Wow! Can you believe that the fall is already winding down?
Congrats to the soccer and volleyball teams for clinching a spot in the ASC Tournaments this weekend. It will be interesting to see how all three teams handle the task of defending their conference titles.
Everyone knows that all three teams have way different personnel than a year ago, but they still have a lot of that been-there-done-that experience.
One would think the men’s soccer team would have the toughest challenge to repeat, not that the other two have easy roads. The Cowboys are an interesting story, as they have lost a lot of their punch since a year ago with David Salas and Nick Sager graduating and Ryan Flanigan getting hurt this season. Those three were keys in the Cowboys three-win run to the tournament title last year, but the resilient group of talented players have found ways to play as a team and did what it took to get a chance to defend their two consecutive titles.
HSU will have to play Mississippi College in the first round (a team they lost to 4-0 in the regular season), then would have to play the host Ozarks and possibly play Mary Hardin-Baylor in the final. If that were to happen, it would be the direct opposite of their run last year that saw them beat UMHB, Ozarks and Mississippi College in the final. Don’t count out coaching veteran Dan Heger to come up with a way to get it done.
A quick shout out of congratulations goes to former Cowboy All-ASC player Brad Bankhead who has done a good job with the UMHB program in his second season. The Cru beat the Cowboys 1-0 with a late goal on Saturday and he has his young team playing as one of the favorites going into the tournament. Bankhead’s team has taken on his overachieving, tough demeanor and it is good to see one of our own doing well (even if it is against us sometimes).
The Cowgirl soccer team has put itself in the position to host its fifth straight conference title, but it has been nothing but easy. The Cowgirls have fought through injuries all season long and have lost their All-American forward Amy Kuykendall and probably leading scorer Jordan Morley for the season. It has been a testament to the program for the team fighting through the injuries and finding ways to win close games. HSU has always been known for its offense, but the Cowgirls’ post season success will be built around its defense. Expect some close games the rest of the year.
I have said it before and will say it again if there is any coach in America that I want to win one game it is Marcus Wood. He always seems to come up with a plan, even if he clearly does not have the best team. Don’t bet against the Cowgirls getting one for the thumb (their fifth straight ASC title) this weekend, although it could be one of the most competitive ASC tournaments in years from start to finish. Coaches don’t like to compare teams, but if I know Woody as well as I think I do, a win this weekend would probably be the most rewarding of all of his ASC titles.
Coach Sabrina Bingham’s volleyball team is one of the favorites for the ASC title. Again the league is so balanced at the top with any of the six teams having a shot at the title. The Cowgirls will play the winner of East Texas Baptist and McMurry to get to the final. HSU has the bullets for the fight, they just have to come out firing. The players have the experience of winning the title, but it will be the first go-around for its first-year head coach. I have seen nothing to think that she won’t be able to handle the postseason. I always go with the team that has the best player’s and the Cowgirls might have three of the top six players in the entire league.
Be sure to stay tuned to this web site this week to keep up with all of the action.
In case you have missed it the Cowboy football team is putting up some unbelievable offensive numbers. They have the chance to have a 1,000-yard back in Quinton Jones, a 1,000-yard receiver in Mychal Carrillo and a 3,000-yard passer in Justin Feaster. The 1993 team with Matt Carroll, Collin McCormick and Kevin Beam are the only trio in school history to pull off the trick.
Just a couple of quick web site notes. Make sure you vote on the question on the front of the site. We are looking into streaming options for our games for the future. Also, there is a big surprise coming to the site on Nov. 15.
Be sure to make it out to the ASC Women’s Tournament at the Soccer Complex. The Cowgirls play at 11 a.m. on Saturday, before the football game, and if they win will play at 1 p.m. Sunday and a raucous home field advantage would be appreciated by the Cowgirls.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
It's The Best Time of the Year
I don’t know about you, but as a sports fan this is my favorite time of the year. It seems like every day there is another big event going on, whether it is the baseball playoffs, the NFL, college football or the start of college basketball practices.
Today is the start of basketball practice at HSU and both teams are ready to get going. There will be a lot of new faces on both teams, but it could be some of the most talented teams that both programs have had.
It is stretch time for the fall sport seasons and both soccer teams and volleyball have a good shot at the postseason. The football team needs help to make the postseason. The Cowboys would need Mississippi College to defeat Mary Hardin-Baylor this weekend and then all three of those teams would need to win out. That would make the ASC a three-way tie and the champion would be determined by draw.
The Cowgirl soccer team looks like a lock to host its fifth straight American Southwest Conference Tournament. If you haven’t noticed what the Cowgirls have done it is amazing. They are 13-1 on the year and they have pushed their conference unbeaten streak to 91 matches. In the 89-0-2 stretch, the Cowgirls have outscored their opponents 577-21.
Sabrina Bingham’s volleyball team is in very good shape to win the West Division title. The ASC tournament will be at either UT-Dallas or East Texas Baptist this year. The Cowgirls recently ran off a 12-match winning streak to start conference play.
Dan Heger’s soccer team needs a couple more wins to secure its spot in the ASC Tournament. The Cowboys are in a three-way tie for fourth place. HSU would like to defend its two straight ASC titles.
It is amazing to me that we are down to the final two weeks of the regular season for volleyball and soccer. It has not even come close to getting cool so it is not feeling much like fall around here.
This weekend is homecoming and the Cowboys will host Howard Payne. It will be good to see old colleague Julie Goodenough, who will be inducted into the HSU Athletic Hall of Fame. It is a much deserved honor, who put the Cowgirl basketball program on the national map.
Today is the start of basketball practice at HSU and both teams are ready to get going. There will be a lot of new faces on both teams, but it could be some of the most talented teams that both programs have had.
It is stretch time for the fall sport seasons and both soccer teams and volleyball have a good shot at the postseason. The football team needs help to make the postseason. The Cowboys would need Mississippi College to defeat Mary Hardin-Baylor this weekend and then all three of those teams would need to win out. That would make the ASC a three-way tie and the champion would be determined by draw.
The Cowgirl soccer team looks like a lock to host its fifth straight American Southwest Conference Tournament. If you haven’t noticed what the Cowgirls have done it is amazing. They are 13-1 on the year and they have pushed their conference unbeaten streak to 91 matches. In the 89-0-2 stretch, the Cowgirls have outscored their opponents 577-21.
Sabrina Bingham’s volleyball team is in very good shape to win the West Division title. The ASC tournament will be at either UT-Dallas or East Texas Baptist this year. The Cowgirls recently ran off a 12-match winning streak to start conference play.
Dan Heger’s soccer team needs a couple more wins to secure its spot in the ASC Tournament. The Cowboys are in a three-way tie for fourth place. HSU would like to defend its two straight ASC titles.
It is amazing to me that we are down to the final two weeks of the regular season for volleyball and soccer. It has not even come close to getting cool so it is not feeling much like fall around here.
This weekend is homecoming and the Cowboys will host Howard Payne. It will be good to see old colleague Julie Goodenough, who will be inducted into the HSU Athletic Hall of Fame. It is a much deserved honor, who put the Cowgirl basketball program on the national map.
Monday, October 15, 2007
THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS
Any player that has come through the Hardin-Simmons football program has heard this phrase uttered by Coach Keeling and it is even on a sign above the door in the locker room.
THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS
I was watching some of pregame NFL shows and heard them talking about how Randy Moss’ attitude has been great all season. He has fit in well with his teammates and has been a model citizen. That is not surprising. When he was playing with the Raiders and was losing his attitude was deemed poor. Now he is a model citizen. I don’t know him, but the leopard hardly ever changes its spots.
I think his attitude boils down to one thing – he is winning. It is a lot easier to do the right thing when things are going your way. What you do when you are down or face adversity is the true measure of your character.
There are plenty of life lessons learned from playing athletics. It is easy to give up when things don’t go your way. That is the easy way out. I have a ton of respect for those who have gone through hard times and have found the will to stick it out. If you talk to them down the road they are a lot stronger person for that.
There is a group of men’s basketball players that went through that from the transition of coaches about seven or eight years ago. Bryan Conover, Jordan Clower, Jason Eaker, Jonas Fuller, Carl Thompson and others are a group that went through some tough times and not a lot of wins. They went through those tough times together and showed great class in doing so. Those guys will be prepared for whatever they end up doing in life and I know at least three of those people are involved with basketball and will be or already are great coaches.
We have had kids, like all schools have; go through deaths in the family, divorce, financial problems at home, etc. They went through a lot to stay on their teams. They were able to stick it out and make the best of their situation. Often times it is their teammates and coaches that help them get through the tough times.
I understand that things happen and for whatever reason a person needs to leave their team. It could be to concentrate on academics, it could be to get another job to pay for school, or various other reasons. It is even acceptable when you have another year of eligibility left, but you don’t want to play anymore and you tell your coaches. That is fine, at least the coaches have a chance to recruit and replace them.
What is hard to understand is why someone would quit on their teammates in the middle of the year and give up just because things get a little hard. Those tough times are what make you stronger. To put in all of the hard work, the extra weight training in the offseason, to go through the highs and lows together and then when things don’t seem to be going your way you quit that is hard to understand. When you have done it once it makes it easier to do it again later on in life.
I guess that everything is supposed to be easy.
THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS
I was watching some of pregame NFL shows and heard them talking about how Randy Moss’ attitude has been great all season. He has fit in well with his teammates and has been a model citizen. That is not surprising. When he was playing with the Raiders and was losing his attitude was deemed poor. Now he is a model citizen. I don’t know him, but the leopard hardly ever changes its spots.
I think his attitude boils down to one thing – he is winning. It is a lot easier to do the right thing when things are going your way. What you do when you are down or face adversity is the true measure of your character.
There are plenty of life lessons learned from playing athletics. It is easy to give up when things don’t go your way. That is the easy way out. I have a ton of respect for those who have gone through hard times and have found the will to stick it out. If you talk to them down the road they are a lot stronger person for that.
There is a group of men’s basketball players that went through that from the transition of coaches about seven or eight years ago. Bryan Conover, Jordan Clower, Jason Eaker, Jonas Fuller, Carl Thompson and others are a group that went through some tough times and not a lot of wins. They went through those tough times together and showed great class in doing so. Those guys will be prepared for whatever they end up doing in life and I know at least three of those people are involved with basketball and will be or already are great coaches.
We have had kids, like all schools have; go through deaths in the family, divorce, financial problems at home, etc. They went through a lot to stay on their teams. They were able to stick it out and make the best of their situation. Often times it is their teammates and coaches that help them get through the tough times.
I understand that things happen and for whatever reason a person needs to leave their team. It could be to concentrate on academics, it could be to get another job to pay for school, or various other reasons. It is even acceptable when you have another year of eligibility left, but you don’t want to play anymore and you tell your coaches. That is fine, at least the coaches have a chance to recruit and replace them.
What is hard to understand is why someone would quit on their teammates in the middle of the year and give up just because things get a little hard. Those tough times are what make you stronger. To put in all of the hard work, the extra weight training in the offseason, to go through the highs and lows together and then when things don’t seem to be going your way you quit that is hard to understand. When you have done it once it makes it easier to do it again later on in life.
I guess that everything is supposed to be easy.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The Week of The Big Game
I wrote a few weeks ago about the youth of our fall sports teams and how it would take a while to develop some of that youth. I was right it would take some time, but it has happened a lot quicker than I anticipated.
Our teams are on a roll as we head toward the midway points of the season. The men’s soccer team has gone 5-1 since a 0-3 start, the women’s soccer team is 9-1 and winners of eight in a row, the volleyball team has won eight straight since a 3-4 start. The football team has won two in a row after losing the first two games of the season.
It is amazing what tradition and pride in the program can do for our student-athletes. They feel like they have to uphold the strong traditions of the past. It is a big motivator.
All four teams have legitimate ASC MVP contenders on their teams and they are all underclassmen. It looks like the teams have not only figured it out, but they have restocked their rosters with good young players. It is a testament to the great coaches we have on staff and the pride they take in keeping their programs at the top of the conference.
Several players did well at the ITA tennis tournament over the weekend. Freshman Lisa Mertz advanced to the semifinals of singles as did Ryan Waters in the men. Waters and Wade Morgan lost 9-8 in the doubles finals.
The golf season is under way and freshman (there is that word again) Ashley Luecke is off to a sizzling start. She won the first tournament of the year by 11 strokes.
This week there are some big games for the soccer teams this week. Both teams play at UT-Dallas on Thursday night. The Comets have been the Cowgirls’ toughest competitor over the last several years in ASC play and nothing less than a physical close match is expected. The Cowboys have a talented UTD on Thursday and play at Ozarks on Saturday. A couple of wins could put the Cowboys in a good spot to host the ASC Tournament.
The Cowgirl volleyball team plays at Sul Ross State on Wednesday, then returns home for games against Concordia on Friday and Howard Payne on Saturday. The HPU game was listed as noon on most early schedules. It was changed last week to a 11 a.m. game.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting its annual tailgate on Saturday. All students are encouraged to come by and have a burger or dog before the game.
Saturday is the big game for the Cowboy football team as the winner of the HSU-UMHB regular season game has won or shared the ASC title every year since 1998. It will be no different this season. Those who think the Cowboys are down this year need to come out and watch, because when these two teams play the records don’t matter. They are going to have a hard-hitting intense affair. Mary Hardin-Baylor is a talented team that is loaded with juniors and seniors. The Cowboys are a talented team that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores. Let’s see if the young guys can step it up another notch this weekend.
I have to admit there are certain games that get me fired up more than most. Most anything with McMurry brings out the intensity and you can feel it when you walk into the site of competition. The UMHB football game has become the same way. You know it is not just another game on the schedule, no matter coaches would like for you to believe. It is a big game and it is what makes college athletics great.
Can I remember plays from every game I have seen at HSU? No way. I have seen a lot of games, but I can almost instantly recall plays from the top of my head from every UMHB football game. Whether it was Josh McCasland sparking an offense, with a 50-something yard run on a muddy day in Belton in 2000. Or Jared Sanderson’s 14-tackle game in 2001 to preserve the Cowboys fourth straight conference title. In 2002, when the Cowboys had the ball inside the Crusaders 10 twice in the first quarter and having to settle for field goal attempts. The Cowboys were driving for the tying score when Matt Moskosky “fumbled” right in front of the Crusaders bench. P.J. Williams sticks in my head from that game as well. Man did he have some big games in his career against the Cowboys.
In 2004 the first game was filled with big plays on all sides, but Will Galusha’s interception return and long kickoff return turned the game into a blowout. In the return game in the NCAA playoffs it was Josh Kubiak’s coming out party when he picked off a pair of Jordan Neal passes and ran one back for a TD and the other deep into Cowboy territory.
UMHB did whatever they wanted that day in 2005 and recorded eight sacks.
In 2006 the first game a tipped punt and run back by Kubiak UMHB gave the Crusaders the momentum and a third quarter drive that seemed to take up the whole quarter took the Cowboys wind out of its sail.
The playoff game seemed to be going all the way of the Cowboys, until the bogus illegal substitution penalty gave the Crusaders a first down and they were able to take advantage and get the momentum back with a touchdown.
Who will be the Bryson, Rollins, Starnes, Williams, Fredenburg, Welch, Kubiak, Meyer for the Crusaders?
Who will be the Sanderson, McCasland, Rogers, Proctor, Gailey, Neal, Galusha or Moore for the Cowboys?
What will be the defining play of 2007? Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday.
Our teams are on a roll as we head toward the midway points of the season. The men’s soccer team has gone 5-1 since a 0-3 start, the women’s soccer team is 9-1 and winners of eight in a row, the volleyball team has won eight straight since a 3-4 start. The football team has won two in a row after losing the first two games of the season.
It is amazing what tradition and pride in the program can do for our student-athletes. They feel like they have to uphold the strong traditions of the past. It is a big motivator.
All four teams have legitimate ASC MVP contenders on their teams and they are all underclassmen. It looks like the teams have not only figured it out, but they have restocked their rosters with good young players. It is a testament to the great coaches we have on staff and the pride they take in keeping their programs at the top of the conference.
Several players did well at the ITA tennis tournament over the weekend. Freshman Lisa Mertz advanced to the semifinals of singles as did Ryan Waters in the men. Waters and Wade Morgan lost 9-8 in the doubles finals.
The golf season is under way and freshman (there is that word again) Ashley Luecke is off to a sizzling start. She won the first tournament of the year by 11 strokes.
This week there are some big games for the soccer teams this week. Both teams play at UT-Dallas on Thursday night. The Comets have been the Cowgirls’ toughest competitor over the last several years in ASC play and nothing less than a physical close match is expected. The Cowboys have a talented UTD on Thursday and play at Ozarks on Saturday. A couple of wins could put the Cowboys in a good spot to host the ASC Tournament.
The Cowgirl volleyball team plays at Sul Ross State on Wednesday, then returns home for games against Concordia on Friday and Howard Payne on Saturday. The HPU game was listed as noon on most early schedules. It was changed last week to a 11 a.m. game.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting its annual tailgate on Saturday. All students are encouraged to come by and have a burger or dog before the game.
Saturday is the big game for the Cowboy football team as the winner of the HSU-UMHB regular season game has won or shared the ASC title every year since 1998. It will be no different this season. Those who think the Cowboys are down this year need to come out and watch, because when these two teams play the records don’t matter. They are going to have a hard-hitting intense affair. Mary Hardin-Baylor is a talented team that is loaded with juniors and seniors. The Cowboys are a talented team that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores. Let’s see if the young guys can step it up another notch this weekend.
I have to admit there are certain games that get me fired up more than most. Most anything with McMurry brings out the intensity and you can feel it when you walk into the site of competition. The UMHB football game has become the same way. You know it is not just another game on the schedule, no matter coaches would like for you to believe. It is a big game and it is what makes college athletics great.
Can I remember plays from every game I have seen at HSU? No way. I have seen a lot of games, but I can almost instantly recall plays from the top of my head from every UMHB football game. Whether it was Josh McCasland sparking an offense, with a 50-something yard run on a muddy day in Belton in 2000. Or Jared Sanderson’s 14-tackle game in 2001 to preserve the Cowboys fourth straight conference title. In 2002, when the Cowboys had the ball inside the Crusaders 10 twice in the first quarter and having to settle for field goal attempts. The Cowboys were driving for the tying score when Matt Moskosky “fumbled” right in front of the Crusaders bench. P.J. Williams sticks in my head from that game as well. Man did he have some big games in his career against the Cowboys.
In 2004 the first game was filled with big plays on all sides, but Will Galusha’s interception return and long kickoff return turned the game into a blowout. In the return game in the NCAA playoffs it was Josh Kubiak’s coming out party when he picked off a pair of Jordan Neal passes and ran one back for a TD and the other deep into Cowboy territory.
UMHB did whatever they wanted that day in 2005 and recorded eight sacks.
In 2006 the first game a tipped punt and run back by Kubiak UMHB gave the Crusaders the momentum and a third quarter drive that seemed to take up the whole quarter took the Cowboys wind out of its sail.
The playoff game seemed to be going all the way of the Cowboys, until the bogus illegal substitution penalty gave the Crusaders a first down and they were able to take advantage and get the momentum back with a touchdown.
Who will be the Bryson, Rollins, Starnes, Williams, Fredenburg, Welch, Kubiak, Meyer for the Crusaders?
Who will be the Sanderson, McCasland, Rogers, Proctor, Gailey, Neal, Galusha or Moore for the Cowboys?
What will be the defining play of 2007? Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday.
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