Bulldogs to Face Pass-Happy UMR

October 5, 2006

WEATHERFORD -- Southwestern Oklahoma State University gets one last chance to fine tune its football engines before beginning Lone Star Conference North Division play when it hosts the Miners from the University of Missouri Rolla.      

Both teams sport identical 2-3 records and were hard-luck losers in their most recent outing. SWOSU pushed Tarleton State before bowing 21-19 last week while UMR fell short at home against Saint Josephs of Indiana, 38-24.

The meeting between SWOSU and UMR is only the second time ever. Last year, the Miners emerged as 20-9 winners despite having fewer yards and running 11 less plays than SWOSU.    

UMR, a former fixture in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association, is in its first year as members of the Great Lakes Football Conference. The league features Missouri’s Lincoln College, Central State of Ohio, Kentucky Wesleyan, Tiffin, and St. Jospehs.

The Miners have through the season’s first five weeks had one of the more highest scoring offenses in Division II, averaging 35.4 points per game.

Return specialist Ashton Gronewold had the best game statistically for UMR in the loss to St. Joseph’s. He accounted for 294 all-purpose yards, catching six passes for 111 yards for two scores and returning kicks totalling 183 yards, including a 94-yard return for a touchdown.

SWOSU, itself is not without its special team stars. Last week both Todd Crumb and Patrick Weaver made big plays that gave the Bulldogs a chance at winning. Crumb’s fourth-quarter fumble recovery on the Tarleton three yard-line led to SWOSU’s final touchdown. Weaver returned a punt 79 yards for SWOSU’s first score and his second return, a 56-yard effort, put the Bulldogs into field goal range in the closing seconds.

Defensively, expectations are for SWOSU to face its toughest challenge yet by the pass with the Miners. The Bulldogs rank second in the LSC allowing just 143 yards through the air but have yet to face a team that throws it as often as UMR. The Miners average 42 pass attempts and 380 yards per game, tops in NCAA Division II