Webcast – B2Networks (video), CentralMoInfo.com (audio)
Radio – 104.7 FM KRES (Brad Boyer, Chad Speakar, Hank Janssen
Pregame show begins at 12:40 p.m.
Sept. 30, 2009 – One of the oldest rivalries in all of college football will resume on Saturday afternoon as the Truman State University Bulldogs and the University of Central Missouri Mules lock horns in Warrensburg on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. This match-up is the fifth longest in Division II and will be the 93rd game in the series.
Both schools are coming off disappointing outings last week. Truman could get little going in “The Ol’ Hickory Stick” game as they fell 70-0 to #6 Northwest Missouri while the Mules tasted defeat for the first time in 2009 in a 36-21 loss at Washburn.
The Bulldogs were kept under 100 yards of total offense for the first time since 1989 in their eighth straight loss to the Bearcats. Truman managed just 92 yards (47 rushing, 45 passing) on the day and allowed over 400 yards of total offense for the third straight game.
Taylor Breen got the nod at quarterback over the injured Phil Davis. Breen completed just four of 17 passes on the day after missing most of the practice week due to illness. For the season, Breen is 9-of-33 for 124 yards and has one touchdown pass.
Truman is fourth in the MIAA in passing defense allowing 197.0 yards per game, while the Mules come into the game third in passing offense at 268.2 yards per game.
Central’s passing attack is led by Eric Czerniewski, who has already thrown for 1,256 yards on 110 completions. Czerniewski has 10 touchdown passes to four interceptions.
In Saturday’s loss to Washburn, the Mules fell behind 20-0 after the Ichabods struck three times in the second quarter. Central got two rushing touchdowns by Anthony Stewart and another by Zain Gower. Czerniewski was 32-of-52 with three interceptions and 283 yards passing in the loss.
The Mules have outscored their opponents 54-7 in the first quarter but are ranked ninth in the conference in total defense at 424.4 yards allowed per game.
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.
The Bulldogs are in a stretch of games against ranked opponents. Northwest, last week’s opponent is sixth in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll while Central Missouri is 20th. Missouri Western, the Oct 10th foe is 12th and will have a showdown with Northwest Missouri this Saturday before travelling to Kirksville.
Truman has already played #7 Minnesota State Mankato (Lost 31-13) and has #17 Washburn on Oct. 31st left on the schedule. Truman also will play Pittsburg State, who peaked in the top 10 before dropping out of the poll this past week.
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 Mules:
Too little, too late was the feeling after the Bulldogs fell 31-28 to Central Missouri at Stokes Stadium last season.
Truman was down 24-7 early in the third quarter before Anton Bernard returned a blocked punt for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs some momentum. Albert Coker then caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ticich to close the gap to three points midway through the fourth quarter.
With the Bulldogs in possession again, LaVance Dotson picked off Ticich and scampered 37-yards for the touchdown to give the Mules a 10-point advantage with five minutes left.
Phil Kenney would score with 2:38 left but Central was able to kill the clock the rest of the way to get the win.
Czerniewski was 17-of-29 for 162 yards while Truman was led by Kenny’s 126 yards receiving.
What’s At Stake?
- The Bulldogs are looking for their first conference victory of the season and their first in four league games dating back to last season (Missouri Southern).
- The Bulldogs will be looking for their 293rd MIAA victory (292-175-20) and 526th (525-359-34) win in the program’s history.
- UCM has won the last two games in the series and seven of the last eight match-ups.
- Truman’s last win in Warrensburg came in 1999 (24-13), zero for their last four trips.
- Central is just one game out of first place in the conference standings and are one of four teams with 2-1 league marks.
.
About The Bulldogs (Defense):
Senior Demetrius Lavant is third in the MIAA rankings in tackles per game with 8.8. Lavant has 44 total tackles (22s, 22a) to led the Bulldogs. Lavant is also tied for fifth in the league in passes defended at 1.20 per game.
Senior Eric Sternberg is tied for second in the league in tackles for loss with 1.30 per game. Sternberg has 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He is the active player career leader in tackles with 165 and 26.5 tackles for loss.
The top five Bulldogs in tackles are all linebackers or defensive backs with Michael Elliott second with 38 tackles.
Dan Bryar leads defensive linemen with 23 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 206 rushes, Truman’s defense allowed 1026 yards rushing for a 5.0 yards per carry average.
- In 66 pass completions for 985 yards, opponents averaged 14.9 yards per completion.
- In 325 offensive plays, opposing teams average 6.2 yards per play.
- Opponents have made 17 trips into Truman’s redzone and come away with 12 touchdowns and two field goals.
- The Bulldog defense has been on the field on average 29:51 minutes per game this season and has allowed 159 points.
- Opponents have converted on third down 47% of the time (29-of-62) with 17-of-30 in the first half and 12-of-32 in the second half.
- Opponents are 2-of-3 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 734 yards rushing in the first two conference games with individual rushers of 180 (Bryce Hawthorne-UNO), 200 (James Walker-FHSU) and 67 (Billy Creason-NWMSU).
- 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. Northwest Missouri had the longest drive in terms of yards going 95 in 10 plays with a touchdown.
About the Bulldogs (Offense):
Junior quarterback Phillip Davis had thrown for 676 yards this season and rushed for another 145 yards before leaving the Fort Hays State game due to injury. Davis is still ranked eighth in the conference in total offense per game at 205.2 yards and is also eighth in the conference in passing/game yards at 169.0.
Breen has completed just 27% of his passes and made his first collegiate start against Northwest Missouri on Saturday. Breen has the season’s longest pass completion going for 49-yards to Charlie Brunette against Fort Hays State.
Junior Donald Harvey has taken over the team lead in rushing with 158 yards on 29 carries. Harvey is averaging 5.4 yards per rush and has scored one touchdown. Harvey has the longest run from scrimmage this season going 39 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
The total among the 11 different Bulldog rushers this season has resulted in 580 yards from scrimmage and a 3.2 yards per carry mark.
Truman has had 11 different receivers catch 69 passes this season with sophomore Anthony Brown leading with 13 catches for 141 yards. Senior Steve D’Antonio has the highest yards per catch mark at 16.6.
Albert Coker is nearing 1000 career receiving yards. The senior has 79 catches for 987 yards.
Offensive Quick Hits:
- The Bulldogs have recorded 90 first downs on this season, 38 by passing, 36 by rushing and 16 by penalty.
- In 182 rushing attempts, Truman is averaging 3.2 yards per carry.
- Truman gained 765 yards on the ground but lost 185 to end up with a net 580.
- With 69 pass completions, the Bulldogs had 800 yards passing and an 11.6 yards per completion average.
- With 334 offensive plays, the Bulldogs have amassed 1380 yards of total offense for a per play average of 4.1 yards.
- In their 14 trips to the redzone this season, the Bulldog have six touchdowns, four field goals, two end on downs and one fumble.
- The Bulldogs are 31-78 (40%) on third down conversions. They are 17-of-46 in the first half and 13-of-32 in the second half.
- Truman 3-10 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 30:09 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 seventh in kicker scoring at 4.8 points per game. Masucci has 206 career points and has made 107 point after attempts with the last 45 being consecutive.
Freshman Eric Phillips is seventh with a 37.5 per punt average. Phillips is tied for second with Jordan Hofer of Central Missouri in the conference with a 62-yard punt against Nebraska-Omaha.
Truman averaged 20.1 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 16 returns for 312 yards or an 19.5 yards per return average.
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 25-for-25 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 60.3 yards per kickoff and 38.1 yards per punt.
- The Bulldogs averaged 20.1 yards per kick return and 5.9 per punt return.
- The Bulldogs blocked a punt against Minnesota State. It was blocked by junior Jordan Flores and recovered by sophomore Aaron Tjarks.
- Northwest has blocked the only punt this season against Truman. It came in the first quarter and was recovered for a touchdown.
- Truman allowed their first kick return for a touchdown since 1999 against Northwest Missouri. Tyler Shaw took the second half opening kickoff 92 yards for the touchdown. Kerry Byers went 100 yards for Missouri Southern back in 1999.
The Series:
This will be the 93rd meeting on the gridiron between Truman and Central Missouri. The Bulldogs lead the overall series record with a 52-35-5 record over the Mules.
Truman’s last win in the series came in 2006 at Stokes Stadium where they won 24-21 but the Mules have won the last two meetings.
In the last game played in Warrensburg, Central won 27-7. Truman’s last win on the road came in 1999, a Thursday night game, 24-13.
Only four other Division II games have been played more than this series. Emporia St./Washburn (aka “The Turnpike Tussle”) has been played 105 times and will next be played on Nov. 7th.
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 85-75-4 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.
Willie Fritz is in his 13th season on the sidelines at UCM. Fritz has posted a 93-45 record at Central while achieving a career record of 132-50-1 in 16 years as a head coach.
Fritz is a graduate of Pittsburg State University and has two former Bulldogs on his coaching staff. Co-Defensive Coordinators Chuck Clemens and Greg Nesbitt were apart of Eric Holm’s staff in the early 90s at Truman.
Bulldogs On The Road:
Truman is 0-2 in road games this season. Since the 2000 season, the Bulldogs are 19-32 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
All-Time Records:
· This will be the 919th game in Truman football history. The Bulldogs are 525-359-34 (.591) 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 .591 win percentage. The University of Missouri has the most wins with 603 with the Bulldogs second with 525.
·
Truman/Northwest Missouri Game Footnotes:
· It was the 89th meeting between Truman and Northwest with the Bulldogs still holding a 54-31-4 record over the Bearcats.
· Northwest dipped “The Ol’ Hickory Stick” in green paint for the eighth straight time, the longest streak for the Bearcats in the series, and the 29th time overall in the series.
· The Bulldogs crossed midfield just once in the first half and three times in the second half.
· Truman had the ball 36:10 to the Bearcats 23:50.
· Truman was 4-of-19 on third down attempts while Northwest was 7-of-12.
· Caleb Roberts made his debut for the Bulldogs at quarterback and was 0-1.
· Michael Elliott led Truman with 10 tackles
· Luther Eta recorded his third career interception.
· The Bulldogs were held under 100 yards of total offense for the first time since Central State (Ohio) in 1989, a span of 214 games. Truman had 92 yards of total offense against Northwest but just 72 against Central State in a 50-0 defeat on Oct. 7, 1989.
Up Next:
Another week, another ranked opponent on the schedule for the Bulldogs as Missouri Western will visit Kirksville on Oct. 10th for Homecoming. The Griffons needed a late field goal to beat the Bulldogs 33-32 in St. Joseph last season.
Missouri Western has a big-time showdown for the conference outright lead with Northwest Missouri this Saturday at home. The Griffons are 5-0 and are 12th in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll.
Kickoff at Stokes Stadium for homecoming will be at 2:00 p.m. A special presentation to Truman will occur prior to kickoff and Jerry Burditt and the 1998-99 Bulldog Men’s Basketball team will be inducted into Truman’s Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime.