Karsceal Turner, I GOT NEXT
The Hatters (1-2) played their first-ever conference game on Saturday when Stetson hosted two-time defending Pioneer Football League champion San Diego (1-2) at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium in DeLand.
Dammit, it looked like SDU were defending champs and it looked like Stetson were the new kids on the block in a somewhat soggy afternoon in Central Florida. Once again, yours truly served as the official “Red Hat” for this Pioneer League matchup. I suppose one could say I made history today. The Hatters did too in a 59-0 thrashing. I got many congratulations on handling timeouts for the contest.
The accolades were cool. However, since I’m a new Stetson fan, I would have preferred the “W”. It just was not to be.
What in Bloody Hell is a Torero?
The USD Toreros (1-0 PFL, 2-2), on the hunt for their third straight PFL title, took a big step in the right direction with the win over league newcomer Stetson (0-1 PFL, 1-3). On the strength of 400 yards of total offense in the first half. The Toreros jumped out to a 35-0 lead at intermission.
Yeah, I asked the same question. What the hell is a Torero? Well the Hatters (named for the famed Stetson Cowboy hat), found out. Being from Oklahoma, I know a tad about cowboy hats. Feel free to insert your favorite country pun here_______. Anyway, a Torero is a matador or bullfighter.
In the second half, The Torero’s picked up where they left off, USD would go on to finish with 624 yards of offense. In addition, its 59 points was the team’s most since earning a 59-19 win over Drake in 2007. Kenn James and Joe Ferguson carried the bulk of the load on the ground. James finished with 146 yards on 13 carries and found the end zone twice (24 & 34 yards), while Ferguson chipped in with 91 yards on just 6 carries with two scores (37 & 40 yards).
The Torero defense held Stetson to 161 yards of offense, including just 10 yards on the ground. The Toreros however, never punted in this game which sort of wreaked havoc with my timeout calling. Still, I could hear and feel the love from the fans sitting in front of the 10 and 20 yard lines. Or was it that they wanted me to get off the bloody field?
Welcome to the Pioneer Football League
Truly, San Diego didn’t waste any time in extending a welcome to the Stetson Hatters from the Pioneer Football League. The loss was the Hatters third consecutive defeat. They fell to 1-3 and 0-1.
There were a couple rays of sunshine in the clouds for the Hatters. Fullback Cole Mazza and backup quarterback Jonathan Jerozal led the team in rushing with 20 yards apiece. Jerozal, got some decent burn (playing time). He was 6-of-10 in passing and good for 51 yards with one interception.
Starting QB Ryan Tentler completed 6-of-15 passes for 33 yards and was also intercepted once.
Defensively, Donald Payne once again led the way for Stetson with 12 total tackles, including 1 ½ for losses. For the second time this season, Stetson had a kickoff return for a touchdown nullified by a penalty.
Stetson punter James LaGamma averaged 40.4 yards on seven punts with a long of 53. San Diego had just 21 yards on returns.
“As a competitor, you don’t want to believe that it is going to go the way that it did today,” Stetson coach Roger Hughes said. “Clearly, they beat us in every facet of the game. It is still about fundamentals – blocking, tackling, not turning the ball over, running your routes to the proper place, being in the right coverage and in the right gaps. When you play good people, they expose your weaknesses. I told the team after the game that I am not going to rip them because, if you are a competitor, this hurts bad enough, I don’t think our kids gave up. ”
Yep it was ugly from where I was standing too coach. Fortunately, the only way this team can go it up from here. Stetson returns to action on the road in further PFL action when they travel to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on Butler University Oct. 5. Their next home game is Oct. 12, when the University of Dayton comes to DeLand.
I’m really getting this Red Hat thing down and having a blast. My name is Karsceal Turner and I Got NEXT!
