THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
8 | SPORTS
Thursday September 29, 2011
football opponent preview
Bowling Green ready for challenge by nick arthur sports writer
Saturday will bring the third meeting between Bowling Green State University and West Virginia University. The Mountaineers have won both of the two previous. Bowling Green head coach Dave Clawson enters his third season as the head coach of the Falcons. Clawson has led Bowling Green to a 3-1 record this season, but has yet to play a team as talented as West Virginia. “They’re an excellent football (team),” Clawson said. “It starts with their quarterback Geno Smith. He’ll be playing on Sundays at some point. He has great arm strength and plays with great poise.” In addition to Smith, Clawson is also impressed by the Mountaineer wide receivers. “Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey – they just have a collection of speed at the wide receiver position,” Clawson said. “It makes them a very difficult matchup.” The team speed and playmakers for West Virginia could cause problems for Clawson’s squad on Saturday. “We’re going to have (to) do a great job of making plays in
sports writer
sports writer
AP
Bowling Green running back Anthon Samuel takes a handoff during the Falcons’ game against Wyoming. space and covering,” Clawson said. “Not just their personnel is excellent, but they pose some real schematic challenges as well.” Bowling Green is coming off a 37-23 road victory over MidAmerican Conference foe Miami University. The Falcons won behind three touchdown passes from quarterback Matt Schilz. Clawson was also proud of the play by his young defen-
The wide receiving position is the most experienced and talented unit on the offensive side of the ball. Seniors Eugene Cooper and Kamar Jorden have been the go-to-guys early in the season. The group has combined to catch 47 passes for 640 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cooper is a JUCO transfer and is the Falcons’ deep threat, while Jorden is the more possessionstyle receiver. Grade: B
Quarterback Redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Schilz has had an impressive start to the 2011 season. The Falcons offensive is averaging nearly 40 points per game through four outings. Schilz has thrown for 1,169 yards and 14 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He started 10 games last year during his freshman season and is beginning to get more comfortOffensive Line able at the position. The Falcon offensive line was terrible in 2010. The unit gave Grade: Bup 34 sacks and was plagued with injuries throughout the Running Backs The Falcons have a very season. Through four games young and inexperienced back- this season, the pass blockfield, but the group has shown ing doesn’t look much better. playmaking ability. Freshman Bowling Green quarterbacks running back Anthon Samuel is have already been sacked 10 averaging seven yards per carry times. The run blocking has this season and has six rush- shown glimpses of success, but ing touchdowns in four games. Matt Schilz hasn’t had much Sophomore Jordan Hopgood is time in the pocket. the short yardage back. HopGrade: Cgood has a touchdown in every Defensive Line game but one this season, deSenior defensive tackle Chris spite only recording 51 carries. Jones is the most experienced Grade: Bplayer on the Falcons’ defenWide Receivers/Tight Ends sive line. Jones had six sacks
sive backs. “On Saturday, I was really pleased with how our secondary played,” he said. “We ended up starting three freshman, and not only did they hold up, but they made plays.” The best player on Bowling Green’s defense is its linebacker Dwayne Woods. Woods was sixth in the nation in tackles last season with 134 tackles. He has forced two fumbles, made
29 tackles and recorded an interception already this season. “Dwayne had a great year for us last year. Now he’s a year older,” Clawson said. “He’s a big -time player for us, and we expect him to play at that level.” Woods will need plenty of help from his teammates if the Falcons will be able to pull the upset this weekend. nicholas.arthur@mail.wvu.edu
and 11 tackles last year. Sophomores Jarius Campbell and Ronnie Goble will start to either side of Jones, and both have recorded one sack this season. Grade: C Linebackers Junior linebacker Dwayne Woods is the Falcons’ best defensive player and arguably the best player on the BGSU team. Woods had 134 tackles last season, a number that ranked him sixth in the nation. He already has 29 tackles and two sacks through four games this season. Sophomore Paul Swan seems to be solidifying himself as the second best linebacker to Woods. Swan is fourth on the team in tackles with 20 in 2011. Grade: C+ Secondary Bowling Green’s pass defense has been solid this season. The unit is allowing less than 200 passing yards per game and has recorded four interceptions. Sophomore Jerry “Boo Boo” Gates has established himself as a young leader in the secondary. Gates is second on the team in tackles with 22, including two tack-
les for loss. Senior Keith Morgan also has two tackles for loss. The unit will be tested on Saturday. Grade: C Special Teams Kickers Kyle Burkhardt and Stephen Stein have each attempted two field goals this season. The two are a combined 3 of 4, but field goal kicking was a big problem for the Falcons a season ago. Sophomore punter Brian Schmiedebusch has been impressive this season. He is averaging 49.1 yards per punt with eight punts going for 50+ yards. Grade: BCoaching Dave Clawson enters his third season as head coach of Bowling Green State University. Clawson has compiled a 12-17 record as head coach of the Falcons. Bowling Green is Clawson’s first stop at the FBS level. He coached at Richmond and Fordham at the FCS level and was twice named the Division I-AA coach of the year. Grade: C+ nicholas.arthur@mail.wvu.edu
DA SPORTS STAFF PICKS Sponsored by Pineview Dental Care
Drs. Adam J. Myers & William C. Clark
DaNa hOLGOrSEN QUOtE OF thE WEEK “You have to get over the game you just played, regardless if you win or lose or if you played good or bad. It doesn’t matter.”
