Spring Break
'Hawks fall to 'Cats in football opener
Unexpected injuries leave Miami's offense ineffective in running game
Jonathon Angarola, Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/1/06 Section: Front Page
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It found out the team is very much a work in progress, as the RedHawks dropped their opener 21-3 Thursday night at Yager Stadium.
"We have got a lot to work on," said Head Coach Shane Montgomery. "We've got to get some guys healthy. We are very banged up right now."
The RedHawks began the 2006 season with some harsh injuries to their young offense. Starting running back Brandon Murphy and junior left tackle Charlie Norden were held out due to an ankle injury and foot problems, respectively.
The Wildcats capitalized on the loss of Murphy and Norden by holding the RedHawks' ground game to a paltry 98 yards. The inept rush coupled with a few major penalties left the RedHawks unable to put more than three points on the board.
"It hurt not having all of our guys on the offensive line," junior quarterback Mike Kokal said. "It should help next week when we get everyone back."
The Wildcats came out of the starting gates steamrolling the 'Hawks' defensive line on three successive first down runs. But Miami managed to halt the Northwestern drive on fourth and two on the Miami 25-yard line with a sack by sophomore linebacker Joey Hudson.
Miami's defense was instrumental in giving the young 'Hawks' offense a small margin for error with five successive stops in the first half. Senior free safety Joey Card came up huge, amassing 10 total tackles in the game.
But both young offenses looked their age in the first half with Miami and Northwestern amassing only 54 and 109 first half offensive yards, respectively.
Penalties plagued any of the offensive momentum the RedHawks garnered, and left the score scoreless at half.
"We shot ourselves in the foot offensively with penalties," Montgomery said. "We had only four for 50 (yards) but all four of them were huge."
Northwestern drew first blood in the second half, when the Wildcats blocked a Miami punt and returned it for a touchdown.
"The blocked punt was huge," Montgomery said. "We just can not take a play off and have a breakdown on special teams."
Miami immediately responded by capping off a 12-play, 77-yard offensive drive with a field goal.
But a 69-yard Wildcats' drive resulted in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Sutton that put Northwestern ahead 14-3.
A failed Miami drive and an ensuing 80-yard Northwestern drive that resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Tyrell Sutton solidified the Northwestern victory.
Nevertheless, Montgomery said he was happy with how the defense played against NU's prolific offense.
"I thought our defense played extremely well," Montgomery said. "If you would have told me that Tyrell Sutton would have 63 yards, I think we would have felt really good taking our chances in winning that football game."
The RedHawks have a chance to redeem themselves against the Big Ten when they head to West Lafayette, Ind. Saturday to play Purdue University.
