The Wichitan - Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls Texas

MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY | November, 3, 2004

SPORTS

Entire team gets the Job Done
Trey Reed | Staff Reporter

The football team sports a t-shirt that serves as a reminder of a unified, team concept.
It says, “Team, you can count on ME.”
In retrospect maybe the shirt should say, “Team, eventually you’re going to have to count on me.”
That’s because the injury bug and bouts of misfortune bit the Indians early in the season and has continued nag them throughout the year.
Before the season, the Indians appeared to have a dearth of talent in the offensive backfield with senior transfer Jerad Estus joining the established Jerrold Fuqua to give the Indians a potent combination of speed and power.
The combination never got a chance to make it to field. Fuqua, a 1,000-yard rusher two seasons ago, was booted off the team before the season for personal reasons. Estus went down in the fifth game of the season against West Texas A&M, amassing just 253 yards before going down with a leg injury.
Perhaps the injuries helped the Indians find a more effective running game albeit through a linebacker experiment gone awry. Sophomore Ross Harrison has stepped in and provided the Indians with the tough running they craved with Fuqua. Harrison has grinded out 626 yards in just six games.
Freshman Adrion Butler has given the Indians the elusive, third-down back that Estus promised by delivering big plays at opportune times.
Backfield injuries have been just the tip of the iceberg of personnel problems. Senior all-world cornerback/punt returner Marcus Stenix has played through a myriad of injuries before being forced to sit out last weekend. Receivers Keith Flanagan and Andre Kelsick were just the latest of a line of receiver casualties.
Now the Indians will have to do without junior quarterback Rahsaan Bell after he suffered a stress fracture on his left leg possibly ending a sensational season. Bell was the glue that made the Indian offense go. He completed over 60 percent of his passes for 1,646 yards before his season came to an end last Saturday against Eastern New Mexico.
Now the reigns to the Indians offense fall to redshirt freshman Daniel Polk.
Even with all the strife, the Indians are on the verge of doing something never seen on the campus of Midwestern State -- make the NCAA playoffs. All that stands in their way a road trip to Abilene this Saturday to face a team that has haunted them over the past two seasons.
The Wildcats derailed the Indians’ playoff hopes each of the last two seasons. In 2002, the Indians blew a 20-7 halftime lead before falling, 21-20. Last year, MSU squandered a 14-3 halftime advantage before falling 18-14.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 17-10 upset win over the No. 2-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville Javalinas, a team that thumped the Indians 27-3 just three weeks ago.
Being shorthanded and facing a curse aren’t exactly the things a team trying to make school history want to encounter, but then again nothing has been easy for the Indians this season.
Maybe strife is the missing ingredient to the playoff formula that the Indians have been chasing over the past two seasons.

Ladies Advance to the Playoffs
Whitney Schoening | Staff Reporter

Oklahoma was the final regular season destination for the Lady Indians, and they made it a successful stop.
MSU picked up a 2-1 win over Northeastern State on Friday and a 1-1 tie with East Central University on Sunday.
Northeastern State’s Lady Reds took an early lead in the first half with a goal by Carly Pearce off an assist by Michelle Clark and Charlotte Dinsdale at the 26:43 mark.
The Lady Reds were able to hold onto the lead into the second half.
MSU came back at the 60:06 mark with a goal by Crystal Sanchez of an assist by
Melissa Brown which brought the game to a 1-1 tie. With five minutes remaining at the 85:41 mark, Crystal Sanchez scored an unassisted goal.
MSU outshot the Lady reds 16 to 7 with goalkeeper Elli O’Dwyer posting one save.
After two sudden death overtimes, the Lady Indians ended the game with a 1-1 tie with East Central on Sunday.
ECU took an early lead in the first half when Semah Yescuman scored at the 18:05 mark off an assist by Jenny Cruz. The Lady Tigers held their lead into the second half until Lady Indians’ Natalie Noblitt scored off an assist by Megan Dodson to even the score.
The Lady Indians out shot ECU 21-17 and O’Dwyer posted 11 saves.
MSU’s record at the end of the season stands at 11-3-5 overall and 5-2-2 in Lone Star Conference play.
The Lady Indians will take their third place finish to Commerce, Texas on Thursday for the first round of the LSC South Postseason Championship Tournament.

MSU in Postseason
Whitney Schoening | Staff Reporter

The Indians spent a weekend on the road and picked up two wins, advancing them to the first-ever Southwest Soccer Conference Tournament in San Antonio.
Midwestern State, ranked sixth in the Midwest Region, handed the Lions of Missouri Southern a 3-0 loss after the game was moved to Springfield, Mo. because of the field conditions.
Early in the game, at the 20:21 mark, Chad Rakestraw had an unassisted goal. The Indians held onto the lead into the second half. At the 69:42 mark, Scott Leonard scored an unassisted goal bringing the score to 2-0. To seal the deal, Daniel Brown scored at the 86:44 mark off an assist by Jared Cruddas, which gave the game a final score of 3-0.
MSU took on the Northeastern State Redmen in a literal mud fight, as almost two inches of rain turned the NSU field into a mess on Sunday.
The Indians took the game 3-1 and ended the Redmen’s 12-game winning streak.
MSU opened up the scoring with a goal by Elliot Gallagher at the 26:59 mark with an assist Anthony Ramirez. Ten minutes later Gallagher scored yet again at the
36:44 mark with an assist by Jimmy Krueger. The Indians carried the lead over into the second half where Rakestraw scored an unassisted goal.
At the 64:05 mark the Redmen were able to get one past MSU goalie David Stockton bringing the score 3-1.
MSU outshot NSU 13 to 11 with Stockton posting 4 saves.
The Indians improve to 12-5-0 overall and 9-4-0 in conference play.
MSU will now travel to San Antonio on Thursday for the start of the SSC tournament.

