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Mules all over Tigers in Missouri
10/11/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- During the final minutes of Saturday's game, Fort Hays State University head coach Kevin Verdugo stood with his hands in his pockets, a somber look on his face. Multiple Tigers quietly stood and sat behind the coaching staff after a surprising 48-3 road loss to No. 16 University of Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon at Walton Stadium.
"That was a big surprise," senior tight end Beau Gadwood said. "Obviously we were not expecting that. Things happen, things didn't go our way. We'll recover, come back next week strong."
Fort Hays, ranked eighth in Super 4 in the Division II regional rankings released Monday, dropped to 4-3, 2-3 MIAA. Central Missouri, 10th in the region, improved to 6-1, 4-1 and won its Homecoming game. Top six make the postseason. It was the worst loss all season for the Tigers.
Fort Hays is 1-15 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association road games. All three of Fort Hays' losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
The improved Tiger offense, which averaged 32 points a game entering Saturday, set season worsts in virtually every category, including points (three), total yards (210) and passing yards against the blitz-heavy Mules.
"They brought a lot of pressure up front, pressure up front, kind of made me force some balls that I didn't need to," senior quarterback Mike Garrison said.
Garrison finished 18-for-39 for 147 yards and three interceptions -- one more than he had in the season's first six contests.
"You have to give them credit because they had a good day and they did some good things against us, but I felt like we self-inflicted some things also," Verdugo said. "Everybody that we are playing in this conference are good football teams. They just had a little something to do with us playing not so well today."
Fort Hays struggled offensively in the first half against the Mules, the conference's second-best scoring defense.
Central Missouri held the Tigers to 117 total yards in the first half. FHSU, which didn't score in the second half against Washburn University last week, was shutout for the second consecutive half. The Tigers have scored two offensive touchdowns in their last 10 quarters.
Garrison, who entered Saturday on pace to break the Tiger single season record for completion percentage (62.9), completed just 5-of-16 passes for 48 yards and two interceptions before intermission.
"We had a couple drops in the first half," Verdugo said. "We didn't play very crisp and we had a chance to catch some stuff and then we have got to eliminate those turnovers."
Garrison came into Saturday tied for the fewest interceptions among conference quarterbacks, yet doubled his single total in the first half.
Garrison threw his first INT on Fort Hays' first drive. Senior Randy Shepard picked off a pass at the Mules' 17-yard line, his first of two interceptions. The Mules, led by senior quarterback Eric Czerniewski, drove down to the Fort Hays four and kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Senior defensive lineman Charlie Carr, on a 34-game consecutive start streak, suffered a leg injury and missed the rest of the game.
Then, Fort Hays mounted its best drive of the first half when they moved to the Mules 28-yard line. On 4th-and-4, Garrison had junior wideout Robert Mercer behind a Central defensive back, yet the ball was overthrown slightly and FHSU turned the ball over on downs.
"They blitz a lot more than anybody we played on third down, but some of the early balls I thought we hung them up there a little bit, trying to be too careful, not to overthrow guys" Verdugo said. "We can lay it out there. Our guys can run and go get it."
Fort Hays went three-and-out on its next two possessions. Central drove to the Tigers' 17 but couldn't convert a fourth down. Tiger senior All-American cornerback C.J. Lovett picked off a pass early in the second quarter, his second of the season and 11th of career. Lovett,the school record holder for most kickoff and punt returns, is now tied for second on the all-time interception list with five other players. The school mark is 13 set by Mike Allen from 1987-90. The Tigers have now picked off a pass in three straight games.
After the interception, Fort Hays gave Central the ball back when Garrison threw deep to junior O.J. Murdock in double coverage and junior Karl Parker picked it off. Then, Czerniewski found junior Zain Gower on a 13-yard TD pass and a 10-0 lead.
Fort Hays committed its third turnover of the first half when junior James Walker fumbled at the Mules' 31. Central scored again off the turnover when Czerniewski found senior wideout Bobby Guillory on a 10-yard pass. Central, who occasionally used the Wildcat formation and direct snaps, finished the first half with 304 yards, including 238 in the first half from Czerniewski. Overall, Czerniewski had 303 passing yards.
"I thought our defense played well in the first half," Verdugo said. "To be in a position that we were, as bad as we played on offense, missing some opportunities turning the football over. I thought the defense did a good job today when they had an opportunity in the first half."
Central bumped their lead to 24-0 when junior Anthony Stewart (game-high 98 rushing yards) went 53 yards for a score. Fort Hays tacked on its first points on a 28-yard field goal from senior Nathan Rausa. Fort Hays took two shots at the end zone, but one pass was broken up by Shepard and another one to Murdock was incomplete. Late in the third quarter, Fort Hays drove to the Mules' 10-yard line but couldn't convert on fourth and short.
"They came reared and ready to go," Gadwood said. "We just had to counter it. We knew they would come out flying high on their Homecoming. They were the better team today."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |
| BB | 03/07 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 13-7 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 16-4 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | W 3-0 |
| MB | 03/05 | Emporia State | L 65-61 |
| BB | 03/05 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 10-3 |
| WB | 03/04 | No. 15 Emporia | L 72-66 |
| WB | 02/28 | No. 12 Emporia State | L 87-80 |
| MB | 02/28 | Emporia State | W 94-47 |
| SB | 02/28 | Quincy | L 6-0 |
| SB | 02/27 | Mo Southern | W 9-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Missouri S&T | L 8-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Drury | W 17-10 |
| BB | 02/27 | Mo. Western | W 17-0 |
| BB | 02/27 | Mo. Western | W 3-2 (10 inn.) |
| BB | 02/26 | Mo. Western | W 12-8 |
| BB | 02/26 | Missouri Western | W 11-10 |
| MB | 02/24 | Pittsburg State | W 69-60 |
| WB | 02/24 | Pittsburg State | L 78-74 |
| MB | 02/21 | Mo. Southern | L 76-57 |