Bye-Bye, Bye Week!

Well the bye week is FINALLY over. And it seemed like it’s been a lifetime since the Pioneers last put on the pads and hit somebody with a different color helmet on, and let me tell you something sports fans, in the words of Bart Scott: “CAN’T WAIT!”

The last time we saw the Pioneers, they suffered a 26-21 loss at the hands of our biggest rival, Missouri Valley, something which can’t sit well this team, and I expect the Pioneers to come out swinging in the early goings of this game against Avila, a team, honestly, that I know little about.
The Pioneers opened 2010 on the road against Avila, and it was a one-sided affair. The ‘Neers defeated Avila 42-7 in a contest that was never in question, as the Pioneers dominated defensively right away, as AJ Rodriguez forced and recovered a fumble on the game’s first possession. The Pioneers’ dominated the game on both sides of the ball, and that game was the MNU faithful’s first glimpse of the two young guns in the Pioneer backfield, Greg Gates and James Tillman. The two (then freshmen) accounted for five touchdowns in the contest and didn’t slow down the rest of the year, powering the Pioneer running attack.

This year, look for the same thing. The Pioneers (in my opinion) need to establish the running game early and run the ball often. That not only gives three talented runners more touches, it also makes the passing game that much easier for whoever the quarterback will be for the ‘Neers. Tyler Herl is a great quarterback, but like any quarterback, pressure gives him problems. In the Missouri Valley game, the Pioneers got away from the run a bit in the second half, and that let the Vikings pin their ears back and rush the passer frequently. The Pioneers need to run the ball effectively to give Herl some time, and some favorable match-ups to throw against.

Defensively, the Pioneers need to tackle. Plain and simple, the first guy who gets to the ball carrier needs to bring him down, and I guarantee the ‘Neers have been working on tackling for about two weeks getting ready for this game. Give the defense some credit, they were on the field for a long time on the 10th, but they do need to tackle better, and stop the running game.

I’m excited for this game for another reason as well: Adam Henderson will be providing the play-by-play on KMNU for this ball game and I am pumped to see how he does as the heir-apparent to myself when it comes to providing play-by-play for Pioneer Athletics. Make sure you listen to the game if you can’t make it out. Thank you for reading!

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Time To Go Work

Wow. I never thought I'd see the day when the Pioneers would drop a game to rival Missouri Valley College. But here I sit, and it's happened. The Pioneers were 3-0 over the last three years against Valley going into Saturday's game, but the Vikings played inspired football, and that seemed to be the difference in the ballgame.

 

The Pioneers looked decent early on. After a fluky punt return touchdown for Valley (probably should've been called a fair catch...but, oh well, still have to tackle the guy). The Pioneers answered right back on a beautiful, no, incredible, nay, stupendous 80-yard touchdown run by sophomore Greg Gates. Gates may be the best running back in the conference this year folks, don't sleep on this guy he can take the ball to the house literally every time he touches the football. He is an electric runner who will be a big part of this offense going forward.

Right after a Pioneer interception, Coach Quinn drew up a fantastic play by going with a play action bomb to Austin Conyers for a 40-yard touchdown pass, and the Pioneers were in control.

 
BUT, that's when things started to go wrong. Penalties and turnovers really slowed the Pioneer attack, and Missouri Valley started to run the ball and control the game clock. This severely disrupted the Pioneers' rhythm on offense and it seemed like they couldn't get it back the entire game.
The Pioneers turned the ball over 5 times and had 124 yards of penalties...but they still were in the game the entire time. Losing by 5 points after all of those negatives...I guess, can be a positive. That goes to show you that this MNU team will never be out of a football game and with games against the #13, #14, and two teams receiving votes in the NAIA remaining on the schedule, this team is really going to need to fight their way through the rest of the schedule.

The 'Neers head into their bye week and they'll get the wrinkles ironed out, tighten the screws a bit, and whatever other cliche you want to throw in there to get this team rolling in the right direction. This coaching staff is one of the better staffs in the country, and they'll get these guys going. THERE IS STILL HOPE PEOPLE!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.

View From the Booth: Great Start!

This Pioneer team is legit. On Saturday, they absolutely smothered the unique Central Methodist attack, and really attacked the CMU Defensive Line in the running game. Pioneer running backs averaged over 6 yards per carry against a decent opponent, including a 2-time All-American in Matt Fraley. Greg Gates definitely answered the bell in the first test of his sophomore campaign, he tore off several impressive runs, including a 35 yard touchdown run in which he stiff-armed a defender into the ground and then made several defenders miss on his way to the end zone. He earned Conference Player of the Week, and with good reason, his line: 17 carries, 128 yards and 2 scores.

Brandon Smith is well on his way to a possible All-America season. Defensive Ends in 3-4 defenses do not put up the kind of stats that "B-Smith" registered in the opening contest, look at this line: 9 tackles (!?!?) 3 tackles-for-loss, and 2 sacks. That is an unreal line, for a guy who played only three quarters, because the coaching staff rested him in the fourth quarter. His motor is second to none. Talking to the guy, you get a sense that he will not be outworked under any circumstances.He even plays fullback in short-yardage situations on offense, and even then, he is still folding guys with his lead blocks. He is a true leader, and if you don't know his name already, get to know it.

The Linebacking Corps did a great job on Saturday. The Pioneers are trying to replace 4 starters along that line, including 2-time All-American Jake Duren, and they performed very well. Newcomer James Gadison was tied for the team lead in tackles with 9 against CMU. Sophomore Jared Moyston had a big interception to end CMU's first drive. Junior Joey Oxley had a big sack and forced fumble in the second half that really sucked the life out of the Eagles. The Linebacking Corps looks solid and fairly deep with Oxley, Junior Frankie Sou, and Freshman Matt Cobb coming off the bench. This is going to be a strong point of this Pioneer Defense.

Sean Ransburg left the game due to injury in the 2nd quarter, so Junior Tyler Herl made his comeback after missing the 2010 season, and he performed admirably. He finished with 9 completions in 18 attempts for 94 yards, and two interceptions. The interceptions were not egregious however, as the first one was just a terrific play by the Eagle safety, and the second interception was a ill-advised throw after an incredible play to avoid a sack. The Pioneers are very blessed to have a backup in Tyler Herl. Let's hope Ransburg's injury is not severe, so we can see both of these guys on the field this weekend against rival Missouri Valley (I'll talk about them later in the week.).

Lastly, Former MNU QB Stinson Dean joined me in the booth for this game, and it was awesome! He is very football-smart and he knows how to communicate the game. Make sure you tune into KMNU Sports Radio and mnusports.com to hear his awesome color commentary all season long at kmnu.mnubox.com

Thank you for reading this blog and listening to the Pioneers on KMNU Sports Radio all season. GO 'NEERS!

View From The Booth: It's Here!

Welcome sports fans!

It's great to meet y'all! My name is Brett Stillman, and I am the lead play-by-play guy for KMNU Sports Radio, "The Pioneer Sports Radio Network." This is a new feature here on the football blog called "View From the Booth." It is just a running blog on my thoughts of the Pioneer Football program as I see it from the broadcast booth.

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE! Sorry, but this is just one of the best times of the year, and boy, what a way to open the 2011 season! Your Pioneers are ranked #3 to enter the season and are the favorite to repeat as HAAC Champions. They take on conference opponent Central Methodist University in prime time to open the 2011 season, and I'm looking forward to a great game.

The Pioneers are stacked offensively. They return 10 starters including all of the skill players in this dangerous system. This offense may be better than the juggernaut of 2009 when the Pioneers were putting up a crazy amount of points. The backfield is one of the top 3 in the country. Sean Ransburg is one of the best dual threat QB's in the country, Greg Gates and James Tillman are back after tremendous freshman seasons, and Ashford Johnson a.k.a. "Old Reliable" is back for a senior season. Juan Redmon is the best Tight End in the country, and the Wide Receiving corps is deep and dependable.

Defensively, the Pioneers are reloading after one of the best defensive seasons in school history, but Defensive Coordinator Paul Hubbard has a great system, and the defensive will be as ferocious as ever. Look out for senior safety AJ Rodriquez to have a great year. And the other safety, Dantren Anderson, moves from outside linebacker and is arguably the hardest hitter in the NAIA. Watch out HAAC opponents!

This team is loaded and prepared to compete for a National Championship, and it'll be brought to you all season long by mnusports.com and kmnu.mnubox.com. So tune in all season for a great Pioneer Football season, and in the words of Bart Scott, "CAN'T WAIT!"