Volleyball Drops two on Road
David Roach | The Wichitan

The Lady Indians (10-19, 2-6) are still having a tough time finding a rhythm offensively, and their last two volleyball matches resulted in losses.
MSU fell to Central Oklahoma University, 3-1 (30-13, 25-30, 30-24, 30-25) and to Cameron University, 3-1 (30-14, 31-29, 30-22, 30-28) on the road Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
“At the beginning of the season, we had problems with our defense,” head coach Venera Flores said Monday. “Then later on it has been our offense giving us some trouble. I think adjusting to a new coach has been difficult for this young team.”
Flores was pleased with the way her ladies battled back in both of these matches after “playing like crud” in the first game of each one.
“Central Oklahoma is unbeaten in conference play, and we were able to take them to four games at their home floor,” Flores said.
MSU racked up 80 digs and 11 blocks as a team against Central Oklahoma and dug 85 balls against Cameron.
Flores mentioned the excellent play of Abbi Meyers who had 15 kills against Cameron and lone senior Melissa Minus who had 14 against Central Oklahoma, and once again said how important it is for her middle hitters to step up.
The Lady Indians are heading back home for their final two matches of the season, and Flores said the women are excited about getting a couple wins despite the fact they cannot advance to the playoffs.
“In college sports, especially in women’s athletics, the players are always excited to play and get a win,” Flores said. “We’re happy to be back home and are excited to play in front of our home fans. We’d like to finish the season on a high note.”

One Step Closer: Indians football nears Playoffs with win over ENMU
Jennifer Tavlian | Sports Editor

Eastern New Mexico was able to rack up 153 rushing yards in the first half against the Indians and the 17 seniors playing their last game in front of the home crowd.
A halftime adjustment by the Indians gave them the opportunity to shut the Greyhounds run down in the second half, and MSU ran off with a 34-20 win.
MSU improves to a 7-2 overall record and 4-1 in Lone Star Conference South play. The Greyhounds fall to 5-5 overall and a conference record of 4-2.
The 6:10 mark in the first half haunted both teams. With 6:10 left to go in the first quarter, Greyhounds running back J.J. Jennings drove home a nine-yard run for a touchdown. The point after was missed by Lee Price as the ball clanged off the right upright.
MSU’s Adrion Butler capped off a three-play, 89-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run at the 6:10 mark in the second quarter. Kristian Foster’s extra point attempt banged off the left upright.
Both offenses would explode soon thereafter.
In the last 1:56 of the first half, the teams combined for 28 points.
ENMU quarterback Steven Hinson ran in a 25-yard touchdown to put the Greyhounds up 13-6. MSU answered a minute later with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Rahsaan Bell to Darrius Richard.
The Indians needed just 23 seconds, Mark Crowe’s hands and the passing ability of Ross Harrison to get another touchdown.
MSU held the lead for 18 seconds before Hinson threw a 36-yard bomb to Jason Tezeno to even the score at 20 going into halftime.
The Indians defense shut down the Greyhounds in the second half, limiting them to zero points and just 112 yards of offense including just 33 rushing yards.
Backup quarterback Daniel Polk entered the game to lead MSU on two more scoring drives. He came in late in the third quarter and led the Indians charge to a touchdown that included a clutch 15-yard pass to Marcus Davis on third-and-12.
Polk was forced back into action when Bell left the game with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter.
Fred Moore partially blocked his second ENMU punt a couple of drives later and the Indians took over at the Greyhounds’ 38-yard line.
Polk put the nail in the coffin on a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the game.
“This was a good win,” head coach Bill Maskill said. “We beat ourselves in the first half. The coaches and players did a great job. In the second half we had to regroup and retool.
“This was a great way to send the seniors off.”
Before leaving the game, Bell was good on 15-of-21 passes for 287 yards. His performance earned him the LSC South Offensive Player of the Week award.
Polk was three-of-four for 28 yards and also rushed for 39 yards on six carries.
Senior Cornelius Cooper led the strong Indians defense with 11 tackles. Seniors Blake Morrison and Kevin Taulton each had nine.
“This is the last time we get to play (in Memorial Stadium),” Morrison said. “We had to play the best game we could.”
The Indians will travel to Abilene to take on a Wildcat team that upset previously undefeated Texas A&M-Kingsville, 17-10.
Saturday’s kickoff will be at 1 p.m.