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Truman State University Athletics

15FBTS01

Football

Football Kicks Off Season Saturday At Midwestern State

 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The 107th edition of Bulldog Football will kick off the 2015 season in North Texas on Saturday night when they travel to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls for a 7 p.m. game. The Bulldogs and Mustangs finished last year with identical 6-4 records.

This is the first meeting overall between the two schools and the first of a two-year scheduling agreement in which the Mustangs will make the return trip to Kirksville to start the 2016 season. It will also mark the first trip by a Bulldog squad into the state of Texas since 1938. Truman has played three games all-time against schools from Texas, a home victory in 1988 against West Texas A&M and lost two games to East Texas State (now Texas A&M-Commerce) back in 1937 and 1938.

Devonte Black returns for his second season as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. In nine games last year, Black threw for 1,092 yards and eight touchdowns while adding another 273 yards on the ground rushing. His 61.8% completion percentage was the third best in Truman history last season and he threw only three interceptions out of 178 pass attempts, the fewest ever by a starting quarterback at Truman since 1958.

Black's top targets will be Joey Schenck (17 catches, 146 yards), Derek Hammann (19 catches, 206 yards) and Felix Neboh (17 catches, 149 yards). In addition, sophomore Brass Woods and senior Even Cerven will add to the receiving corps this season.

Truman's ground game will need a new face with the graduation of Garrett White. A.J. Hartfield, who was a redshirt last season, is atop the depth chart out of fall camp. In two prior seasons, Hartfield has gained 539 yards on 116 carries and has also caught nine passes for 101 yards out of the backfield.  His single-game career high in rushing yards is 101 set against McKendree in 2013 on 27 carries with a long of 34.

The Bulldog offensive line is anchored by returning all-conference center Brad Wellman along with juniors Ethan Decker, Colby Dohrman, sophomore Matt Kaysinger and redshirt freshman Connor Borisenko.

On the defensive side, seniors Devin Gillespie and Nick Reichert return up front. Gillespie had 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks a year ago while Reichert added 10 TFLs and two sacks from his tackle position while also earning all-GLVC honors.  Free safety junior Austin Zoda has been among the top tacklers on the team and in the conference the past two years after making 75 stops with an interception a year ago.   Of the five defensive backs in the starting line-up, only senior Luke Lamar missed one game a season ago.

True freshman Brock Rohler will assume the punting duties from first team all-GLVC performer Jacob Lamp this year. Rohler was a second-team all-state kicker last season in Iowa and averaged 53.2 yards per kickoff. Derek Hammann earned all-GLVC honorable mentions in special teams last year by averaging 21.8 yards per kickoff return and a long of 64.

The Bulldog "D" allowed just 17.8 points per game a year ago, the fewest allowed in a single season since 1994. Truman limited opponents to 342 yards of total offense per game with 125.3 coming on the ground. The offense averaged 346 yards per contest and 22.5 points per game down from 26 points in the 2013 season.

Behind Enemy Lines:
The Mustangs have posted winning seasons for 15 straight seasons after last year's 6-4 campaign…senior Marqui Christian was named a D2Football.com preseason All-American and led MSU with 81 tackles in eight games last season…he is a two-time first team all-Lone Star Conference defensive back…Hagen Hutchinson is expected to make the start at quarterback for MSU…Hutchinson appeared in six games last season and was 14-of-22 with 142 yards passing…Dante Taylor is the top returning rusher with 677 yards on 106 carries a season ago….as a team, MSU averaged 38.9 points per game while allowing 28.4…the Mustangs averaged 493 yards of total offense with 274 coming on the ground per game.

A Bulldog Victory Would…
  • Give Coach Gregg Nesbitt his fourth win in a season opener in the past six years.
  • Be the 10th win in a season opener since 2000 (9-6).
  • Be the 13th road win during Coach Gregg Nesbitt's tenure as coach (12-14).
  • Be the 9th non-conference win during Coach Gregg Nesbitt's tenure as coach (8-1).
  • Be the 552nd win in program history.
Preseason Polls:
The Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll that was released on July 31. It is the third straight year Truman was picked second by league coaches behind returning GLVC champion, the University of Indianapolis. The Mustangs were picked third in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll behind defending LSC playoff champion Angelo State and regular season champion, Texas A&M Commerce.

In national polls, Midwestern picked up 39 votes but not enough to crack the American Football Coaches Association preseason Top 25.

2014 Season At-A-Glance:
First back-to-back winning seasons since 2006-07 with a 6-4 overall record and 5-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference…three of the four losses were by a combine 13 points with one loss occurring in overtime…10 players named all-GLVC with two unanimous choices in running back Garrett White and tight end Chico Orlando…White became first Bulldog since 2003 to rush for over 1,000 yards for a season and had the most rushing touchdowns (13) since Jarrett Anderson in 1996…defense allowed just 178 points, the fewest since 1982…28 players earned GLVC Academic All-Conference.

2014 Offensive At-A-Glance:
Truman averaged 4.70 yards per rush, the tenth best in single-season history and best since the 1996 campaign…the 58.7% completion percentage was the fifth best single-season and best since the 2002 season…Garrett White and Chico Orlando were unanimous first-team all-GLVC choices…White led the conference in rushing and was the first Bulldog to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season with 1,166 yards and 13 touchdowns…Devonte Black led squad in total offense with 151.7/game…single game highs were 350 yards rushing (7.3 per carry) against Southwest Baptist and 216 yards passing against Lincoln…single game total offense and scoring highs were 502 yards and 52 points vs. Southwest Baptist…offensive coordinator Jay Davis is in his sixth season at Truman.

2014 Defense At-A-Glance:
Bulldogs were 14th in Division II in scoring defense allowing 17.8 points per game…that average is the lowest scoring average by an opponent against the Bulldogs since the 1994 season (17.6)…held opponents to under 350 yards of total offense per game for second straight season…held Missouri S&T to a season-low 237 yards of total offense and kept five conference teams under 100 rushing yards…most yards allowed was 509 against Indianapolis…had five defensive players earn second team all-GLVC (Nic Abbate, Matthew Bell, Nick Reichert, Chris Stanton, Austin Zoda)…the 76 tackles for loss were the most in single-season history and the 24 sacks was the eighth most…defensive coordinator Kellen Nesbitt is in his sixth season at Truman.

Texas Homecoming:
The state of Texas is called home for 15 Bulldogs on the roster this year. Truman has had over 10 players from Texas on the roster for the past 10 years with a high of 25 back in 2009. Texas is the third most popular home for Bulldogs behind Missouri (57) and Illinois (27).

Road Warriors:
Seven of the first nine games will be played away from Kirksville and the Truman campus. It ties the 2005 season with the most road games on a single season schedule.

The Bulldogs will start the season with two straight non-conference road trips, to Midwestern State and Wayne (Mich.) State before playing in front of the home crowd on September 19. They will then embark on another two-game trip before Homecoming against Southwest Baptist on October 10. Following that game,
the Bulldogs will play three straight on the road until the final two games of the season in November.

Truman will travel nearly 5,000 miles roundtrip this season but will also play three of the four closest NCAA Division II schools on the road. Those three are Quincy, Lincoln and William Jewell that will account for a total of 483 of those roundtrip miles.

Bulldogs In The Non-Conference:
Truman is 8-3 in non-conference games under Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt. The Bulldogs spilt their two non-conference tilts in 2014 as they fell in overtime to Drake (Iowa) 13-7 and defeated Langston (Okla.) in Kirksville 17-12.

The 'Dogs will play three non-conference games in 2015. They will be at Wayne (Mich.) State in Detroit in week two and at the University of Saint Francis in Joliet, Illinois in week seven.

Bulldogs Return To TV
The October 31st conference game with rival Quincy has been selected by the NCAA Division II as part of their weekly national television package to be broadcasted on the American Sports Network. The ASN is comprised of 162 Sinclair Broadcast Group stations. The company, which launched last season, produced 250 college events in nine sports with plans to air more than 375 events this year. The game will be seen locally on KTVO CBS 3.2 and on KHQA CBS Channel 7 and nationwide on NCAA.com.

All Truman home games will be available on the GLVC Sports Network. The free webcasts which can be found on TrumanBulldogs.com/watch, will feature a simulcast of the radio broadcast provided by 104.7 FM KRES. The "Voice of the Bulldogs" Brad Boyer and "Mr. Bulldog" Hank Janssen return for their 21st season in brining Bulldog action to fans. In addition, all games will have a free audio webcast at CentralMoInfo.com/KRES.

Kings of Missouri
With a .581 all-time winning percentage, Truman is the "Top Dog" of all NCAA Football playing schools in the state of Missouri. The Bulldogs are second in terms of overall wins with 551 and trail the flagship institution of the state, the University of Missouri in that regard. Northwest Missouri (.575), Missouri Western (.550), Mizzou (.547) and Westminster College (.526) round out the top five of the 15 public and private schools in the state that play football under the NCAA banner.

Up Next:
Truman will head northeast next Saturday for their second non-conference game of the year. The Bulldogs will square off against Wayne State in Detroit, Michigan for an 11 a.m. (CDT) start. The Warriors were national runners-up in Division II in 2011while and finished 2014 with a 7-4 record.  
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Nic Abbate

#92 Nic Abbate

DE
6' 2"
Senior
Matthew Bell

#43 Matthew Bell

LB
6' 1"
Senior
Jacob Lamp

#13 Jacob Lamp

P
6' 1"
Senior
Chico Orlando

#84 Chico Orlando

TE
6' 2"
Senior
Chris Stanton

#30 Chris Stanton

DB
5' 9"
Sophomore
Garrett White

#28 Garrett White

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Devonte Black

#9 Devonte Black

QB
5' 11"
Junior
Connor Borisenko

#62 Connor Borisenko

OL
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Ethan Decker

#63 Ethan Decker

OL
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Colby Dohrman

#77 Colby Dohrman

OL
6' 3"
Junior
Devin Gillespie

#59 Devin Gillespie

DL
6' 0"
Senior
Derek Hammann

#5 Derek Hammann

WR
5' 8"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Nic Abbate

#92 Nic Abbate

6' 2"
Senior
DE
Matthew Bell

#43 Matthew Bell

6' 1"
Senior
LB
Jacob Lamp

#13 Jacob Lamp

6' 1"
Senior
P
Chico Orlando

#84 Chico Orlando

6' 2"
Senior
TE
Chris Stanton

#30 Chris Stanton

5' 9"
Sophomore
DB
Garrett White

#28 Garrett White

6' 0"
Senior
RB
Devonte Black

#9 Devonte Black

5' 11"
Junior
QB
Connor Borisenko

#62 Connor Borisenko

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
OL
Ethan Decker

#63 Ethan Decker

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
OL
Colby Dohrman

#77 Colby Dohrman

6' 3"
Junior
OL
Devin Gillespie

#59 Devin Gillespie

6' 0"
Senior
DL
Derek Hammann

#5 Derek Hammann

5' 8"
Junior
WR