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 — 3, 2, 1 — 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 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 starting kicker 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 gun-shy 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.”
Emporia State 7, Western State (Colo.) 3
Saturday at Gunnison, Colo.
ESU 7 0 0 0 — 7
Western State 0 3 0 0 — 3
First Quarter
ESU — Michael Fulton 33 pass from Ben Purkeypile (Johnny Torres kick), 11:36.
Second Quarter
WSC — Lloyd Tucker 22 field goal, 0:00
GAME STATISTICS
ESU WSC
First downs 22 22
Rushes-yards 54-318 21-34
Comp-Att-Int 9-17-1 25-45-0
Passing yards 115 301
Total plays-yards 71-433 66-335
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 14-130 8-74
Punts-average 4-41.2 7-39.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — ESU: Justin Wieser 21-186, Seville Ko 12-72, Jake Lynch 6-32, Andre Sloan El 11-31, Paul Nichols 3-17, Katrel Larkins 1-(-20); WSC: Tyler Robertson 3-24, Nathan Acrey 12-24, Jeff Wilkerson 1-1, JaLen Ayers 1-0, Cameron Merrill 3-(-7), Jason Davis 1-(-8).
PASSING — ESU: Ben Purkeypile 6-11-1 63, Andre Sloan El 3-6-0 52; WSC: Cameron Merrill 20-37-0 238, Tyler Robertson 5-8-0 63.
RECEIVING — ESU: Sean Partridge 3-14, Paul Nichols 2-47, Katrel Larkins 2-16, Michael Fulton 1-33, Jarad Biggs 1-5; WSC: Dusten Copeland 7-125, Darius Johnson 5-64, Casey Adragna 4-37, Nathan Acrey 3-13, Chris Clark 2-27, JaLen Ayers 2-21, Nazih Moukaddam 1-11, Jeff Wilkerson 1-3.
PUNTING — ESU: Johnny Torres 4-41.2; WSC: Jason Davis 7-39.0.
RECORDS — ESU 1-0; WSC 0-2.
gregorymed (anonymous) says...
Basketball starts 10/15.......football at ESU is going to be ugly to watch this year. Where is Coach Higgins great coaching skills and game management that he supposedly had at Northwestern Oklahoma? And ESU faithful complained about Kreamer, Matsakis and Weimers???? Ugh!...i think i will drive up to KU and buy their football ticket.
September 5, 2007 at 8:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bigearl2 (anonymous) says...
Give Him a Chance ! The problem with the Football program is the lack of support from the community. There are 2 towns here in Emporia. The city of Emporia State and the City of Emporia. Until we become has one and the University connects with the community and invest in the youth that are here in Emporia. You will continue to have 1500 to 1800 people at home games.(IF THAT) If we sold out games for all of the home events(Tennis, Volleyball,Baseball etc..) , the players and coaches will feel like they have more support. There is nothing like a Large Group of people shouting and screaming for you to win . Give him 3-5 years to turn around the program. No Coach can come in and change it overnight !!!
September 5, 2007 at 2:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
They have the players for a winning season right now, please consider this comment from the earlier story:
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 5, 2007 at 6:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sandygreg (anonymous) says...
I agree with footballeyes. Purkeypile only had one turnover and he threw 5 for 5 with the only touchdown pass. Go with the talent and put those not as experienced in when we have a comfortable margin. He has the experience and has pulled us from behind if he has help. He does need to have the offensive line give him more time to find the open receiver. This is a team sport and it takes everyone doing their job not just one person.
Go Hornets!
September 6, 2007 at 9 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
footballeyes (anonymous) says...
From the Edmond Sun:
ABOUT THE HORNETS: Emporia State, coming off a 3-8 season and with a new head coach, opened its 2007 campaign with a 7-3 win over Western State last Saturday to end a seven-game losing streak.
The Hornets piled up 433 yards total offense, including 318 rushing in 54 attempts. Running back Justin Wieser led ESU with 186 yards on 21 carries, while Seville Ko had 72 yards in 12 tries.
ESU scored its lone touchdown of the game early in the game on a 33-yard pass by quarterback Ben Purkeypile, who finished 6-of-11 passing for 63 yards.
Western State managed just 34 yards rushing against ESU, but the Moutaineers did complete 25-of-45 passes for 301 yards.
Strong safety Jake Richter had a team-leading nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss, while free safety Blake Ringwall had eight stops.
September 6, 2007 at 9:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nuggets (anonymous) says...
Victory will continue to embrace the ESU football players.
September 8, 2007 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )