I’mMax Baloun celebrates a TFL vs. UIW. Photo by David BordewykThe Jackrabbits (3-1) wrapped up their non-conference portion of their regular season schedle with a mostly dominant win vs. the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana (1-3).  The Jacks were far from perfect but there is certainly more to feel good about than last week following the win over Augustana.  The defense, special teams and the running game for the offense really woke up.

Rants & Raves

Rave: The story of the night was running back Kirby “Truckin'” Voorhees (KTV).  With Angel out with injury again, Voorhees got another crack at the #2 running back job after struggling last week.  On his first three carries he scored touchdowns on runs of 20, 22, and 80.  His other two carries went for 39 and 18.  All told, KTV finished with 179 rushing yards and 3 TD.  He was absolutely electric!  We’ve heard about his talent since last fall when Coach Rogers brought his name up a few times but KTV missed the spring game and then has struggled to get going this fall.  Last night we all got to see what Rogers and the coaching staff have been so excited about!

Rave:  You can’t talk about a running back having a career day without throwing some flowers to the #605Hogs.  They had a shaky start both run and pass blocking but really settled in as the game went along and by the time the game was over the Jacks had 341 rushing yards.  Congratulations to Marcus Hicks for getting his first start and the young guys who played the last quarter of the game.  I believe I saw Dawson Rudd, Jackson Kerstin, and Nick Bakken all on the field with Jalen Lee and William Paepke, who had slid to center with the second offensive line group.  They were moving bodies just as well as the first group was and certainly could have punched it in again in the 4th quarter.  If this room can continue to come together, the Jacks can still be very very good this season.

Rant: The Jackrabbit passing game needs to get it together. 76 total passing yards is pathetic and won’t get it done in the MVFC.  Early in the game, the offensive line was not giving Mark any time but eventually they did settle in.   I tweeted early in the game that if wide receivers can’t catch the ball, they need to look for other guys who can.  The drops have been untimely and have eliminated any chance to build momentum.  There are a lot of wide receivers in that room.  Someone has to be able to handle the passes.

Rant: Likewise, Mark’s accuracy and timing is just a hair off.  I’m not sure what it is going on.  I hope the QB and his pass catchers spend some extra time together over the next two weeks and get on the same page.

Rant: Sticking with the wide receivers, I really thought we would be spamming the ball to Griffin Wilde this season.  He ended the game with just 1 catch for 3 yards.  That’s not going to cut it.  Figure out how to get Wilde some touches.  They tried early a few times early in the game but after that it was like he was forgotten.

Rant: Sticking with the pass catchers, where have the tight ends gone?  I don’t think they were targeted at all this week. How does that happen at SDSU?

Rave: Dalys Beanum’s punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter was beautifully blocked and Dalys showed some real top end speed that frankly I didn’t know he had.  His quickness to make the first man miss ensured that the blocking by his teammates was not to be wasted.

Rave: The defense was dominant.  Anytime you can shut out an opponent and hold them to under 200 total yards, 186 to be exact, you are doing something right!  The pass rush was great and got to the SLU quarterback 3 times and held SLU to just 2.3 yards per carry.  Honestly, so many guys made plays last night that it is too hard to mention them all but the defense was terrific!

Rave: Kobe Clayborne has been such a  welcome addition to the #ChainGang.  The Sioux City native is undersized but he just continues to flash and make plays.  He earned the start at defensive end and finished with a sack and two tackles and was in on a number of other plays.

Rant: The lack of quality replays had me scratching my head as some of the penalties the Jacks were called for seemed bizarre and on the first pass through were unnoticed.

Rave: Colby Huerter is sure making his veteran presence felt.  He ended the day with 7 tackles, a TFL, and an INT.  The INT will get the attention but his TFL was what caught my eye as he covered a lot of ground to drop the ball carrier for a 3 yard loss along the sidelines.  With Tucker Large and Cale Reeder missing time with injury, Matthew Durrance and Colby have had to step up and they have responded!  Durrance delivered a crushing blow in the second quarter that forced the SLU tight end to drop the pass.  What could have been a first down turned into a missed 50 yard field goal for the Lions.  Great job by these veterans!

Rave: I loved how the Jacks handled themselves with all of the smack that the SLU players were talking.  I know the announcer for SLU wasn’t impressed but the Jacks had the best response and just walked away and pointed at the scoreboard.

Rant: It’s unfortunate that Kentrell Prejean’s TD reception was wiped off the board to start the second quarter.  It would have been a great story for him to catch a TD back in his home state. The call was an unnecessary roughness against Beerentsen.  A quick rewatch shows that Beerentsen went looking for work, eliminated the DE who was attempting to spin back to the middle off of Hicks and then the camera moves on so you can’t see what else happens.  If that was the penalty it is complete BS.  However, we don’t know what, if anything, happened after the camera swung left.

Rave: It was great to see Steven Arrell get an INT!  He had a rough start to the season against Oklahoma State and lost his starting spot to Colby Humphrey so it was good to see him back on the field this week making a play!  He will be needed in a big moment this season.

Rave: The #ChainGang came to play, finishing with 3 sacks (plus another from LB Mcgaughy).  The pressure was on throughout the night and the SLU QBs were a combined 10 of 23 for 92 yards and 2 INT.  Vanden Bos, Clayborne, and Hawthorne all earned sacks.

Rant: I hope Caleb Francl is okay but that didn’t look good with how he was moving his leg.  He has been playing at a really high level through the non-conference portion of the schedule and the team needs him.

Rant/Rave: Although it is different this year, last night was a great reminder about how fortunate we are to have the production and professionalism that Midco Sports provides.  We get to listen to some of the best for our home broadcasts and the quality of the product speaks for itself.

Rave: Shoutout to the training, nutrition, and medical staff for having the guys properly hydrated to limit the cramps throughout the game.  It sounds like it was hotter and more humid than it was in Stillwater to start the season.  The team looked like they handled it well!

Rave: Overall, I was really impressed with how the Jacks responded in this game.  Every time there was some adversity, they responded.  Penalties, SLU making a play, a drop, etc… the team pulled itself together and limited the damage.  SLU emptied the bag on trick plays and fakes and that takes eye discipline for the defense.  The penalties, as mentioned before, seem bizarre but it didn’t seem to affect the teams performance.  They flushed it and moved on and tried to go 1-0 every play.

Rave: The Jacks finish at 3-1 in the non-conference portion of their schedule.  This is exactly where they were supposed to be.  Yes, the passing game needs to get it cleaned up but you sure have to like where the defense and special teams is at and where the run game is headed.

Game Balls

Offense: Kirby Voorhees- 5 carries for 179 yards and 3 TD

Defense: Colby Huerter- 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT

Special Teams: Dalys Beanum- 3 punt returns for 102 yards, including an 88 yard TD

Go Jacks!

Matt