Youth Day: All high school area aged kids and below will receive free admission to Saturday's game.
Game Coverage:
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Early season control of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and future NCAA playoff implications will be on the line when two undefeated teams clash at Stokes Stadium. The 5-0 and #13 Indianapolis Greyhounds visit the 6-0 #19 Truman State Bulldogs on Saturday for a high noon showdown.
Division II currently has 17 undefeated teams left through the first six weeks of play. Of those 17, six of them reside within Super Region 3, the playoff region in which the Bulldogs and Greyhounds reside in. There will be at least two fewer teams after this weekend as in addition to Truman/UINDY, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) and Harding (Ark.) will battle. The other two unbeatens in the region are Pittsburg (Kan.) State and Davenport (Mich.).
The Bulldogs jumped five spots in the American Football Coaches Association top 25 poll to sit at 18
th. Of the top 25, 11 teams from Super Region 3 occupy spots with half of the top 10 being teams that play within the region. Truman and UINDY are one of three games this weekend that have both teams national ranked. The other two are #5 Ouachita Baptist against #9 Harding and #1 Ferris (Mich.) State against #7 Grand Valley (Mich.) State.
The Greyhounds have been the flag bearer for the GLVC having won nine of the 11 league titles and 71 of 79 GLVC games played (nearly 90%). UINDY is currently on a 10-game GLVC winning streak having last loss a conference game at Missouri S&T on October 30, 2021.
The Bulldogs are 6-0 for the first time since 1994 and have won 15 of their last 16 games dating back to last season. That only blemish came at the hands of the Greyhounds in the final week of the regular season when UINDY overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit to down the Bulldogs 28-14 on a cold, snowy day in Indianapolis.
Truman State's
Nolan Hair scored two rushing touchdowns, one in the first quarter and another in the second to stake the Bulldogs to their 14-0 lead. UINDY took the second half kickoff down the field, converting on a third and one with a 45-yard run by JaQuan Buchanan to set up a one-yard TD by Jeremiah Lee. After forcing a three and out on Truman's first possession of the half, a 29-yard touchdown pass from Christian Conkling to Alonzo Derrick evened the game at 14 apiece.
Midway through the fourth, Derrick hauled in a 51-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-14 Greyhounds with 7:07 to play. UINDY would get an insurance score on a 75-yard interception return by Kivonte Houston with 3:09 left.
Over a third of Truman State's conference losses since joining the league in 2013 have come at the hands of the Greyhounds. UINDY owns a 9-1 record over the Bulldogs with several matchups taking place in the final few weeks of the regular season. The Bulldogs lone win in the series came on an October evening in Kirksville in 2016 when the 'Dogs held on for a 24-17 win. Four of the previous 10 games have been decided by seven points or less and eight of the 10 have all been within two touchdowns.
A Look Back At Last Week:
Trailing 20-0 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs clawed their way back and needed overtime to upend 4-2 Quincy on Saturday 33-29. Truman scored 24 straight points to take a lead into the fourth quarter but then needed a fourth and one stop in their own territory to get the ball back.
Nolan Hair converted on a fourth and three which led to
Grant Ross' 31-yard tying field goal with eight seconds left.
Jake Closser picked off a pass in the endzone in Quincy's OT possession and Hair then went off tackle on a 20-yard walk-off winner for the Bulldogs.
Hair was 19-of-34 for 198 yards and both receivers
Tate Crane and
Zach Zerwig went over 1,000 career receiving yards with 79 and 45 yards respectively. Ross was named the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week and linebacker
Isaiah Estes was the GLVC Defensive Player after matching his career-high with 14 tackles and assisted with
Mason Crim on the fourth and one stop with the game on the line.
While the Bulldogs had to fight their way back to remain unbeaten, UINDY cakewalked over William Jewell at home 59-17. It was 14-10 at the end of the first quarter but a 31-point blitz by the Greyhounds put the game away. Gavin Sukup was 18-of-23 for 167 yards and three touchdowns, Jon Lewis rushed for 107 yards and two scores and Giovani Laurent caught three passes for 57 yards.
The Greyhounds racked up 648 yards of total offense while limiting the Cardinals to 240.
Bulldog News & Notes:
Gregg Nesbitt is in his 14
th season on the sidelines second only to the 16 seasons of Maurice "Red" Wade in head coaching years of service at the school. The Bulldogs are 86-57 under Coach Nesbitt and have a 37-8 record since the start of the 2019 season.
The Bulldogs have averaged close to or more than 200 yards rushing per game over the past five seasons and have scored over 30 points per game in the past four.
Quarterback Hair has started the past 32 games at quarterback and is sixth on the career passing yards list with 5,725 yards. Hair will next catch Tom Hayes, who threw for 6,276 yards in 1981-83. He has completed 62% of his passes with 51 touchdown passes. His 51 TD passes is fifth on the all-time Bulldog career list and will chase down teammate Jaden Barr who is next on the list with 52.
Mason Huskey has averaged 5.7 yards per carry in six games, he has also caught seven passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
Tate Crane has been the top target with 29 catches for 379 yards and
Zach Zerwig has hauled in 20 catches for 191 yards. The duo is closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards with Crane at 1,057 and Zerwig at 1,027 yards.
The Truman defense has been stingy with 20 or more turnovers forced in each of the last three full seasons. The last two years, Truman defense has had 24 takeaways with defensive backs
Ben Thomas (12) and
Ryan Olivas (10) on the career interception lists.
Isaiah Estes is one tackle away from reaching the top 25 in career stops as a Bulldog. He is the active leader with 247 for his career.
Ben Thomas has 219 career tackles.
Grant Ross has converted on 64 of 66 extra point attempts and has made his last 53 straight. Ross is 6-of-8 in field goals this year and 15-of-20 for his career with a long of 45.
Mason Gessert has averaged 31.1 yards per punt.
Thomas is averaging 8.7 yards per punt return with a long of 25 in 13 attempts. Thomas has 43 career returns for 503 yards and a long of 64. He now sixth on the career punt return yardage list and can vault to the top three quickly. He is one yard back of Pat Fine (1984-87) for fifth, two back of Jordan Jorgenson (2014-17) for fourth and seven behind Jason Douglas (2002-05) for third. Alfonso Pugh (1999-02) is second with 721 and Eric Holm (1977-80) is the career leader with 809 yards.
Gerry Marteen Jr. has averaged 29.6 yards on eight kickoff returns with a long of 50 this year.
Mason Huskey has three returns this season for a 41.7 average and a long of 72 yards.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will celebrate homecoming on the Truman State campus next Saturday by welcoming William Jewell College to Kirkville. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
