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Sept. 23, 2009 – The oldest trophy game in Division II football is on tap as the Truman Bulldogs and Northwest Missouri Bearcats will tangle on Saturday afternoon in Maryville, Mo. The Bulldogs have won the “The Ol’ Hickory Stick” 43 times but have not been able to dip the tip in purple paint since 2001.
Truman is coming off a disappointing 41-31 loss at the hands of Fort Hays State in front of a large Family Night crowd at Stokes Stadium. After matching the Tigers for most of the first half, two third quarter scores gave Fort Hays a 13 point lead that Truman could not overcome.
Junior quarterback Phillip Davis leads the team in both rushing and passing yards. Davis has gained 145 yards on the ground on 42 carries and thrown for another 676 with five touchdown passes. Davis is ranked eighth in the MIAA in total offense per game with 205.2 yards though four games.
Davis left in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against Fort Hays after throwing for 131 yards on 11-of-20 passing and his status for this week’s game is unknown.
Redshirt freshman QB Taylor Breen was 4-of-13 after coming off the bench against the Tigers and threw for 72 yards and gained another 39 on the ground.
Donald Harvey had 54 yards rushing and is second on the team with 134 this season.
Northwest Missouri, a four-time national runner-up, has rebounded to win their last three games after dropping a 19-14 decision to #2 Abliene Christian in the season opener. The Bearcats have reeled off 30 straight MIAA victories dating back to 2005 after a 37-27 defeat of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon in Maryville.
Blake Bolles threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and LaRon Council scored three times and gained 113 yards in the victory over the Mavericks.
The Bearcats scored 23 points in the second quarter with a 46-yard pass and a 69-yard pass from Bolles and added a safety on a blocked point after attempt.
Bolles has completed 66% of his passes and thrown for 981 yards and nine touchdowns. He is third in the conference in passing yards per game at 244.2.
Council is tops among league running backs at 95 yards per game and six touchdowns. The senior averages five yards a carry.
Bulldogs 2009 Schedule One Of Nation’s Toughest
Truman will play six opponents that have appeared in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll this season. One other opponent, Nebraska-Omaha appeared in the D2Football.com media top 25 earlier this season as well.
This Saturday’s contest with the Bearcats begins a stretch of games against ranked opponents. Northwest is sixth in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll while next week’s opponent, Central Missouri is 11th. Missouri Western, the Oct 10th foe enters the poll at 18th.
Truman has already played #7 Minnesota State Mankato (Lost 31-13) and has #23 Pittsburg State on Nov. 7th. Washburn, Truman opponent on Oct. 31st, would be 26th in this week’s poll after receiving 44 votes.
The Bulldogs last victory against a ranked opponent was a 26-20 double over time victory over #16 Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 4, 2008.
Last Meeting with the Bearcats:
A 28-point second quarter was the knockout punch that the Bearcats delivered in a 49-0 victory over the Bulldogs in Kirksville last season.
Northwest racked up 568 yards of total offense to Truman’s 143 in the seventh straight victory over the Bulldogs in the “Ol’ Hickory Stick” game.
LaRon Council had a pair of touchdowns with 72 yards rushing while former Bearcat Joel Osborn added 285 yards and three touchdowns in the quarterback position. Current starter Blake Bolles was 9-of-15 for 71 yards.
Donald Harvey led the Bulldogs with 26 rushing yards and Albert Coker had 27 receiving yards.
What’s At Stake?
- The Bulldogs are looking for their first conference victory of the season and their first in three league games dating back to last season (Missouri Southern).
- The Bulldogs will be looking for their 293rd MIAA victory (292-174-20) and 526th (525-357-34) win in the program’s history.
- Truman wants to bring the “Ol’ Hickory Stick” back to Kirksville for the first time since 2001 and 46th time overall.
- Northwest is looking to extend their MIAA winning streak to 30 games (Pittsburg State, 2005).
- With a win, the Bearcats will extend their winning streak over the Bulldogs to eight straight games which is their longest over Truman in the series history. Truman’s longest streak over Northwest was 11 games from 1985-1995.
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About The Bulldogs (Defense):
Senior Demetrius Lavant is tied for first in the MIAA in tackles per game at 9.0. Lavant has 36 total tackles (17s, 19a). He is also sixth in the conference in passes defended at 1.25 per game.
Senior Eric Sternberg is tied for fourth in the league in tackles for loss with 1.38 per game. Sternberg has 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He is the active player career leader in tackles with 161 and 25.5 tackles for loss.
The top five Bulldogs in tackles are all linebackers or defensive backs with Tremaine Millender second with 30 tackles.
Dan Bryar leads defensive linemen with 21 tackles.
Defensive Quick Hits:
- Truman has forced five turnovers this season with two directly being returned for touchdowns. One other turnover resulted in a touchdown by the offense.
- In 172 rushes, Truman’s defense allowed 798 yards rushing for a 4.6 yards per carry average.
- In 51 pass completions for 716 yards, opponents averaged 14.0 yards per completion.
- In 265 offensive plays, opposing teams average 5.7 yards per play.
- Opponents have made 10 trips into Truman’s redzone and come away with eight touchdowns and two field goals.
- The Bulldog defense has been on the field on average 31:21 minutes per game this season and has allowed 103 points.
- Opponents have converted on third down 44% of the time (22-of-50) with 10-of-21 in the first half and 12-of-29 in the second half.
- Opponents are 1-of-2 in fourth down conversions.
- Truman allowed their first 200 yard rusher since Oct. 6, 2007 when James Walker went for 200 yards for Fort Hays State. The last 200 yard rusher against the Bulldogs was Jeff Finnell of Southwest Baptist, who ran for 215 yards.
- Truman has allowed 506 yards rushing in the first two conference games with individual rushers of 180 (Bryce Hawthorne-UNO) and 200 (James Walker-FHSU).
- The longest drives by the opposion this season have been 16 plays, 84 yards and took 7:01 off the clock. The result of the drive by Oklahoma Panhandle State was a turnover on downs at the Bulldog one-yard line.
About the Bulldogs (Offense):
Junior quarterback Phillip Davis has thrown for 676 yards this season and rushed for another 145 yards to be ranked eighth in the conference in total offense per game at 205.2 yards. Davis is also eighth in the conference in passing/game yards at 169.0.
Davis has completed 51.7 percent of his passes (60-of-116) and thrown five touchdown passes with four interceptions. His longest pass was a 40-yard TD pass to senior Charlie Brunette against Oklahoma Panhandle State. He has seven completed passes over 25 yards this season.
Junior Donald Harvey is second among the 10 ball carriers this season in yardage gained. Harvey has 134 net yards on 21 attempts for a 6.4 yards per carry average.
The total among the 10 different Bulldog rushers this season has resulted in 533 yards from scrimmage and a 4.0 yards per carry mark.
Truman has had 11 different receivers catch 65 passes this season with senior Phil Kenney leading the way with 12 catches for 95 yards. Senior Steve D’Antonio has the highest number of receiving yards (133) and the most yards per catch (16.6).
Offensive Quick Hits:
- The Bulldogs have recorded 79 first downs on this season, 36 by passing, 30 by rushing and 13 by penalty.
- In 134 rushing attempts, Truman is averaging 4.0 yards per carry..
- Truman gained 632 yards on the ground but lost 99 to end up with a net 533.
- With 65 pass completions, the Bulldogs had 755 yards passing and an 11.6 yards per completion average.
- With 267 offensive plays, the Bulldogs have amassed 1288 yards of total offense for a per play average of 4.8 yards.
- In their 13 trips to the redzone this season, the Bulldog have six touchdowns, four field goals, two end on downs and one fumble.
- The Bulldogs are 27-59 (46%) on third down conversions. They are 16-of-37 in the first half and 10-of-22 in the second half.
- Truman 3-9 on fourth down conversions. The longest fourth down converted this season was a 4th&16 that went for a 31 yard touchdown pass from Phillip Davis to Jordan Flores.
- The offense has been on the field 28:39 per game this season and has scored 82 points.
- The Bulldogs longest drive of the season has been a 13-play 80-yard drive that consumed 6:52 and resulted in a touchdown.
- The last 1,000 yard rusher for the Bulldogs was Jerard Leverson (1012 yards) following the 2003 season.
About the Bulldogs (Special Teams):
Senior Mickey Masucci is Truman’s all-time career field goal kicker with 33 makes Masucci is 33-of-52 on field goal attempts for his career and passed Scott Bresaw (1989-91) and Jeff Klee (1996-99).
Masucci is fourth in kicker scoring at 6.0 points per game. Masucci has 206 career points and has made 107 point after attempts with the last 45 being consecutive.
Freshman Eric Phillips has entered the conference punting charts and is fourth with a 39.6 per punt average. Phillips is tied for the season-long of 62 yards with Jordan Hofer of Central Missouri.
Truman averaged 20.4 yards per kickoff return on this season with Vanness Emokpae’s 62 yard return down to Minnesota State’s 16-yard line being the season long thus far.
Phil Kenney has 14 returns for 256 yards or an 18.3 yards per return average and is third in the conference rankings.
Albert Coker has five punt returns for 21 yards (4.2 per return) this season and for his career has averaged 7.7 yards per return and has a touchdown.
Special Teams Quick Hits:
- The Bulldogs are 4-of-6 on field goal attempts this season. The longest attempt has been 37 yards (missed).
- Truman has converted on 45 straight point after kick attempts have not tried a two-point conversion this season.
- Opponents are 15-for-15 on extra point attempts and have not tried a two-point conversion this season. They are 4-for-5 on field goal attempts with the longest make being from 46 yards.
- Truman averaged 60.2 yards per kickoff and 39.6 yards per punt.
