Football 10/4/2017 8:20:00 AM

NOTES: Bulldogs & Bearcats Battle In Match-Up Of Past League Champions

The Southwest Baptist Game

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The Truman Football team will begin a stretch of four home games in six weeks when they take on Southwest Baptist University in a showdown of last year's co-Great Lakes Valley Conference champions.

This will be the first of a rare two games against the Bearcats this season with a follow meeting also taking place on the Stokes Stadium turf on November 4^th. That rematch was precipitated with the closure of Saint Joseph's College last June leaving holes in both team's schedules.

It will be the home opener reboot for the Bulldogs as the September 16 home game was marred by a nearly three hour weather delay that started at the end of warm-ups. The game against Missouri S&T did not kickoff until 9:45 p.m. and ended near 1 .m.

The Bulldogs and Bearcats are both 1-2 in the GLVC having both taken a loss to the University of Indianapolis. Truman defeated Lincoln for their victory and lost to Missouri S&T while SBU defeated Quincy but lost their second game to McKendree last Saturday.

Truman scored on their first two possessions in their matchup with the #10 Greyhounds on Saturday night. The Bulldogs led 10-0 but UINDY scored 31 of the next 34 points to down the Bulldogs 34-19. Running back Jordan Salima notched his second straight and third of the season 100+ yard rushing game with 127 yards on 22 carries.

The high octane Southwest Baptist offense was held to only 291 yards while their defense gave up 481 in a 28-7 road loss to McKendree on Saturday. SBU converted on two of 13 third down attempts and quarterback T.J. Edwards was sacked four times by McKendree.

In last year's meeting with Southwest Baptist, the Bulldogs scored the first 26 points and downed the Bearcats 26-16 for their eighth straight win over Southwest Baptist and 13^th out of the last 14 meetings since 2000. Quarterback Jaden Barr was 18-of-25 for 245 yards and two touchdowns while Edwards threw for 325 yards on 32-of-49 passing attempts.

COACHES…Truman is led by Gregg Nesbitt in his eighth year at his alma mater and has a 39-42 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. Robert Clardy is in his third season and was the GLVC Coach of the Year last year after leading the Bearcats to a 10-2 overall record and their first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS…Southwest Baptist comes into the game averaging 392 yards of total offense per game with 273 per game coming through the air…quarterback T.J. Edwards has completed 99 of 173 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns…Edwards was all-GLVC last season after breaking the league record with 3,927 yards of total offense last year…his three top targerts are Kendrick Payne (26-388), Jerminic Smith (25-316) and Chris Robb (24-256)…Michael Brance (35-137) and Larry Nixon (30-115) lead the running backs…defensively, SBU allows 22.2 points per game and 322.4 yards…Tyler Curts leads the defense with 51 total tackles and De'shawn Tone has a team-leading 8.5 tackles for loss.

UINDY POSTGAME TIDBITS

Truman had their second most yards of total offense for the season with 376 yards on 73 plays from scrimmage. UINDY.
Jordan Salima had his fourth career 100+yard rushing game, third this season and second straight. He carried the ball 22 times for 127 yards with a long of 34. Salima entered Truman's Top 20 in career rushing yards (1,171 yards) and has 298 career rushing attempts.
Salima finished with 168 all-purpose yards on the night.
After not making a catch in three straight games, two of which he played in, Drew Slager had a team-high four receptions for 21 yards.
Freshman Jake Ellis caught his second touchdown pass of the season and made a key grab on a fourth down conversion in the fourth quarter that led to his TD.
Garrett Willis for UINDY had the 10^th best receiving game by an opponent against the Bulldogs since 1993 with 190 yards on eight catches. Willis caught two TD passes and a 52-yard pass on a third and 17.
In the last two games against UINDY, they have allowed a receiver with over 180 yards. Malik Higgins had 188 yards in last year's meeting.
Bryan Edwards recovered two fumbles for the Bulldogs and became the first to do so since Connor Nagel recovered two in a game against Lincoln in 2011. The Truman record for fumble recoveries in a game is by Courtney Jordan with three in 2006.
Edwards led the defense with nine tackles while Joe Lambright led the Greyhounds with 14.
A.J. Devecchi had three tackles for loss and Sam Reeves added another sack to his resume. Reeves now has 15.5 career sacks.
Both teams were a perfect 4-for-4 in the redzone and Truman made nine trips across the UINDY 50 yardline.
The 86-yard punt return by Daveon Bell was the second return for a touchdown this season against Truman and third in the last six games dating back to the season finale last year. It was the fifth longest punt return by an opponent against Truman.

ROAD WARRIORS…The Bulldogs just completed a stretch of seven of their last nine games (dating back to last season) having played on the road. They played four of their first five games this season on foreign soil. In 2015, the Bulldogs played seven of the first nine games that year all on the road.

HOLDING ON TO THE ROCK…Truman is the only team in Division II that has not lost a fumble this season. Eight FBS teams have not lost a fumble, including Alabama, Illinois and Iowa State, nine FCS schools and 16 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 GLVC…The Bulldogs are 22-12 in GLVC games since joining the league in 2013. They have outscored opponents by 171 points in the first quarter and 273 points in the first half of league games and have recorded 95 sacks (2.8/game).

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 9-5 as a starter. He has thrown for 2,584 yards with 23 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. His single game high in passing is 270 yards against William Jewell in 2016 and rushing is 116 yards against Michigan Tech this year. Barr has accounted for 35 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 20^th on the Truman career-rushing list with 1,171 yards. Salima is second on the team with 15 receptions for 148 yards and has 47 receptions for his career for 381 yards. He will go over 2,000 All-Purpose yard for his career with 54.

MORE SALIMA…Jordan is third in the GLVC in all-purpose yards per game at 127.0, second in the league in rushing yards at 475. Salima is averaging 19.2 carries per game and leads the GLVC with seven total touchdowns.

OFFENSIVE QUICK HITS…The Bulldogs have had 11 rushes from scrimmage go for over 15 yards and 16 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 19 catches for 281 yards…Truman is averaging 4.9 yards per play and 151.2 rushing and 162.8 passing yards per game.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN…Kick returner Malique Robbins is 42nd in Division II and second 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.

BOOKENDS…Defensive ends Sam Reeves and Isaiah Hinton had a combine total of 25.5 tackles for loss a year ago and 18 of the teams 35 quarterback sacks. Reeves had 16 tackles for loss to rank third in Truman single season history, a half behind Nic Abbate and one behind Patrick Blackwell. His 10.5 sacks were tied for fourth in a Truman season. Reeves is first in the GLVC and 12th nationally in sacks per game at 1.0.

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 30 tackles for loss for 80 yards through five games and has 10 sacks for 53 yards lost.

DEFENSIVE QUICK HITS…Linebacker Justin Mikeworth leads the team in tackles with 38 with fellow backer Bryan Edwards second with 37. Jordan Brown is third with 30 and Reeves is fourth at 26. Seventeen defensive players have recorded a tackle for loss this year, 24 players had one last year…Jordan Siegel, Taylor Manes and Ben Chaney have the three interceptions for the defense…the defense has allowed 29.6 points per game and 359.8 yards of total offense…they have allowed 165 rushing yards per game and 194.8 passing yards per game.

SPECIAL TEAM NOTEABLES… Brock Rohler has averaged 39.9 yards per punt with three of his 28 inside the opponents 20, he is averaging 57.1 yards on kickoffs with four touchbacks…Danny Spencer has made four of six field goal attempts with a long of 42, he is 11-of-12 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 on 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…Three teams are at 2-0 in the GLVC with Indianapolis, McKendree and Missouri S&T leading the way. UINDY and McKendree will play this week in Lebanon, Illinois…UINDY is ranked seventh in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, the highest ranking for a GLVC team in the survey with McKendree receiving a vote.

UINDY's Garrett Willis was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week following his eight-catch, 190-yard performance against the Bulldogs. Daveon Bell was also a Special Teams Player of the Week for his go-ahead 86-yard punt return against Truman. McKendree's Ricco Gipson was the Defensive Player with 14 tackles 2.5 tackles for loss in the Bearcats win over Southwest Baptist.

UP NEXT…One of the nation's top programs will visit Stokes Stadium for Homecoming next week. Grand Valley State, ranked eighth in Division II and a multiple past national champion will be in Kirksville next Saturday for a 2 p.m. kick. The Lakers are 4-1 this season with their only loss coming at the hands of Indianapolis in week one.

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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

#26 Taylor Manes: DB; 5' 8"; Sophomore

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

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

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

#26 Taylor Manes
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DB

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

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

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