Saturday, Sep. 04, 2010

MidAmerica crushes Avila behind new QB Ransburg

KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Throughout preseason camp injuries mounted for the MidAmerica Nazarene University football team, especially on the offense which also lost starting quarterback Tyler Herl to academic suspension earlier in the week.

But if the Pioneers, who are ranked No. 6 in the NAIA, were rattled by the uncertainty, it didn't show during a 42-7 romp Saturday afternoon against Avila at Rockhurst High School's Dasta Stadium.

Former Harrisonville star Sean Ransburg, a transfer from Kansas who played wide receiver last season, stepped at quarterback for MidAmerica, which rode a pair of freshmen running backs to a 35-0 halftime lead.

“It's a big sigh of relief to know that we may have a lot of new guys and might be young, but we can still go out there and compete,” second-year Pioneers coach Jonathan Quinn said.

MidAmerica safety AJ Rodriguez forced and recovered a fumble inside the Avila 10-yard line on the game's first play from scrimmage.

Three plays later, freshman James Tillman plowed into the end zone from 1 yard out and the rout was on.

Tillman, a Center graduate who finished with 16 carries for 117 yards, added a 4-yard TD on the opening play of the second quarter and another 1-yard scoring plunge after halftime.

Backfield mate Greg Gates, a freshman from Manchester, Ga., added 114 yards on 18 carries, including a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter and an 11-yard TD scamper in the second period.

Running behind a line with four new starters, the Pioneers, 1-0, totaled 280 yards rushing and threw for another 241 yards, including Ransburg's 56-yard second-quarter TD bomb sophomore Donnie MacLeod, who played with Ransburg at Harrisonville.

“The offense got their confidence, which was all we really needed,” sophomore linebacker Dantren Anderson said. “The offense needed a chance to show what they can do and they did that. Putting up 42 (points), you can't be mad at that. It looks like it's going to be a good season; we believe that.”

Playing the first game under new coach Kevin Porter, a former Chiefs safety who served as MidAmerica's defensive coordinator last year, the Eagles, 0-1, got on the board with 57 seconds remaining on a 30-yard touchdown toss from by Austin Cole to Adam Mattison.

“For us, it's a measuring stick,” Porter said. “That's how we came into the game looking at it. It was a chance to find out what we had, what kind of team we've got and how far we've got to go.

“Obviously, to get to that level, we've got some work to do. But we're very encouraged by the way our guys played in the second half. We've got some things that we can build on and that's what we're looking to do.”

The Eagles have a bye week before playing Sept. 18 at Baker in Baldwin City, Kan. The Wildcats play the Pioneers at 6 p.m. next Saturday in Olathe.

No. 6 MIDAMERICA NAZARENE 42, AVILA 7

MNU (1-0) 14 21 7 0 — 42

AU (0-1) 0 0 0 7 — 7

Scoring summary

First quarter

MNU: James Tillman 1 run (Cody Morrow kick), 13:11

MNU: Greg Gates 4 run (Morrow kick), 3:30

Second quarter

MNU: Tillman 4 run (Morrow kick), 14:55

MNU: Gates 11 run (Morrow kick), 8:55

MNU: Donnie MacLeod 56 pass from Sean Ransburg (Morrow kick), 4:13

Third quarter

MNU: Tillman 1 run (Morrow kick), 9:16

Fourth quarter

AU: Adam Mattison 30 pass from Austin Cole (Andrew Korth kick), 0:57

Team statistics

MNU AU

First downs 28 6

Rushing-yards 46-280 28-62

Passing yards 241 92

C-A-I 13-18-1 11-19-0

Total yards 521 154

Fum/Lost 2-0 3-2

Pen/Yards 8-65 11-58

Individual statistics

Rushing

MNU: Greg Gates 18-114, James Tillman 16-117, Sean Ransburg 4-28, Donnie MacLeod 1-11, Michael Lee 4-5, Marvin Hill 2-1, Adam Riggers 1-4. AU: Marlon Brown 16-88, Michael Haynes 7-(-3), Austin Cole 5-(-23).

Passing

MNU: Ransburg 8-9-0 177, Kent Swanson 5-9-1 64. AU: Cole 11-19-0 92.

Receiving

MNU: Juan Redmon 4-72, Brett Houchen 2-24, MacLeod 1-56, Branden Phillips 1-25, Landon Murrell 1-9, Kellen Long 1-6, Jared Wilkes 1-21, Marcus Wright 1-25, Travis Walker 1-3. AU: MJ Bland 5-33, Brown 1-2, Josh Taylor 3-15, Paris Walkup 1-12, Adam Mattison 1-30.

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