Eckenrode

Freshman quarterback and business major Tyler Eckenrode will get the nod from Emporia State football head coach Garrin Higgins to start this Saturday’s home game at 1 p.m. against MIAA foe Northwest Missouri

“We just felt like there needed to be a change made, we had turned the ball over ten times the last few games and won one game,” Higgins said. “Eckenrode is a young quarterback, and we wanted to give him an opportunity – he deserved the right to have that opportunity.”

Eckenrode realizes that being a young quarterback is a learning experience but embraces the challenge.

“I make plenty of mistakes and still have room to grow, but I feel like I’m getting better every week,” Eckenrode said.  “I think I’ve learned a lot, especially from these past two games and learning what it’s like at the college level.”

When asked if the young quarterback had passed the “Higgin’s Test,” coach Higgins said with a smile, “He’s done a good job.  He’s secured the football and done everything we’ve asked of him.  He’s gotten rid of the ball on time and played well.  He hasn’t played great but he’s played well.”

Whether or not Higgins has a young Tom Brady on his hands is yet to be determined.  Higgins knows that the quarterback still has some steps to make.

“I still think there’s a ways to go with him,” Higgins said.  “He’ll look at last week’s game against Pitt State and see some things that he did, he’ll see some mistakes that he made with just begin a young quarterback.  The more repetitions he gets, the better off he will be.”

The defense also knows that they will have a task on their hands come Saturday – that task will be to control the powerful Northwest Missouri offense.

“It’s a big week for us,” said senior defensive back and sociology major Travis Lee.  “We tend to play better at home, and guys are going to come ready to practice.  We had a bad game at Pitt, but now we’ve got Northwest at home and we’ve got to come prepared to play.  Everyone knows how good they are, there’s probably a lot of talk about how good Northwest is, but we have got to come prepared to play on our side of the ball.  We need to show up and be ready to play, especially at home against an opponent like that.”

The offense hopes to do their part in putting points up on the board to weaken the strong Northwest defense.

“It’s a very even playing field,” Eckenrode said.  “Every team from top to bottom in the MIAA is good – anybody can beat anybody on any given day.  You just have to play smart football, we have to win the turnover margin and have a couple more big plays than they do and come out with a win.”

The team knows the problems they are having and know what they have to do to turn the season around and win the remaining games.

“It’s like what coach has told us these past few games – it’s a saying he says, ‘You’ve got to make your own breaks,’” Lee said.  “We’ve had mental busts and people making errors and things like that, and we’ve been getting the bad end of the stick with some of the calls in games.  The main thing is that we can’t wait for something good to happen – we have to go out and make it happen.  Once something bad happens we’ve got to respond and bounce back – we can’t snowball and get out of control with it.  We’ve got to take it into our hands and stop waiting on things to happen and just make it happen for us.”

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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Midfield/ Forward Sarah Anderson takes a free kick Saturday afternoon on the ESU pitch during the Hornets soccer match against University of Central Missouri. Anderson was the only Hornet to score against the Jennie defense. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

After a 4-1 heartbreaking loss to Central Missouri, the Emporia State soccer team will travel to Joplin, Mo., to square off against the Lions of Missouri Southern.

The Hornets are 1-6-1 on the season and look to improve their record with a road win against a tough MIAA opponent.

“It’s going to be interesting from the standpoint that Missouri Southern is having somewhat of a down year as well,” said head soccer coach Jim Schneiderhahn. “They had an outstanding player that played up top for them and finished a lot of goals and things like that, and she graduated. They’re in the process of trying to manufacture goals, as well. That’s one of the things that we’re struggling with is manufacturing goals.

I think we can expect another really tough affair. I know we’re beat up, and that seems to be the word around the conference, that everyone is beat up. I’m hoping that they’ll be a little bit beat up as we will.”

The Hornets have pin-pointed what they need to improve upon during the game and aim to finally do so in their upcoming match.

“We’re going to have to come together more as a team to lift each other up, and be positive,” said Lauren Cathey, junior midfielder. “ (We need to) make sure that we’re helping each other out and telling each other what we’re supposed to be doing and encouraging each other.”

Freshman goalkeeper Nikki Schmitz said that the team often gets down on themselves early.

“We can’t get down and become frustrated,” Schmitz said. “After one goal gets down we get frustrated, put down and it just goes on from there.”

Part of the Hornets’ struggles this year has come from the recent position changes – but with risk comes reward.

When questioned about an immediate positive impact on the team from position changes, Schneiderhahn said, “Sometimes, to be quite honest, sometimes I see a positive impact, and sometimes I see a negative impact. I think part of what we try to do is anything we can t be successful. The goal sometimes is to put people in places where they can succeed, and that’s certainly my goal.”

The players themselves have also noticed the change and how it could impact the Hornets during the season.

“We’ve been switching people’s positions to try and get a better connection between people, and we’ve had some injuries, so we’re trying to switch positions to see where people fit,” Cathey said. “I think that’s been a little bit of the problem. I think with us switching and actually being able to practice where we’re going will really help. We’ve been switching off and on – whenever we get new freshman and personnel we have to switch around and see where everybody fits in different positions. We usually have to move a couple of people, but since we’ve had injuries, and the system wasn’t working with some things, we decided to switch it up and see if it would work other ways.”

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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Zac Burt

I went to the Hornets’ season opening football game on Aug. 27, and I must say, I was pretty impressed with the amount of people at the game, especially with the amount of students. That had to be the most students I’d seen at a home-opener since my time as and ESU student-athlete. The numbers were mighty, but it’s as if the sound was turned way down low.

When you watch a college football game on ESPN or any other station, for that matter, the home team seems to have a slight advantage –the crowd. The crowd is always loud, filled with excitement and tends to make it that much harder for the opposing team.

Take, for example, the University of Texas Longhorns. Granted, they are one of the dominant football teams to date, but look at the fans while the game is on. They’re out of control, with students painted from head to toe, people cheering like crazy when the opponent is trying to piece together a drive and getting in the head of the visiting quarterback. College and professional athletes are trained to “zone it out,” but you can’t honestly sit there and tell me that when an entire stadium is on their feet and cheering like mad men to the point where you can’t even hear yourself think, they can “zone it out.”

Another prime example of a “wild bunch” of supporters would be the fans of the Louisiana State University Tigers. There was a game the Tigers had against rival Auburn, and in the final seconds of the game the crowd was so loud that they actually recorded seismic activity in the LSU Geology department. That’s impressive, for sure, but why doesn’t this atmosphere happen at ESU?

Don’t get me wrong – the Hornet fans were loud that night, but I know for a fact that everyone could be louder. The cheerleaders, Corky and even the players themselves did what they could to get us fired up, and we responded, but it could have been better.  I think we could get more students to the game.  I also think that with more students going, there would be more noise made throughout the game.

I also realize that we don’t have the size of stadium that the other schools I mentioned do, but that does not in any way, shape, form or fashion mean that we can’t produce some serious sound.  I know for a fact that at Emporia State, we have some extremely loud and animated individuals and it needs to be seen.  With a little more effort on our part, soon visiting teams will think they are playing in Arrowhead Stadium, but instead of a “Sea of Red,” there would be a “Sea of Black and Gold!”

This is my challenge to you, ESU. First, get everybody you know to show up to the next home game.  Second, show your support by cheering on our Hornets with everything you’ve got.  Finally, let it be known that if any opposing school wishes to play against us on our home turf, they better be ready for a team that is ready to wage war – and a fan base that takes no prisoners.

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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Wide receiver Matt Coursen sprints up field Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium as the Hornets faced the Central Missouri Mules. The Hornets lost 21-24. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

Despite shaky special teams play and being plagued with penalties all game, the Hornet football team proved they are a team to be reckoned with in the MIAA during their 24-21 loss to Central Missouri.

A blocked field goal late in the first half, a controversial call during an interception in the third quarter and a missed field goal with 2.2 seconds left in the game, along with numerous offensive penalties, crippled the Hornets throughout the game.

Although the team ended the night with a loss in the record column, the Hornets know that they have improved their game play.

Shaunquez Powell, senior sociology major and defensive back, said he hopes to lead the Hornets’ charge for redemption.

“I’m hungry,” Powel said. “We’re going to take it for what it is. We’re not going to take this loss in vein – we’re going to build from it…that’s all we can do at this point. It’s how you handle adversity, we’re going to go headstrong right into it and keep trying to battle.”

The Hornets had 15 penalties for 103 yards in the game, coming at the most inopportune times. Andre Sloan-El, senior communication major and quarterback, realized the lack of concentration the Hornets showed throughout the game.

“We need to stay disciplined; we kind of lost focus a little bit,” Sloan-El said. “We had some mental busts and some penalties down in the red zone, and that will kill you every time as a team. You just have to stay focused, you have to come together as a team and get everybody calmed down inside of the huddle – just relax out there.”

Matt Coursen, sophomore chemistry major and wide receiver, also noticed a lack of focus from the team.

“We need to be a little bit more mentally in it when we get the ball into the red zone,” Coursen said. “By the time we get down there I think we’re a little tired – we’re going to work on that…there’s a lot of little things that we kind of just messed up on, so hopefully we’ll come back and do better next week.”

After a slow first quarter, the Hornet offense seemed to find their groove in moving the ball down the field. Tallying up 166 yards rushing and 312 yards passing, it seemed as though Central Missouri relied on the Hornets stopping themselves.

Sloan-El led the Hornet rushing attack, gaining 53 yards on 10 carries, while sophomore running back Adrian Abner and junior running back La’Darrian Page each had nine carries for 41 and 35 yards, respectively. Junior running back Kevin Smart carried the ball eight times gaining a total of 32 yards with the lone rushing touchdown for the Hornets on the day. Freshman wide receiver Shjaun Richardson carried the ball once for a four yard gain.

Sloan-El also led the Hornets through the air, completing 19 of his 29 passing attempts for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Zach Rampy completed three of his seven attempts for 45 yards before being sidelined in the second quarter due to injury.

Coursen led the Hornets in receiving, catching four passes for 99 yards, one of them for a 71 yard touchdown that seemed to spark the crowd, as well as the team. Senior wide receiver Danny McEvoy and junior wide receiver Andre Jones each hauled in four receptions for 57, 38 and 36 yards respectively. McEvoy also brought in a touchdown catch from 14 yards out. Page and freshman tight end Adam Schiltz each had two receptions for 45 yards and 25 yards, respectively.

The Hornet defense held stout while containing the Central Missouri offense, only giving up one distinct drive late in the first half.

Senior linebackers Blake Ringwall and Katrel Larkins had six tackles apiece, while Ringwall added a sack. Senior defensive back Travis Lee and Powell each recorded five tackles – Powell also made the lone interception for the Hornet defense.

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Did you ever wish that you could still partake in sports after high school but didn’t end up playing in college? The Student Recreation Center just might have the answer you have been looking for: intramural sports. These activities can offer a way to participate with fellow classmates in a fun, yet competitive atmosphere.

The SRC offers several kinds of sports and activities, like flag football, volleyball, basketball, softball, kickball tournaments, badminton, dodgeball tournaments, table tennis tournaments, soccer and video game tournaments.

Many students said they are already excited for the upcoming intramural seasons. Nadia Williamson, freshman undecided major, said she is particularly anxious to participate.

“I’m extremely stoked about intramural sports,” Williamson said. “It’s the best thing ever.”

George Jeng, senior information systems major, said he believes that participating in intramural sports is a great way to socialize.

“It’s a good way to meet new people, with some friendly competition,” Jeng said.

According to the SRC Intramural Team Entry Form, it’s possible to put teams together in a variety of ways, such as groups consisting of a fraternity, sorority, residence hall, or even an international team.

Intramural Supervisor Amy Stonebreaker said she is happy with the role intramural sports serve in the student community.

“It’s a good social atmosphere to have fun with your friends,” Stonebreaker said.

Word of mouth has helped to spread the word about intramural sports to a myriad of students this year at ESU.

“I know a lot of people, so I hear a lot of stuff,” Jeng said. “I’ve also been going to school here for four years.”

As of now, the main sports accepting teams are flag football and kickball, with more to come at a later date.

To get a team for flag football together, students must find a group of people (a maximum of 20), submit a $30 fee and head down to the SRC center to sign up before September 11. Games will be held Sept. 21 through Oct. 22, Monday through Thursday. All teams will play two days a week, so be sure to write down on the sign-up sheet when your team can’t play. The games will be held at the intramural fields north of Interstate 35, under the bridge north of Welch Stadium. The league winners will receive a free shirt for each teammate.

To sign up for kickball, teams must have between nine and 16 people, and sign up is required before Sept. 16. The tournament will be held on Sept. 17, from 4 p.m. until dark. The tournament will also be held at the intramural fields north of Interstate 35. The kickball tournament is free.

For a complete listing off all sports and activities, visit the student recreation Web site at http://www.emporia.edu/recsport, or call the Recreation Programs Department at 620-341-6778. Information can also be retrieved at the Student Recreation Center’s reception desk.

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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When you think about the soccer program at ESU, the word ‘improvement’ comes to mind.  After a winless 2007 season, the Hornets came back in the 2008 season, tallying four wins.

“First and foremost, the improvement has been the mentality of the girls here and the girls that have stuck with the program,” said Head Coach Jim Schneiderhahn.  “When I first got here, it was probably difficult to be a soccer player at Emporia.  My impression was that they kept going through coaches, that they were just out there.

I don’t want to say that nobody cared about them, but that’s kind of what seemed to be.  They, I think, believed in themselves, but I think that they didn’t feel liked.  We’ve gotten much better, and we feel a part of the athletic program.”

Schneiderhahn, or “Coach Snoop,” as he’s known by his soccer players, identified several key items that needed the most improvement.

“The biggest improvement from my standpoint is the ability to play on campus.  I think that was one of the huge things that went towards bringing in our girls and making them feel like this is a college program,” Schneiderhahn said.  “It’s something I wish I could have been able to do for the girls when I first got here.  There’s a little bit more pride for our girls when they can play in front of their classmates, and their classmates don’t have to travel across town to see a game…for us, the biggest step as a soccer program was getting on campus.”

The players have also noticed the team’s improvements.

Katrina Goscha, junior English secondary education major and goalkeeper for the Hornets, noticed the changes first hand.

“We’ve gotten a lot more competitive, the level of play increased drastically,” Goscha said.  “People are more skilled and the whole attitude is better. We really want to win.”

Amanda Miano, senior middle school education and math major and midfielder, has also been privy to the strides the team has recently made.

“Definitely offensively, and we’ve been better at defense.  We’ve been able to score a lot more than in the past,” Miano said.

Schneiderhahn is optimistic about the start of the upcoming season, but he also knows that nothing comes easy in the MIAA.

“I wish I could look into a crystal ball and say exactly what’s going to happen, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there’s always going to be a surprise,” Scheiderhahn said. “You hope that it’s a positive surprise; you hope that it’s somebody you really weren’t counting on steps up and makes things happen, as opposed to something that is not good, whether its an injury or somebody that doesn’t show up to play.”

Schneiderhahn went on to talk about the difficulty of playing in the MIAA.

“The best way that I could put it is that the season is going to be tough,” he said. “It always is. The MIAA is an incredibly good conference.  It’s one of the best in the nation for soccer. We played five teams last year that made it into the NCAA National Tournament.  When you have that kind of schedule, you’re going to take your bumps…it’s going to be a learning season; I’m particularly interested to see how our sophomores do.  So far, they’ve done an excellent job.”

Team chemistry also seems to be a tremendous asset this year.

“The girls have commented to me that there is a really strong chemistry within the team.  It’s been my experience that people talk about team chemistry and use it as a noun, I like to use it as a verb, it’s continually going, it’s active.

Team chemistry isn’t just something that happens; you have to work at it.  The very first day the girls were on campus we went over to one of our girl’s parent house here in town and they had us over for dinner.  The girls played some backyard games.  It’s really grown to where the girls have dinner on their own to get an idea of each other.  We do those kinds of things throughout the year. I think that type of closeness is important in any type of endeavor where you’re working with a lot of people.  It’s important for one person to see what motivates another person.

Something else we do is a ‘show-and-tell’.  It’s the same type of thing that you did when you were in grade school.  We asked the kids to bring three things that are important to them; they get up in front of the team and tell them why.  For me particularly, it gives it a strong insight into the person’s personality,” he said.

The Hornets have set expectations for themselves this year, not only as a team, but personal as well.

“I want to be a starter, clock a lot of minutes in the goal, and ultimately to win and to help the team win,” Goscha said.  “Also, to be a team leader and help our team become a family.”

Miano shares similar goals.

“I want to win and help the team out as much as possible, and to help the freshman get into the college level as much as possible,” Miano said.

Hopes are high as the Hornets continue to improve year to year.

“I think we’ll do a lot better than in the past,” Miano said.  “Each year we’ve gotten better.  Hopefully this year will be even better.”

Even the soccer team’s motto this year is rejuvenated.

“Respect,” Goscha said.  “Basically that just encompasses everything that the word ‘respect’ does:  respecting the game that we play, respecting ourselves, not being idiots off the field, respecting each other,  respect the coaches and the decisions they make, respecting the officials, and respect our opponents.”

The Hornets will kick off the season against Rockhurst.  The game will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Wilfred C. Bourke Pitch in Kansas City, Mo.

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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PAGE

Newcomer La’Darrian Page, junior physical education major, is no stranger to success on the gridiron. After rushing for 1,254 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman for Missouri Western, and rushing for 1,340 yards and 10 touchdowns at Hutchinson Community College, Page said he looks to improve on his numbers as a Hornet.

“He brings great work ethic,” said Gary Manuel, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. “That’s the reason why he’s been a successful football player at every school he’s been to. At Missouri Western, he was a good football player there.  At Hutchinson Community College, he was Offensive Player of the Year for the Jayhawk Conference.  Everyday he comes ready to work, regardless of how he feels.”

Page was optimistic about the start of the season.

“As long as we start off fast and on the right track, once we get going we should have a pretty successful season,” Page said.

Ben McKaig, sophomore offensive lineman and secondary math education major, said he enjoys throwing blocks for Page and what Page brings to the team.

“He’s got a great personality and is a fun-loving guy,” McKaig said. “As far as on the field, he’s a great player and explosive athlete. He’s fast.”

Page does not believe that mediocrity will be on the team’s agenda.  Page and the rest of the Hornets have set the expectations high for themselves this year.

“Obviously we want to win a conference championship and go deep in the playoffs,” Page said. “We feel like we have a different team than last year.  As far as myself, I want to have a successful season.”

Page is confident he has what it takes to lead not only himself, but his team to victory.

“I want to rush for 1,000 yards and help the team win,” he said.

Although it took some time, Page found his niche at Emporia. The coaches and the school itself played a major role in bringing Page to ESU.

“I felt confident in the coaches. I felt like they would keep their word.  I felt like they were the coolest group of coaches that I visited with,” Page said.

It would also appear that the transformation from a junior college to a Division II school was a walk in the park.

“For the most part, it’s been successful,” he said. “I like Emporia. It’s a great school and a great program.  It’s a notch up from the JUCO level.”

Page, however, is not all business.  He does enjoy kicking back and relaxing when he can.  In his free time, Page enjoys picking up the “sticks” and playing an occasional video game or two.

“I like playing Call of Duty and NBA 2K9,” Page said. “I’m an Xbox guy.”

The Hornets look to improve on last year’s 2-7 MIAA record, along with their 4-7 combined record.

The team opens the season with a home game against the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at Welch Stadium.  Coaches and players said they encourage all students to come out and show their support for the Hornets this season.

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

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