Football 9/19/2017 2:17:00 PM

NOTES: Truman Heads To Capital City For Battle With Lincoln

The Lincoln Game

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The Bulldog Football team is riding a 20-game winning streak against the Lincoln Blue Tigers and will hope to continue that trend and pick up their first victory of the 2017 season when the two teams meet in Jefferson City on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (0-3; 0-1 GLVC) just couldn't get anything going on a strange Saturday night in their home debut. Between a lengthy weather delay and an in-game power failure, Truman lost 27-11 to Missouri S&T. The game didn't start until nearly 10 p.m. and finished at 1 a.m.

The Bulldogs were outgained 421 to 236 in total yards on the night and converted on one of 16 third down opportunities. S&T rushed for 205 yards on the ground with Deshawn Jones gaining 152 on the night. Malique Robbins was one of the bright spots for the Bulldogs. Robbins gained 175 yards on four kick returns with a long of 65. He averaged 43.7 yards per return. Justin Mikeworth notched 16 tackles, the most by a Bulldog since Richie Schumacher had 20 in a 2012 game against Pittsburg State and Sam Reeves had two QB sacks among his six stops on the night.

Lincoln enters with a 1-2 record and 0-1 in the league after falling in a defensive battle 7-3 against Quincy on Saturday night. The Blue Tigers got a 45-yard field goal from Wolky Belancourt at the end of the first quarter but allowed a 48-yard TD pass midway through the third quarter for the Hawks lone score of the game. The two teams combine for only 471 yards of total offense and only Lincoln was able to penetrate the red zone and did so just twice.

Truman's 20-game streak over the Blue Tigers dates back to 1974. The Bulldogs won 17 of the first 22 matchups from 1968-1989. The two teams resumed playing in 2011 with the Bulldogs winning the last five in the "modern era" including last year's 37-0 shutout in Kirksville.

It was Jordan Salima's breakout game last year against Lincoln as the then-true freshman ran for 125 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in the victory. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry while nabbing eight receptions for 53 yards and a score.

COACHES…Truman is led by Gregg Nesbitt in his eighth year at his alma mater and has a 38-40 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. Steven Smith begins his first season at the helm of the Blue Tigers after serving as offensive coordinator at Albany State, in which they made the NCAA Playoffs in all four seasons under his direction.

SCOUTING THE BLUE TIGERS…The Blue Tigers have utilized a two-quarterback system this season with Henry Ogala and Eugene Sainterling sharing snaps behind center. Ogala has completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards with Sainterling hitting 20 of 34 targets for 207 yards and three scores. Blake Tibbs has 14 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns. In the running game, Harold Lacy has the bulk of the carries (52) for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Lincoln has had seven turnovers (5 fumbles and 2 INTS) in the first three games. They have owned the time of possession by a 34:04 to 25:57 margin.

NEW SURFACE…Lincoln was one of the few remaining natural grass fields the Bulldogs played on in recent years. In fact Truman has played six games of the 79 total since 2010 on the real stuff.

MISSOURI S&T POSTGAME TIDBITS

The game was officially delayed two hours and 46 minutes at the start due to lightning in the area. The teams cleared the field with 28 minutes to go on the pregame clock and didn't return to the field for a brief warm up around 9:30 p.m.
The game was also delayed for 15 minutes in the third quarter when a timer on the stadium lights went off.
Redshirt freshman Dan Zeigler made the start at quarterback for the Bulldogs, his first career start and went 5-for-19 with an interception and for 84 total yards. He completed a 40-yard pass to Jordan Jorgenson for his longest throw of the night.
Malique Robbins led the Bulldogs with 175 all-purpose yards, all gained on kickoff returns. It was the third most kick return yards by a Bulldog trailing only the 233 set by Jason Douglass against Pittsburg State in 2002 and 219 by Phil Kenney against Missouri Southern in 2007.
Numbers three and four on the kick return yards list have occurred in consecutive games against Missouri S&T. The 175 by Robbins on Saturday and Jordan Salima's 173 last year against the Miners. The 175 was the eighth most single game in GLVC history.
Reed McBroom had his first kickoff return with 14 yards gained in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Jacob Morris made the most of his first catch. Morris caught a fake punt by Brock Rohler for 29 yards and a first down.
Justin Mikeworth was credited with 16 tackles, eight solo and eight assisted.
The Bulldogs sacked quarterback Tyler Swart four times for 24 yards and notched eight tackles for loss for 29 yards.
Bryan Edwards and Jaylen Jefferson had the two fumble recoveries for the Bulldogs.
For the second time in three games this season, Truman converted just one third down (1-of-16). The lone conversion was in their first drive of the second quarter on a five-yard run by Jordan Salima on third and five. The Bulldogs then went the next 12 third downs without getting a first. They were 2-of-7 on fourth down plays.
The 205 yards rushing by Missouri S&T was just the third time a GLVC opponent gained over 200 yards on the ground against the Bulldogs since joining the league.
The Bulldogs committed season-low three penalties against Missouri S&T with two occurring on special teams and one on the defense. Seven of the nine offensive penalties called this year were for false starts.

AGAINST THE GLVC…The Bulldogs are 21-11 in GLVC games since joining the league in 2013. They have outscored opponents by 267 points in the first half of league games and have recorded 92 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.

CHAMPIONS AGAIN…Truman captured their first GLVC title last year as they shared the crown with Southwest Baptist. It was the 27^th overall league title for the Bulldogs dating back to 1912 and first since the 1988 season.

GOING DEEP…The Bulldogs have had 13 pass plays through the first three weeks of over 20 yards (4.3 per game) while last year Truman had 27 pass plays over 20 yards (2.4 per game).

SETTING THE BARR…Quarterback Jaden Barr came in on Saturday in relief of Dan Zeigler and connected on 6-of-18 for 89 yards. Barr is 8-4 as a starter. He has thrown for 2,312 yards with 21 touchdown passes and 11 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.

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 two career 100+yard rushing games with a high of 125 against Lincoln in 2016. He has had 260 career attempts for 897 yards and six touchdowns. As a receiver, Salima has caught 42 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns.

DOUBLE J…Jordan Jorgenson broke a school record last season with 375 yards in punt returns (11.7 avg.). He is the team's leading receiver after three games with 17 catches for 282 yards, 199 came against Morningside on 12 catches. It was his first 100+yard receiving game. Jorgenson is second in the league in receptions per game and receiving yards per game.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN…Kick returner Malique Robbins is seventh in Division II and first in the GLVC with 324 kick return yards this season. Robbins is averaging 27 yards per return and has three of his 12 go for over 40 yards. Robbins is third in the GLVC in all-purpose yardage

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 second in the GLVC and 21^st nationally in sacks per game at 1.0.

BALL CONTROL…The Bulldogs are one of 11 teams in Division II that have not turned the ball over via fumble. All four turnovers this season have come through the air. Last year, Truman had three fumbles lost and eight interceptions.

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 19 tackles for loss for 57 yards through three games and has seven sacks for 41 yards lost.

DEFENSIVE QUICK HITS…Linebackers Justin Mikeworth and Bryan Edwards lead the squad in tackles. Mikeworth has 30 stops in three games (10.0/game) and Edwards has 24 tackles (8.0/game). Sam Reeves leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss followed by Isaiah Hinton with 2.5 and A.J. Devecchi at 2.0.

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.

A GRAND SEASON…The first game of the 2017 season will be game 1001 in the Bulldog history books. Truman finished the first 1,000 games with a 564-402-34 (.581) record that ranks among the top NCAA Division II programs in wins and winning percentage and second among NCAA schools (all divisions) in the state of Missouri.

COACHES POLLS…Truman was picked second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches poll with 41 total votes and two first-place tallies. Southwest Baptist was picked first with 48 points and six first-place votes. The Bulldogs also received votes in the first American Football Coaches Association preseason Top 25 survey. In the week three poll, Indianapolis is up to 14^th and is the only GLVC school mentioned in the survey. Grand Valley State, the Oct. 14 opponent, is 12^th after starting the season second.

AROUND THE GLVC…In the first week of league games, Indianapolis, Quincy and Missouri S&T picked up wins. The Greyhounds are the only undefeated team overall in the league at 3-0 and blasted 2016 co-champions Southwest Baptist 45-17 at home. UINDY QB Jake Purichia was the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, Quincy's Cody Leonard was the defensive player and Brad Schickel of UINDY was the Special Teams Player of the Week.

UP NEXT…The Bulldogs will visit Indianapolis next Saturday for a key matchup with the Greyhounds. Truman broke through against UINDY last season in Kirksville by holding on for a 24-17 victory, which included a last-minute goal redzone stop by the Bulldog defense. Kickoff from Key Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. (ET).

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Players Mentioned

#17 Jaylen Jefferson: RB; 5' 9"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent

#46 Jacob Morris: FB; 5' 8"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent

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

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

#38 Reed McBroom: LB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#17 Jaylen Jefferson
: 5' 9"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent
: RB

#46 Jacob Morris
: 5' 8"; Freshman; National Letter of Intent
: FB

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

#6 Jordan Brown
: 5' 7"; 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

#38 Reed McBroom
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: LB

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

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

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