NOTES: Bulldogs Chase History On Trip To Saint Joseph's

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The calendar flips to November and the stakes are a bit higher for the Truman Bulldogs as they embark on a two-game road trip to close the regular season. The trip begins on Saturday in Rensselaer, Indiana against Saint Joseph's College at noon.

Truman (7-2 overall, 6-0 GLVC) finds themselves right in the thick of things for not only their first conference title since 1988 but also an NCAA Division II Tournament berth (first since 1994). The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in the GLVC and can clinch a share of the conference title with a win against the Pumas. In addition, Truman moved into the top seven, ranked sixth, in the latest Super Region 4 rankings.

Standing in the Bulldogs way for the first road trip is Saint Joseph's. The Pumas have been a thorn in the side of Truman since joining the GLVC. SJC handed Truman their first GLVC loss in 2013 in Week 10 at home 6-3 and dashed the Bulldogs title hopes in their innarguarl GLVC season. In 2014, the Pumas ended the regular season with a 35-9 thumping of the Bulldogs in Rensselaer. Last season, Truman edged out the Pumas 10-3 in another defensive battle in Kirkville.

Quarterback Jaden Barr has accounted for four passing and four rushing touchdowns over the last two weeks including three running scores in the Bulldogs 38-28 win over Quincy on Saturday night. The redshirt freshman has eight rushing TDs and 15 TD passes. He is one touchdown responsible for from cracking the Truman single-season top 10. Barr has completed 59% of his passes for 174 yards and rushed another 105 times for 255.

On the flip side, the Truman defense continues their stellar play with holding opposing teams to 20 points per game and under 365 yards of total offense. Through nine games, they are only four tackles for loss for tying last year's school record 79. Senior Austin Zoda has moved into the Top 10 in total tackles with 67 this season and 308 overall.

The Pumas are coming off a come-from-behind road win at Davenport (Mich.) on Saturday Night. SJC scored on two straight possessions midway through the fourth quarter to defeat the Panthers 24-20. Both teams were held under 300 total yards.

Saint Joseph's leads the conference in Turnover Margin at +8 and have the number two rusher in the GLVC in Martez Walker. The senior averages 95 yards per game while QB Philip Kimble is fourth in passing with 210 yards per contest.

Last year, SJC held Truman to 253 yards of offense but the Bulldogs converted on both of their redzone possessions while the Pumas did not in a 10-3 win by Truman in Kirksville.

UP NEXT:
The Bulldogs will look to avenge a 31-3 loss when then travel to McKendree for the regular season finale next Saturday. The Bearcats are third in the GLVC and will play at Quincy this week. It will be the 1,000^th game in the history of Truman Football.

YOUNG PUPS:
The Bulldogs have had eight true freshmen make their debuts this season. They are running back Jordan Salima, receivers Drew Slager and Cam Nisbet, full back Hayden Holt, offensive lineman James Mitchell, defensive lineman Jake Floyd and defensive backs Lawrence Woods and Jordan Siegel.

The top four leaders in total offense, Barr, Salima Andy Satulla and Malique Robbins and five of the seven all-purpose yardage leaders are in either their first or second year playing.

Of the 63 players that have taken the field this season 60% or 38 are listed as true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores.

BLOCK PARTY:
The Bulldogs are second in Division II with five blocked punts this season. Central State (Ohio) leads the nation with six. Truman has blocked five kicks four previous times in a season, last being 2009.

Two belong to redshirt freshman Taylor Manes (against Grand Valley St and Southwest Baptist) and one each by junior Jordan Brown (Midwestern St.) sophomores Jake Hays (Indianapolis) and Mitch Nicholls (Quincy).

COUNTDOWN TO 1,000:
The final game of the 2016 season at McKendree will be the 1,000^th game in Truman Football history. The Bulldogs began playing football in 1900 and have won 563 games, second most of any NCAA school in the state of Missouri and 10^th among all Division II schools in wins. Truman's overall record is 563-401-34 (.581).

MILESTONE WATCHES:
Senior defensive back Austin Zoda is eighth on the all-time tackles list with 308. He can pass Ricky Ruff (1986-88) with two, Tim Stull (1981-84) with three and Ludd Lienhard (1998-02) with seven.

