Johnson, Hinspeter gash ESU defense to lead Lions to win
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 01:42 p.m., October 1, 2007
Updated 01:42 p.m., October 1, 2007
Joplin, Mo. — The NFL scout in the press box that came to see Missouri Southern running back Alley Broussard might have left Saturday’s game a bit disappointed — but perhaps also with a longer list of players to watch next time.
Broussard, with only five carries, shared the spotlight with running back Renard Johnson and quarterback Adam Hinspeter, who all helped Southern put on an offensive clinic in its 42-19 victory over Emporia State on Saturday.
The Lions scored on touchdowns on their first two possessions, gained 477 yards overall and had 251 yards rushing in a dominant performance against the Hornets defense.
“They just have some athletes at some skill positions,” ESU coach Garin Higgins said, “that we haven’t seen in the past four weeks.”
The hype mostly surrounded Broussard, a transfer from LSU. Despite battling a leg injury, he didn’t disappoint in limited action, rushing five times for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Still, Johnson and Hinspeter proved to be even bigger contributors.
Johnson — a redshirt freshman — rushed 20 times for 148 yards, which included a 37-yard touchdown run on the first drive.
“I know everybody talks about Alley Broussard, but that other kid, to me, is just as good,” Higgins said. “He hurt us more than Alley did.”
Meanwhile, Hinspeter was nearly perfect throwing the football, finishing 28-of-33 for 267 yards and three touchdowns.
The junior completed his first 16 passes, just two completions off the MIAA record.
“He put the ball on the money,” ESU linebacker David Diener said. “There were times we had tight coverages, but we’ve got to have some guys step up.”
After being disappointed with little mistakes that might have cost them a game last week against Fort Hays State, the Hornets were left more shell-shocked Saturday after essentially being taken out of the game three possessions in.
Southern (4-1, 2-1 MIAA) took the opening kick and marched 58 yards on five plays, as Johnson’s 37-yard run helped make it 7-0.
On the ensuing possession, ESU picked up one first down before punting, and the Lions wasted no time adding to their lead.
This drive went 76 yards, with Broussard combining for 44 rushing yards on the final three plays, which included a 3-yard TD run.
Just 7 minutes, 17 seconds in, ESU already faced a 14-0 deficit.
“We’ve got to come out and trust what we’ve been doing in practice, trust what we’re doing is right,” Diener said. “We had a gameplan, and when we came out and ran it in the second half, it worked good. We’ve got to trust it early and come out with some fire.”
The slow start defensively continued what has been a frustrating trend for the Hornets defense.
ESU has allowed 75 points in the first halves of its four games, while giving up only 31 points altogether in the third and fourth quarters combined.
Though the score might not have reflected it, ESU’s offense continued to make strides after struggling through most of the early season.
The Hornets rushed for 216 yards and finished with 334 yards overall, posting touchdown drives of 52, 11 and 70 yards. ESU also only had one turnover — a fourth-quarter interception by Andre Sloan El.
“I see us making improvement,” Higgins said. “That’s what I told our offense during the game.”
Sloan El had 198 yards of offense, completing 9 of 22 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 18 times for 80 yards.
Justin Wieser added four carries for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Seville Ko had 11 rushes for 57 yards and a score.
ESU could benefit on both sides of the ball by improving on third down.
The Hornets were just 3-of-14 on third-down conversions, while Southern was successful on 10 of 17 third-down chances, which helped extend drives.
Diener led the defense with 13 tackles.
ESU had a scary moment late in the game, as safety Jake Richter suffered an apparent ankle injury after jumping up for an interception in the fourth quarter.
He spent the rest of the game with crutches on the sideline.
ESU (3-2, 1-2 MIAA) will play its first of three consecutive home games next week, taking on Central Missouri at 1 p.m. at Welch Stadium.
“We played a good team tonight. We played a really good team,” ESU tight end Paul Nichols said. “We just need to get both sides of the ball working.
“We know we’re a good team. We just need to show it.”
Missouri Southern 42, Emporia State 19
Saturday at Joplin, Mo.
Emporia State 0 7 6 6 — 19
Missouri Southern 14 14 0 14 — 42
First Quarter
MSSU — Renard Johnson 37 run (Brian Malette kick), 12:56
MSSU — Alley Broussard 2 run (Brian Malette kick), 7:43
Second Quarter
ESU — Seville Ko 1 run (Wayne Gleason kick), 14:57
MSSU — Alley Broussard 40 run (Brian Malette kick), 2:55
MSSU — Colin Bado 4 pass from Adam Hinspeter (Brian Malette kick), 00:08
Third Quarter
ESU — Paul Nichols 12 pass from Andre Sloan El (Katrel Larkins rush failed), 10:50
Fourth Quarter
MSSU — Isaac Norman 5 pass from Adam Hinspeter (Brian Malette kick), 12:49
MSSU — Korie Henry 17 pass from Adam Hinspeter (Brian Malette kick), 11:38
ESU — Justin Wieser 29 run (Andre Sloan El pass failed), 9:51
GAME STATISTICS
ESU MSSU
First downs 15 20
Rushes-yards 40-216 38-210
Passing yards 118 267
Comp-Att-Int 9-23-1 28-35-0
Total plays-yards 63-334 73-477
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 7-52 6-45
Punts-avg. 6-32.5 6-38.2
Time of possession 25:33 34:27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — ESU: Andre Sloan El 18-72, Justin Wieser 4-67, Seville Ko 11-55, Lucas Sullivan 7-22; MSSU: Renard Johnson 20-148, Alley Broussard 5-86, Ronnell Newman 6-12, Team 1-(-1), Adam Hinspeter 6-(-35).
PASSING — ESU: Andre Sloan El 9-22-1 118, Lucas Sullivan 0-1-0 0; MSSU: Adam Hinspeter 28-33-0 267, Team 0-2-0 0.
RECEIVING — ESU: Sean Partridge 2-49, Paul Nichols 2-45, Seville Ko 2-7, Eric Runge 1-10, Lucas Sullivan 1-4, Jonathon Harris 1-3; MSSU: Colin Bado 9-87, Isaac Norman 7-97, Johnny Johnson 5-35, Anthon Aiono 3-16, Korie Henry 2-23, Renard Johnson 1-8, Alley Broussard 1-1.
PUNTING — ESU: Johnny Torres 6-32.5; Ian Harrison 5-38.2
Att — 4,735. Time — 2:51.
Records — ESU 3-2, 1-2 MIAA; MSSU 4-1, 2-1 MIAA.
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
How in the world can you claim the offense is showing improvement? Maybe the o-line can now hold a block for a second or two, but this is the worst ESU offense I have ever seen, and at this point, doesn't appear to have any chance of improvement. Third down conversions this game were 3 of 14, that is consistent with the passing stats (or lack thereof) of #1, he was 9 for 22 and another pick- luckily just 1 this time, and, he is no real running threat, but he does look to be a pretty good dancer. I will say it again, ESU will not win another game this year with him at qb.
October 2, 2007 at 8:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )