GAME UPDATE: Washburn 31, ESU 21 — FINAL
Late fumble costs ESU shot at victory
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 12:53 p.m., October 13, 2007
Updated 03:49 p.m., October 13, 2007
Washburn scored first on its second possession, as Jordan Brill connected with Drameagon Powers for a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Andrew Knight tacked on the extra point to make it 7-0.
The ESU offense responded on the next possession.
Andre Sloan El found an uncovered Andre Maupin, and the receiver took it 57 yards to the WU 4.
Two plays later, Sloan El scored from three yards out on an option left, and Johnny Torres' PAT tied the game at 7.
WU went 54 yards on eight plays on its next possession.
On a fourth-and-2 from the ESU 19, Ra'Shawn Mosley found a hole on the left side, running 19 yards for the score.
Knight's kick pushed WU's lead to 14-7.
ESU couldn't catch a break on a trick play in the middle of the second quarter.
On a fourth-and-4 from the ESU 36, the Hornets ran a well-executed fake punt, with punter Johnny Torres appearing to pick up the first down on an option play.
ESU, however, looked to get a bad spot by the side judge, who marked Torres a yard short of the first down.
Seven plays later, Knight put through a 25-yard field goal to extend WU's lead to 17-7.
The Hornets intercepted Brill three times in the first half but scored no points off those turnovers.
ESU scored the first points of the second half on a long drive starting in the third quarter.
The Hornets drove 91 yards on 13 plays, and Seville Ko capped the possession with a 9-yard touchdown run.
Torres' PAT was blocked, keeping WU's lead at 17-13.
WU needed just two plays to regain a two-possession advantage, as Brandon Walker had a 70-yard TD run down the right sideline.
Knight's point-after made it 24-13.
ESU added another long scoring drive to get right back in it, going 68 yards on 16 plays.
Sloan El scored on a 2-yard TD run, and on the next play delivered a 2-point conversion pass to Sean Partridge to make it 24-21.
After a WU punt, ESU drove the ball all the way to the Ichabods' 11 before a Sloan El fumble turned it back over to Washburn.
Walker added a 68-yard TD run in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
gregorymed (anonymous) says...
Hopefully coach Higgins is learning what he has to put on the field to compete in the MIAA.....there won't be any 51-9 record here against this level of competition. Hopefully president Lane is getting his bank account in order if he is serious in turning ESU football from negative to positive and are you listening AD Kent Weiser??????? Aw, lady hornet basketball starts this week!!!!!!!!
October 13, 2007 at 2:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Give the guy a break. He has a short deck this year and he will get competitive in the MIAA in a couple of years. You are dead right about the money. Need lots more. Is it worth a million $$$ plus to be competitive in FB? The MIAA needs to cut back. Every school spends too much.
October 13, 2007 at 4:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
EsqEB (anonymous) says...
Go Bods!!
October 13, 2007 at 5:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
Higgins needs no break at this point, he has proven himself to be an idiot and a classless coach. There is enough talent on this team now to be much more competitive. If he continues with the p.o.s. wearing No. 1 on his jersey, they will lose every game as I have repeated stated- any other player that screws up as much as that moron would be have been benched long ago. This whole staff is an embarassment to the school, at least the previous staff showed some class and was a much better reflection of the university. Maybe Higgins and the AD should go somewhere else to finish their honeymoon.
October 13, 2007 at 7:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gregorymed (anonymous) says...
Coach Higgins deserves his "honeymoon" period like any new coach but the clock is running. I disagree that coach Higgins and staff are idots and morons....naive maybe but seriously the program being an embarrassment is square on the shoulders of AD Kent Weiser.......... and President Lane(who can fix it soon). Hopefully all positions on the team and especially QB are wide open for competition in the spring.
October 14, 2007 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
batbatly (anonymous) says...
Hey footballeyes A.K.A. Ben Purkeypile's father,
I hope your son isn't as jealous and selfish as you, because that would be an even bigger hinderance to this team. Why don't you just come out and say what you really want to say: We'd win more games if my son was the quarterback.
Seriously dude, get a freakin' grip
October 14, 2007 at 7:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
skrains (anonymous) says...
My name is Steve Rains and if you are going to complain at least have the guts to not be anonymous. If you think a coach in his first year with the previous coach's players is going to have a super season, WAKE UP!!!! The ESU football program was not going in the right direction under the previous coaching staff and now with those players you expect an MIAA championship? Don't be an idiot. It will take another 4 years to properly evaluate this coach. He needs to have his first recruiting class make it to their senior year and then see where the program is. You may not agree with me but at least I am not ANONYMOUS!!!!
October 15, 2007 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Well put Steve.
October 15, 2007 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
My name is Darrell Hayes and I have been a fan of this program for years. I do not know Purkeypile and have never met him, dude. I am just amazed at how this staff conduct themselves with regards to this team. I am as entitled to my opinion as anyone is, and I am of the opinion that this coach doesn't deserve the job, okay, so get a freaking grip. There are players with talent that aren't seeing the field for unknown reasons, and players who are obviously not getting the same opportunities as others even though their talent level appears higher- not just at qb either. To me, the #1 qb looks to be an average high school talent at best, not Div. II talent- he lacks in almost every area and gets more passes from the staff than any other player, especially Purkeypile- who obviously has skills that aren't being used. Again, there are other players in the same position, his is just the most obvious. If you are going to be upset with anyone it should probably be the AD for his choice- maybe he needs a new Ford.
