the maximum 44 games during his career.

The Series:
The teams played a home and home series in 1959 and 1960 with the Bulldogs winning 18-16 and 20-0. They met most recently in the season opener in 2010 with the Bulldogs also prevailing 23-13 on the road. Two notable receivers made impressive debuts that day. Truman's Dallas Grier caught five passes for 106 yard in his Bulldog debut while SJC's Julian Walker grabbed eight for 81 in his first collegiate game. Both Walker and Grier had over 1,000 receiving yards last season.

Race For The GLVC Title:
Two weeks to go and there are two teams perfect in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The Bulldogs and Indianapolis Greyhounds are both 5-0 entering this week with both at home. Truman hosts Saint Joseph's while UIndy plays Quincy (Ill.).

If Truman and UIndy both win on Saturday it will set up a "Winner-Takes-All" scenario for the GLVC title. A loss by either team would still have the teams playing for a share of the conference crown.

Indianapolis is the defending GLVC champion after winning the inaugural title last year with a 8-0 record.  The Bulldogs won 26 MIAA titles from 1924-2012 with the last coming during the 1988 season.

NCAA Regional Rankings:
In the second set of NCAA regional rankings that determine the top six teams from Super Region 4 for the Division II Playoffs.
The Bulldogs were not listed among the top 10. Colorado State Pueblo and Ohio Dominican are 1-2 followed by Saginaw Valley, Midwestern State, Indianapolis and Grand Valley State.

Bulldogs Earn GLVC Player Of Week Honors:
Truman has had a GLVC Football Player of the Week seven times in nine weeks of action. Jacob Lamp is a two-time GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week while Tremaine Millender and A.J. Harfield has also been the special teams winner. Conrad Schottel and Garrett White have earned the offensive award and Austin Zoda was the defensive winner on October 26.

The seven weekly award winners are the most by the program since leagues started giving out the award in 1994. Truman had six MIAA selections in 1996 with five going to Harlon Hill winner Jarrett Anderson.

