INDIANAPOLIS —
We’re not allowed to accept bribes here at the Tribune-Star.
But when first-year Rose-Hulman football coach Jeff Sokol promised to buy me the beverage of my choice if his team defeats Hanover for homecoming Saturday at Cook Stadium, my ears perked up.
Kickoff will be at 2 p.m. for the 63rd meeting of these NCAA Division III colleges. It also will be the 2011 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) opener for Rose.
The Engineers have not endured a losing season since 2004. But they’ve opened this season at 0-2, causing Sokol to admit they’re desperate for a win.
“We’re all very hungry for a victory,” he said after practice Thursday. “We all want to taste victory really, really bad.”
Rose-Hulman has lost at home to DePauw 23-13 and lost at Kalamazoo (Mich.) 43-22, with a bye week sandwiched between those games.
Sokol noticed some good and some bad in the two setbacks.
“Our D [defense] played great in our first game against DePauw,” he mentioned. “Our D allowed only nine points to their offense in that game.
“Kyle Kovach’s performance at Kalamazoo [which included 221 rushing yards and 359 all-purpose yards] was outstanding. Our punter, Eric Schaible, has been a rock for us so far.”
There’s been negative too.
“In general, our offense has had a slow start in both games,” Sokol pointed out. “We’ve put the ball on the ground early on. We’re trying different things [in practice] to try to fix that. We’ll need to have a much better start on offense in order to beat Hanover.”
Beating the Panthers will not be an easy task, Sokol emphasized. He named junior middle linebacker Andy Dalton (not the same guy as the Cincinnati Bengals’ rookie quarterback), senior safety Rory Mannering, sophomore quarterback Dexter Britt and senior left tackle Matt Money as Hanover players to watch.
“They’re going to bring some athletes and they’re very well-coached,” Sokol noted. “So it’s going to be a significant challenge.”
On the flip side, Hanover might find trying to contain the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Kovach (fourth in the nation in Division III all-purpose yards per game at 237.0) a challenge. The Panthers have lost at home to Centre 38-31, lost at Thomas More 44-13 and won at home over HCAC foe Defiance 37-12.
Despite Sokol’s respect for the Hanover, he’s not planning any “panic” changes in his team’s approach for Saturday.
“We’re going to keep doing our thing,” he insisted. “We’re just going to try to do it better than we’ve been doing… Our players are ready and confident.”
Sounds good. I can taste that chocolate milk shake already.
David Hughes can be reached after 4 p.m. by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or (812) 231-4276; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
Hughes News & Views
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose-Hulman hungry for first football victory of season
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Terre Haute runner sets up race to help Boston
Having competed in the Boston Marathon once before in 2003, 35-year-old Majel Wells of Terre Haute thought she should give it another try in 2013.
“My goal was just to finish and enjoy Boston,” she reflected this week. “I had an injury [runner’s knee] beforehand, so I wasn’t too worried about beating my time from 2003 [4 hours, 10.20 seconds].
“But nobody cares about what your time is at Boston anyway.”
From what I’ve heard over the years, she’s right. Unless you’re a super-serious runner, the Boston Marathon has been more about taking in the atmosphere and having fun than placing in the top 50, although Wells was pleased that she beat her previous time by finishing in 3:55.19 on April 15.
Obviously, her race time wasn’t the most vivid memory that Wells took away from her 2013 Boston experience. -
Former South players to play in Saylor benefit game
I had my first phone conversation with Mike Saylor since mid-February on Thursday and he sounded good.
The former Terre Haute South High School boys basketball coach, who’s been battling cancer this year, has been traveling back and forth to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy treatments. -
Recent South swimmers Roach, Bray heading to DI nationals
I’m sure most of you with office jobs can relate.
When work gets busy, sometimes it’s easy to skim over our emails. After all, how many times do we need to read the same nonsense from alleged Nigerians wanting to make us rich if we’ll send them several thousand dollars first?
So after having three consecutive days off, that almost happened to me when I returned to work Tuesday. Then I realized that the message from Jeff Thompson, Terre Haute South High School’s boys and girls swimming coach, contained significant news. -
NCAA Division III basketball tournament returns to Rose-Hulman
The last time Rose-Hulman served as host for the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament, its game was played inside an old World War II airplane hangar.
You “old-timers” should know the building I’m talking about and the matchup wasn’t really that long ago — March 6, 1997, to be exact. -
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Written by award-winning Kyle Keiderling of Henderson, Nev., and released in hardcover format in mid-December, the 480-page “Trophies and Tears” documents the rich tradition of the University of Evansville men’s basketball program through recent interviews and research of old yearbooks and newspaper/scrapbook clippings.
The book contains many cheery moments — behind-the-scenes details of all five NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) championships won in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s by the Purple Aces and their legendary coach Arad McCutchan — although some of those moments don’t seem so cheery from an Indiana State perspective when the Sycamores found themselves on the losing end of scores. -
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose basketball alumni offer advice to current team
Bryan Egli and Joe Puthoff, both Rose-Hulman basketball starters I covered in the late 1990s, took their degrees from the prestigious engineering institute and found successful careers in the Indianapolis area.
Egli, also a former West Vigo High School multi-sport standout, lives in Carmel and works for Thieneman Construction in Westfield. Puthoff lives in Indy and works for Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines. -
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Almost 10 years ago, February 2002 to be exact, the New England Patriots upset the high-powered St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the Winter Olympics entertained spectators in Salt Lake City and Terre Haute South High School’s girls basketball team started its tournament run toward a Class 4A state title.
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When your favorite NFL team is threatening to finish 0-16, you have to figure a few fans will jump off the bandwagon.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Former South coach Rady makes it look easy
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose-Hulman hungry for first football victory of season
The Engineers have not endured a losing season since 2004. But they’ve opened this season at 0-2, causing Sokol to admit they’re desperate for a win.
“We’re all very hungry for a victory,” he said after practice Thursday. “We all want to taste victory really, really bad.” -
Valley semipro football team reaches championship of IFL
The West Central Wildcats’ semipro football team from Terre Haute has been written about before in this column space over the last two years.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts cheerleaders glad to get back on field
When I heard the NFL lockout finally ended this week, I looked for someone affiliated with the Indianapolis Colts to get a reaction.
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Amateur boxing card set for outdoors at Show-Me's
We all know what Show-Me’s sports bar is famous for around Terre Haute, right?
Chicken wings, of course. -
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