Football 10/11/2017 8:03:00 AM

NOTES: Bulldogs Prepare For Top Ten Test On Homecoming

The Grand Valley State Game

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The Bulldog Football team will look to regroup after a defensive goal line stand by Southwest Baptist in the last minute of Saturday's 21-17 loss when they host nationally-ranked #7 Grand Valley (Mich.) State for Homecoming.

The Bulldogs will face the Lakers for the third time in the last five years and first time in Kirksville since 1987. The series between the two schools is tied at two apiece with Truman winning the first two matchups in the 80s while the Lakers have won the two most recent meetings.

Truman led Southwest Baptist by 10 entering the fourth quarter on Saturday after scoring on three straight possessions at the end of the first half and the start of the second. However, the Bearcats put together touchdown drives in the fourth quarter then thwarted a first and goal situation cumulating with a broken up pass on fourth and goal from the seven with 1:05 left to preserve their win.

Jaden Barr threw for a career high 275 yards and scored both touchdowns on one-yard plunges. Drew Slager caught a season-high seven passes for his first 100+yard receiving game as a Bulldogs (102 yards).

The Lakers started the 2017 campaign as the second ranked team in Division II behind Northwest Missouri State. After being stunned in their opener at Indianapolis 24-20, Grand Valley State has reeled off five straight wins with an average margin of victory being 35.6 points. They downed Wayne (Mich.) State 45-27 in their last outing.

In Allendale last season, the Lakers scored 24 points in the first quarter and downed the Bulldogs 41-3. Running back Martayveus Carter carried the ball 13 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Bart Williams threw for 279 and another two scores. Truman was held to 27 total rushing yards and 127 yards of total offense that afternoon. The Bulldogs first two drives of the game ended in interceptions in which the Lakers turned into points.

For the season, Jordan Salima is leading the Bulldogs in rushing with 541 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 90.2 yards per game. Barr has completed 57% of his passes for 954 yards and six scores and Jordan Jorgenson and Slager are tied with 21 receptions apiece with Jorgenson having 305 receiving yards and Slager 190. Freshman Jake Ellis has nine catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Linebackers Justin Mikeworth (46) and Bryan Edwards (44) lead the defense in tackles and defensive end Sam Reeves is among the national leaders in sacks with 6.5 for 43 yards.

COACHES…Truman is led by Gregg Nesbitt in his eighth year at his alma mater and has a 39-43 overall record. Nesbitt is fifth on the all-time victories list at Truman and is the sixth Bulldog taskmaster to have also played and lettered for the team he now leads. Matt Mitchell is also in his eighth season and is 69-20 with four NCAA Division II playoff appearances and two semifinal appearances.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS…Running back Martayveus Carter was the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week as he had 218 yards rushing, including a school record 97-yard TD run in their victory over Wayne State last Saturday…Carter is 115 yards away from breaking the GVSU career rushing record of 3,630 yards by James Berezik (2007-09)…he has 718 yards this season with seven touchdowns and is averaging 8.9 yards per carry…quarterback Bart Williams has completed 63% of his passes for 1,225 yards and 15 TD strikes…Brandon Bean has the bulk of catches with 35 for 398 yards and five scores…the defense has held opponents to 10.7 points per game this year with two shutouts, they have 13 sacks and 46 tackles for loss…they have forced seven fumbles and picked off five passes.

SW BAPTIST POSTGAME TIDBITS

This was the first lost this season after the Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter with the lead. They are 34-8 all-time since 2010 when leading after three quarters.
Four of those eight losses, including Saturday's were double-digit leads lost. The last one was October 31, 2015 at Quincy when Truman led by 13 entering the fourth quarter and lost 23-19.
After the Bulldogs started a possession at the SBU 45 with 5:23 left in the third and up 17-7, they gained a total of 10 yards in the three succeeding possessions while SBU racked up 144 yards in back-to-back possessions (18 plays) to take the lead.
Truman had a season-high five drives go for more than 10 plays with a season-high of 15 plays on a single possession. Four other drives were three and outs and the final two drives were just five plays.
The Bulldogs had a season-high 48 rushing attempts but averaged 2.3 yards per carry. Last season's single-game mark was 53 against Missouri S&T.
Truman ran a season-high 80 offensive plays (4.8 yards per play). Last year's high was 77 against both Malone and UINDY. The last time Truman topped 80 offensive plays was in 2015 against William Jewell (88).
Jaden Barr completed 23-of-32 for a career-high 275 yards and scored two, one-yard rushing touchdowns.
Drew Slager had his first career 100-yard receiving game with 102 yards on seven catches. Jordan Salima caught six passes for 42 yards and Jake Ellis nabbed four for 46.
It was the third time this season that Truman had fewer rushing yards than their opponent (0-3). The Bulldogs had three times last season in 11 games that they rushed fewer yards than their opponent and lost all three.
Five of the six total scores (FGs/TDs) were scored in the east endzone, the direction the wind was howling toward.
The quarterbacks (Barr & T.J. Edwards) accounted for three touchdowns, all one-yard quarterback sneaks.
The Bulldogs committed a season-low two penalties for 10 yards.

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK…Truman is the only team in Division II that has not lost a fumble this season. Five FBS teams have not lost a fumble, including Miami, Iowa State and Virginia, two FCS schools (Western Illinois/Montana State) and 11 Division III schools are in that category as well. The Bulldogs lost just three fumbles last season to finish ranked fourth in Division II.

AGAINST THE GLIAC…Since 2010 Truman has played four games against teams from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and are 0-4. Two have been played against Grand Valley State and one against Wayne State and another this season against Michigan Tech.

RETURNING ALL-GLVC…The Bulldogs placed 15 players on the All-GLVC list last season, the most by the team since the 1990 season. Of the 15 players, returning will be first team members, sophomore Sam Reeves and junior Ben Wellman. Second team returners are sophomore Jaden Barr, sophomore Jordan Salima, junior Nick Verbeck, senior Jordan Brown, sophomore Bryan Edwards and honorable mention choices sophomore Drew Slager, senior Isaiah Hinton and junior Brock Rohler.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS…The Bulldogs had 42 players named to the GLVC All-Academic team last season, up from 29 the previous two years. To earn Academic All-GLVC, a player must have a 3.3 cumulative GPA or a 3.4 GPA over the academic year. The team had a team GPA last year of 2.94 and is ranked among the top public schools in the NCAA Academic Success Rate.

SETTING THE BARR…Quarterback Jaden Barr is 9-6 as a starter. He has thrown for 2,859 yards with 23 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. Barr is now 15^th in career passing yards. His single game high in passing is 275 yards against Southwest Baptist last week and rushing is 116 yards against Michigan Tech this year. Barr has accounted for 37 touchdowns in his career.

A "TRUMAN"…Running back Jordan Salima is a graduate of Truman High School in Kansas City and led the Bulldogs in rushing and all-purpose yards last season. Salima has four career 100+yard rushing games with a high of 147 against Lincoln in 2017. He is 19^th on the Truman career-rushing list with 1,237 yards. Salima is tied for first on the team with 21 receptions and has 190 yards. He has 53 receptions for his career for 423 yards. Salima has 2,081 all-purpose yards.

OFFENSIVE QUICK HITS…The Bulldogs have had 13 rushes from scrimmage go for over 15 yards and 20 pass plays go for over 20 yards…Truman is second in the GLVC in tackles for loss allowed per game at 6.20 and second in sacks allowed with 1 per game or five total this year…Jordan Jorgenson leads the receiving corps with 21 catches for 305 yards and freshman Jake Ellis had nine catches for 115…Truman is averaging 4.9 yards per play and 144.3 rushing and 166.3 passing yards per game.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN…Kick returner Malique Robbins is 37th in Division II and first in the GLVC with 391 kick return yards this season. Robbins is averaging 26.1 yards per return and has three of his 15 go for over 40 yards.

SACKMASTER…Sophomore Sam Reeves has 17 sacks in two seasons as a Bulldog which is one shy of the career top 10 at Truman. Reeves is 10^th in Division II this year with 6.5 and leads the GLVC with 1.5 per game. Reeves has 6.5 of the 12 Truman sacks this season.