What's Hot:
  • Truman is 545-387-34 (.582) all-time since 1900. The .582 winning percentage is the best by any NCAA I Football playing school in the state of Missouri. Next highest is Northwest Missouri State at (.567). The 545 wins is second to the University of Missouri's 638 and 23 more than the Northwest Bearcats.
  • The 2013 Bulldog team is one of 35 in the history of the program to win at least seven games in a season. The last was an eight-win 2001 team. 15 Truman teams have won eight games in a season and six have the school record with nine single-season victories.
  • Truman has had five kick returns go for over 50 yards this season. Tremaine Millender has a 100 and 54 yard return, Aaron Harfield has a 68 and 59 yard return and Garrett White has a 52 yard return. 10 kick returns take up the 22 Truman plays that have gone for over 30 yards.
  • Seven of the 37 punts by Jacob Lamp have been returned for a total of -11 yards while two others have been muffed resulting in fumble recoveries for the Bulldogs. Truman is second nationally in net punting average at 40.0 and first in punt return defense at -2.83 per return. The longest return this season is six yards by Kentucky Wesleyan's Jeff Ward.
  • The Bulldogs are 11th in the nation in fewest penalties per game at 4.6 for 42.1 yards.
  • The Truman defense has forced 13 turnovers that have led to 45 Bulldog points (53%).  The Bulldogs have forced a turnover in all but three games since Kellen Nesbitt took over as defensive coordinator in 2010.
  • Dallas Grier is currently in third place all-time in Truman receptions and receiving yards entering Saturday's game.  Grier passed Fontaine Walker in receptions and now has 194 for his career with eyes on second place Rich Otte's 206 catches from 1989-1992. Grier's 2,573 yards receiving moved him past Russell Evans's total of 2,387 from 1983-86. He is 321 yards away from Otte's career yards for second place.
  • The last time Truman has won five straight conference games was in 2001 when they defeated Missouri S&T, Southwest Baptist, Washburn, Missouri Southern and Northwest Missouri. The last 5-0 conference start was in 1997 when the Bulldogs won their first six league games.
Team Statistical Trends:
  • Offensively, Truman is averaging 30.0 points per game with a season-high of 45 against William Jewell in week six. The Bulldogs average 163.9 yards on the ground and 191.1 through the air for a total offense average of 355.0. The 30 points average is the most by the Bulldogs since they averaged 33 per game in 2002.
  • Defensively, Truman is allowing 21.9 points per game with 126.1 yards rushing and 230.4 passing for a total defensive number of 356.6. It is the fewest points allowed average since the team gave up 21.1 in 1998.
  • Truman has allowed just three redzone opportunities in the first five conference games while offensively, the Bulldogs have had 26 chances with 23 scores during league play.
  • Truman has started 30 of their 113 drives on the opponent's side of the field and has scored in 16 of those possessions (53%). Opponents have started eight drives in Truman territory out of 117 possessions and have scored touchdowns on six occasions.
  • The Bulldogs average starting position is their own 39 while opponents have started nearly 14 yards back on their own 25. Truman has started just seven drives this season inside their own 20 yard line whereas opponents have started 33 of 117 drives inside their own 20.
  • Truman is 67% successful on third down when facing less than five yards while opponents are 53% successful when facing the same situation. Longer than five yards, the conversion percentage drops to 24% for Truman and 23% for opponents.
Individual Statistical Trends:
  • Garrett White and Aaron Hartfield have seen the bulk of the carries for the Bulldog running game. White has 120 attempts for 803 yards and a 6.7 per carry average while Hartfield has 81 rushes for 391 yards and a 4.8 per carry mark.
  • Hartfield had a season-high 27 carries against McKendree in week seven while White posted a season/career high 158 yards in a week nine victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. He has the longest rush from scrimmage this season with an 80 yard touchdown run against William Penn in week three and three over 50 yards.
  • Last year, White had 585 yards rushing on 118 carries.
  • Conrad Schottel has completed 61% of his passes for 1525 yards and has 27 career touchdown passes. Sophomore Zach Tobin is 9-of-17 and redshirt freshman Devonte Black is 9-of-15 in a spot duty this year.
  • Dallas Grier has hauled in 14 career touchdown passes over his four seasons and is averaging 66.0 per game and 12.3 per catch this season. Has had nine 100-yard receiving days with 106 against Central Missouri being his season-high this season.  Grier has six games in his career when he caught 10 or more passes and had 10 in week four against Central Missouri.
  • Jared Haferbier is tied with Grier with 33 receptions and second in yards with 263 yards while Brett Nagel, Chico Orlando and Kurt Loyd have25, 22 and 15 catches apiece.
  • Nic Abbate has 15.0 of the team's 67 tackles for loss this year and 28.5 for his career.  He is fourth in career tackles for loss since the 1998 season trailing leader Patrick Blackwell's 37.5. Matthew Bell is second with 10.0 tackles for loss and five sacks.
  • Derek Koon has made 48-of-72 career field goal attempts and is Truman's career leader in makes. His long is 46 yards during the 2012 season and has attempted four kicks of 50 yards or more.  Koon is 106 of 118 on extra point attempts and has 250 career points.
  • Koon is third among active Division II field goal kickers with 48 made and is two away from cracking the top 10 in that category. 
  • Dallas Grier has six punt returns for 79 yards this season for an average of 13.2 and a long of 39. During his return career, Grier has 24 for 284 yards.
  • Tremaine Millender and Aaron Hartfield have 17 kick returns this season with Millender averaging 38.8 yards with a long of 100 and Harfield averaging 31.6 and a long of 68. Millender has 34 career returns for 27.7 yard per return average and two touchdowns.
  • Jacob Lamp has 37 punts this season for a 40.7 yards per punt average. Lamp has a long of 74 in week seven against Missouri S&T and has nine total over 50 yards with 19 being spotted inside the opponent's 20 yard line.
This Date In Bulldog History:
The Bulldogs are 5-5 on this date in history with four of the 10 games decided by three points or less.

Truman won 43-42 in 1991 at Missouri Southern with Chris Livingstone tossing a 16-yard TD pass to Fontaine Walker with 16 seconds left that eliminated the Lions from postseason contention. Livingstone's throw culminated a three-play 45-yard drive after MSSU went up 42-37 with 45 seconds left to play.

In 1985 the Bulldogs shocked top-ranked and unbeaten Central State (Ohio) by a 46-45 score. The Marauders jumped out to a 20-0 lead but the Bulldogs scored 35 of the next 38 points to lead 35-23 at half. Central State stormed back to take a 45-40 lead with 1:50 on the clock. Chris Hegg then engineered the Bulldogs down the field finding Larry Tisdale on third and 10 from the 25 for the go-ahead score. Hegg threw for then a school record 447 yards on 31 completions.

The Bulldogs other one-point victory on this date occurred back in 1957 in a 14-13 win at Central Missouri.

One final game of note was a 1996 contest at Emporia State that featured the top two running backs in the country. Jarrett Anderson punched his ticket for the Harlon Hill ceremony with a six touchdown performance and tied Paley Mills' single-game rushing record with 306 yards in Truman's 55-20 win over the Hornets. Brian Shay of ESU put up 189 yards rushing that day and would give the MIAA two Harlon Hill winners taking the trophy following the 1998 season following Anderson's 1996 win.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will close the 2013 regular season at the defending league champion University of Indianapolis next Saturday. The game will determine either a undisputed conference champion or a shared champion regardless of this week's action. The teams have never met before on the gridiron before this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (eastern time).   
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