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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