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The Collegian September 11, 2013 • Page 5
The COLLEGIAN
Sports
Harris leads Lindenwood-Belleville to victory in CMU football opener
Lindenwood-Belleville scored 36 unanswered points and Kameron Harris rushed for 232 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lynx to a 42-16 victory over Central Methodist on Thursday at Davis Field. “They really came out and put it to us in the running game in the second half,” Central Methodist head coach Jody Ford said. “They physically beat us up front. We just didn’t get it done.” The Eagles, running a new spread offense, controlled the flow of the contest in the first two quarters, racking up 206 yards of total offense on 48 plays. Central Methodist (0-1) quarterback Kaleb Borghardt found receiver Jamall Williams on the third play from scrimmage for a 59-yard gain. The Eagles drove to the Lindenwood-Belleville (20) one-yard line but were unable to come away with points. Central Methodist’s defense forced a quick three-and-out and started its next series at its own 45. Eleven plays later, kicker Ezequiel Rivera connected on a 44-yard field goal to give the Green and Black a 3-0 edge. The Lynx answered with a 14play, 75-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Kerry Gibson plunged across the goal line from one-yard out to make the score 6-3 towards the end of the first 15 minutes. Central Methodist regained the lead with 3:36 to go in the first half. Running back Maurice Coon took a handoff up the middle and sprinted 14 yards to paydirt, giving the Eagles a 10-6 upper hand. However, Gibson found receiver Dylan Bradley two minutes later from 18 yards out for the first of two touchdown receptions on the night. A two-point conversion attempt
failed, and the Lynx took a 12-10 lead into halftime. After Lindenwood-Belleville linebacker T.J. Onstott recorded a safety five minutes into the third quarter, Harris scored an eightyard rushing touchdown with 3:01 on the clock to give the Lynx a 21-10 advantage. Lindenwood-Belleville scored three
taled 42 yards on the ground on 10 carries with one touchdown, while running back Jeremiah Clemon had 11 carries for 51 yards and one score. “We really feed off of negative-yardage plays and we didn’t get very many of those tonight,” Ford said. “We weren’t able to penetrate and get in the backfield. To their
more touchdowns before receiver Shawn Whitley took a lateral on an option run from Borghardt and turned the play into a sevenyard touchdown with 1:25 left in the game. The Lynx totaled 321 of their 418 yards of total offense on the ground. In addition to Harris’ 232 yards and two scores, Gibson to-
credit, Harris did a great job of running downhill.” Gibson was 11-of-18 passing for 97 yards and two touchdowns, both going to Bradley. Bradley led the Lindenwood-Belleville receiving corps with six catches for 68 yards. Onstott and Sheehan each had nine tack-
les and 1.5 tackles for loss. The Eagles racked up 362 yards of total offense. Coon carried 12 times for a teamhigh 50 yards and one touchdown. Running back Francois Matthews had seven carries for 37 yards, and Borghardt came up with 10 rushes for 26 yards. Whitley carried twice for 10 yards and one score. Borghardt was 17-of-29 through the air for a career-high 202 yards. Backup Eagles’ signal caller Nicholas Stephens played the last series of the first half, going 3-of-6 for 21 yards. Central Methodist receiver Paul Stevens led the squad with six catches for 86 yards. Williams had 66 yards on two receptions, including the 59 yarder. Receiver Kris Denton had 35 yards on five grabs. Skyler Jameson registered a team-high nine stops from his safety position before leaving the game with a leg injury. Defensive back Collin Teal and safety Ryan Restemayer each had eight tackles. Defensive lineman Tama Hugo came up with one sack and a forced fumble to go along with six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Hugo and defensive lineman Taylor Combs had one quarterback hurry apiece. Ford said his team struggled to battle through fatigue, especially in the second half. “We have to get in a little better condition than what we’re in,” Ford said. “We’ve got to take care of our bodies because of all the cramps that were happening (during the game).” Central Methodist travels to Bethel College next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
CMU team sweeps Eagle Invitational last Saturday
By ETHAN MIGNARD COLLEGIAN REPORTER
Central Methodist’s cross country teams started their seasons off in style Saturday morning, dominating the fields at the Eagle Invitational. The meet, the first of two tune-up meets for the Eagles, gave the athletes a break from the monotony of practice and gave several competitors their first taste of collegiate competition. “It went well,” Eagles’ headcoach Chris Sandefur said. “Both teams looked very comfortable. We’re right at the correct level of
fitness for this time of year.” Junior Hailey Breusch led the Eagle women across the line, completing the 2.25 mile course in a time of 14:15.43, just three-hundredths of a second ahead of her sophomore teammate Emily Nealley. Senior Elise Schreiber, freshman Allyson Ng, freshman Megan Greener and senior Adriana Romero finished in spots four through seven. Freshman Rachel Howieson rounded out the Eagles’ scorers as the team’s seventh finisher, 11th
overall. Sophomore Eagle Cris Renteria took the men’s top spot, followed closely by teammate and fellow sophomore Tyler Meierarend. Renteria’s covered the 5K course in a time of 16:54.74. Meierarend crossed the line in 16:54.93. Sophomore Brett Davis, junior Ryan Farrell and freshman Brennan Cape finished in spots five through seven. Sophomores Zach Feurt and Ryan Dickson finished sixth and seven for the Eagles, 10th and
11th overall. “It’s a really good feeling,” said Sandefur, speaking about his women’s team. “We were top-25 (nationally) last year and we’re better this year.” Sandefur said he was impressed by the performances of Ng and Greener, two freshman who he said stepped up big. “They’re doing a good job of filling the spots of some seniors we lost,” he added. On the men’s side, Sandefur described Renteria and Meierar-
end as two special runners. “Cris and Tyler are definitely on a different level than most runners in this area,” Sandefur said. “It’s amazing to see them be able to work together. They’re good leaders for this team.” Sandefur added that Cape’s seventh-overall finish was a pleasant surprise and said that he was also very pleased with Farrell. “Ryan really had a really good summer. He’s feeling very confident.”