The Wichitan - Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls Texas

MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY | October, 12, 2005

SPORTS

Texans hand Indians third Consecutive loss; Roll 37-7
Iggy Cruz | Sports Editor

Despite being penalized for a total of 119 yards in the game, No. 24 Tarleton State flexed enough muscle on both sides of the football Saturday night en route to a 37-7 ambushing of the Indians at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
The Texans (5-1, 1-1 LSC) pressured MSU quarterback Ryan Roberts all night long, intercepting the redshirt freshman five times in only his second career start, while limiting the Indians stable of running backs to 115 yards on the ground.
The third straight loss drops MSU to 2-4 on season and 0-3 in LSC South Division play.
After winning the coin toss and electing to defer, the Tarleton special teams went right to work and forced a Marcus Davis fumble on the kickoff return, setting the Texans offense at the MSU 18.
The Texans tried moving the ball through LSC leading rusher Derrick Ross, but a tough Indian defense put the clamps on the speedy tailback and TSU settled for a 25-yard field goal from Paul Williams.
MSU started moving the chains with 5:11 in the first as Ross Harrison picked up 12 yards on two carries and Roberts hooked up with Davis for a 16-yard gain to the Indian 41. The team seemed poised to reach the end zone, but the drive was derailed when Roberts threw his first pick of the game to a Texan defender at the MSU 40.
Ross, who entered the game averaging 189 yards on the ground, would not be denied by the MSU defense on his next carry within the red zone; taking it in from two yards out for the score and 10-0 Texan lead in the opening quarter.
Roberts would not catch a break all night as the TSU defense continued to harass and confuse him with different looks on the other side of the ball. On the Indians first drive of the second quarter, Roberts found a purple jersey again when defensive back Richard Chambers scooped his first of three interceptions on the night.
Tarleton would take a 16-0 lead to halftime after Williams connected on a 29-yard field goal and a 37-yarder following another Indian turnover.
The Texans have outscored opponents 48-6 in third quarter play this season and continued its assault in the first drive of the third by covering 73 yards in seven plays, ending in a 1-yard touchdown run by Ross.
Things worsened for MSU after Chamber’s second pick of the game led to another 1-yard score from Ross and increased the Indian deficit to 30 with 8:32 in the third. Ross finished the game with 125 yards rushing on 28 carries.
Roberts threw a big 14-yard pass in the top of the fourth to Darrius Richard for a key first down followed by a 27-yard strike to Myron Cooper to set the Indians in scoring position at the TSU 13. Daniel Polk would then replace Roberts and run the pigskin three yards for the team’s lone score of the game.
However, TSU would finish off the Indians on an 8-yard run by Treeo Gibson for a 37-7 final score.
Roberts completed 18-of-32 passes for 222 yards and Harrison was limited to 42 yards rushing on nine carries. Harrison was held scoreless for the first time this season.
Keith Flanagan snatched four passes for 60 yards, while Jerome Jefferson and Cliff Jingles each recorded 8 tackles on defense. The defensive unit also registered a fumble recovery and two sacks.
The Indians must now prepare for Saturday night’s contest with eighth-ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville after their thrilling 41-38 win over Central Oklahoma. The Javs have won the LSC division crown 26 times throughout their storied program.

Lady Indians spike Bulldogs 3-0, pick up two more Wins
Iggy Cruz | Sports Editor

The Lady Indians came into Saturday’s match up against Southwestern Oklahoma State looking to improve their play before this weekend’s LSC Crossover Tournament.
The team did just that and more.
MSU dismantled the Bulldogs (3-17, 0-5) in one hour, winning 30-13, 30-15, 30-15 and improving to 17-8 on the season and 2-4 in conference.
“I'm happy that we're improving on the things that we needed to following the three-game losing streak,” head coach Venera Flores said. “We have to get ready for another crossover tournament next weekend. We hope to keep on rolling and playing with intensity. We want to go into the second half of conference with confidence.”
The Lady Indians hit .387 as a team in the 3-0 win, while Kate Pence and Rachel Gilmore each hit .550 to lead MSU. Pence and Gilmore totaled 12 and 11 kills respectively, followed by Candice Main’s 10.
Janna Green led SWOSU with seven kills, while Kasandra Gurtner added six.
SWOSU had a miserable time on Stockton Court, finishing the game with a -.040 attack percentage. The Bulldogs did not have a positive hitting percentage until the final game and committed more errors (31) than kills (26).
Shay Velasquez notched four of the Lady Indians eight service aces and Allison Schrieber added 27 assists. Krissa Johnson also had three solo blocks and four block-assists for MSU.
The volleyball team will be on the road Friday for this weekend’s conference tournament in Denton. The Lady Indians will take on Tarleton State at 1 p.m. before facing Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State on Saturday.

The Lady Indians also swept their double-header Friday against Southern Nazarene and Texas-Permian Basin.
Johnson registered 25 kills and hit .357, while Main chipped in 11 kills against SNU for a 3-0 win. MSU beat the Crimson Storm 30-23, 31-29, 30-25 to snap a three game losing skid in the process.
“The girls saw what they were doing and then came out and executed well today,” Flores said. “It was a little frustrating; we hadn't had a losing skid, so we did something different.”
Against Permian Basin, Johnson hit .310, followed by Pence’s .346 hitting and 11 kills in another 3-0 win. Pence also had four aces in her final stats.
Gilmore had 16 kills combined in the six games and Velasquez finished with 15 kills and 32 digs. Schreiber ended up with 84 set-assists and 22 digs.

Soccer suffer two Weekends losses on Road
Josh Mujica | Staff Reporter

The MSU men’s soccer team came into the second weekend of October with high expectations as it moved up five spots in the NSCAA/adidas national Top 25 poll and was tied for second in the most recent NSCAA/adidas coaches’ Midwest Region poll.
Sophomore Daniel Brown was named the Southwest Soccer Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his two goals and two assists in a 5-1 win over Dallas Baptist last week. It seemed the Indians had momentum going into showdowns with Fort Lewis College and Colorado School of Mines in Durango, Colo.
It was a weekend of struggles and frustration as the MSU men’s soccer team lost two consecutive games and probably it’s No. 14 national ranking. The Indians (6-3-1) tried anxiously to catch up in both match-ups, but could not get a win.
On Friday, the Indians took on fifth-ranked Fort Lewis. MSU drew close to victory, but the Skyhawks escaped with a 4-2 win.
The Indians, trailing 3-1 at the half, got two goals from midfielder Keegan Hudson. The Skyhawks pulled away with a late goal.
On Sunday, the Indians were defeated by Colorado School of Mines 2-0.
Mike Dixon of Mines scored with 20 seconds remaining, and MSU tried desperately to get a tie. Marty Pollitte kicked in the game-changer and final goal with seven seconds left.
MSU will now travel to Portales, N.M. to face Eastern New Mexico University on Friday at 5 p.m. and will then zoom over to Canyon for a 1 p.m. match-up against West Texas A&M.

Crockett, MSU Finish Second
Iggy Cruz | Sports Editor

Anna Crockett helped pace MSU to its highest individual and overall finish Friday, placing second at the Tarleton State Invitational Cross Country Meet.
The TexAnns won the meet with 31 points, followed by MSU’s 44 points, while Texas A&M-Commerce rounded out the top three with at total of 48 points.
Tarleton’s Krista Morris posted a time of 19:36 in the women’s 5 kilometer run for first place, leaving the runner-up spot open for Crockett’s time of 19:49.
“The girls ran well on a bad track,” head coach James Childers said. “And Tiffany (Stewart) wasn’t there, so they were worried about her. Between the track and that, their mental focus wasn’t there, but they ran well considering that.”
Stewart went home to be with family after her brother was involved in an accident earlier in the week.
Mindy Burns placed eighth in 21:56 for the Lady Indians, while Maria Cano finished right behind her teammate for ninth in 21:59. Natalie Noblitt came in 12th (23:07) and Katy Blackwood (23:24) finished 13th.
“I think we’re getting in good shape heading up to conference in a couple of weeks,” Childers said.
The team will travel to Weatherford, Oklahoma next Saturday for Lone Star Conference Championship.

Lady Indians fall to 2-2 in LSC
John Mujica | Staff Reporter

The MSU Lady Indian soccer team suffered two 1-0 defeats this weekend dropping them from the top spot in the Lone Star Conference with a 2-2 record. The Lady Indians are now 4-6-1 on the season.
On Friday, the Lady Indians traveled to Canyon to take on the Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M. It was the first loss for the Lady Indians in the LSC, and the victory improved the Lady Buffs to 5-3-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
West Texas A&M’s winning goal came in the 69th minute when Roxy Sides hit Kelly Elm with a crossing pass. The Lady Buffs out shot MSU 18-2 in the game with the only attempts at goal for MSU coming from Sabrina Periman and Michelle Harris.
On Sunday, the Lady Indians ventured to Portales, N.M. to face Eastern New Mexico State University.
Jessica Rosa scored the winning goal for ENMU (9-4-0, 2-1) in the first overtime. The Zias have won six of their last seven games.
MSU out shot the Zias 18-5, but ENMU goalie Stephanie Sanchez collected six saves.
The Lady Indians will hope to spring back on Saturday as they will host Angelo State University at 2 p.m. at the MSU Soccer Field.