Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Pioneers throttle Central Methodist for Senior Day win

The only thing more beautiful that the weather for MidAmerica Nazarene football fans Saturday at Pioneer Stadium was the scoreboard at the end of the regular-season home finale versus Central Methodist.

Celebrating Senior Day, the 10th-ranked Pioneers issued a 50-14 beatdown against the Eagles, who lost the week before 24-10 against Missouri Valley.

“We came in with a good mindset and we were confident,” said linebacker Jake Duren, who had seven tackles, 2.5 sacks and returned a first-quarter interception 32 yards for a touchdown. “We've been clicking on offense and defense and really coming together lately. Everything's just starting to fall into place.”

The Pioneers jumped out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead thanks to nine points from the defense.

MidAmerica's offense struck first after a sack by Duren led to a Central Methodist three-and-out. Two plays later, quarterback Tyler Herl lobbed a 46-yard touchdown bomb down the left sideline to senior wide receiver Tim Richmond, who had three catches for 117 yards and two TDs on the afternoon.

Next came Duren's pick-six of Central Methodist's Bryant Jackson, pushing the margin to two touchdowns before a pack of Pioneers swarmed Jackson in the end zone on the ensuing drive for safety and a 16-0 lead.

MidAmerica, 8-1, led 19-0 at halftime.

The Pioneers' defense limited the Eagles to a meager 50 yards, all passing, in the first half. Central Methodist, which was out-gained 509 to 233 overall, managed 0 net yards rushing on 20 carries, including 10 negative runs and three rushes that went for no gain before the break.

“You want to jell toward the end of a season so if you have the opportunity to continue to play you're playing at your best level at that point,” first-year coach Jonathan Quinn said. “I feel like we continue to get better each week and starting to understand all the parts and how they fit together. Hopefully, we'll finish strong.”

The Pioneers certainly finished strong on Saturday.

A penalty short-circuited the opening drive of the second half for MidAmerica, allowing Central Methodist to gain new life with a seven-play, 69-yard TD drive, but that was all it took to wake up the Pioneers' offense.

“We talked about getting refocused at halftime, but we came out on offense and didn't get it done,” Quinn said. “They came right down and scored, so you could really feel the momentum swing in their favor.

“We told the offense, 'Guys, you've got to answer.' We cannot get another three-and-out and have them put seven more on the board against us.”

MidAmerica counterpunched by scoring on five of the final six possessions with a missed field goal in the mix.

Herl's 30-yard TD pass to Richmond early in the fourth quarter iced the victory, lifting MidAmerica to a 36-14 lead with 11:59 remaining. But the next score, a diving 20-yard catch in the end zone by senior Justin Pickens really got the celebration started.

One most beloved and respected Pioneers, Pickens was still emotional after the game when talking about his Senior Day TD grab.

“This is the best Senior Day I could have ever imagined,” he said. “Every senior stepped up and made plays. For me, it was really emotional, because my brother (Tommy) came up here and he doesn't get to see any games.”

With an influx of talented transfers at receiver last summer, Pickens has seen his playing time reduced this season, which made the late TD even more special. But it was the who, not that what that had the 6-foot-2 native of Anderson, Mo., choked up.

“He's my best friend and he's been the only family I've got. I'm really glad (my brother) got to see that,” Pickens said, his voice cracking momentarily.

“It just couldn't have happened any better. My head coach from high school (Jeff Wilkie) drove up three hours to be here and my brother drove up four. I ran a post and couldn't really even see the ball, but I'd like to thank God, because I know he put that ball in my hands.”

Sophomore Branden Phillips, an Olathe North grad, added a 5-yard TD reception from redshirt freshman QB Mike Keese, an Olathe South grad, to cap the win.

“This gave us momentum for next week against (Missouri) Valley,” Pickens said. “We're really starting to come together as a team and I couldn't ask to play with a better group of guys or for a better coaching staff. I'm just glad to be a part of Pioneer football.

“We knew Central Methodist was a good team and we knew the playoffs would be hard to come by if we didn't win this game.”

Junior Ashford Johnson led the Pioneers with 168 total yards from scrimmage. Linebacker Brady Croucher, a 2006 Olathe South graduate, had 12 tackles, including four for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

MidAmerica closes the regular season against No. 9 Missouri Valley at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday in Marshall, Mo. With a win, the Pioneers could be in line for a home playoff game for the second consecutive season.

“We can't beat ourselves,” Duren said. “Shooting ourselves in the foot, beating ourselves, is our worst case scenario. It will be a hostile environment, but everything's in our hands. We control our attitude and our effort.”

No. 10 MIDAMERICA NAZARENE 50, CENTRAL METHODIST 14

CMU (5-4) 0 0 14 0 — 14

MNU (8-1) 16 3 10 21 — 50

Scoring summary

First quarter

MNU: Tim Richmond 46 pass from Tyler Herl (Eric Hronek kick), 12:18

MNU: Jake Duren 32 interception return (Hronek kick), 4:50

MNU: Safety, 4:09

Second quarter

MNU: Hronek 18 field goal, 0:00

Third quarter

CMU: Bryant Jackson 1 run (Tyler Padgett kick), 10:37

MNU: Jared Elmore 24 pass from Herl (Hronek kick), 8:11

CMU: Kevin Pike 14 pass from Jackson (Padgett kick), 4:41

MNU: Hronek 19 field goal, 2:56

Fourth quarter

MNU: Richmond 30 pass from Herl (Hronek kick), 11:59

MNU: Justin Pickens 20 pass from Herl (Hronek kick), 9:01

MNU: Branden Phillips 5 pass from Mike Keese (Hronek kick), 1:56

Team statistics

CMU MNU

First downs 16 22

Rushing-yards 32-35 36-131

Passing yards 198 378

C-A-I 16-28-3 24-34-1

Total yards 233 509

Fum/Lost 2-0 4-0

Individual statistics

Rushing

Central Methodist: Bryant Jackson 22-8, Cleave Perryman 3-17, Parker Garfield 2-0, Caleb Haynes 3-(-1), Marshall Woodruff 1-19, Team 1-(-8).

MidAmerica Nazarene: Ashford Johnson 17-68, Tyler Herl 6-29, Sean Ransburg 5-19, Marvin Hill 7-9, Mike Keese 1-6.

Passing

Central Methodist: Jackson 16-28-3 198.

MidAmerica Nazarene: Herl 20-30-1 338, Keese 3-3-0 36, Ransburg 1-1-0 4.

Receiving

Central Methodist (16-198): Stephone Allen 6-74, Kevin Pike 4-47, Mark Robinson Jr. 2-14, Robert Ford 3-43, Maurice Morris 1-20.

MidAmerica Nazarene (24-378): Tim Richmond 3-117, Jared Elmore 5-62, Austin Conyers 2-26, Herl 1-(-4), Johnson 4-70, Ransburg 5-51, Justin Pickens 1-20, Donnie MacLeod 1-15, Branden Phillips 2-21.

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