Senior Joey Schenck has 122 pass receptions and is ninth on the Truman career list. Next of the radar is John Busby's 125 catches from 1981-85. Schenck has 1,245 receiving yards, just outside the top 25 among all receivers.

Junior place kicker Nick Dolezal has 17 career field goals which is ninth on the career list . Next up is 24 by Dave Austinson from 1981-82.

TARGETING:
Schenck has been targeted 53 times by Bulldog quarterbacks making 32 catches for 392 yards. Drew Slager has been thrown to 50 times; making 32 catches for 513 yards and two touchdowns.

A total of 15 receivers and backs have had passes their direction this season with 13 making receptions.

The 15 touchdown passes this season, all by Jaden Barr, is the most since the 2012 campaign.

PATH TO THE NCAA:
The second regional ranking was released on Monday and the Bulldogs are 6^th in Super Region 4 (see page 5 for explanations). The top seven in the region in the final poll will be selected for the NCAA Division II Tournament on November 13.

The Bulldogs have a 7-2 overall and Division II in-region record. Truman last made the NCAA Division II tournament in 1994.

MONEY PLAYS:
Slager leads Truman with 25 "Money" receptions. Those are plays that result in either a first down or touchdown. So 25 of Slager's 32 catches have resulted in first downs or touchdowns this year with 15 coming on third downs.

Jordan Salima has 30 rushes that have resulted in first down or touchdowns.

GLVC GAMES:
Truman is 20-9 since joining the GLVC in 2013 and has outscored opponents by 236 points. The Bulldogs have held opponents to 96.8 yards rushing per game and have had 33 sacks more than opposing defenses.

In the first half of league games, Truman has outscored GLVC foes by 287 points (473-186) and has allowed 54 first quarter points in the 29 league games (1.4 points per quarter).

Of the nine GLVC losses, four have come in the final two weeks of the regular season.

THIRD DOWNS:
This season, Truman has converted on third downs 44% of the time, up from 35% last season. In the first quarter of games, the success rate is 51% (20-of-39) while opponents in the first quarter is at 31% (10-of-32).

The offense has had 25 "three and outs" through the first nine weeks, last year through the same nine week span, the Bulldogs had 37 three and outs.

OTHER NUMBERS:

The Bulldogs are ranked first in the GLVC in the following stat categories: Fourth Down Conversions (64%), Blocked Kicks (5), Blocked Punts (5), Fumbles Lost (2), Rushing Defense (100.9/game) and Turnovers Lost (8).
Truman is one of seven teams in Division II with only eight turnovers this season and one of three teams with two fumbles lost.

The Bulldog defense has allowed only five individual opponents in conference to rush over 100 yards since joining the GLVC in 2013 (a span of 36 games). Last year, Bubba Jenkins of Southwest Baptist has the most by an opposing back with 125 yards.
The offense has already scored as many points this season (257) than they did last year (193).

Quincy Post Scripts:

The victory was the 37^th for Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt tying him for fifth on the all-time coaching list with Jack Ball (1983-89) and Eric Holm (1990-94).
Eric Poindexter's 217 yards receiving was the most by an opposing receiver since Brandan Green had 223 by Grand Valley State. The four TD passes by Robbie Kelley matched Tommy Corwin's 4-TD day against the Bulldogs in 2011.
Brock Rohler averaged 42.3 per punt on six attempts with four inside the Quincy.
Jordan Brown led Truman with 10 tackles with 1.5 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss. He also added 1 pass breakup and 1 QB hurry.
Truman held the ball for 32:44, with 10:56 in the fourth quarter. It was the first time this season that Quincy lost the time of possession in a game.

PLAYER NOTES:
Running Backs:
Freshman Jordan Salima leads team with 612 yards on 168 rushing attempts. He has five rushing touchdowns and one TD receiving…he had one, 100-yard rushing game (125 vs. Lincoln) and is averaging 19.5 carries per game…third in receptions with 26 for 221 and two touchdowns…he has 12 kick returns for 358 yards (29.8/return) with a long of 76…was the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week following the September 17^th game against Missouri S&T and the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week following the September 24^th game against Lincoln…currently ranked 50th in Division II in All-Purpose Yards/game (132.3) and 10th in Kick Returns (31.1).

Sophomore Andy Satulla has 187 yards on 51 attempts (3.7/carry) with two touchdowns…has three catches for 28 yards…longest rush of the season was 25 against Lincoln and most yards on the day was 54 also against the Blue Tigers…had a career best 172 yards last season against St. Francis and scored four touchdowns against William Jewell to earn GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Sophomore Malique Robbins has 44 carries for 147 yards and a long run of 16 against William Jewell…has seven receptions for 52 yards…has 12 kick returns for an 18.2 yards per return average and a long of 40…single game high is 17 rushes for 77 yards against Lincoln.

Quarterbacks:
Redshirt freshman Jaden Barr has started the last eight games (7-1 record) and has completed 134 of 226 passes (59%)…in the first quarter of games, Barr has completed 48-of-70 passes (68%)…he has 105 rushing attempts for 255 yards and a long of 24…has eight rushing touchdowns and 15 passing TDs…single game highs, passing 270 yards (vs. William Jewell) rushing 78 (vs. Indianapolis)…longest pass is 60 yards against Missouri S&T…currently leads Truman in scoring with 48 points, the last QB to lead a season in scoring was Matt Ticich in 2006 and it has only happened two times since 1958 (Dusty Burk – 2002).

Sophomore Randy Schroeder has started seven games including the season opener against Midwestern State…his career high is 274 yards in a single game last year against Southwest Baptist on 23 completions and longest pass was 61 yards also against SBU.

Receivers:
Senior Joey Schenck has been targeted 53 times with 32 receptions for 392 yards and six TDs…longest reception this year is 42 yards against William Jewell…season high is 101 yards on nine catches against Southwest Baptist…ninth in career Top 10 in career receptions (122) and has 1,245 yards and 12 career touchdown receptions…has three career 100+ yard receiving games with a high of 157 against William Jewell in 2015.

Freshman Drew Slager has 32 catches for a team-leading 513 yards…is averaging 16.0 yards per catch and has 25 receptions for either a first down or touchdown…has 15 receptions on third down and a total of 17 catches on 24 targets on third or fourth down…have four catches over 40 yards including a long of 60 against Missouri S&T…season high is 90 yards against SBU and most catches is six against Malone and William Jewell.

A total of 13 receivers have been targeted this year. Among the other notables are Jordan Salima with 26 catches for 221 yards and two touchdown,s junior Kyle Spratt with 10 receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns, junior Jordan Jorgenson with 13 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, freshman Cam Nisbet with three receptions for 40 yards and a long of 26 and three others by Andy Satulla and sophomore C.J. Brown.

The Bulldogs have 14 receiving touchdowns this year, up from seven a year ago.

Offensive Line:
Three seniors are among the five starters on the offensive line including returning all-conference honoree in center Brad Wellman. He is joined by left tackle Colby Dohrman and right guard Kyle VanNess. Wellman has started the last 40 games at center.

Sophomore Nick Verbeck (Left Guard) and junior Matt Kaysinger (Right Tackle) fill out the starting line up on the line.

The line has allowed 18 quarterback sacks for 109 yards and 70 tackles for loss for 240 yards. The Bulldogs are fourth in the GLVC in sacks allowed with 2.2 per game.

Defensive Line:
Redshirt freshman Sam Reeves leads Truman with 11.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Reeves has 43 total tackles with a single-game high of eight against Southwest Baptist…He was one win away from qualifying for the Division II National Wrestling tournament at 197 pounds.

Junior Isaiah Hinton has seven sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss…he had two sacks in Truman's win over SBU for 10 yards lost, including a fumble recovery…has single-game highs of six stops in three games this year.

Senior Kyle Leckrone has made 20 stops starting at tackle…he has one sack and 2.0 tackles for loss.

Junior Brett Judkins has 25 tackles including 6.0 for loss and two sacks in seven games…he had a key sack on third down against the University of Indianapolis late in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Jon Scheeler has 32 total tackles with 8.0 for loss and 4.5 sacks…has had a sack in five of the eight games this season…has been credited with three quarterback hurries.

Backers:
Senior Austin Zoda is the team leader in tackles with 67 this year and is in the Truman Top 10 in that category. Zoda has 308 career stops…his single game high this season is 10 vs. Southwest Baptist and William Jewell and his career high is 15 against Grand Valley St. as a freshman…he has 12 career games of 10 or more tackles.

Junior Ben Wellman is second on the team with 49 tackles…he had his second 10+ tackle game in season opener against Midwestern St. (10)…Wellman has two QB hurries and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Junior Jordan Brown started as a true freshman and has played in 31 career games…he has the most active tackles for loss for his career with 19.5…he has three interceptions with two being returned for scores…had three TFLs against Malone in week 2 and a season-high 11 stops in week 1 against Midwestern State.

Junior Ben Chaney has five career interceptions and the longest scoring play for the Bulldogs this season…Chaney's 97-yd INT return against Missouri S&T was the second longest return in school history…his two INTs this year have resulted in 141 return yards.

Junior D'Anthony Knight is tops on the team with 13 pass breakups…he has also been credited with a fumble force and recovery and picked off a pass against Indianapolis with an 18-yard return.

Senior T.J. Fine has 21 total tackles at corner back and picked off his first career pass in the endzone to kill a William Jewell scoring threat in week 8…has appeared in 41 games with 144 career tackles and is the active leader in 20 pass breakups.

Special Teams:
Sophomore punter Brock Rohler is averaging 39.9 yards per punt (48 attempts) with a long of 61 at Missouri S&T…was the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week following Truman's win over Lincoln in which he put all five of his punts inside the 20 yard line and 3 inside the 10…Rohler has 11 punts inside the 10 yardline this year…averages 55.5 yards per kickoff with five touchbacks.

Junior place kicker Nick Dolezal has converted on 6-of-10 field goal attempts with a long of 35 this year…he has made 28-of-29 point after attempts…for his career, he had made 17 of 24 FGs with a long of 43 and 55-of-61 PATs…his 17 FGs is ninth on Truman's career list and his 55 PATs is 10^th on Truman's career PAT list.

Junior Jordan Jorgenson has returned 26 punts for 295 yards (11.3/return) with a long of 48 (against Malone)…Jorgenson also has two returns for 36 yards (against Lincoln and Southwest Baptist) and another for 18 yards (Missouri S&T)…his 295 punt return yards is just 15 shy of the single-season record held by Alfonso Pugh (310 in 2002) in Truman single-season history.

Redshirt Freshman Taylor Manes is eighth in Division II and leads the GLVC with two blocked punts this season…he is the 16^th player in Truman history to block multiple kicks in a season with the last being Richie Schumacher in 2012…Marc Carson has the record of 3 in 1988.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Jaden Barr: QB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

#6 Jordan Brown: DB; 5' 7"; Junior

#19 Ben Chaney: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

#77 Colby Dohrman: OL; 6' 3"; Senior

#42 Nick Dolezal: K; 5' 10"; Junior

#23 T.J. Fine: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#63 Isaiah Hinton: DL; 5' 9"; Junior

#11 Jordan Jorgenson: WR; 5' 10"; Junior

#54 Brett Judkins: DL; 6' 0"; Junior

#74 Matt Kaysinger: OL; 6' 1"; Junior

#7 D'Anthony Knight: DB; 6' 0"; Junior

#75 Kyle Leckrone: DL; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#16 Jaden Barr
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#6 Jordan Brown
: 5' 7"; Junior
: DB

#19 Ben Chaney
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB

#77 Colby Dohrman
: 6' 3"; Senior
: OL

#42 Nick Dolezal
: 5' 10"; Junior
: K

#23 T.J. Fine
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#63 Isaiah Hinton
: 5' 9"; Junior
: DL

#11 Jordan Jorgenson
: 5' 10"; Junior
: WR

#54 Brett Judkins
: 6' 0"; Junior
: DL

#74 Matt Kaysinger
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OL

#7 D'Anthony Knight
: 6' 0"; Junior
: DB

#75 Kyle Leckrone
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DL