Football 11/7/2018 8:42:00 AM

Bulldogs Hope To Finish Regular Season On High Note At Missouri S&T

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Football team will face one of the league's top quarterbacks in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and a stout rushing defense in the regular season finale on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Rolla, Missouri to face Missouri S&T.

The silver medal will be on the line in the GLVC as both the Miners and Bulldogs enter the tilt with 5-1 league records. Both suffered home loses to the 2018 conference champion Indianapolis this season. The Miners fell by a 24-17 score back on October 6 while Truman lost 31-7 this past Saturday.

The Bulldogs came out swinging against the defending league champ and scored on their opening possession to take a 7-0 lead. The defense got a quick stop but a fumble on a punt return resulted in a field goal for UINDY. Truman then marched down the field again and had first and goal but a penalty pushed the ball back and the Bulldogs missed a 41-yard field goal. From there, the floodgates opened and the Greyhounds scored touchdowns on their next three possessions and led 24-7 at the half.

Indianapolis added one more score in the third quarter and compounded with four turnovers and the fewest total yards overall (216) this season, the Bulldogs lost 31-7.

S&T comes in riding a four-game winning streak after that UINDY defeat. The Miners blasted William Jewell 59-21, squeaked past Quincy 20-13 then boat raced Lincoln 45-7 and most recently McKendree 49-20.

The Miners exploded for 28-second quarter points and quarterback Tyler Swart completed 24-of-29 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. S&T added 273 yards on the ground with Paxton McAlister rushing for 133 yards.

The Bulldogs and Miners are the "oldest" rivals in the GLVC in terms of games played against one another. This will be the 81^stmeeting all-time with Truman holding a 52-24-4 advantage.

Last year at Stokes Stadium, the teams endured a lengthy lightning delay at the start. Kickoff was nearly three hours after the scheduled start time and after a slow start, S&T took a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. They held a 20-3 lead entering the fourth quarter and won 27-11.

The Miners racked up 421 yards of total offense while Truman managed 236 yards. Deshawn Jones rand for 152 yards on 28 attempts and Swart tossed two touchdowns and threw for 216 yards. Dan Zeigler started for Truman and threw for 84 yards and Jaden Barr came in relief and threw for 89 yards. Jordan Salima was held to 54 yards on 15 carries.

What's At Stake:
A win would give Truman second place in the GLVC, which would be the 16th time the Bulldogs, had finished second in the conference race. They have 27 conference championships between the MIAA and GLVC with their last coming in 2016.

A win would also be number seven on the season, which would be the 36^thtime out of 111 seasons of Truman Football in which the team won seven or more games. It will be the fourth time since 2000 and the third time in six years it has occurred (2001, 2013, 2016).

The Bulldogs 2,169 yards rushing is the most since the 1996 season and just outside the top 10 of Truman single-season history. They need 204 yards to enter the single-season top 10 and would pass the 1992 total of 2,372 yards.

Truman has averaged 5.12 yards per rush this season, which is currently the eighth best in a season. The team averaged 5.64 per run in 1964 (record) and 5.61 in 1992.

Jaden Barr is 88 yards rushing shy of 1,000 for the season. He would be the first Bulldog quarterback to run for 1,000 yards after already passing Phil Davis' 833 rushing yards in 2010. It would be the first back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons by a Truman running back since they reeled off seven straight seasons from 1991-1997. Jordan Salima ran for 1,111 yards last year for the Bulldogs.

The 1,266 passing yards are the fewest by a Truman team since the 1978 season of 872. The Bulldogs haven't been below 1,500 passing yards since the 1979 season of 1,378. Last year, Truman threw for 1,735 yards.

Lawrence Woods leads Division II in kick return average at 48.6 yards per return. He has 12 returns to currently meet the NCAA minimum of 1.2/per game. In order to stay among the national leaders, Woods needs to return three kicks on Saturday.

The team's return average of 29.1 yards is the current season record. Second place is 26.06 yards per return set in 2002.

Josh Scheiderer's 14 made field goals are one off the Truman single-season record of 15 set in 2011 and in 1990.

Brock Rohler's 40.4 season punting average is currently the sixth best in a Truman season. His 37.9 career yards per punt is also seventh on the career charts. He will finish second in career punt attempts and career punt yards (201 attempts and 7,627 yards entering the game.)

Sam Reeves has 30.5 career sacks and is 1.5 shy of tying the career record held by Ernie Myerson.

About The Bulldogs…

Jaden Barr is in his third year as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. Barr has started 30 games (19-11 as starter) and is inching up the Truman career passing lists. He is ninth in yards completed with 4,713, sixth in completions with 442 and fourth in total offense with 6,562.
Barr is also on the career charts in 10^thfor passing attempts (755), touchdown passes with 36 (T-7th) and touchdowns responsible for with 56 (6^th).
Barr has 912 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 1,849 rushing yards. Ticich had 1,498 yards from 2006-08. He is 15th on the Truman rushing career charts.
Barr is third in the GLVC in rushing yards per game at 91.2 and seventh in passing yards at 126.0. He is third in the conference in total offense at 217.8 yards per game.
Jordan Salima has gone over 2,300 career rushing yards and is ninth on the Bulldog career list with 2,395 yards. He is sixth in career rushing attempts with 604 and is now in the top 10 in Truman all-purpose yards with 3,392. Salima has a team-high 149 rushing attempts this season for 588 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 461 yards and two game winning touchdowns. Satulla has 1,264 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Barr has used 14 different receivers this season on his 137 completions. Dante Ruffin has the most catches with 26 for 243 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 15 catches for 162 yards and Ellis has five on seven catches for 93 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 45.5 tackles for loss, which took over the top spot from Nic Abbate (2010-14). He has 13.5 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 eight players with over 40. Jordan Siegel and Wyatt Fishel lead the pack with 58 and Zach Nadle and Bryan Edwards are close behind at 57 and 53 apiece.
Edwards is the active career leader in tackles with 183 in 32 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 leads the nation in kickoff average with his 48.6 yard. 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 12 returns for 583 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 third in the NCAA Division II in kick return average at 29.06 as a team. Despite third in the nation, they are second in the GLVC trailing the University of Indianapolis (32.4/return). Missouri S&T is 14th at 24.7/return.
Brock Rohler has the Bulldogs second in the GLVC statistics in Net Punting. Rohler is averaging 40.4 yards per punt with a long of 55. He has had 14 of his 39 punts fair caught, 12 inside the 20 and two touchbacks. The Bulldogs have allowed 11 punt returns this season for a total of 54 yards (4.9/return).
On the flip side, the Bulldogs, primarily Spencer Newell, have averaged 8.2 yards on 24 punt returns (198 yards). Newell has 17 returns for 119 yards with a long of 23.
Rohler is second on the Truman career list in punting yards with 7,627. 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 201 attempts are second.
Josh Scheiderer leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 71 points making 14-of-20 field goals and 29-of-30 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 3.80 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…

The Miners are 15-6 overall and 10-3 in the GLVC over the past two seasons. Two losses have come to Indianapolis and another to McKendree in 2017.
S&T is third in scoring offense in the GLVC at 32.4 points per game and second in scoring defense at 19.7 points per game.
They have averaged 384.2 yards of total offense and 295.4 yards of total defense.
They are tops among GLVC rushing defesnes at 101.0 yards allowed on the ground per game and in conference games they are second to UINDY at 116.8 yards allowed.
Deshawn Jones was the GLVC rushing champion last season with 1,579 yards and 16 touchdowns but has dropped off to 618 yards on the ground this season and seven scores.
Braxton Graham is second in the GLVC in receptions per game at five and first in receiving yards at 84.9 per game.
Quarterback Tyler Swart is second in total offense at 227.7 per game and second in passing yards at 234.4 per contest. Swart has tossed 22 touchdown passes for 2,343 yards in 10 games.
The defense is number one in the conference in quarterback sacks with 35 for 239 yards lost. Second in Indianapolis with 25 QB sacks. They allow the fewest opponent first downs per game (15.2) and have the best opponent third down conversion percentage at 31.7%.
Landon Compton and Bo Brooks are in the top 10 in the GLVC in tackles per game. Compton is sixth with 8.4 per game and Brooks is eighth at 7.2 a day.

Truman vs. The GLVC:
The Bulldogs are 30-14 all-time in the Great Lakes Valley Conference since joining the league in 2013. They are 16-7 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 43 conference games (2.8/g) while allowing 63 (1.5/g).

Inside The Numbers (UINDY)

The first quarter touchdown (on the first drive of the game) by Truman, was only the second touchdown allowed by UINDY in the first quarter this year. Quincy scored the other TD in week six when Andrew Rund ran it in from 1-yard out. Both TDs scored against UINDY in the first quarter this year have been 1-yard scores.
In the battle of top two kick return units in the nation, the Bulldogs had five returns for a total of 152 yards (30.4) with another (the opening kick) going out of bounds and two of the five squibbed for a total of 22 yards.
Lawrence Woods had two returns for 107 yards. His first was 53 and second was 54.
UINDY did not have a kick return with a fair catch and second going into the endzone for a touchdback.
The Greyhounds had four plays from scrimmage account for 177 yards, all four were pass plays including a 71-yard tunnel screen that went for a touchdown by Daveon Bell.
For the season, Truman has allowed 38 opponent plays from scrimmage go for 25 yards or more for a total of 1,470 yards (38.6/play). 30 of the 38 plays have been pass plays going for 1,127 yards, the rest of the opponent passing yards 1,371 have come on 167 complete passes (8.2/completion).
Truman had no plays from scrimmage longer than 14 yards. Jaden Barr had one run for 13 yards and a completed pass to Jacob Morris for 14 yards.
Jaden Barr threw his first interception in five games, he threw three total and two in the endzone on Saturday. Of his 12 INTs this year, five have come in the endzone and three more inside the opponents 15 yardline.
Jordan Salima was held under 30 yards for consecutive games in the first time in his Truman career (28). It was also the first time he has been held to under 10 carries in back-to-back games and third time in his career, all coming this season.
His nine carries did bring him over 600 for his Bulldog career and he is sixth on the all-time attempts list with 604.

Final Regional Rankings Out:
The final set of regional rankings see two members of the GLVC in the top 10. Indianapolis is number four and Missouri S&T at number nine. The top eight following this weekend's games will be selected for the NCAA national tournament.

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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

#30 Jacob Morris: FB; 5' 8"; Sophomore; National Letter of Intent

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

#30 Jacob Morris
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; National Letter of Intent
: FB