NOSE FOR THE BALL…Sophomore Bryan Edwards leads Division II with four fumbles recovered. Two other Division II players have recovered four this season. Edwards is second on the team in tackles with 44, two back of leader Justin Mikeworth.

BRINGIN THE HEAT…The Bulldog defense set a school record last year with 90 TFLs. Five of the top six years on the record books have been set by a Bulldog defense coached by Defensive Coordinator Kellen Nesbitt. Truman has averaged 6.8 tackles for loss per game since 2010. This year, Truman has 37 tackles for loss for 117 yards through six games and has 12 sacks for 76 yards lost.

DEFENSIVE QUICK HITS…Jordan Brown has gone over 200 career tackles (205) and is the Bulldogs active leader in stops…Brown has 35 this season and three pass breakups…Ben Chaney has six career interceptions and has one of the three by the defense this season…A.J. Devecchi is second on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss as a redshirt freshman…the defense has allowed 28.2 points per game and 360.2 yards of total offense…they have allowed 166 rushing yards per game and 193.8 passing yards per game.

SPECIAL TEAM NOTEABLES… Brock Rohler has averaged 37.8 yards per punt with six of his 28 inside the opponents 20, he is averaging 57.1 yards on kickoffs with six touchbacks…Danny Spencer has made five of eight field goal attempts with a long of 42, he is 13-of-14 on extra point attempts…Jordan Jorgenson has returned nine punts for 62 yards (6.9) with a long of 14…Jorgenson set a Truman record last season with 375 punt return yards (11.7 average).

DOUBLE-DIP…With the closure of Saint Joseph's College in the GLVC, the Bulldogs were left with 10 games on the schedule. Fellow co-champion Southwest Baptist was left with nine games, one below the NCAA Division II minimum for qualification to the national tournament. The two teams had an open date on November 4 and agreed to play again. The Bulldogs have doubled up on an opponent three times in their history, against William Jewell in 1904 (split), Central Methodist in 1909 (Truman wins) and again against William Jewell in 1909. The 1909 games were marred with controversy as the Cardinals won the first game 49-0 but were awarded a 1-0 win after the Bulldogs left the field in protest during the second game.

AROUND THE GLVC…UINDY and Missouri S&T are the lone unbeaten teams in conference play…the Greyhounds are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the GLVC while garnering a national ranking of fifth in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. The Miners are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.

S&T's Deshawn Jones broke a school and GLVC record with 275 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns in the Miners' 52-30 win at Saint Francis on Saturday to earn the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors. UINDY's Cole Sigmund has a conference best 20 tackles in a game this season in their road win at McKendree 28-10 to earn Defensive Player of the Week accolades. William Jewell's Bulla Graft totaled five kick returns for 141 yards to win the Special Teams Player of the Week.

UP NEXT…The Bulldogs will head out for the final two road games of 2017. Next Saturday, Truman will be at William Jewell for a 6 p.m. start and the following week the Bulldogs will take the short trip over to Quincy to renew their rivalry with the Hawks.

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Players Mentioned

#83 Jake Ellis: TE; 6' 7"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent

#15 Jaden Barr: QB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

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

#47 A.J. Devecchi: DL; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#48 Bryan Edwards: LB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#7 Isaiah Hinton: DL; 5' 9"; Senior

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

#33 Justin Mikeworth: LB; 5' 11"; Junior

#9 Sam Reeves: DL; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#5 Malique Robbins: RB; 5' 8"; Junior

#88 Brock Rohler: P; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#83 Jake Ellis
: 6' 7"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent
: TE

#15 Jaden Barr
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: QB

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

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

#47 A.J. Devecchi
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: DL

#48 Bryan Edwards
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: LB

#7 Isaiah Hinton
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DL

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

#33 Justin Mikeworth
: 5' 11"; Junior
: LB

#9 Sam Reeves
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DL

#5 Malique Robbins
: 5' 8"; Junior
: RB

#88 Brock Rohler
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P