Post by Banana Cat on Apr 23, 2012 3:54:07 GMT -5
www.sedaliademocrat.com/articles/football-42910-outlaws-soon.html
Outlaws start clicking in red zone, rout Cheyenne 66-28
April 21, 2012
By Seth Stringer / The Sedalia Democrat
Mid-Missouri’s issues in the red zone have been well documented this season, and the struggles were epitomized in last week’s 48-42 loss to Kansas in which the Outlaws converted on only one of four drives inside the 20.
But Saturday night, the Outlaws weren’t about to let history repeat itself. Not when they have a weapon like Marcus “Superman” James in the backfield.
James found the end zone five times, Jajwan Shields came up with three turnovers and the Outlaws (3-1) converted on nine of their 10 trips to the red zone en route to a 66-28 win over the Cheyenne Warriors (0-4) at the Mathewson Exhibition Center.
“All three games prior to this, we struggled in the red zone,” James said. “So tonight, we said if we’re getting in the red zone, we’re scoring. It’s six points and we all gave it our all for those six points every time.”
James was part of a backfield that had more than 30 carries, rushed for nearly 150 yards and found the end zone six times, a 180-degree turnaround from last week’s nine-carry, 6-yard effort.
“We talked last week and the issues we had, we made a concerted effort tonight to run the football,” said head coach Ben Lyles, whose team improved to 34-3 all-time in Sedalia.
James accounted for four of those scores, all of which came in the first quarter, and wide receiver Josh Reid and fullback Michael Cobbins represented the other two.
“All I wanted to do was my job and those guys were blocking their butts off,” James said. “The more we score, the less we have to worry about scoring and red zone issues. It sounds simple, but it’s great to get that off our back.”
Complementing his tackle-breaking, bruising backfield, quarterback Kyle Middleton threw for three scores — one each to James, Gary Taylor and Jeremy Spears — and completed nine of 11 passes for 107 yards and just one interception. And that came in only three quarters of work as Spears spelled the fifth-year Outlaws play caller in the fourth.
“Kyle did a great job of managing the ball in the red zone … and Kyle’s really starting to click. I mean, he checked down a lot tonight,” Lyles said.
The Outlaws’ defense, which gave up a couple of harmless scores in junk time, also shined. A week after allowing the Koyotes to pile up 162 rushing yards and nearly 300 yards of total offense, the Outlaws shut down the Warriors’ backfield for just 2 measly yards. They also bounced starting quarterback Richard Shinazy — who completed just 5 of 11 passes for 73 yards with an interception and one touchdown toss — and forced three turnovers, two of which came on game-changing interceptions by Shields, who was missed in last week’s loss.
“I bait a lot of quarterbacks, making them think the receiver’s open,” Shields said. “The moment he raises his arm and cocks it back, I break for it. I give it all to my teammates and coaches. We worked hard this week coming from a loss that I wasn’t able to appear in, but I came back and I feel we made a statement.”
The most important pick came with the Outlaws clinging to a 14-10 lead and the Warriors marching in the red zone. Looking for wideout Lemans Casimier, who hauled in three scores, Shinazy’s throw was picked off in the front of the end zone by Shields, who later added another pick and fumble recovery on a strip from Jamel Sims.
The Outlaws took the momentum and rode James’ four first-quarter scores to a 28-10 lead, which turned into a 37-10 halftime advantage after a Taylor touchdown reception and a safety.
Once down 10-7, the Outlaws made it 36 unanswered points with a 15-yard connection between Middleton and James to start the second half. Reid later broke six tackles en route to an 8-yard touchdown run and Cobbins added a 1-yard run to put the game well out of reach at 63-19.
Not to be left out, Derek Doerfler, who was 7 of 9 on extra point attempts, added a 26-yard field goal to cap off the 66-28 victory that drew the praise of a rocking, raucous home crowd.
“It was a great atmosphere. There’s nothing better than to hear ‘Tonight’s gonna be a good night,’ at the end of the game,” Lyles said of the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling.” “It’s always great to have the crowd behind us and the guys, they just played with so much more intensity tonight.”
