Ball State Football Update Pete Lembo Head Football Coach Dear Alumni and Friends, We return to Scheumann Stadium this Saturday for another home game as we take on the Black Knights of Army. Kickoff is set for 1:04pm and sunny skies with temperatures in the mid 80’s are expected. McCoy Ford is this week’s game sponsor and the Cardinal Walk is set for 10:45am. Army enters the contest with a 1-0 record. The Black Knights defeated FCS member Morgan State on Friday night at Michie Stadium to kickoff their 2013 campaign. Army got off to a great start, scoring touchdowns on their first three drives. The game featured just 18 total possessions and 112 offensive plays by both teams. Incredibly, the Black Knights made it through 60 minutes without a turnover or a single penalty. This accomplishment is even more significant given the fact that Army is an option team and has a new starting quarterback. We have faced the Black Knights the last two seasons, winning both times and tying the all-time series with Ball State at 2-2. In 2011, we got off to a fast start offensively and perhaps caught Army off guard with our approach to defending the triple option. Last year at Michie Stadium, Army was better prepared for our schemes and the game was much closer throughout. We missed some opportunities for big plays on offense, but ran the ball effectively most of the afternoon. Long time starting quarterback Trent Steelman graduated from the Academy following last season and the reigns of the triple option attack have been handed to #3 Angel Santiago (5’11, 188). The junior got off to a great start last weekend, with several long runs as well as accurate throws early in the game against Morgan State. Santiago has an experienced supporting cast at the skill positions, including bruising fullback #26 Larry Dixon (6’0, 238) and wingback #1 Raymond Maples (6’1, 218). Freshman receiver #86 Xavier Moss (6’2, 175) got his collegiate career off to a nice start with two catches for 75 yards. Fellow receiver #21 Chevaughn Lawrence (6’3, 195) also had two grabs, including a touchdown. Army returns four starters on the offensive line. This is a smaller, but very athletic group of linemen. Army has evolved some on defense since our game in late October of last year, but their package continues to be very unique and unlike any other team we will face this season. The Black Knights pack the tackle box with five defensive linemen, including a “Flex” – a hybrid lineman/linebacker type defender. A single middle linebacker is typically flanked by two outside linebacker or safety types in “overhang” alignments. In the secondary, Army plays a lot of man and zone coverage with one deep safety. Two safety looks are used, but are less common. Junior safety #6 Geoffrey Bacon has a good motor and accumulated 16 tackles against Morgan State. Middle linebacker #23 Alex Meier is often protected by the front. He added 11 tackles last week. Nose guard #98 Richard Glover (6’0, 247) is explosive and gave us some problems last year. Army will tweak their defensive package each week based on the strengths of the opponent. The Black Knights have excellent speed, depth and tenacity on their special teams units. They only punted three times against Morgan State and continue to utilize a hybrid style punt with a single gunner removed from the formation. Army does a nice job disguising rush and hold up looks on punt return. On kickoff return, the Black Knights typically double team inside cover men in hopes of setting up a middle return that hits a vertical seam. Senior #18 Julian Crockett is a speedy returner, while freshman #38 Jalen White returns punts. Army’s best unit is their kickoff coverage, where they usually kick down the hash and squeeze hard to the kick in waves. Sophomore kicker #95 Daniel Grochowski was consistent with kickoffs last week and had one touchback. It is critical that we get off to a good start against Army in all three phases of the game. Option teams like to control the clock and play at their best with a lead. Army was fairly vanilla against Morgan State in terms of their offensive play calling. We expect to see more of the playbook utilized in this weekend’s game. We will have to play with great detail and physicality for 60 minutes in order to get a win. Last Thursday’s crowd for the home opener included over 6,500 students. We hope to see at least that many in attendance again this Saturday. In addition, since this game is being played at a more traditional time against a nationally recognized opponent, we hope to attract more local fans and alumni from around the state. Lastly, we are expecting a large group of junior and senior prospects to be in attendance on Saturday. Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of the Ball State football program. Sincerely, Pete
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 12:47:50 +0000
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