Football 9/22/2021 8:53:00 AM

Another Stern Road Test On Tap For Truman State Football

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman State Football program continues to churn out victories after handing Hillsdale (Mich.) College a 38-24 defeat in the 2021 home opener on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 3-0 on the fall season, 7-1 in games played in 2021 and 26-5 since September of 2018.

They will face a stern task on Saturday when they travel to #12 Tiffin University for a 3 p.m. (ET) kickoff. The Dragons are also 3-0 and rallied for a 20-17 road win at #12 Indianapolis on Saturday after losing their starting quarterback in the third quarter due to injury and having the Greyhounds dominate the statistics with a 388-220 advantage in total offense.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools as this game is part of the GLVC/GMAC scheduling alliance. In the first week of intraconference matchups, the games were 4-3 in favor of the GMAC with GLVC wins by Truman (Hillsdale), Quincy (Walsh) and Lindenwood (Kentucky Wesleyan).

Truman used big plays early in their win over the Chargers on Saturday. The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff and marched down the field with Nolan Hair connecting with Zach Zerwig for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

On the Bulldogs next possession, Cody Schrader got out of the gate for a 24-yard run and Dante Ruffin hauled in a 32-yard pass before Hair and tight end Matt Hall hooked up for a 5-yard TD pass.

After the Bulldogs forced a punt, Schrader busted a collegiate-best 88-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage and Truman would take control 38-3 with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.

Schrader averaged 12.4 yards per carry on Saturday (14-173) and his 88-yard run was the third longest in school history. The two previous were 92-yard runs by Steve Powell, one in the 1976 season and another in the 1977 season. The 12.4 yard per carry average is the highest by a Bulldog since at least the 1999 season. Dusty Burk recorded a 12.3 yard per night at Drake (Iowa) in 2002 (13-160).

The defense was stout again, holding Hillsdale to only 127 yards on their first 50 plays from scrimmage (2.5/play). The Chargers finished the game with 245 yards with 66 on the ground.

It will be a tough rushing defense that lines up across from the Bulldogs on Saturday in Tiffin. The Dragons held UINDY to 121 yards below their season rushing average and top running back Toriano Clinton to only 90 yards on 29 attempts.

About the Bulldogs:
The team is on the cusp of the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll as they are 26^th in votes with 62. The Bulldogs were last ranked in October 2019 at #24 when they started the season 5-0 but dropped out after that week's loss to Lindenwood 28-24.

Truman boasts the top defense in the GLVC during these non-conference games by nearly 80 yards per game as the unit has allowed 266.3 yards per game with only 63 coming on the ground and 202 through the air. UINDY is second in total defense at 326.3/game.

Eight players on defense have over 10 tackles in their first three games with redshirt freshman Ulysses Ross and sophomore Ben Thomas tied atop with 19 each. Ross has 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack while Thomas has 2.5 TFLs and four pass break-ups. Truman has sacked the opposing quarterback eight times and has 23 tackles for loss.

Truman also leads the conference in both kick and punt returns. The Bulldogs average 30.8 yards on their eight returns with Jaylen Jefferson having five for 43.4 yards per kick. Thomas has seven punt returns for 93 yards with a long of 26 (13.2/return).

Taylor Cornish is the top punter in the GLVC at 41.5 yards per boot and the team as a whole leads the conference in net punting allowing just 1.2 yards per return for a 37.2 average.

Kicker Josh Scheiderer is in ninth place on the Bulldog career scoring chart with his 217 points. He is seven shy of eighth and Scott Rudel (1992-95). The top kicker on the scoring list is Derek Koon (2010-13) with 255 points. Scheiderer is third all-time in PAT made with 113 and and third in field goals made with 34.

In seven games as a starter, quarterback Nolan Hair has completed 57% of his passes for 1,294 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is 6-1 as a starter.

Ten different Bulldogs have had receptions this year led by Dante Ruffin's 12 for 120 yards. Zach Zerwig and Jaylen Jefferson have six apiece while Cody Schrader, Matt Hall and Jake Ellis have five each. Ruffin has now gone over 1,000 receiving yards (1,036) on 92 catches while Ellis is the active leader in both catches and yards with 93 for 1,154 yards. Ellis is currently tied for the school record with 22 touchdown receptions and will hold the record outright on his next TD catch.

The workhorse in the backfield has been Schrader with 72 carries for 470 yards this season. Hair is second in carries with 11. Schrader has averaged 6.5 yards per touch and 156.7 yards per game this year. He has gone over 100 yards in three of the four games this season and eight career 100+ yards games for his career. His single-game high was 217 yards on 35 attempts in the season opener against Davenport.

Fullback Jacob Morris is a four-time all-GLVC performer and has been a key component of the Bulldog success in his 40 games played. Morris has five rush attempts and 42 receptions for 411 yards.

In other tidbits, the Bulldogs are 32-1 when rushing for 200 yards as a team since Gregg Nesbitt took over in 2010, 58-11 when leading after three quarters and 54-22 when scoring first. This season, they are 9-of-11 in red zone touchdowns (82%) while opponents are 6-of-7 in red zone touchdown trips.

Coach Nesbitt is second on the all-times wins list at Truman with a 65-52 record. He is also second in service time on the sidelines at Truman in his 11^th head coaching season. Maurice "Red" Wade was head coach for 15 seasons and leads in wins with a 99-41-2 record.

Behind Enemy Lines:
Tiffin has five straight winning seasons and is 38-12 during that span with an appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 2019. They have won the last two GMAC Football Championships with a 7-0 record in 2019 and a 5-0 record in the spring.

Nick Watson has started the first three games this season and is 44-of-83 for 611 yards and five touchdowns. Watson is third in rushing with 128 yards on 21 attempts. Anthony Lowe is the top receiver with 23 catches for 278 yards and a pair of running backs, Darius Pinnix and Baden Pinson have each gained over 170 yards on the ground this season.

The offense has averaged 426 yards in their first three games with 241 passing and 184 rushing while on the defensive side given up 256 per night with 72 rushing and 184 passing.

Up Next:
Truman will welcome Lindenwood for Family Night next Saturday. The Lions made an impressive GLVC debut in 2019 with 7-0 GLVC mark and a trip to the NCAA playoffs. Lindenwood overcame a 24-7 deficit to Truman in St. Charles that season by scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns, including two in the final 2:06 of the game to win 28-24.

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Players Mentioned

#98 Taylor Cornish: P; 6' 4"; Junior

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

#6 Nolan Hair: QB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

#10 Matt Hall: TE; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#4 Jaylen Jefferson: RB; 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#30 Jacob Morris: FB; 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#41 Ulysses Ross: LB; 5' 10"; Freshman

#11 Dante Ruffin: WR; 5' 11"; Senior

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

#7 Cody Schrader: RB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#21 Ben Thomas: DB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#85 Zach Zerwig: WR; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#98 Taylor Cornish
: 6' 4"; Junior
: P

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

#6 Nolan Hair
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#10 Matt Hall
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: TE

#4 Jaylen Jefferson
: 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: RB

#30 Jacob Morris
: 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: FB

#41 Ulysses Ross
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: LB

#11 Dante Ruffin
: 5' 11"; Senior
: WR

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

#7 Cody Schrader
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB

#21 Ben Thomas
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: DB

#85 Zach Zerwig
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: WR