October 15, 2007 at 11:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eatasheep69 (anonymous) says...
Darrell, instead of hiding behind a webpage as a Monday morning quarterback, how about taking your comments to Hornet talk at Bruff's on Mondays? Maybe Higgins will appreciate your views enough to get you hired on as assistant coach or advisor. I'm sure you would be a great asset to him when it comes time to be involved in his FIRST full recruiting session. Maybe you can get you a new car too?
Higgins continues to do very well with what he was given in a very competitive conference. Kudos to the the coach and entire team.
October 15, 2007 at 12:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gregorymed (anonymous) says...
Steve,
This is division II football not division I.....it should not take 4 years for Coach Higgins to be"fully" evaluated. If Higgins and assistants keep bringing in undersized kids in the spring you won't need to wait 4 years for anything. He needs a chance and he is getting it now but he needs to show some similiar progress as was made at Washburn under Jerry Farley, or Northwest Missouri under Dean Hubbard or Missouri Southern under Julio Leon. Steve, i would suggest you monitor AD Weiser activities and financial support as it relates to Coach Higgins and then you will get a pretty good idea what will happen in the next 4 years.
October 15, 2007 at 5:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
anunbiasedobserver (anonymous) says...
Let's not complain about Coach Higgins. He is a new coach who deserves time to get things worked out. Everyone enjoys supporting a winner, and it is difficult when your team is not winning. While we wait for the Hornets to get on the right track, there is a team 60 miles down the turnpike that is 7-0 that looks like it is headed for a chance at the national title with two kids with Emporia conections. That team is Butler Community College. Dillon Cox, an Emporia High graduate, who originally signed with ESU, is a special teams player and back up line backer for the Grizzles. Grady Fowler, the former ESU kicker from Chase County is their kicker. Fowler is currently ranked 3rd in the nation in scoring for kickers. So if you want to get behind a winner, head for El Dorado for a game. Otherwise be patient, Higgins needs a chance to develop his program and learn to be a successful coach in D-II.
October 15, 2007 at 8:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
Everyone knows that a new coach needs some time to build a program. Anyone that knows anything about the program knew going into the season that we were not going to have a great year (will probably lose the rest of the games this season), but knowing that going into it should put you at ease. I was impressed with how the Hornets handled themselves against Washburn - of course - I would have loved to see a "W", but I was just glad they didn't pound us. Granted when we had the opportunity to win the game at the end and messed that up - it was disappointing, but the Hornets still showed that they were a competitor and not someone Washburn should look past. I'm just curious if footballeyes saw the interception Purkeypile threw on his first or was it his second play in the game Saturday?! Isn't that his reputation?
October 16, 2007 at 8:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
Emporialifer- Why are you bagging on Purkeypile, if I remember correctly, he was one of the top TD passers in the MIAA last year and really didn't play but maybe half of the time. I saw on TV last week that an NFL qb (Favre) had set a record for interceptions and he will be in the Hall of Fame someday. You have to take the good with the bad, at least with Purkeypile there was some good, he could make plays. Most fans see nothing in what is on the field now.
October 18, 2007 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ef6 (anonymous) says...
As I see it, there are several reasons why the offense is in better hands with Andre Sloan El as quarterback instead of Ben Purkeypile.
First, ASE is much more coachable. Initially, he would make too many reads and miss opportunities to use his legs to get yardage. The coaching staff has stressed that he simplify things -- make two reads at most -- and then take off if there's a hole. You can see he's uncomfortable with that approach but he's making that decision much faster than he did six weeks ago. Purkeypile is still throwing into double and triple coverage, a sign he either cannot read the defense (poor preparation?) or is trying to force things (putting himself above the offensive philosophy of limiting mistakes). Either way, it's not a good statement on BP's willingness to listen.
Second, ASE is much more suited to the offense Coach Higgins wants to run once he has more playmakers surrounding the QB. He is getting his strength back after the abdominal surgery, so his downfield passing distance rivals Purkeypile's, and he has the running ability BP simply isn't blessed with.
Third -- and I think this is the point we're debating -- is that ASE makes fewer mistakes with the ball. BP may have been one of the top TD passers last year, but he threw into double and triple coverage a lot last year and got burned. He's still doing that (witness all the interceptions he has thrown this year). It doesn't matter what offense you're running. If you can't read the defense, you shouldn't be under center. BP continually forces things downfield when there's nothing there and he still doesn't have the pocket sense to get out of harm's way.
Argue if you want. If ESU has no chance of winning with ASE as quarterback, there's less of a chance with BP under center.
October 19, 2007 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LocalGuy (anonymous) says...
Thank you ef6. I couldn't have said it much better. I think footballeyes is either Ben's dad or a family member. That is the only reason someone would stick up for that kid. The kid threw 2 passes against Washburn and one of them was a bad interception. I think Ben needs to have his eyes checked maybe he is color blind and can't tell the difference between the jerseys. He sure threw a beatiful pass to the guy from Washburn.
October 19, 2007 at 7:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )