News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Amey Takes Aim

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
November 14, 2011

AMEY TAKES AIM: Taking note of ISU’s latest football win

Andy Amey The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — The biggest difference I’ve noticed, as I transition from the high school football beat to quasi-official status as the Indiana State football beat writer for a few weeks, is the length of the games.

“Duh,” most of you should be saying right now, but the difference is in the number of key plays that are impossible to document in a college football game story.

As the Sycamores kept the “P” word in play on Saturday at Missouri State, for example, there were a number of notes I jotted down that in no way could fit in our Sunday paper.

Calvin Burnett, for example, did not appear. This despite the fact that he stopped the Bears’ first drive single-handedly by intercepting Missouri State’s first pass attempt — after the home team had quickly pounded out two first downs on the ground — and later helped force a field goal by stripping MSU’s Jermaine Saffold — an extremely good receiver who I am glad is a senior — of what looked very much like a second-quarter touchdown pass.

Even Shakir Bell turned out to be an unsung hero. Despite setting a school record and nearly setting another on Saturday, his most important two runs were fourth-down carries in the first half — he gained 4 yards on fourth-and-1, and then he gained 3 yards, by the skin of his teeth, on fourth-and-3 — that helped ISU’s two scoring drives continue. Like coach Trent Miles said, he runs with determination.

ISU was running on fourth down several times because its kicking game, you probably have heard, is a little dicey. Yet Lucas Hileman had a couple of excellent punts into stiff winds — including a 44-yarder when the Sycamores were backed up in their own territory in the first half — that prevented bad situations from becoming worse.

(He also had a couple that weren’t as good, to be honest. But I remember a game long ago at Eastern Kentucky in which ISU punter Jim Shaughnessy — I was certain he was headed to the National Football League as a punter — had to field one of his own kicks that blew back over his head. And, in continuing the EKU theme for a moment, I’ll always consider Verbie Walder to be the best quarterback in ISU history because with the game on the line in that game, he threw one into that same wind about 60 yards, right on the fingertips of a receiver — who, unfortunately, dropped it.)

Virtually everyone on the defensive unit was an unsung hero at some point, because there were a lot of big plays. Demory Lawshe isn’t a defensive player, but he had a huge play with a tackle in punt coverage. So did Garrick Dikos, even though he also had to snap the ball.

Then there was Brock Lough, and in the interest of fairness I need to point out that I’ve known Brock a long time and known most of his relatives even longer. But favoritism has nothing to do with his doing something I’m not sure I’ve seen another college football player do — play three different positions on three consecutive offensive plays.

Early in the second quarter, in a third-and-2 situation, Lough was the tight end in place of injured Alex Jones. He was helping block as Bell went 17 yards to the Missouri State 3-yard line. (Jones, who did not appear on the injury report, had tweaked a previous injury, Miles said, and is expected back this week.)

Next play, Lough was at tailback and tried to blast up the middle, stopped for a 1-yard gain.

Third play, Lough was back at his usual fullback position and threw a block that helped spring Bell for a touchdown.

“I’ve got to work on my tight end stuff,” Lough said with a laugh after the game, “but [the ISU coaches] have moved me around a lot; I think I’ve been everywhere but quarterback.

“Actually, I tried [quarterback, or at least wildcat formation] too, but it didn’t work so well,” Lough added. “That’s crossed off the list now.”

“Our heart and soul,” Miles said of Lough, and also of several others among the senior class that took its lumps for two straight years.

n No doubt about it — My least favorite, reasonably new college football rule is the one that protects defenseless receivers, much like the one the NFL has adopted.

The call that may have cost ISU the game against North Dakota State on Nov. 5 was probably legit — at least pretty much every official in the area threw the flag on the hit. Just one flag, however, from the offical farthest from the play, was thrown on a hit at Missouri State by Jacolby Washington that dislodged the ball from one of the MSU tight ends in a crucial spot and threatened to help a comeback attempt by the Bears (Washington, who made too many plays Saturday to be considered unsung, had a tackle-for-loss two plays later to help snuff said threat, by the way). The receiver had the ball in his hands and was tackled slightly above the waist, nowhere near the head.

“As a defender, your job is to separate the ball [from the receiver],” said Washington, who doesn’t like that penalty much either, after the game. “I thought I led with my shoulder [instead of my helmet] ... the defense rose up again [and stopped the drive] though.”

n What’s next? It’s Senior Day on Saturday at Memorial Stadium when the Sycamores try to keep playoff (that’s the word) hopes alive against Southern Illinois. How big a game is it?

“Probably the biggest since I’ve been here,” said Miles. “Probably the biggest since 1984 [ISU’s most recent playoff venture].”

 

Andy Amey can be reached after 4 p.m. at (812) 231-4277 or at 1-800-783-8742; by e-mail at andy.amey@tribstar.com; by mail at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN, 47808; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.



INDIANA ST. 28,

MISSOURI ST. 20

Indiana St.    7    7    7    7    —    28

Missouri St.    0    6    7    7    —    20

First Quarter

InSt—Bell 23 run (Wozniak kick), 3:05.

Second Quarter

InSt—Bell 2 run (Wozniak kick), 10:46.

MoSt—FG Witmer 22, 4:09.

MoSt—FG Witmer 44, :00.

Third Quarter

MoSt—Douglas 5 pass from Wooden (Witmer kick), 13:04.

InSt—Spencer 36 pass from Fouch (Wozniak kick), 6:02.

Fourth Quarter

InSt—Obaseki 1 run (Wozniak kick), 3:57.

MoSt—Saffold 12 pass from Wooden (Witmer kick), 1:39.

A—5,278.

    InSt    MoSt

First downs    17    13

Rushes-yards    46-249    40-134

Passing    90    136

Comp-Att-Int    8-18-0    10-22-1

Return Yards    36    14

Punts-Avg.    7-32.6    7-39.7

Fumbles-Lost    2-2    0-0

Penalties-Yards    6-45    2-13

Time of Possession    31:30    28:30



INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Indiana St., Bell 39-206, Lough 4-46, Obaseki 1-1, Team 1-(minus 1), Fouch 1-(minus 3). Missouri St., Douglas 15-65, Johnston 9-31, Wooden 12-26, Scott 4-12.

PASSING—Indiana St., Fouch 8-18-0-90. Missouri St., Wooden 10-22-1-136.

RECEIVING—Indiana St., Spencer 3-52, Bell 3-16, Lough 1-17, Hilton 1-5. Missouri St., Saffold 4-90, Starnes 2-20, Johnston 2-12, Thayer 1-9, Douglas 1-5.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Amey Takes Aim
Latest News
Multimedia

Like us on Facebook!
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
Front page
AP Video
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Dragon Arrives at Space Station in Historic 1st Astronauts Enter World's 1st Private Supply Ship Passenger Restrained on Flight to Miami Arrested Police: Gunman Has Hostages in Realty Office Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Beer Here!: An Historic Exhibit Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought Sudden Storm Topples Wisconsin Trees Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
NDN Video
Colorado College Student Shot While Trespassing Will Smith & Josh Brolin on "Men in Black 3" 80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini Sliders on the Grill Cruise ship crunch Backstage With Beyonce Ultimate Creamy Potato Salad Pope's Personal Butler Under Arrest Jenny McCarthy's New Man Tyler's Classic Coleslaw Britney Spears Under X Factor Fire Flesh-Eating Bacteria Victim Hits Milestone Hurricanes and Heat Waves Across America Kristen Stewart Is Red Hot Shark Attacks Australian Fishing Boat Bradley out for playoffs Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall Alison Brie Likes To Jog Naked Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News