Article

What a Relief

After struggling through a tough stretch of games, MSU football earns in win versus UIU.

by Dan Myers
October 18, 2005

After struggling through a brutal stretch that included games against conference powerhouses St. Cloud State and South Dakota, the Minnesota State football team (2-5 overall, 0-3 NCC) was finally able to take a breather against pushover Upper Iowa in a nonconference match-up in Fayette, Iowa. MSU responded by pounding the Peacocks 38-0, the same score the Mavericks beat UIU by in 2004.

The offense got rolling early for MSU. Halfway through the first quarter, MSU took a 7-0 advantage on a 1-yard plunge by senior I-back Sean Treasure. It was a sign of good things to come in a day to remember for Treasure.

Five minutes later, junior wide receiver Tyrell Smith continued his torrid stretch of play, hauling in a screen pass from quarterback Jamie VanDenElzen and racing the rest of the way 46-yards for a 14-0 Maverick lead after one quarter.

“It’s a tough play to defend and our offensive line did a great job of blocking on it,” MSU head coach Jeff Jamrog said. “I don’t think we ran a pass in front of the line of scrimmage all day. We just threw that screen to Tyrell and he took it the rest of the way.

After a Jason Tompkins field goal just over two minutes into the second made the score 17-0, the Mavericks ran the same screen play to Smith again. And just like the first, Smith took it into the end zone, this time from 48 yards. For Smith, it was yet another 100-yard game this season — his second in three games and third this season. The junior wide out caught seven passes for 120 yards.

The defense got on the board in the third quarter, extending MSU’s lead to 31-0. Freshman linebacker Tony Hunter scooped up a fumble and returned it 6-yards for the score.

Treasure wrapped up the scoring just over a minute into the final quarter when he took an option the remaining 13 yards into the end zone. Treasure finished with 167 yards, the third highest mark of his career. His 31 carries and two scores also proved that Treasure is almost completely healed from a pre-season foot injury and back into the form that made him an All-American entering the season.

“Sean made some great cuts,” Jamrog said. “That foot is getting better but we will have our work cut out for us against North Dakota.”

After watching a shutout get wiped away by their own offense against Oklahoma Panhandle State earlier in the season, Jamrog was pleased the defense could hold an opponent off the board.

“It was big. Upper Iowa is a much better team this year and to get a shutout at their place was nice.”

The Mavericks will jump head-first back into NCC action this weekend with a match-up against No. 2 ranked North Dakota at Blakeslee Stadium. The game is the final home game for the 2005 season and will kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Oklahoma Panhandle State broke the shutout when linebacker Kendrick Bevil returned a fumble 76 yards for a touchdown with 5:24, making the 56-point victory the second-most lopsided outcome in program history behind that victory against Illinois Chicago Circle.

“The great thing is we got to play a lot of players, everyone with eligibility got in there, and got in there early,” Jamrog said. “And we got out of there without any injuries.”

The Mavericks rolled up 436 yards of total offense, 234 on the ground. Treasure finished with 80 yards rushing in the first half, and Bryant added 74 yards, most of which came in the second half.

The Aggies gained just 66 yards of total offense in 59 plays, rushing for 34 yards and passing for 32. The Mavericks recovered five fumbles, made two interceptions and had three sacks.

“It fills my heart, I feel good,” Taumalolo said. “The brothers I play with bust their butts every day, and I’d like to give everybody on the team a chance to play every game.”

The Mavericks (1-1) play their first road game Saturday, Sept. 10, at Bemidji State. The Beavers won 42-35 in the season-opener last year at Blakeslee Stadium.

“Last year, we beat (Oklahoma Panhandle State), and hopefully this is indicative of how far this program has come in a short time,” Jamrog said. “We’ll get a chance to see if we’ve made progress again this week.”

 

Pat Christman

Northwest Missouri State linebacker Ben Harness (white jersey) tries to bring down Minnesota State running back Sean Treasure during the first quarter of Thursday's season-opening football game at Blakeslee Stadium. Treasure ran for 75 yards and caught four passes for 27 more.