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St. Cloud State University
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SCSU tries to get back on track
By Matt Janda
Published:
Thursday, October 17, 2002
Matt Huebner
Anthony McCoo
The Husky football team has a couple of scores to settle this week.
First of all, they are coming off of a dramatic loss in last weekend's homecoming game against Northern Colorado, where they played well enough to win. Second, they are looking to avenge last year's tough last-minute defeat at the hands of the University of North Dakota, the eventual Division II national champions. The Huskies lost 35-28 on a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kelby Klosterman, to wide receiver Dan Graf. SCSU went on to finish the season 4-7, while UND rode Klosterman all the way to a comeback victory over Grand Valley State in the D-II championship game.
Oh, how things have changed since then.
SCSU's turnaround has been well documented, but UND's struggles have been masked by a couple of blowout wins early in the season. The most dramatic change is the loss of Klosterman, who was injured two weeks ago against South Dakota State, and is considered done for the season. North Dakota's offense struggled last week without its leader, and the Huskies hope to capitalize. Klosterman's understudy, sophomore John Bowencamp, saw his first real game action last week against North Dakota State.
"He's not the same type of quarterback Kelby is," said SCSU head coach Randy Hedberg. "He (Klosterman) is a runner and they rushed him a lot. He actually had over 100 yards rushing in the SDSU game where he got hurt. They didn't do that last week with Bowencamp, he's more of a pocket-type passer. Not that he couldn't get out and run, he's just not that type of quarterback."
"When they have a new guy in there that is not as used to running the system as the old guy, you have to play to the new quarterback's strengths," said SCSU cornerback Anthony McCoo, whose mates in the secondary should get a break from not having to check the quarterback's quick feet. UND has been falling back on its rushing game since Klosterman went down and has had some success. Freshman running back Riza Mahmoud has broken onto the scene, leading the Fighting Sioux with 372 yards on the ground. The Sioux also have a corps of four underclassmen backs that have combined for another 450-plus rushing yards.
The greatest strength the Sioux has this year is its defense. They relied on it in last week's 12-6 victory at NDSU and will again if they have to. They will have their toughest assignment to date trying to stop the Husky offense, which has developed into a well-balanced attack after finding a reliable running game of their own. The Huskies have other plans, of course.
"After last week, we didn't score many points," said senior tight end Matt Huebner. "Coach Rudolph's goal for the whole year was to average 38 points per game, and we've fallen short the past couple of weeks. We feel that we have to put some points up to get back on the right track and prove that we are the best team in the NCC."
So far, the Huskies are averaging 33.2 points per game. It is important for SCSU to not get into a defensive battle with North Dakota. They have a leg up in this aspect of the game, in that both Hedberg and defensive coordinator Scott Underwood coached at UND prior to joining the Huskies. It could be said that things they know have helped them before and could help them again.
"We have somewhat of an idea. But we're even more familiar with some of their players," Hedberg said. "We all know the scheme, but it's when they play the scheme is what it's going to be. The defensive call sheet changes from week-to-week and year-to- year. We'll have to fight and scratch for every yard we get, because they're good. They've always been good."
Whatever the calls, the Sioux defense can be stifling. They have one of the most able and aggressive fronts in all of Division II football, having already recorded 50 tackles for loss and nine sacks. They don't get a ton of turnovers (only two interceptions and four fumble recoveries), but they cause a lot of three-and-outs. The noise doesn't help either. Grand Forks' indoor Alerus Center holds almost 14,000 for football, a far cry from the average 1600-2200 attendances at Selke Field. To counteract this, the Huskies have brought in a crowd noise machine from a local radio station during practice, a la an NFL team readying for a game at the Metrodome.
It's difficult to say how the Huskies will react to such a close loss. The players feel that no matter how much they lose by, they won't get down on themselves.
"In my opinion, if you lose by one point or a hundred points, a loss is a loss. You have to put it behind you and keep going," McCoo said. "The season is not built on one game, you know what I'm saying? We played good and I think we deserved to win, but you can't cry over spilled milk. You've just got to go to the refrigerator and pour another glass."
From the sidelines
- This is the 24th matchup between SCSU and UND. North Dakota leads the series 21-2. St. Cloud has not won since 1994's 18-17 squeaker and both of SCSU's victories have come in Grand Forks.
- The Huskies fell from first to fifth in the NCAA D-II Midwest poll. Central Missouri State is first in the Midwest and Northern Colorado is third
- SCSU wide receiver Ben Nelson leads all Division II wide receivers in scoring. His 13 touchdowns and three extra points give him 84 points, an average of 14 points per contest.
- Free safety Matt Nicholson was in uniform for last week's game, but did not play. Hedberg said that Nicholson practiced Tuesday and may play in Saturday's game.
