The drive the Hornets so desperately needed seemed to take forever.
Leaves changed colors and coaches’ hair got grayer by the time Andre Sloan El dove across the goal line to cap an 18-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that officially took 9 minutes, 24 seconds.
“That was the hardest touchdown to get that I’ve ever been associated with,” ESU coach Garin Higgins would say.
The next would be the easiest. It took one kickoff, one fumble and Kameron Gee running 32 yards for the go-ahead, 10-second touchdown that propelled the Hornets to a 35-24 victory over Truman on Homecoming at Welch Stadium.
“I love those 10-second touchdowns, because that 9-minute one made my back sore,” Higgins said.
Higgins’ body might be sore, but his mind and spirit were healed by his young football team’s much-needed victory. Emporia State had lost four straight and had been a couple bounces and breaks away from winning three of those four games. Higgins had been saying all week that his team was only 19 points away from being 6-2.
“I told our kids we have to go make our breaks,” Higgins said.
They made them on Saturday. Freshman Chris Poston had an interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter and freshman Kurt Webster forced the fumble that led to Gee’s go-ahead touchdown near the end of the third quarter.
Poston’s interception was about all that went right for the ESU defense in the first half.
The Bulldogs’ offense kept the Hornets guessing as they mixed Matt Ticich’s passing with a running-back-by-committee running game. Ticich threw for 95 yards and four different Truman players ran the ball for a combined 95 yards in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 24-14 lead.
“Our main focus that game was honestly No. 11, the quarterback, and the passing game,” Poston said. “But they came out running on us and that kind of threw us off a little.”
The ESU defensive coaches made some adjustments with how they called their pass coverages and defenses during halftime. Their adjustments helped the Hornets hold an opponent scoreless in the second half for a second straight week.
Even during the losing streak, the Hornets had been playing well after halftime, but they would get too far behind to be able to come back. In the third quarter, it looked like that was going to be the case again.
On the second play of the second half, Sloan El threw an interception, which was the same way he had ended the first half. Sloan El’s interception gave the Bulldogs the ball on the ESU 29 in position to add to their 24-14 lead. Ticich moved his offense to the 4-yard line where the drive stalled and the Bulldogs were forced to settle for a field goal. Mickey Masucci’s field goal try hit off the left upright, setting up the Hornets’ 18-play scoring drive.
Sloan El ran for 33 yards on the drive and had several runs that kept the drive alive. He was 3-of-4 for 36 yards, and, most importantly, he had a part in converting all four of the Hornets’ third-down conversions.
“That drive was a must-have,” Sloan El said. “We definitely had to score on that drive to keep us in the game. I felt that I had to do everything in my power just to keep us out on the field.”
After his second interception, Sloan El completed 5-of-7 passes the rest of the game for 83 yards and he ran for an additional 64.
“I think Dre showed a little bit of resiliency himself,” Higgins said. “There were some get-right sessions over there at halftime and on the sidelines. I just felt like he missed some reads. I don’t know if he was trying to do too much or what, but he showed me something today. He didn’t sink that head.”
Instead, Sloan El sunk the Bulldogs. His final pass was a 46-yard strike to Danny McEvoy that gave the Hornets an 11-point lead with 6:22 left in the game. The play was supposed to be a run, but Higgins saw something in the Truman defense and had Sloan El audible. McEvoy ran a stutter-and-go, Sloan pump faked, the corner bit, and McEvoy was wide open.
McEvoy’s touchdown gave the Hornets 21 unanswered points and their most points since a 42-0 victory in Week 1 against Western State. Emporia State moved out of a tie for last place in the MIAA with the win and into a tie for seventh with Truman and Missouri Southern at 2-5.
“Anytime you lose four in a row, you get tested,” Higgins said. “Things are tough. It’s all about how you respond in tough situations and we talked to our football team all the time to be successful in whatever you do, you’ve got to make it through the tough times.
“That four-game stretch we had was making it through some tough times. Not only the four games, but the first half. Our kids came out, they stepped up, they made plays. ... That was a good win for us mentally and also a good win for us physically. That’s a good win for this university. It’s homecoming. Those wins are important. It’s important to me. I’m an alumni here.”
Saturday at Welch Stadium
Truman 14 10 0 0 — 24
Emporia State 7 7 14 7 — 35
First quarter
TSU — Coker 73 pass from Ticich (Masucci kick)
ESU — McEvoy 22 pass from Sloan El (Perry kick)
TSU — Ticich 3 run (Masucci kick)
Second quarter
ESU — Poston 38 interception return (Perry kick)
TSU — Masucci 25 field goal
TSU — Harvey 3 run (Masucci kick)
Third quarter
ESU — Sloan El 1 run (Perry kick)
ESU — Gee 32 fumble return (Perry kick)
Fourth quarter
ESU — McEvoy 46 pass from Sloan El (Perry kick)
GAME STATISTICS
TSU ESU
First downs 21 15
Rushes-yards 43-201 43-115
Comp-Att-Int 17-36-1 12-21-2
Passing yards 160 148
Total plays-yards 79-361 64-263
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-42 10-69
Punts-average 3-30.0 3-39.3
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — TSU: Ticich 15-64, Bernard 15-54, Ayora 9-41, Harvey 3-34, Kenney 1-8; ESU: Sloan El 24-97, Abner 9-19, Ko 4-13, Partridge 1-2, Smith 2-(minus 7), Rampy 3-(minus 9).
Passing — TSU: Ticich 17-36-1 160; ESU: Sloan El 12-21-2 148.
Receiving — TSU: King 4-34, Coker 3-78, Fenton 3-18, Harvey 2-12, Kenney 2-8, Ayora 2-3, Bernard 1-7; ESU: McEvoy 3-80, Hageman 3-41, Partridge 3-(minus 1), Abner 1-15, Ko 1-8, Smith 1-5.
Firsts
F Defensive touchdown of the season
F First-half points scored since Sept. 27
at Missouri Southern, breaking a three-game drought.
4-1
The Hornets’ record this season when they win the turnover battle. The Hornets had three takeaways — two that went for touchdowns — and only two turnovers on Saturday.
9:35
Emporia State’s 18-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the third quarter was the most time used on a TD drive by ESU since joining the MIAA.
beth (anonymous) says...
Congratulations to the Hornets on great Homecoming Win!
October 27, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Hornets are very very close to being a top half MIAA FB team. Coaching staff, congrats on keeping these fellows on course and playing a 60 minute game. Would be easy to "just wait until next year".
October 27, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bigearl2 (anonymous) says...
Good Job! D Line played their hearts out !
October 27, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )