Two fourth quarter interceptions sealed the Hornet football team’s fate last Saturday as they lost at Northwest Missouri 42-28. The Hornets went into the fourth quarter with a 28-28 tie with the #6 Bearcats in Maryville. However, quarterback Tyler Eckenrode was intercepted twice in which both picks resulted in a touchdown. The loss drops the Hornets record to 5-3 on the season with three games left to play.
With two more victories, the team would qualify for a postseason bowl game. If the team were to win out their remaining games, the Hornets would qualify for the playoffs for the first time under Coach Garrin Higgins.
The Hornets are back at home Saturday for ESU’s homecoming game when they take on Truman set to be broadcast as the MIAA Network Game of the Week. Kick-off is set for 2:20 p.m. at Welch Stadium.
Three ESU football players cited for marijuana use
Three ESU football players were cited for allegedly possessing marijuana in the North Twin Towers on Aug. 28. Miguel Johns, Jackson Bonnette, and Orelando Pratt Jr. were the three players. Johns was a freshman wide receiver from Newton. Both Bonnette and Pratt were freshman from Corpus Cristi, Tex. Bonnette was one of five quarterbacks on the team, and Pratt also played at the wide receiver position.
All three players were redshirted and had yet to see any game time action. Head Coach Garrin Higgins said the players are no longer with the team. The three have been issued misdemeanor tickets and are currently scheduled for a court date at 9 a.m. on Oct. 28.
Volleyball Sweeps Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri State
The Emporia State Volleyball team swept Missouri Western on Sept. 17. They won their three sets 25-10, 25-15, and 15-17. Strong serving by senior setter Ting Liu, including a seven point run in the first set, and five unanswered serves in the second set helped push the Hornets toward the sweep. Other notable Hornet performances were senior Brianne Bonner with 16 kills and six blocks. Fellow senior Brittney Miller had 12 kills and four blocks, and Meg Schwartz had 11 digs to fill out the Hornets’ defensive game.
In further volleyball action, the Hornets swept Northwest Missouri State on Sept. 18 with wins of 25-20, 25-20, and 26-24. Top player performances were by senior Brittney Miller with 13 kills and Brianne Boner with eight kills and three blocks. Playing a tough defensive game were Paige Vanderpool with nine digs and 12 kills, Katelyn Schmidtberger with 11 digs and Meg Schwartz with 10. Following the Hornets two weekend road sweeps they have now been bumped up to the 11th spot in the AVCA poll. Furthermore, Ting Liu has earned MIAA Specialist of the Week for the third straight week.
Cross Country Teams land top 10 finishes
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to Lincoln, Neb., this Saturday for the Woody Invitational, the team’s first big meet. Both teams were able to land top ten finishes as the men finished fifth out of 21 and the women seventh of 20.
Out of 295 runners, Asher Delmott led the Hornet men placing 36th overall followed by Will Hohmeier (47th) and Jacob Bull (56th). For the women Kathryn Davison led the way placing 61st overall. She was followed by Sydney Oltjen (66th), Courtney Maddux (74th) and Amy Feldkamp (79th).
The cross-country teams will travel to Hillsboro for the Tabor Invitational this Saturday.
Running Back Adrian Abner breaks up field against the Missouri Southern defense Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. Jon Coffey/The Bulletin.
Last Saturday the Hornet football team got back on the winning track with a 30-27 victory over MIAA opponent Missouri Southern. The win moves their record to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the conference.
After a quick score in the first quarter by Missouri Southern, ESU responded with two touchdown passes by quarterback Tyler Eckenrode and a Zackary King field goal to take a 16-7 lead with only 3:01 left in the half. However, Missouri Southern would respond just before the half with a touchdown of their own, closing the margin to 16-14.
ESU started the second half off with a bang after an onside kick recovered by cornerback Chris Woods and a 49-yard touchdown run by running back Adrian Abner on the next play to put the Hornets up 23-14.
“We knew pretty early in the week that we wanted to try on onside kick. I told the guys at halftime that we were going to start the second half with an onside kick. We really needed that big play,” Head Coach Garrin Higgins said.
Missouri Southern would score two touchdowns, one of which was a 96-yard touchdown run, to take a 27-23 advantage.
The lead would hold for about the length of a quarter until linebacker Michael Luthi intercepted a pass from Missouri Southern quarterback Collin Howard and ran it back for what would be the game-winning touchdown.
“The play happened because our defensive line got pressure on the quarterback. Danny Webb put a good hit on him as he was throwing, and the ball just came to me,” Luthi said.
The player of the game was sophomore safety Derek Lohmann. Lohmann had two red zone interceptions in the second half that helped seal the victory. The first was a sideline catch in the end zone that stopped a drive by Missouri Southern with them still having the lead 27-23 late in the game. Lohmann then made a one handed interception for his second one on Missouri Southern’s last drive of the game, sealing the win.
“We really needed some big stops on defense at the end, and fortunately for us we made several big plays at the end to be able to run out the clock at the end,” Lohmann said. “This is a huge win for our team and our confidence.”
The Hornets finish up their two game home stretch this Saturday with opponent Fort Hays State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Welch Stadium.
Illness and injury set back the already struggling Emporia State Hornets as they fell to the #5 ranking Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, 45-12. Freshman quarterback and business major Tyler Eckenrode and junior running back and physical education major La’Darrian Page were absent from the game due to a shoulder injury and a hamstring injury, respectively.
Quarterback Sheldon Smith breaks for the side line Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. The Hornets lost to the No. 5 ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats 12-45. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin
With the absence of Eckenrode, senior quarterback and communication major Andre Sloan-El got the starting nod from head coach Garrin Higgins. Higgins said he was fairly pleased with Sloan-El’s performance.
“I thought (Sloan-El) did okay…he was told he was going to be the starter about an hour before game time,” Higgins said.
The game started off well enough for the Hornets, as they received the kickoff and methodically drove down the field and scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sloan-El to senior wide receiver and social science major Danny McEvoy.
“We had some guys step up and make some plays…it was good,” Higgins said. “It was good for our morale, and I always say that for us, right now, there’s good things that have to happen early and that was a good thing that happened early that got us through that first half.”
Quarterback Andre Sloan-El looks down field for an open receiver Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. The Hornets lost to the No. 5 ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats 12-45. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.
Northwest answered and, subsequently, never looked back.
The only bright spot early on for the Hornets, save for the opening drive touchdown, as a 23-yard interception return by senior linebacker and business major Blake Ringwall. Unfortunately for the Hornets, the turnover was not capitalized.
“Whenever we get an opportunity, especially against a team like Northwest, there’s no room for error, no margin for error,” Higgins said. “They tightened up defensively…we had a tough time moving the football on them today, we really did.”
Northwest would almost double the offensive output of the Hornets, 514-268. Katrel Larkins, senior linebacker and business major, thought that the defense should have been able to minimize some of those yards and the big plays. He also emphasized that the team will earn another W soon.
“We prepared for them,” Larkins said. “We knew everything they were running, but they’re the type of team that they don’t care if we know what the plays are that they’re running, they’re just going to come at us. It was just us. We couldn’t make the plays…that’s what always happens – we always give up the big plays… we’re going to win us a game before the season is over.”
Wide Receiver Danny McEvoy sprints for the end zone Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium. The Hornets lost to the No. 5 ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats 12-45. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.
The last thing on Sloan-El’s mind was the difficulty of playing a nationally ranked powerhouse like Northwest.
“They put their pads on just like us, so you have to come out here and execute,” Sloan-El said. “They did some things that were unexpected, but that’s part of the game.”
McEvoy thought that the Hornets had every chance in the world to defeat the Bearcats at the start of the game, given the right circumstances.
“When we’re all healthy, we’ve got the talent to (play with Northwest),” McEvoy said. “We didn’t have any depth, we have guys sick, we have guys hurt – I saw surgical masks on three players. A lot of injuries, especially this past week just in practice. Yeah, we felt like we could play with them, it’s just they’re a good team; you can’t make any mistakes, ever. We made a few mistakes early and that kind of helped them build their momentum.”
McEvoy had a career game, gaining 142 yards on six receptions, along with two touchdowns. Big plays early helped the Hornets keep the game somewhat even, for the time being.
“We just outplayed them, I guess, those two plays,” McEvoy said. “We didn’t outplay them too much throughout the game…they kind of gave us something we liked, and Dre (Sloan-El) hit me.”
Higgins believes that the Hornets’ fortunes will turn around sooner rather than later.
“The football gods, they’ll turn around and smile on us here sometime,” Higgins said.
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