Rachel Steinhoff

Football 10/31/2018 8:41:00 AM

GLVC Title On Line Saturday When #14 UINDY Visits Truman

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Five was fine, six was sweet but seven would be heaven. The biggest showdown of the season will feature both GLVC undefeated teams square off at Stokes Stadium Saturday for the conference title.

The #14 University of Indianapolis, the five-time and current reigning champions put their title on the line against winners of six-straight Truman Bulldogs at high noon on Saturday. If UINDY wins, they will pick up their sixth title if Truman wins, they will earn at least a piece of the championship with a chance to win outright the following week at Missouri S&T. It will also be senior day for Truman and the 21 seniors will be honored around 11:30 a.m.

The Bulldogs have not won six straight games since 1997 when they swept through the end of September and all of October with wins. It was Pittsburg (Kan.) State that snapped that streak with a 28-18 home defeat and Truman would go on to lose their final two regular season games to finish at 6-4. Truman won their first eight games in 1994 and had a nine-game winning streak in 1990.

The most recent win in the streak was a dominating 41-7 triumph over Quincy (Ill.) last Saturday. The Bulldogs scored TDs in five of their first six possessions and never looked back. Truman put up 292 of their 413 yards in the first 30 minutes of play and held an opponent off the scoreboard for the first half for the third straight week.

Truman and UINDY are 1-2 in rushing offenses in the GLVC. While the Bulldogs are rushing for 230.7 yards per game, which is the highest single-game average in 22 years (260.9/1996), the Greyhounds are an eye-popping 267 yards per game. That average is good for 11^thin the NCAA Division II team rankings.

Both teams also possess potent kick return games. The Greyhounds lead Division II with a 32.4 yards per return average and have three kickoffs returned for touchdowns. The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation at 28.83 yards per return and are the only NCAA team across all divisions with four TD returns.

UINDY scored 48 points for the second consecutive week when they routed Southwest Baptist 48-14 last Saturday. The 'Hounds racked up 359 yards on the ground with five touchdowns led by Toriana Clinton with 140 yards and three scores. Al Keller is the top rusher overall for UINDY with 814 yards on the ground and an average of 101.7 per game.

The Indianapolis defense is also one of the stingiest in the GLVC. The squad only surrenders 14.4 points per game and a league-fewest 267 yards of total offense per game.

The Greyhounds have won 17 straight GLVC games dating back to a 33-20 road loss at Quincy in October of 2016. That was also the last and only time Truman tasted victory over UINDY with a 24-17 win in Kirksville two weeks earlier. Indianapolis is 48-4 (92%) in GLVC games since the league's inception in 2012.

Last year in Indianapolis, Truman raced out to a 10-0 lead on a early field goal and 10-yard run by Jordan Salima. However, a 31-yard pass from Jake Purichia to Garrett Willis followed by an 86-yard punt return by Daveon Bell jump put the 'Hounds on top. They would lead 31-13 and would go on to win 34-19.

Bulldog Six-Pack Winning Streak…
After having two five-game winning streak in the last three years, this is the first six-game streak since the 1997 season. Truman has won 10 out of their last 13 games dating back to the final four wins of the 2017 season.

Truman has rushed for 283.8 yards per game during the streak with Jaden Barr accounting for 107.2 per game. Jordan Salima (75.3/g) and Andy Satulla (71.7/g) have scored eight of the 14 touchdowns. Barr has rushed in the other five. Total offense has been nearly at 400 yards per victory (399.8). The offensive line has allowed just three sacks in the last six wins for a total of 23 yards.

On the defensive side, Truman has held opponents to 24 points in the first half of the last six games, with no first half points coming in the last three weeks. The defense has 16 quarterback sacks and has held opponents rushing at 137.0 yards per game.

Besides allowing only the 24 first half points, Truman has held opponents to an average of 118 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes. Twice, Lincoln (46) and Quincy (99) teams did not reach 100 yards of offense for the half. McKendree had the most yards with 193.

The last seven game winning streak in a season came in 1994 when Truman began the year winning their first eight games. The streak ended on a muddy field in Pittsburg, Kansas when the Gorillas scored late to win 13-10. Truman would lose the following week to Missouri Western but was selected for the NCAA Division II tournament, falling at North Dakota 18-6.

About The Bulldogs…

Jaden Barr is in his third year as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. Barr has started 29 games (19-10 as starter) and is inching up the Truman career passing lists. He is 10^thin yards completed with 4,590, sixth in completions with 423 and fourth in total offense with 6,386.
Barr is also on the career charts in 10^thfor passing attempts (725), touchdown passes with 35 (8^th) and touchdowns responsible for with 56 (6^th).
Barr has 859 rushing yards this season to lead Truman with four, 100-yard running games. He has already eclipsed last year's running total of 598 yards.
A Truman quarterback has never gained 1000 yards rushing in a season. The top two highest rushing totals by Bulldogs QBs were Phil Davis' 833 in 2010 and Dusty Burk's 820 in 2002, which Barr has now surpassed.
Jordan has passed Matt Ticich in career rushing yards as a Truman quarterback. Barr has 1,796 rushing yards. Ticich had 1,498 yards from 2006-08. He is 16^thon the Truman rushing career charts.
Barr is third in the GLVC in rushing yards per game at 95.4 and seventh in passing yards at 127.0. He is third in the conference in total offense at 222.4 yards per game.
Jordan Salima has gone over 2,300 career rushing yards and is ninth on the Bulldog career list. He is sixth in career rushing attempts with 595 and is now in the top 10 in Truman all-purpose yards with 3,373. Salima has a team-high 140 rushing attempts this season for 560 yards and five touchdowns. He has rushed for over 100 yards in eight career games.
Andy Satulla went over 1,000 career rushing yards earlier this season and has 449 yards and two game winning touchdowns. Satulla has 1,252 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Barr has used 14 different receivers this season on his 118 completions. Dante Ruffin has the most catches with 20 for 210 yards, Brass Woods has 13 catches for 142 and Mitch Nichols has 11 grabs for 193 yards.
C.J. Brown and Jake Ellis have reeled in five receiving touchdowns from the tight end position. Brown had one and 11 catches for 128 yards and Ellis has four on six catches for 92 yards.
Sam Reeves has 30.5 career quarterback sacks, 8.5 coming this season and is in second place in the career rankings. He is 1.5 back of Ernie Myerson's 1984-87 total of 32. Myerson is the father of current Bulldog and defensive mate of Reeves' Travis Myerson.
Reeves has 44.5 tackles for loss, which took over the top spot from Nic Abbate (2010-14). He has 11.5 TFLs this season.
Reeves was ranked fourth in the preseason Division II Wrestling poll for the 197-pound weight class. He just missed the all-America honor last year in qualifying for his first national meet.
The Bulldog defense has been balanced with 10 players with over 30 tackles through nine games. Jordan Siegle and Wyatt Fishel lead the pack with 54 and Zach Nadle and Bryan Edwards are close behind at 52 and 51 apiece.
Edwards is the active career leader in tackles with 181 in 31 games played.
Lawrence Woods is a two-time GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week. Woods has returned three kicks for touchdowns this season, a Truman single-season record. He would lead the nation in kickoff average with his 47.6 yard mark but he does not meet the minimum number of returns (1.2 per game). Woods had 1.1/game. The Truman single-season record is 37.2 per return held by Tremaine Millender in 2013. Millender had 10 returns for 372 yards while Woods this season has 10 returns for 476 yards.
Woods is one return touchdown away from tying the NCAA Division II season record of four held by Stephan Neville (Stonehill) in 2010 and Andrew Jackson (Merrimack) in 2005. Woods' has four career returns for score that matches the Truman record held by Mike Laususe (1974-77).
Jaylen Jefferson gave Truman four kick returns for a touchdown this season with his first coming against Southwest Baptist. He had the longest of the season, a 97-yard scamper. The most kick returns Truman have had in a season for touchdowns was two.
The Bulldogs are fourth in the NCAA Division II in kick return average at 28.8 as a team. Despite fourth in the nation, they are second in the GLVC trailing the University of Indianapolis (33.3/return). Missouri S&T is seventh at 27.5/return.
Brock Rohler has the Bulldogs second in the GLVC statistics in Net Punting. Rohler is averaging 39.9 yards per punt with a long of 55. He has had 14 of his 36 punts fair caught, 12 inside the 20 and two touchbacks. The Bulldogs have allowed nine punt returns this season for a total of 33 yards (2.7/return).
On the flip side, the Bulldogs, primarily Spencer Newell, have averaged 9.2 yards on 23 punt returns (211 yards). Newell has 16 returns for 132 yards with a long of 23.
Rohler is second on the Truman career list in punting yards with 7,487. Eric Phillips (2009-12) has the record with 9.731 yards. His 37.8 career average is currently seventh on the all-time list and his 198 attempts are second.
Josh Scheiderer leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 70 points making 14-of-18 field goals and 28-of-29 extra point attempts. Scheiderer's long is 46 yards coming against McKendree.
Scheiderer is tied for third in a Truman single-season for field goals made with 14 (Austin Lepper – 2001) and just one back of matching the single-season record of 15 accomplished by both Derek Koon in 2011 and Scott Bresaw in 1990. As a freshman, Scheiderer is already entered the top 10 in career field goals made.
The Bulldogs continue to be one of the least penalized teams in the nation. Truman averages 3.89 flags accepted per game for a total of 35 yards per game. Those numbers are first in the GLVC and fifth in Division II.

Behind Enemy Lines…

A win would give UINDY their sixth GLVC championship in the seven years that the conference has sponsored a football championship.
They have made four NCAA Division II tournaments over the course of the last six years including last year after going 11-0 in the regular season. They lost in the first round to Harding (Ark.) 27-24 at home. The Bison advanced all the way to the national title game before losing to Texas A&M Commerce 31-17.
The Greyhounds have on seven straight with their only loss coming in week one at Grand Valley State 30-7. They have since not allowed an opponent to reach 20 points and have scored over 30 in five of their last seven games.
Toriano Clinton is the dangerous return man for the Greyhounds. He is tied with Truman's Lawrence Woods with three returns for TDs this year and averages a nation's best 43.7 yards per return.
Clinton and Al McKeller each have nine rushing touchdowns with McKeller leading the GLVC in rushing yards per game at 101.8.
McKeller has 814 rushing yards on 139 attempts.
Jake Purichia averages 170 yards throwing per game with 13 touchdown passes to three interceptions and 1,361 yards.
His top target has been Malik Higgins with 35 catches for 502 yards and eight scores.
Joe Lambright is the top tackler with 75 stops. Alec Patch has a team-high six sacks with Jacob Schmatz, Lucas Rice and Rondell Weathers all having five.
The Greyhounds are sixth nationally in third down conversions at 50.6%. They are also eighth in completion percentage (64.7%), third in tackles for loss allowed (3.13/g) and fourth in sacks allowed (0.5/g).
On the defensive side, UINDY is in the top 10 nationally in passing yards allowed (3^rd/134.5) and seventh in scoring defense (14.4/g).

Truman vs. The GLVC:
The Bulldogs are 30-13 all-time in the Great Lakes Valley Conference since joining the league in 2013. They are 16-6 in conference home games and 14-7 in road tilts.

Truman has averaged 167.0 yards per conference game on the ground, while allowing 101.1 yards rushing. They have recorded 117 sacks in the 42 conference games (2.8/g) while allowing 61 (1.5/g).

Inside The Numbers (Quincy)

It was Truman's third straight win over the Hawks and seventh out of nine games played.
The Bulldogs held Quincy to seven points in the second straight meeting and now won all four games played in Kirksville.
The 35-point halftime lead was the largest by the Bulldogs this season and biggest lead since an October 12, 2013 game at William Jewell. Truman led 35-0 en route to a 45-7 victory.
Truman has won all six games this season in which they have rushed for over 200 yards in a game. They are 22-1 when doing that since 2010 and have won 22 straight with the last loss occurring in 2010 in the season finale against Nebraska-Omaha, a 63-62 loss in which Truman ran for 336 yards and five touchdowns.
Jaden Barr passed some historical Bulldogs for the fourth spot on the career total offense charts during Saturday's game. Barr now has 6,386 yards and passed Tom Hayes (6,250) and Jarrett Anderson (6,293). Only QBs are left on the career list with Jeff Frost (6,634), Matt Ticich (8,509) and Eric Howe (9,040) remaining in Barr's path.
Although Jordan Salima had his lowest rushing total in a game this season (24 yards) and fewest in 23 games (18 – at Grand Valley State in 2016), he entered the Bulldog top 10 in career rushing yards. He passed Mike Richardson for the ninth spot. Richardson ran for 2,353 yards from 1962-65.
The 85-yard rushing touchdown by Sherond Boyd of Quincy was the longest at Stokes Stadium by an opponent since Kevin Whitley of Southwest Baptist ran 87 yards for a score in a game back in 2003. The longest running play allowed by the Bulldogs overall was in 2005 when Stefan Logan of South Dakota ran 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs went over the 2,000 rushing yards as a team for a season on Saturday. They now have 2,076, the most since the 1996 season of 2,870. That 1996 total is the third most by a Bulldog team in a season. The record is 3,097 yards in 1977 and to crack the top 10, Truman needs only 296 yards.
Quincy had 217 of their 372 coming in the third quarter. The 85-yard run was complemented a 20-yard pass, a 46-yard pass and a 33-yard pass in the quarter.
It was the first game this season that Truman won without winning the time of possession. The Hawks held the ball for 31:22 and Truman for 28:38.
Quincy was 2-of-17 (11%) on third downs and came into the game as one of the lowest in the nation at 26% on third downs. The Hawks were also 3-of-7 on fourth down conversions.

Second Regional Rankings Out:
The second set of NCAA Super Region rankings were released on Monday. Ferris (Mich.) State at 9-0 is number one followed by Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) is number two. UINDY is fifth and Missouri S&T has cracked the top 10 at tenth with their 7-1 Division II record.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Eric Phillips: K/P; 6' 1"; Junior

#92 Nic Abbate: DE; 6' 2"; Junior

#5 Derek Koon: K; 5' 8"; Senior

#1 Tremaine Millender: DB; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

#35 Zach Nadle: DB; 5' 11"; Freshman

#99 Josh Scheiderer: K/P; 5' 11"; Freshman

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

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

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

#7 Wyatt Fishel: DB; 5' 7"; Sophomore

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

#20 Travis Myerson: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#13 Eric Phillips
: 6' 1"; Junior
: K/P

#92 Nic Abbate
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DE

#5 Derek Koon
: 5' 8"; Senior
: K

#1 Tremaine Millender
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: DB

#35 Zach Nadle
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: DB

#99 Josh Scheiderer
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: K/P

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

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

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

#7 Wyatt Fishel
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: DB

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

#20 Travis Myerson
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB