ESU offense looks for consistency in opener against Western State
By Jesse Newell
Friday, August 31, 2007
After weeks of speculation, it was time for Emporia State coach Garin Higgins to announce his starting quarterback at Thursday’s practice.
Except that he didn’t.
“You’ll know Saturday at 1 o’clock,” the ESU coach said with a smile. “I will say this. I would have a good bet that both will play.”
The “both” refers to quarterbacks Andre Sloan El and Ben Purkeypile, who have been battling throughout camp for the No. 1 position.
Though Higgins came close to announcing the 6-foot-2 Sloan El as the starter last week, he decided to give the quarterbacks seven more days to prove themselves.
In that time, Purkeypile has made up enough ground that he might take the Hornets’ first snap of the season against Western State on Saturday.
“Ben Purkeypile,” Higgins said, “has raised his level this week.”
Higgins isn’t uncomfortable with a quarterback platoon — it’s a situation he’s dealt with in the past as an offensive coordinator.
His bigger concern might be his offense as a whole, as injuries and inconsistency have caused it to lag behind the Hornets defense through most of camp.
“There was a time we felt like we were struggling, but I think it was just because of the stuff our defense was throwing at us,” ESU receiver Sean Partridge said. “A lot of teams are not going to be throwing that at us.
“When we see the other teams on film, it’s almost a break. Every play isn’t a blitz.”
Higgins believes his offense’s biggest key will be gaining confidence early, especially with some of the shuffling that has taken place on the unit.
Matt Ferris has moved from tackle to center to help Higgins put his best five offensive linemen on the field, while injuries also have mixed up the depth chart.
Preseason All-American H-back Lucas Sullivan will most likely be held out with a hamstring injury, and running back Seville Ko is expected to play some after just returning from a hamstring injury of his own.
With so much time to prepare for Game One, Higgins has resisted the temptation of putting in additional offensive plays.
Instead, the coach pulled back the playbook some, making sure his offense was comfortable with sets that he believed would be most successful on Saturday.
“We’re getting everything ironed out, and I think we’re ready,” Partridge said. “We’ve got our gameplan in. We know what we’re going to do.
“Now, it’s just up to us to execute it.”
Other injuries of note for ESU: linebacker Matt Demicoli (hamstring) will not play, while punter/kicker Johnny Torres (groin) should be available.
Defensive lineman A.J. Franklin will sit out after violating team rules.
Western State enters at 0-1 after losing 55-3 at Fort Hays State last week.
FHSU was picked in the preseason poll to finish behind ESU this year.
Higgins said he talked to his team about not reading too much into the score. Western State turned the ball over four times, and FHSU scored 28 points off those turnovers.
The Tigers’ longest scoring drive was only 61 yards.
Higgins believes his players’ enthusiasm for the first game should keep them sharp.
“Coaches always say, ‘Hay’s in the barn. You can’t do anything but go and play now.’ The hay’s been in the barn really for the last three days,” Higgins said. “It’s time for us to play a game.”
“We’ve been working hard for three or four weeks,” Partridge said. “It’s payday on Saturday.”