It was a beautiful night all the way around last Saturday….great temperature, great crowd atmosphere and a great performance by the Gorillas. In thumping St. Cloud, the Gorillas continued to progress towards a solid football team, with what looks like a dominating defense.

The St. Cloud game was turned quickly in the Gorillas favor with a swarming defense and some opportunistic take-aways. The interceptions and fumble recoveries were crucial in giving the offense a short field and some strong scoring opportunities. It was as emotional a defensive performance by the Gorillas, as I have seen in a few years. Although our past few seasons on defense have been solid, they have lacked the speed and emotion that we have grown accustomed to over the years. Most defensive emotion comes from the way linebackers play on the field…not their "rah-rah" antics. It seems a few of our recent defenses had rah-rah, but not enough speed to the ball… that has all changed in 2003!

Our Backers set the tone early with hard hits and fast pursuit to the ball. That has a tremendous effect on all of the other players on both sides of the ball. Linebackers are involved in every play and make most of the tackles and I am not a believer that Defensive Linemen and Backs can "set the tone" for a defense…they obviously have impact, but the overall defensive "attitude and personality" HAS to come from Linebackers…. and it did against the Huskies!

I also was impressed with our improved pass defense. They have a ways to go and definitely need to improve, but they are much farther along than any recent Gorilla defenses we have seen the past few years. All the Linebackers and Defensive Backs gave strong efforts and we were in the proper zones most of the night. They have the potential to be exceptional against the pass.

Offensively, we threw….and threw…. much to the surprise of many in our crowd! But our quarterbacks are good and a year older and that makes a significant difference. I also feel our receivers had a great night and will continue to improve. I felt going into the season the receivers could become the strong suit of our offense.

I also continued to be impressed by the running of Jermaine Race. He will be a force to be reckoned with at some point this season in the MIAA…but the future is bright with Race in the backfield!

There was one area of concern with the offense and that was our inability to run the ball consistently. I thought our line had a sub-standard night and the Gorillas need to have that group step up and be able to run the ball even when the opponents are ready for it. There were many times when we were going into the wind and needed first downs and better field position, but were unable to get the yardage we needed. Had it not been for the outstanding play of the defense in the 3rd quarter…St. Cloud could have made the game much closer because of the field position our offense gave them. Granted, we threw and that was impressive, considering the passing game was inconsistent last year, but we will have to run to win ball games with Northwest, Western, Emporia State and Central…not to mention the playoffs! We have to run the ball better to be a complete team.

Well that brings us to Week Three and Truman State. It has been interesting to hear and read all the predictions regarding the score of this game with the consensus by fans of a rout in the making! That may very well be true, but I think this game has the potential to be an ugly one…and here is why:

1) First Road Game….
All coaches hate the first road game! Even if you know your team well, there are always unknown situations that arise when you travel….especially the first time. Players are in strange surroundings for the first time that season…plus this particular trip is 6 hours on a bus. I am a believer that your first road game is usually a bit lackluster and you're happy just to get it over with.

2) Playing a lesser opponent after an emotional game….
No matter how good you are or how many times coaches tell you not to let down, young players have letdowns. When you look at Truman statistically and see you should dominate them….that they are struggling on offense…they're 0-2 and you know that you're pretty good…. well, it all adds up to some sort of a letdown in the making.

3) Truman is due to play better….
It's their 3rd game…teams improve. They typically play the Gorillas well for a while… plus they're at home… they'll be UP for Pittsburg State…. and it makes for the possibility that this game could be close for a while. Their QB averages 200 yards per game, but look for him to throw all afternoon against the Gorillas!

4) Gorillas will try and establish the run….
and if they don't fire on all cylinders early…they will keep trying until they get it right. Truman State is a good opponent to work on the running game, but if that part of your game is off a bit…you actually add to the potential for it being an ugly game until the offense takes control.

Now, I don't mean to curb all that excitement of those expecting the Gorillas to win 70-7…I hope they do! In fact, I believe the final score will be a wide one, but I think this game has the potential to be ugly for a while…especially if you add the possibility of rain during the game!

I look for the Gorillas to pull away in the second half and win big 38-10.