- The Bulldogs averaged 20.4 yards per kick return and 5.5 per punt return.
- The Bulldogs blocked a punt against Minnesota State. It was blocked by junior Jordan Flores and recovered by sophomore Aaron Tjarks.
- Truman has not had any punts or field goals blocked this season.
The Series:
This will be the 89th meeting between the Bulldogs and Bearcats dating back to 1908. Both are original members of the then-Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
Truman dominated the early part of the series and still holds a 54-30-4 advantage over the Bearcats. The longest winning streak for the Bulldogs was 11 from 1985-1995.
Since “The Stick” has come into play in 1931 the Bulldogs are 43-28-4.
Truman’s last victory in the series came in 2001 at Maryville in a 24-23 upset over the Bearcats. Northwest came in riding a 41-game MIAA winning streak and was defeated when Eric Howe ran in from four yards out with 12 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a victory.
“The Stick” History In Short:
- Series started in 1931 and is the oldest Division II trophy game played.
- In 1930, Northwest President U.W. Lamkin sent the 30-inch stick of hickory to Northeast President Eugene Fair because Lamkin found it on the farm where Dr. Fair was born.
- The winning team dips the metal end of the stick in the school color after the game at midfield. Purple for Truman and Green for Northwest.
- The scores of each game played are recorded on the stick.
- For series highlights and more trophy games, see page 79 in Truman’s Media Guide.
Coaches:
Aaron Vlcko is in his first season as the head coach of the Truman Bulldogs and fifth season overall with the program. As the team’s offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs have averaged 345.7 yards per game with nearly 10,000 yards passing.
Truman has averaged 24.2 points per game under Vlcko calling the plays.
Maurice “Red’ Wade is the dean of Truman coaches with 143 games coached and 99 victories. Don Faurot is the Bulldog leader in win percentage at an .816 clip from 1926-1934, the year before he left for the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Truman is 85-74-4 under first year head coaches. Ten of the 21 Head Coaches have had winning seasons in their first year, the last was a 6-5 record posted by John Ware in 1995. The best winning percentage of first year head coaches belongs to both Don and Fred Faurot who each went 7-1 (.875) in 1926 and 1935 respectively.
The most wins of any first year Truman coach was nine set in 1990 by Eric Holm.
Mel Tjeerdsma is second in conference victories with 160 and has nearly an .800 winning percentage since taking over the program in 1994.
Since 1996, Tjeerdsma’s Bearcats have not lost more than four games a season (2005) and have won 11 MIAA titles, two national championships and been a runner-up in the last four title games.
Bulldogs On The Road:
Truman is 0-1 in road games this season. Since the 2000 season, the Bulldogs are 19-31 in road games.
Truman has not had a season in which they won at least one road game since 1973 (0-5-1).
Truman’s longest road winning streak is 12 games dating back from 1932-1934 under Coach Don Faurot
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All-Time Records:
· This will be the 918th game in Truman football history. The Bulldogs are 525-358-34 (.592) all time.
· Truman is 4-1 in overtime games. All five games have been played at Stokes Stadium with the last being on Nov. 15, 2008 against Missouri S&T (L 39-38).
· The Bulldogs have finished .500 or above in 70 of the 101 seasons of football played at the University and have had five wins or more in 62 seasons.
· Truman is the winningest NCAA program in the state of Missouri with the .592 win percentage. The University of Missouri has the most wins with 601 with the Bulldogs second with 525. Northwest Missouri is second in win percentage with a .546 percent.
Truman/Fort Hays Game Footnotes:
· The Bulldogs averaged 37.2 yards per kick return with both Phil Kenney and Albert Coker each recording 30+ yard returns.
· The Tigers had 535 all-purpose yards.
· Two of the four Vanness Emokpae’s catches came on third down, one for 19 yards and one for 17 yards.
· Fort Hays was 8-of-14 on third down conversions while the Bulldogs were 7-of-17.
· The 43-yard touchdown pass by Mike Garrison was the longest scoring play against the Bulldogs from scrimmage.
· Fort Hays had eight plays go from 25-yards or more which was the most since Pittsburg State had eight in the game last season.
· The 200 yards rushing by James Walker was the most allowed by the Bulldogs to a single player since Jeff Finnell of Southwest Baptist went for 215 on Oct. 6, 2007.
· C.J. Lovett’s 89-yard kick return was the first since Kendall Wright of Northwest Missouri went 47-yards in 2007 against the ‘Dogs.
· The announced attendance was 4,276
Up Next:
Truman will head to Warrensburg for another original MIAA match-up next Saturday afternoon against the University of Central Missouri.
The Mules are ranked #11 in this week’s AFCA Coaches Poll and are 4-0 as they enter this week’s game against Washburn.
Central held on to defeat the Bulldogs at Stokes Stadium last season 31-28. The Mules led 24-7 but a late interception return for a touchdown allowed Central to escape Kirksville with the victory.