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Sunday, Sep 21, 2003
Sports
Posted on Sun, Sep. 21, 2003
UND NOTEBOOK: Newberry coach to UND: Think Division I
By Wayne Nelson
Herald Staff Writer
First-year Newberry (S.C.) College football coach Zak Willis heaped praise on UND before the game. His praise intensified after the Sioux beat Newberry 42-23 at the Alerus Center on Saturday before 7,669 fans.
He also wondered why UND plays Division II football.
"For this school to be Division II is a joke," Willis said. "When I think of a Division II football team, I don't think of the one that was on this field today. North Dakota would beat a lot of Division I-AA teams."
Before last week, Newberry had lost 10 straight games. Willis was hired to turn around the struggling program.
It appears he's on the right track. Newberry's speed was superior to that of UND. The difference came at the line of scrimmage, where the smaller Indians had difficulty protecting quarterback Brian Shealy, who was sacked eight times.
"They were too good for us up front," Willis said.
Troy Newhouse had three sacks. Jeff Momerak and Zach Babington-Johnson had two sacks each while Jason Peterson had one.
"The sacks were a result of our pressure," Newhouse said. "It could have been anybody making those sacks."
Take the points
UND scored on its first possession. Newberry responded and drove to the Sioux 1. On fourth-and-goal, Willis elected to kick a field goal instead of gambling for the touchdown.
"We needed to answer with something," Willis said. "I wanted to get something on the scoreboard early."
Trailing 21-3 in the third quarter, Newberry again faced a fourth-and-goal from the Sioux 1. This time, Newberry had no choice but to go for the touchdown.
But Sherel Anderson was stopped short of the goal line by Eric Halstenson, and the Sioux responded with a 99-yard scoring drive.
"We thought we got into the end zone two plays before that," Willis said. "It was a tough break."
A heads-up play
UND's last touchdown - a 35-yard fumble recovery by Brandon Strouth - was the strangest Sioux score in years.
Strouth picked up a loose ball at the Newberry 35 and scored. But there was much more to the play. At the Sioux 21, John Bowenkamp threw an over-the-middle pass to Willis Stattelman, who then veered toward the Newberry sideline. Defensive lineman Robert Holley punched the ball out of Stattelman's hands along the sideline near the UND 40.
The ball took two bounces, and Strouth caught it at the Newberry 35. The ball was in the middle of the field when Strouth gained control.
"When I saw Willis catch the ball, I figured I'd better get downfield so I could help block in case he made a cut-back," Strouth said. "Then I saw the ball flying in the air. I was shocked. I had no idea what was going on at first."
Big returns
Travis Lueck is establishing himself as UND's big-play threat.
The East Grand Forks Senior High graduate returned five punts for 97 yards. Two of his returns set up Sioux touchdowns.
In three games, he has returned 11 punts for 200 yards.
"We have great schemes on our punt returns," Lueck said. "And when you have guys like Adam Stratton, Digger Anderson and Tony Hermes blocking, you can make things happen. Our guys just hustle and block. It's just a matter of me fielding the punt cleanly and reading their blocks."
Notes and quotes
• "I was disappointed in myself. I had missed throws here and there," UND quarterback John Bowenkamp on his 13-for-20 performance for 235 yards and four touchdowns.
• "It wasn't pretty. It wasn't textbook. But we got it done. We took a lot of time off the clock," UND coach Dale Lennon on the Sioux 99-yard scoring drive that produced a 28-3 lead.
• "When North Dakota had a chance to make things happen, they made things happen," Newberry coach Zak Willis.
• In his last two games, UND linebacker Digger Anderson has made a total of 11 solo tackles.
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Sunday, Sep 21, 2003
Sports
Posted on Sun, Sep. 21, 2003
UND NOTEBOOK: Newberry coach to UND: Think Division I
By Wayne Nelson
Herald Staff Writer
First-year Newberry (S.C.) College football coach Zak Willis heaped praise on UND before the game. His praise intensified after the Sioux beat Newberry 42-23 at the Alerus Center on Saturday before 7,669 fans.
He also wondered why UND plays Division II football.
"For this school to be Division II is a joke," Willis said. "When I think of a Division II football team, I don't think of the one that was on this field today. North Dakota would beat a lot of Division I-AA teams."
Before last week, Newberry had lost 10 straight games. Willis was hired to turn around the struggling program.
It appears he's on the right track. Newberry's speed was superior to that of UND. The difference came at the line of scrimmage, where the smaller Indians had difficulty protecting quarterback Brian Shealy, who was sacked eight times.
"They were too good for us up front," Willis said.
Troy Newhouse had three sacks. Jeff Momerak and Zach Babington-Johnson had two sacks each while Jason Peterson had one.
"The sacks were a result of our pressure," Newhouse said. "It could have been anybody making those sacks."
Take the points
UND scored on its first possession. Newberry responded and drove to the Sioux 1. On fourth-and-goal, Willis elected to kick a field goal instead of gambling for the touchdown.
"We needed to answer with something," Willis said. "I wanted to get something on the scoreboard early."
Trailing 21-3 in the third quarter, Newberry again faced a fourth-and-goal from the Sioux 1. This time, Newberry had no choice but to go for the touchdown.
But Sherel Anderson was stopped short of the goal line by Eric Halstenson, and the Sioux responded with a 99-yard scoring drive.
"We thought we got into the end zone two plays before that," Willis said. "It was a tough break."
A heads-up play
UND's last touchdown - a 35-yard fumble recovery by Brandon Strouth - was the strangest Sioux score in years.
Strouth picked up a loose ball at the Newberry 35 and scored. But there was much more to the play. At the Sioux 21, John Bowenkamp threw an over-the-middle pass to Willis Stattelman, who then veered toward the Newberry sideline. Defensive lineman Robert Holley punched the ball out of Stattelman's hands along the sideline near the UND 40.
The ball took two bounces, and Strouth caught it at the Newberry 35. The ball was in the middle of the field when Strouth gained control.
"When I saw Willis catch the ball, I figured I'd better get downfield so I could help block in case he made a cut-back," Strouth said. "Then I saw the ball flying in the air. I was shocked. I had no idea what was going on at first."
Big returns
Travis Lueck is establishing himself as UND's big-play threat.
The East Grand Forks Senior High graduate returned five punts for 97 yards. Two of his returns set up Sioux touchdowns.
In three games, he has returned 11 punts for 200 yards.
"We have great schemes on our punt returns," Lueck said. "And when you have guys like Adam Stratton, Digger Anderson and Tony Hermes blocking, you can make things happen. Our guys just hustle and block. It's just a matter of me fielding the punt cleanly and reading their blocks."
Notes and quotes
• "I was disappointed in myself. I had missed throws here and there," UND quarterback John Bowenkamp on his 13-for-20 performance for 235 yards and four touchdowns.
• "It wasn't pretty. It wasn't textbook. But we got it done. We took a lot of time off the clock," UND coach Dale Lennon on the Sioux 99-yard scoring drive that produced a 28-3 lead.
• "When North Dakota had a chance to make things happen, they made things happen," Newberry coach Zak Willis.
• In his last two games, UND linebacker Digger Anderson has made a total of 11 solo tackles.
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