April 21, 2012
By Seth Stringer / The Sedalia Democrat
Mid-Missouri’s issues in the red zone have been well documented this season, and the struggles were epitomized in last week’s 48-42 loss to Kansas in which the Outlaws converted on only one of four drives inside the 20.
But Saturday night, the Outlaws weren’t about to let history repeat itself. Not when they have a weapon like Marcus “Superman” James in the backfield.
James found the end zone five times, Jajwan Shields came up with three turnovers and the Outlaws (3-1) converted on nine of their 10 trips to the red zone en route to a 66-28 win over the Cheyenne Warriors (0-4) at the Mathewson Exhibition Center.
“All three games prior to this, we struggled in the red zone,” James said. “So tonight, we said if we’re getting in the red zone, we’re scoring. It’s six points and we all gave it our all for those six points every time.”
James was part of a backfield that had more than 30 carries, rushed for nearly 150 yards and found the end zone six times, a 180-degree turnaround from last week’s nine-carry, 6-yard effort.
“We talked last week and the issues we had, we made a concerted effort tonight to run the football,” said head coach Ben Lyles, whose team improved to 34-3 all-time in Sedalia.
James accounted for four of those scores, all of which came in the first quarter, and wide receiver Josh Reid and fullback Michael Cobbins represented the other two.
“All I wanted to do was my job and those guys were blocking their butts off,” James said. “The more we score, the less we have to worry about scoring and red zone issues. It sounds simple, but it’s great to get that off our back.”
Complementing his tackle-breaking, bruising backfield, quarterback Kyle Middleton threw for three scores — one each to James, Gary Taylor and Jeremy Spears — and completed nine of 11 passes for 107 yards and just one interception. And that came in only three quarters of work as Spears spelled the fifth-year Outlaws play caller in the fourth.
“Kyle did a great job of managing the ball in the red zone … and Kyle’s really starting to click. I mean, he checked down a lot tonight,” Lyles said.
The Outlaws’ defense, which gave up a couple of harmless scores in junk time, also shined. A week after allowing the Koyotes to pile up 162 rushing yards and nearly 300 yards of total offense, the Outlaws shut down the Warriors’ backfield for just 2 measly yards. They also bounced starting quarterback Richard Shinazy — who completed just 5 of 11 passes for 73 yards with an interception and one touchdown toss — and forced three turnovers, two of which came on game-changing interceptions by Shields, who was missed in last week’s loss.
“I bait a lot of quarterbacks, making them think the receiver’s open,” Shields said. “The moment he raises his arm and cocks it back, I break for it. I give it all to my teammates and coaches. We worked hard this week coming from a loss that I wasn’t able to appear in, but I came back and I feel we made a statement.”
The most important pick came with the Outlaws clinging to a 14-10 lead and the Warriors marching in the red zone. Looking for wideout Lemans Casimier, who hauled in three scores, Shinazy’s throw was picked off in the front of the end zone by Shields, who later added another pick and fumble recovery on a strip from Jamel Sims.
The Outlaws took the momentum and rode James’ four first-quarter scores to a 28-10 lead, which turned into a 37-10 halftime advantage after a Taylor touchdown reception and a safety.
Once down 10-7, the Outlaws made it 36 unanswered points with a 15-yard connection between Middleton and James to start the second half. Reid later broke six tackles en route to an 8-yard touchdown run and Cobbins added a 1-yard run to put the game well out of reach at 63-19.
Not to be left out, Derek Doerfler, who was 7 of 9 on extra point attempts, added a 26-yard field goal to cap off the 66-28 victory that drew the praise of a rocking, raucous home crowd.
“It was a great atmosphere. There’s nothing better than to hear ‘Tonight’s gonna be a good night,’ at the end of the game,” Lyles said of the Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling.” “It’s always great to have the crowd behind us and the guys, they just played with so much more intensity tonight.”