Karsceal Turner – I Got NEXT!
When I arrived at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium I made my way to the Press Box, settled in, waited for the referees to arrive, and took a gander at the rosters for both teams, as I waited for game time.
The Hatters roster is composed of mostly freshmen with a sophomore sprinkled here and there. Let us remember folks that this program is back after a 57-year hiatus. Within the first minute, no, check that, first 17 seconds. The Hatters looked exactly like what they are….inexperienced.
The Flyers scored in a matter of seconds after getting the ball on many of their drives. That is the way it went down for the 1st half as Dayton built a big lead and then sailed to a 49-20 victory. I did a lot of head shaking, as did Hatters Head Coach Roger Hughes.
“The first two plays is certainly not how we had it figured to start out,” Hughes said. “Not every game is going to go perfectly and you have to find a way to weather the run by the other team, and then put your game plan together and get going. We did not do that.”
Setting the WRONG tone
The Hatters (1-5, 0-3) received the opening kickoff, fumbled on the first play of the game, and Dayton (4-2, 2-1) scored on its first offensive play. Yep, they looked like a bunch of freshmen but hey, don’t get mad at me, I’m just the “Red Hat” guy.
The most action I saw between and watching the Flyers score and calling timeouts was an occasional dodge of a play towards the 20-yard line. My playing days as a corner are done, done, done. Just so we’re clear, they call corners defensive backs these days.
Stetson managed just 36 total yards and two first downs during the 1st quarter. Meanwhile Dayton used 15 plays to produce 242 yards and four touchdowns while using just 5:17 off the clock.
The carnage continues
Just 49 seconds into the second quarter the Flyers added another score, putting Stetson in a 35-0 hole. Stetson got a short field after an interception to make it 35-7, and the Hatters were moving the ball late in the second when Dayton’s Ryan Schwenke intercepted a pass and the Flyers punched it in with 45 seconds to go to make the halftime score 42-7.
UD dominated the third quarter, keeping the ball for nearly 12 minutes, and gaining six first downs (all on the ground) to none for Stetson. I’ll say this, the Hatters finally showed some life. The Stetson defense had three consecutive possessions where they stopped the Flyers, twice forcing punts and, in between, getting an interception by Chris Atkins to set Stetson up at the Dayton 40 yard line.
Clearly NO. 1 is a voice for the defense and special teams. Here’s his assessment:
“We just were not clicking,” Atkins said. “Offense and defense were not clicking. We came into the game with no emotion. It just felt weird. Nothing was clicking. The plays we were running in practice to perfection were not clicking. Defensively and offensively, it was just a struggle for the first 10 minutes of the game.
“It was a team thing. It is something that is unexplainable. The first 10 minutes of the game, we were trying to get the energy but it wasn’t coming. Everyone was just flat.”
Blame is on freshman status…or not
A flat group of freshmen makes for a 49-20 bashing fellas. Coach Hughes was pleased with his teams resolve. They clearly fought until the end, even as the Flyers inserted their second and third teams. I kind of dug that myself. Coach Hughes said at times he really wanted to rip his team a new one and then was reminded of their freshman status.
“I always forget they are all freshmen. We are half way through the season now and we shouldn’t be making all the mistakes,” said Hughes “I am pleased with the fact that we hung in there and hung in there, and finally we got a break offensively.”
Fortunately, Stetson actually has a J.V. football team. That’ll go some way as far as working out any kinks. JV games will be played at the Athletics Training Center each of the next two Monday’s, first against Webber International on October 14 at 5 p.m. and then against Jacksonville on Oct. 21 and 5:30 p.m.
I think it is really cool that the Hatters field a J.V. squad because the reality of collegiate football is that many of these guys wouldn’t make it on the field. I may see if I can work it into my schedule. If I do you’ll be the first to know.
The Stetson varsity will return to action on Oct. 26 when the Hatters travel north to face the Red Foxes of Marist in Poughkeepsie, NY.
