ESU football holds on for 7-3 victory over Western State
Hornet defense stops last-minute Mountaineer drive to secure win
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 01:46 p.m., September 2, 2007
Updated 01:46 p.m., September 2, 2007
GUNNISON, Colo. — On the play that decided the game, Lance Claibourn didn’t go where he was supposed to.
The Emporia State defensive end started to chase down quarterback Tyler Robertson. That was his responsibility. Robertson rolled to the right five yards — and one pass — away from a Western State victory.
But as the seconds ticked down — three, two, one — Claibourn called an audible of his own.
And the man who hadn’t played defense since high school four years earlier relied on something that shouldn’t have come naturally.
His instincts.
“I was just taking a good pursuit angle, but I saw that receiver come back around me,” Claibourn said after ESU’s 7-3 victory on Saturday in Gunnison, Colo. “I just backed up because I figured that was his only guy to throw to.”
Claibourn was right.
When Robertson threw the pass with no time left, Western trailing by four, the only one who was left to stop it was Claibourn — the one who wasn’t supposed to be there to begin with.
“I saw their guy wide open. And I saw Lance, too,” ESU coach Garin Higgins said. “It was like it was in slow motion.”
The eternity ended when Claibourn raised his arms to deflect the pass, altering its flight enough so that it dropped harmlessly between two Western State players in the end zone.
ESU 7, Western State 3. No time left.
“When Lance tipped that pass, that was definitely a relief,” ESU running back Justin Wieser said. “I think my heart sunk in my chest.”
With the victory, the Hornets snapped a seven-game losing streak carried over from last year.
They also gave Higgins and his staff their first win at ESU.
“I was really nervous about what was going to happen in that locker room if we didn’t win this ballgame,” Higgins said. “But you know what, I was proud to see guys step up and make plays when they needed to make plays.”
Though ESU escaped with the win, the Hornets will have a lot to address before next Saturday’s game at Central Oklahoma.
UCO (1-0) defeated No. 11 Abilene Christian 27-17 on Saturday.
Perhaps the biggest concern for ESU will be limiting its penalties.
After running a training camp that emphasized discipline, Higgins watched on as his team committed 14 penalties for 130 yards.
The infractions came at bad times as well. ESU was penalized for 50 yards in the final 4 minutes, 49 seconds alone.
“I think we got a little bit fatigued and our mental focus — we lost it at times,” Higgins said. “We worried too much about how we felt instead of worrying about doing the job at hand. But we can correct those things. When you go on the road, you’re going to have that.”
Another of ESU’s concerns will be the kicking game, which cost the team six crucial points.
A 29-yard field goal attempt by Johnny Torres was blocked in the first half, and a 27-yard attempt in the third quarter was botched because of a bad snap.
The two miscues affected Higgins’ decisions on fourth downs, as twice in the fourth quarter the coach elected to go for it despite being in field-goal range.
ESU still is adapting after projected starter Grady Fowler left the team a week before the season, transferring to Butler Community College.
Though the Hornets piled up 433 yards on offense, they weren’t able to capitalize with points.
ESU’s only score came when starting quarterback Ben Purkeypile led the Hornets 82 yards on eight plays for a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game.
The Hornets drove inside the Mountaineers’ 15-yard-line four times but came up empty on each of those possessions.
“Our problem was that we just kept them in the game,” Higgins said. “I was nervous that we kept them in the game too long and that they were going to end up hitting us with a big play ...
“We could have put the nail in the coffin early on. We’ve just got to learn how to finish the game.”
The Hornets also could benefit from more confidence in the passing game.
Purkeypile threw an interception in the third quarter, and the Hornets seemed gunshy to throw the rest of the way with Andre Sloan El under center.
From that point on, ESU ran the ball 33 times and passed it just twice. One passing attempt ended in a sack and the other in a penalty, meaning the Hornets did not throw an official pass in the final 26 minutes, 37 seconds.
“We wanted to win the game and not put our defense in a bad situation,” Higgins said. “I felt like our defense was playing well enough to get a ‘W.’ I really felt like that.”
The defense was the highlight for the Hornets, as it allowed 335 yards but buckled down when it mattered.
Western State made it past midfield on seven different possessions but came away with only three points, with those coming on a 22-yard field goal from Lloyd Tucker at the end of the first half.
Wieser, meanwhile, carried the load offensively, rushing 21 times for 188 yards.
As a team, ESU had 54 carries for 318 yards — good for a 5.9-yard average.
“We drove the ball when we needed to,” Wieser said. “We’ve just got to finish next week.”
For now, Higgins said the team would enjoy being 1-0.
He has a converted tight end to thank for that.
“I thought I was going to intercept it, but oh well,” Claibourn said. “It still went our way.”
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
I would like to throw out some comments for discussion:
1- Biggest concern is penalties? IMO that should be about #3-4 on the list. Other concerns: game management, o-line, sloan el.
2- discipline- don't confuse being a disciplinarian with being a screamer, there is a big difference. staff could show leadership and maturity.
3- "The Hornets also could benefit from more confidence in the passing game"- only score came from this. Try some pass protection and forget about trying to turn the qb into a rb, if he's that fast put him at receiver. Take out 1 run and sloan was 10 carries for 8 yards- really impressive, plus- he can't throw. Use talent wisely instead of worrying about who the coach recruited- there is some talent on this team.
4- “We wanted to win the game and not put our defense in a bad situation,” Higgins said.- Pretty much sums it up- I've been around football for along time now and haven't seen many offenses managed this poorly. Defense looks pretty good but need to keep offensive playmakers on the field and give them a chance to use thier abilities.
September 4, 2007 at 8:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )