As Derek Jonas’ first field goal went through the uprights on Friday night at the spring game, Emporia State players thought back to what could have been if Jonas would have been around last season.
Two missed field goal against Central Missouri, including one in the final seconds, cost the Hornets a chance at an upset win, and they were never the same team after.
When Jonas, a transfer from Garden City Community College, was introduced at the first team meeting when he got on campus, he got a standing ovation from his teammates. He again earned their adulation with two field goals and a perfect 3 for 3 extra points, accounting for nine points in a 20-0 win for the Gold over the Black.
“I know we didn’t have a rush out there, but I’m going to tell you what, we might not have been able to make those last year without a rush,” coach Garin Higgins said. “It was good to see. I think our players, when they see that, it gives them confidence. They’ve been excited since the first day I said we have a kicker.”
Jonas could change the way the Hornets play next season simply with his presence. That was evident from the first drive on Friday night, when quarterback Tyler Eckenrode connected with Shjaun Richardson on a 42-yard pass that put the Gold in the red zone.
When the Gold could not finish the drive off with a touchdown, Higgins sent out Jonas for a 37-yard field goal. He got another chance on a stalled drive in the third quarter and connected from 38 yards.
“That’s big,” Higgins said. “Giving your offense some confidence and letting our players understand, and as coaches too, knowing we have an opportunity to get three points on the board here. We don’t have to go for it on fourth down once we get inside the 30-yard line. It changes your mindset, even as coaches, what plays you’re going to call once you get down into the red zone.”
Getting into the red zone was not always easy last season because of inconsistent quarterback play and injuries at the position. Eckenrode showed promise in three starts in the middle of the season, but his season was cut short because of a shoulder injury. Sheldon Smith also showed promise when he got a chance late in the year, and even led the team to one of their two wins, a comeback overtime win at Truman State.
The two are the Hornets’ only quarterbacks, and they have been battling for the job this spring. They both showed glimpses of what could be on Friday night, and they both showed room for improvement.
Eckenrode had the most success moving the ball early, and his highlights were two deep passes — the deep ball to Richardson that bounced off Julian Dozier’s helmet into Richardson’s hands, and he rolled out and found Brian Murphy for a 42-yard completion.
“I think you see Tyler Eckenrode is a guy that can manage the football game, doesn’t really do anything to put our team in a bad situation,” Higgins said.
Eckenrode finished 6 for 22 for 110 yards and zero interceptions.
“I did some good things, did some bad things,” Eckenrode said. “I wish I would have had a better completion percentage and I had some missed throws, but overall it was a fun time and everybody played well.”
Smith struggled to complete any passes early, and he was limited by the spring game rules, which ruled the quarterback down whenever he was touched by the defense.
Smith was intercepted by Kameron Gee in the fourth quarter, and Gee returned the interception for a 36-yard touchdown. Smith did bounce back with a late 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tracy Hageman. Smith completed 4 of 11 passes for 30 yards.
“I think you see some of the things that Sheldon can do,” Higgins said. “He’s very exciting and can make a lot of great plays, but at the same time, he needs to eliminate the bad plays for the other team. That’s what we’re trying to get corrected with him. ... There could have been some runs. I think he busted loose a couple times that we blew the whistle on.
“Sheldon Smith has come a long ways. From where he was at this time last year to right now, leaps and bounds.”
The highlight for the two defenses was Gee’s interception, and the fact that they limited big plays.
“We made some big steps, just doing our job,” Gee said. “That’s where we had a lot of problems last year, with people doing their job. I feel like a lot of people did their job tonight, and the scoreboard showed the result.”
Higgins saw enough plays made on both sides of the ball that he’s convinced the talent level in his program continues to grow.
“I wanted to see some guys on both sides of the ball make some plays tonight,” he said. “You saw Shjaun Richardson catch a tipped ball. You saw Kameron Gee pick off a pass for an interception. You saw Sheldon break a run that we blew the whistle on, could have gone all the way. I think those are the things that we didn’t have on a consistent basis last year, so it was good to see some of those things tonight.”
With both sides of the ball so familiar with each other, and the fact that the quarterbacks could not be touched, that limited the excitability of the game.
But with a kicker that performed like a kicker should, all of the Hornets finished the spring excited for what could be next year.
“I’m glad I can help the team out in anyway,” Jonas said. “I love to kick field goals. Whenever they give me a chance, I’ll try my best.”
ESU Spring Game
Friday at Welch Stadium
ESU Gold 3 3 0 14 — 20
ESU Black 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring Summary
First quarter
Gold — Jonas 37 kick
Second quarter
Gold — Jonas 38 kick
Fourth quarter
Gold — Gee 36 interception return (Jonas kick)
Gold — Hageman 9 pass from Smith (Jonas kick)
Game Statistics
Gold Black
First downs 9 6
Rushes-yards 27-85 23-59
Passing yards 94 56
Att.-Comp.-Int. 16-7-0 17-3-1
Total plays-yards 43-179 40-115
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0
Penalties-yards 4-35 4-20
Individual Statistics
Rushing — ESU Gold: Abner 9-51, Smart 9-39, Eckenrode 4-3, Smith 5-(minus-8); ESU Black: Jones 9-41, Smith 6-16, Murphy 1-3, Eckenrode 6-3, Team 1-(minus-4).
Passing — ESU Gold: Eckenrode 4-9-0 67, Smith 3-7-0 27; ESU Black: Eckenrode 2-13-0 53, Smith 1-4-1 3.
Receiving — ESU Gold: Johnson 4-36, Richardson 1-42; ESU Black: Murphy 1-42, Rampy 1-11, Piske 1-3.