Another challenge for reeling Miner gridders
28 Sep 2007
ROLLA, MO – This has been one of the most challenging weeks of game preparation in the nine years that Kirby Cannon has been the head coach at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
On both sides of the football.
First off, Cannon and the Miners are trying to regroup after losing their starting quarterback, junior Brad Guidry, for the season when he suffered a broken leg on a late hit during last week's game at Butler University.
Then there is the result of last week's game – Butler rallied for three touchdowns in the second half to beat UMR 28-21 in overtime and drop the Miners' record to 1-3.
And for good measure, throw in the fact that this week's opponent – the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils – are coming off one of the finest offensive performances in the history of NCAA Division II football.
Indeed, a tough week.
UMR will host Arkansas-Monticello at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at Allgood-Bailey Stadium. It will be "Responsibility Matters Night," sponsored by Mullally Distributing. Spirit sticks will be handed out to fans who come dress in UMR apparel.
It will be the first meeting between the two schools in 68 years.
The Miners are still reeling – and upset – from the late-hit that cost them their standout quarterback. Guidry suffered the broken leg late in the first half while throwing a touchdown pass which gave UMR a 21-7 halftime lead. However, that edge evaporated in the second half as Butler scored 14 unanswered points on a Miner squad who couldn't adjust to the loss of Guidry and tie the game 21-21 at the end of regulation. Butler then won the game in overtime.
The loss of Guidry puts the QB position, which entered the campaign as one of the team's deepest, as its biggest question mark. Guidry and Jason Schleuter were outstanding junior college quarterbacks who came in to compete for UMR's starting job. Schleuter suffered a broken bone in his foot in the preseason, had surgery and is out for the season. Guidry also had surgery to put rods in place to help the leg bones heal properly.
Cannon says the squad may look into trying to get Guidry a medical-hardship red-shirt – sending along a tape of the play he was injured on – to the NCAA.
"Your first instincts is you're human...you're first thought is what a bad break we received," Cannon said. "Those emotions don't help you out much. We've got seven games to play and we owe it to ourselves and everybody else to work hard and try to win them."
UMR will be trying to win with a true freshman at the all-important quarterback position.
The red-shirt is coming off Steve Watson, a first-year player from Berkeley, Ill. He will be the Miners' starting signal-caller on Saturday.
Watson came out of preseason camp as perhaps the most impressive freshman; enough so that during preseason drills Cannon was calling him a future star.
His future begins now, as Watson takes over the complicated UMR spread offensive system.
"It has to be simplified to some extent," Cannon said. "He just doesn't have the experience. We'll try to take advantage of what he does well now – he's very mobile and we'll try to do things within our offense that he can be successful at.
"We still feel he's going to be a great player. He has great potential to throw it; there is going to be a day when he's as good as anyone who has played here. He played in an offense (at the high school level) that did not throw the ball nearly as much. It's hard to evaluate a kid like that. We knew he was a great athlete. And the first week of camp we found out he can do everything you want from a quarterback."
Then there are the Boll Weevils, who like UMR are 1-3.
Arkansas-Monticello was struggling with a winless record until meeting Harding last week. The Boll Weevils, behind freshman quarterback Scott Buisson, erupted for a Gulf South Conference (GSC) record 812 yards of total offense and outscored Harding 48-32. It is the second-highest offensive yardage total in the history of NCAA Division II football.
Buisson passed for 484 yards and had 570 yards of total offense last week, earning him d2football.com National Player of the Week honors.
Arkansas-Montecello is averaging 485.5 offensive yards per game. However, in large part due to turnovers, the Boll Weevils are averaging just a little more than 22 points a game despite all those yards.
"We have to lead the universe in turnovers," said Monticello head coach Gwaine Mathews. "That's definitely an area where we have to get a lot better."
The Boll Weevils are led by a trio of offensive stars.
Buisson leads the GSC in total offense (1,004 yards passing, 1,226 yards total offense), junior wideout Tim Harris leads the league in receiving yards (30 catches for 476 yards, three touchdowns) and senior tailback John L. Williams leads the league in rushing average (369 yards, 6.2 average).
"They have a freshman quarterback also who had shown moments; only in that Harding game did he put it all together," Cannon said. "Their running back is outstanding and the quarterback is multi-dimensional. Their wide receivers can finish and they have a huge size advantage on us. They will be tough to stop."
With a true freshman at quarterback, the performance of the Miner defense takes on even greater importance.
"We're trying not to put direct pressure, as far as numbers, on them," Cannon said. "We need to continue working on things that make you a good defense."
Copyright © 2007, Dave's Sports
original link: Another challenge for reeling Miner gridders
We celebrate the press-worthy accomplishments of students, alumni and staff. If you have something to showcase, submit to Walther's Public Information Coordinator Lori Solyom. |