michael Carvelli sports editor
ben gaughan
Cody schuler
nick arthur
8-2 30-10
7-3 26-14
8-2 30-10
associate sports editor
sports writer
sports writer
West Virginia vs. Bowling Green Pittsburgh vs. South Florida Florida vs. alabama Stanford vs. UcLa Wisconsin vs. Nebraska South carolina vs. auburn Virginia tech vs. clemson arkansas vs. texas a&m Syracuse vs. rutgers Louisville vs. marshall LaSt WEEK SEaSON rEcOrD
WVU to play in Wake Forest Invitational by robert kreis
GRADING THE FALCONS by nick arthur
tennis
9-1 33-7
Come In and experience the Difference at pineview Dental Care
304-598-2030
www.pineviewdentalcare.com
The West Virginia women’s tennis team travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend to participate in the Wake Forest Invitational. This tournament is the first action the Mountaineers have scene since traveling to Wilmington, N.C., to play in the UNC- Wilmington Invitational. Although the Mountaineers did see some success, particularly sophomore Melis Tanik. Head coach Tina Samara was not happy with the team’s performance overall. “Melis competed very well,” Samara said. “She worked really hard. There is no surprise why she did well – it’s because she is more committed, and she did not give up when things got tough.” Samara hopes that everyone on her team will model Tanik’s mindset. “I think that once each kid on this team realizes that they have a lot more to improve and that they aren’t perfect and they have to make changes, then that is when they are going to start doing well,” Samara said. “Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you play well.” Samara is not disappointed in the way her team practices or prepares for matches but in the way certain members of her team responded to adversity on the court. The coaching staff wants to see the Mountaineers figure out what is going wrong in a match and fix the problem. Instead, Samara feels her team has a sense of entitlement just because they had a good week of practice. “If you ask the top players in the world how many times a year they play really well
SPORTS
dasports@mail.wvu.edu
cross country
No. 19 Mountaineers head to Louisville by ethan rohrbaugh sports writer
The No. 24 West Virginia cross country team will get a look at this year’s Big East championship course this Saturday as the Mountaineers will travel to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic. WVU fell five spots in the national rankings after last weekend’s secondplace showing at the InterRegional Bubble Buster. H e a d coach Sean Cleary says t hat t h e drop in the rankings should spark a fire Cleary in his team throughout the rest of the season. “Although we do not obsess on these numbers, we do not have goals to be the 24th-best team in the country,” Cleary say. “Our girls feel they are capable of more and will work very hard to reach the heights that they feel they are destined for.” This weekend, Cleary said, will be a great opportunity for the team to find out how much progression it has made. The coach said that West Virginia will go with a similar lineup to the one used in the season-opening meet for Saturday’s race. That lineup, which was comprised of some of the Mountaineers’ younger talent, will provide what Cleary calls a “look into the future.” “We are in great need for a few from this group to step
mccarthy
DA
they probably say five to 10 tops, and they play 35 weeks a year,” Samara said. “What some of the best players do is win when they are not playing well. It is pretty easy to win when you are having a good day.” Samara knows her team has the talent to compete with any other division one program – what they are missing is the commitment to competition “We want to walk away (from matches) at least being proud of the effort,” Samara said. “They are wearing (West Virginia) colors. They are wearing the WV. There is a commitment to how they compete when they are wearing (blue and gold).” One major reason Samara is having trouble connecting with her team is that she inherited most of them. It is Samara’s second year with the team and she has only been able to have one recruiting class. It also does not help that her first recruiting class is a depleted one. One member has left the team due to personal reasons. London native Jade Allen has to sit out a year due to NCAA rulings, and Washington St. transfer Lea Jansen is unable to participate in singles matches due to a foot injury. That leaves freshmen Ikttesh Chahal from Chandigarh, India as the loan team member Samara recruited. “I think (not having my own recruits) has a lot to do with it in every aspect“ Samara said. “Some of the kids that are not going in the direction we want were not recruited for those qualities. ” Play in the Wake Forest Invitational begins Friday Sept. 30 and concludes Sunday Oct. 2.
up and emerge as potential top five runners on next years squad,” Cleary said. “I believe that each and every one of these young ladies has the ability to help this program in 12 months at a level that they have only dreamed about.” Redshirt junior Hallie Portner led the group that took to the course in Princess Anne, Md., back on Sept. 3. Fellow redshirt junior Aubrey Moskal along with redshirt sophomores Sarah Martinelli, Jordan Hamric and Chelsea Jarvis all finished the 5-kilometer race under the 20-minute mark to help WVU to a second place showing at the meet. While the Mountaineers’ former all-Americans did not run in that meet, they did get a chance to preview the course which will host this season’s NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet. This weekend will provide a similar opportunity, as this year’s Big East championships will be held in Louisville on the same course WVU will take on Saturday. “Our season has been set up to take a look at both the Big East and Maryland Eastern Shore for Regionals all the while preparing through training for our championships,” Cleary said. “We have a few pieces not quite in place with this group,” Clear said. “I feel very comfortable with where we are with the time remaining to be at what I consider to be full strength. “The group knows exactly what needs to be done in order to reach our potential. I have great faith in them.” ethan.rohrbaugh@mail.wvu.edu
position. They have started 4-0 in Continued from page 7 conference play and are 8-3-0 on the season. The nally, once I got one, it was key to future success for the just really exciting.” team relies a lot on continMcCarthy and her well- ued inspired play by the juknown left leg have the de- nior defender. fending Big East champion Mountaineers in great nicholas.arthur@mail.wvu.edu Back