MVFC Week 11 Review
Chad Lenz & JT Nutt, MVFC Contributors | November 17, 2015
JT Says-
Western Illinois 37 vs Indiana State 30 OT
Where the defense? The teams combined for 67 points, 49 first downs, 163 plays, and 940 yards of offense. But one big defensive play was a blocked extra point in the 4th quarter that set up overtime. Western Illinois running back Nikko Watson scored on a 1 yard run in overtime to seal the deal for the Leathernecks. He finished with 153 yards on 30 carries and 3 touchdowns. 30 carries and his longest run was only 22 yards. His workload was equaled by his quarterback, Sean McGuire who was 29-44 for 332 yards a touchdown and 2 interceptions. He also ran 6 times for 27 yards and another score. Joey Borsellino had 187 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown as well. Sycamore quarterback Matt Adam also had 44 pass attempts connecting on 25 of them for 261 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He added a score on the ground on 7 attempts for 9 yards. Western Illinois is now given up 236 points, the 4th most in conference play. Every game has been close except for the the North Dakota State blow out loss and a win in the South Dakota route.
North Dakota State Bison 27 vs Youngstown State 24
The days of Bison dominance have past. The days of Bison victories and conference titles, have not. Youngstown led 24-10 as the 3rd quarter expired. But the Bison came back in true Bison fashion scoring a touchdown with 35 seconds to play. Easton Stick continues to shine rushing 15 times for 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He threw 18 times connecting 9 times with no touchdowns or interceptions. Youngstown was lead by Jody Webb with a 132 yards on just 5 carries and 2 scores to go with 3 receptions for 57 yards. Youngstown committed 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on their final drive to negate any chance of forcing overtime. Even a pass interference penalty of 4th and 36 wasn’t enough for the Penguins and the Bison survive, again.
Northern Iowa 41 vs Missouri State 0
Another week, another Missouri State loss. UNI’s defense notched it’s first shutout of the season with a 41-0 victory. Missouri State did actually get to the red zone but instead of settling for a chip shot field goal, they went for it on 4th and 1 and failed. UNI held Missouri State to 43 rushing yards, 96 passing yards, 139 total yards and only 6 first downs. Meanwhile UNI rushed for 439 yards, passed for 73, 512 total yards and 25 first downs. Tyvis Smith rushed 56 yards for the first touchdown of the day. He finished with 146 yards on 16 carries.Panther quarterback Aaron Bailey ran 19 times for 176 yards and 4 straight touchdowns. Eli Dunne relieved him in mop up duty and ran for a touchdown. No touchdowns for the Panther defense this week but Deiondre Hall with yet another interception. Isaac Ales also recorded 2 sacks. Missouri State has been outscored 127-7 in their last 3 games.
Chad says-
South Dakota State 30 South Dakota 23
The Coyotes came out the aggressors and lead at the end 3 of the 4 quarters, unfortunately for the Yotes it was the 4th quarter that they didn’t lead at the end of. The Jackrabbits continue to run two quarterbacks onto the field to play the “hot hand”. That hot had was Zach Lujan in the 4th quarter. Christion was just 9-19 with a pick through the first three quarters. Lujan came in an on the first play he hit Jake Wieneke for a 34 yard gain, setting up a 2 yard score to bring SDSU to within a score. The very next drive Lujan once again hit Wieneke for a pair of passes totaling 47 yards. Those also set up a 2 yard score to give the Jacks the lead. Just 73 seconds later Nick Farina picked off Ryan Seager and returned it for the deciding touchdown. I must say, this game lived up to the pregame rivalry hype.
Illinois State 42 Southern Illinois 21
The two best offenses in the league managed to score a total of 0 points in the first quarter. They then scored 35 points in the second, with SIU taking a 21-14 half time lead. At that point Illinois State kept scoring and SIU, once again, seemed to quick. The Redbirds scored 21 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half and broke the Salukis. The Redbirds rode Coprich’ 254 yards to the win. Concerning though, is the continued struggles of Tre Roberson. He was just 4-13 for 88 yards. The only Saluki that didn’t quit last weekend? Mark Iannotti. He threw 63 passes, completed 42 of them, for 329 yards and 3 scores. He also carried the ball 24 times for 94 yards. That’s impressive, no matter how you want to look at it. If he repeats that kind of game play next week in the UNIDome, I fear for his safety.
Players of the Week
Offense
RB Marshaun Coprich, Illinois State, 5-9, 205, Sr., Victorville (Calif.) Oak Hills High
Senior running back Marshaun Coprich has put up stellar performances all season, but he saved his best performance of the year for when it counted the most. The Victorville, Calif., rushed for a season-high 254 yards and three touchdowns against the Salukis, as the Redbirds scored six times total on the ground and amassed a season-high 372 rushing yards in the 42-21 victory. The 254 yards were four short of his career best, set last season in the FCS playoffs at Eastern Washington, and rank No. 4 on the ISU single-game list. His 254 yards also led the entire country (both FBS and FCS) on Saturday and the 100-plus yard rushing performance was his eighth of the season and 21st in the last 25 games overall.
Defense
FS Nick Farina, South Dakota State, 5-11, 185, So., Phoenix (Ariz.) Desert Vista High
Farina tallied a career-high 10 tackles and returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in South Dakota State’s 30-23 win at South Dakota on Nov. 14. Farina’s interception return capped a 20-point fourth quarter for the Jackrabbits and proved to be the decisive score in the South Dakota Showdown Series game. Farina broke up another pass as the Jackrabbits remained undefeated on the road this season.
Newcomer
QB Aaron Bailey, UNI, 6-2, 226, Jr., Bolingbrook (Ill.) High/Illinois
For the second consecutive week, Bailey punched in four rushing touchdowns, leading UNI to a 41-0 shutout win over Missouri State. He finished the game with 19 carries for 161 rushing yards, adding 61 yards through the air. He now has 14 rushing touchdowns on the season, one shy of tying the school record for rushing scores in a season by a quarterback (Tirrell Rennie, 15 in 2010). His 26-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter was his third longest of the season. His eight rushing TDs in the past two weeks leads all of Division I.
Newcomer
QB Sean McGuire, Western Illinois, 6-3, 220, Fr., Franklin (Wis.) High
McGuire made his first collegiate start a memorable one, throwing for 332 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 28 yards and another score, in the overtime win. McGuire threw a team season-long 78-yard pass to Joey Borsellino as he finished 29-of-44 passing. Western trailed by 17 points early in the second half before he led the Leathernecks to the second-biggest comeback in program history. It is believed to be the biggest passing yardage debut for a freshman making their first WIU start. McGuire returned to practice last week after missing the last three weeks battling a case of Mononucleosis and he found out Friday afternoon he was going to get the start after hearing news on Trenton’s appendix.
