Koyotes win, 48-42cjonline.com/sports/football/2011-05-21/koyotes-win-48-42by Rick Peterson Jr.
The Capital-Journal
The Kansas Koyotes were looking for a starting point to get their season turned around.
A rousing 48-42 victory over Mid-Missouri on Saturday night at Landon Arena might do the trick.
In a see-saw game, the Koyotes (2-5) came up with a late defensive stand at their 4-yard line to hold off the Outlaws.
“We’ve been stressing all week that we all needed to come together,” said Koyotes running back Mike Steen, who rushed for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass. “It’s all on the line right now. We’re trying to make the playoffs.
“We showed a lot of heart at the end. The defense was clutch. We finally sealed the deal.”
After Mid-Missouri tied the game with just less than six minutes left, the Koyotes drove down the field and went back on top with about a minute and a half remaining on a 1-yard run by Steen. A penalty by the Outlaws enticed the Koyotes to go for two, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
The Outlaws got down to the Koyotes’ 4-yard line with 4.9 seconds remaining, but the Kansas defense forced two incomplete passes to preserve the win.
“I told the guys I was proud to coach them,” Koyotes coach Troy Biladeau said. “They fought hard. It wasn’t always pretty, but one thing about us is that we play hard. You can see we’re starting to come together.”
In his fourth game at quarterback, Carlos Kelly had his best outing of the season, going 14 of 26 through the air with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
“He’s a leader, and I think that’s kind of what we were lacking,” Biladeau said of Kelly. “He obviously knows this offense and makes good plays. And you can see he’s pretty feisty out there.”
The Koyotes took a 26-21 lead into the break behind three touchdowns passes from Kelly. Mike Williams caught touchdown passes of 30 and 35 yards, while Naji Shinskia made a juggling 19-yard touchdown reception.
Kelly then put the Koyotes on top heading into the break, scampering for a 22-yard TD run with 12.8 seconds left in the half. Mid-Missouri used a long pass to get down to the Koyotes’ 2-yardline, but Marcus James was stopped just short of the goalline on a carry as time expired.
The Koyotes built an eight-point lead in the third quarter after forcing a safety but couldn’t pull away from the Outlaws.
Mid-Missouri quarterback Kyle Middleton led the charge for Mid-Missouri, completing 27 of 41 passes for 250 yards with five touchdowns. Outlaws’ receiver Aaron Luebbe caught a game-high 12 passes for 96 yards.
Severe weather in the area pushed back the start of the game about 50 minutes.
Mid-Missouri 14 7 13 8 — 42
Kansas 7 19 10 12 — 48
Mid-Missouri — James 21 pass from Middleton (Hoffer kick)
Kansas — Williams 30 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Mid-Missouri — Madry 5 pass from Middleton (Hoffer kick)
Kansas — Williams 35 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Kansas — Shinskia 19 pass from Kelly (kick failed)
Mid-Missouri — Luebbe 13 pass from Middleton (Hoffer kick)
Kansas — Kelly 22 run (pass failed)
Mid-Missouri — James 2 run (Hoffer kick)
Kansas — Steen 13 pass from Kelly (Kelly run)
Kansas — Safety
Mid-Missouri — Madry 3 pass from Middleton (James pass from Middleton)
Kansas — Steen 2 run (pass failed)
Mid-Missouri — Madry 25 pass from Middleton (kick failed)
Kansas— Steen 1 run (run failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Mid-Missouri: James 4-7, Vaeao 1-2, Middleton 1-2, Williams 1-1, Team 2-(minus) 12. Kansas: Steen 10-33, Miller 4-13, Kelly 2-15.
PASSING — Mid-Missouri: Middleton 27-41-0, 250 yards; Kelly 14-26-0, 162 yards.
RECEIVING — Mid-Missouri: Luebbe 12-96, James 5-54, Johnson 3-41, Madry 3-33, Williams 2-20, Spears 2-15, Vaeao 1-3. Kansas: Williams 4-77, Shinskia 4-46, Steen 4-37, Miller 1-2.