Unbeaten Morningside travels to Doane
By Terry Hersomthersom@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Saturday, November 01, 2008
By Terry Hersom
Journal sports editor
Steve Ryan keeps urging his Morningside College football team to take things one game at a time and the Mustangs seem to keep listening.
Two weeks away from a season-ending showdown Nov. 15 with No. 2-ranked (NAIA) Sioux Falls, Ryan's fourth-ranked troops head to Crete, Neb., this afternoon for a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup against Doane.
And, if Ryan needs to get his team's attention for this 1 p.m. contest at Doane's Simon Field, he need only point to the Tigers' last game -- a 43-0 rout of Dordt last Saturday in Sioux Center.
"They've got some real good parts to them,'' said Ryan. "Number one, they've got an excellent defensive line that may be the best we've seen this year. They also have some fast guys on offense, so we have to be careful not to give up the big plays.''
Morningside, 7-0, is coming off the "closest'' game in its last five starts, a 38-7 triumph last Saturday over Midland Lutheran. Blake Anderson caught seven passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns while Joe Don Hunter ran for 133 yards and scored twice for the Mustangs, who had won four games in a row by margins of 49 points or more.
"I think we've got a great group of seniors,'' said Ryan. "We haven't played poorly yet this year. Those guys have been locked in and focused and played well every week.''
Doane, 3-5 overall and 2-5 in GPAC action, snapped a four-game losing streak with its one-sided triumph over Dordt, playing its first varsity season. The victorious Tigers piled up 502 yards in total offense as Jaremy Puthoff rushed for 132 yards and quarterback J.T.Artozqui hurled touchdowns passes of 56 yards to D'Artagnan Dai'Re and 66 to Jeremi Saffold.
Morningside is visiting Doane for a second year in a row and the Nebraskans probably haven't forgotten last year's encounter. Playing in a season opener that marked the debut for Matt Franzen as the Doane head coach, Morningside hammered the Tigers 73-0, enjoying six touchdown drives of just 35 yards or less.
Franzen, a former Hastings College assistant, regrouped from that disappointing start to guide Doane to a 4-6 record, making significant strides after former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier guided the Tigers to a frustrating 3-17 mark the previous two seasons.
"Tommie recruited some good players, he just didn't recruit enough of them,'' said Ryan.
Three of this season's five Doane losses have been by margins of 10 points or less, including a 27-26 squeaker with Midland Lutheran.
Morningside will be a little shorthanded today, Ryan noted.
"We're as banged up as we've been,'' he said, noting that defensive back Mike Buckley (fractured finger) will miss the game along with linebackers Willie Mech (back) and Eric Damon (ankle). Also sidelined is Pete Lewis, a veteran running back who has been invaluable on special teams.
Shawn Doran, who quarterbacked Harlan to a Class 3A state title in 2005, will make his first collegiate start, filling in for Buckley in the secondary.
Morningside finishes up its home schedule next Saturday, hosting crosstown rival Briar Cliff at 1 p.m., anticipating a battle of unbeatens the following week at Sioux Falls, the two-time defending GPAC champ and last year's NAIA national runner-up.
Sioux Falls, which shared the 2001 GPAC title with Concordia, has won the league crown outright five of six subsequent seasons and posted a 57-1 league record, losing only a 27-26 cliffhanger to Morningside's conference champs from 2005.
Journal sports editor
Steve Ryan keeps urging his Morningside College football team to take things one game at a time and the Mustangs seem to keep listening.
Two weeks away from a season-ending showdown Nov. 15 with No. 2-ranked (NAIA) Sioux Falls, Ryan's fourth-ranked troops head to Crete, Neb., this afternoon for a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup against Doane.
And, if Ryan needs to get his team's attention for this 1 p.m. contest at Doane's Simon Field, he need only point to the Tigers' last game -- a 43-0 rout of Dordt last Saturday in Sioux Center.
"They've got some real good parts to them,'' said Ryan. "Number one, they've got an excellent defensive line that may be the best we've seen this year. They also have some fast guys on offense, so we have to be careful not to give up the big plays.''
Morningside, 7-0, is coming off the "closest'' game in its last five starts, a 38-7 triumph last Saturday over Midland Lutheran. Blake Anderson caught seven passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns while Joe Don Hunter ran for 133 yards and scored twice for the Mustangs, who had won four games in a row by margins of 49 points or more.
"I think we've got a great group of seniors,'' said Ryan. "We haven't played poorly yet this year. Those guys have been locked in and focused and played well every week.''
Doane, 3-5 overall and 2-5 in GPAC action, snapped a four-game losing streak with its one-sided triumph over Dordt, playing its first varsity season. The victorious Tigers piled up 502 yards in total offense as Jaremy Puthoff rushed for 132 yards and quarterback J.T.Artozqui hurled touchdowns passes of 56 yards to D'Artagnan Dai'Re and 66 to Jeremi Saffold.
Morningside is visiting Doane for a second year in a row and the Nebraskans probably haven't forgotten last year's encounter. Playing in a season opener that marked the debut for Matt Franzen as the Doane head coach, Morningside hammered the Tigers 73-0, enjoying six touchdown drives of just 35 yards or less.
Franzen, a former Hastings College assistant, regrouped from that disappointing start to guide Doane to a 4-6 record, making significant strides after former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier guided the Tigers to a frustrating 3-17 mark the previous two seasons.
"Tommie recruited some good players, he just didn't recruit enough of them,'' said Ryan.
Three of this season's five Doane losses have been by margins of 10 points or less, including a 27-26 squeaker with Midland Lutheran.
Morningside will be a little shorthanded today, Ryan noted.
"We're as banged up as we've been,'' he said, noting that defensive back Mike Buckley (fractured finger) will miss the game along with linebackers Willie Mech (back) and Eric Damon (ankle). Also sidelined is Pete Lewis, a veteran running back who has been invaluable on special teams.
Shawn Doran, who quarterbacked Harlan to a Class 3A state title in 2005, will make his first collegiate start, filling in for Buckley in the secondary.
Morningside finishes up its home schedule next Saturday, hosting crosstown rival Briar Cliff at 1 p.m., anticipating a battle of unbeatens the following week at Sioux Falls, the two-time defending GPAC champ and last year's NAIA national runner-up.
Sioux Falls, which shared the 2001 GPAC title with Concordia, has won the league crown outright five of six subsequent seasons and posted a 57-1 league record, losing only a 27-26 cliffhanger to Morningside's conference champs from 2005.
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