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Wednesday, September 6, 2000
Javs’ foe struggling, says coach
Despite victory, Sharp unhappy with offense
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
Paul Sharp would have you believe the Southwestern Oklahoma State football team is struggling offensively.
The Bulldogs' performance in a 16-9 win over Adams (Colo.) State last Saturday would make you believe otherwise:
Southwestern Oklahoma piled up 352 total yards against the Grizzlies.
Senior tailback Anthony Davis carried 20 times for 101 of the team's 188 rushing yards, including a 64-yard scoring run.
Josh Allen completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 164 yards.
Still, Sharp remains low key as Southwestern Oklahoma (1-0) prepares for its Lone Star Conference opener against Texas A&M-Kingsville (0-1) Saturday at Javelina Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
"I feel like we're playing good defense, but our offense is struggling right now," said Sharp, in his 15th year as head coach. "We like to run the ball and mix in the pass. We don't do anything fancy. All we do is try and play good, sound football. If we do that and don't turn the ball over, hopefully we'll get a chance to win."
Receivers Walter Oliver and Shevron Glover were Allen's two main targets. Oliver led the Bulldogs with five catches for 74 yards, followed by Glover with four receptions for 63 yards. Fullback Nick Hamar produced 75 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Southwestern Oklahoma was equally effective on defense, holding Adams State to 127 total yards. Grizzlies quarterback Monte Gutowski managed just 73 passing yards and were intercepted three times, one of which was returned 57 yards for by free safety Scott Seybold to end the first half and cut Adams State's lead to three points.
Seybold's interception return caused a shift in momentum entering the second half. Under heavy pressure early in the third quarter, Gutowski was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, which tied the game, 9-9. Davis' touchdown run later in the quarter was enough to secure the win.
With dominating performances by defensive lineman Russell Radford and Jeff Parker (seven tackles each), Adams State had only three possessions of three or more plays and only two drives lasted more than two minutes. The Grizzlies were forced to punt times and turned the ball over on downs once.
A&M-Kingsville head coach Richard Cundiff said Southwestern Oklahoma benefits most from its quickness.
"They made some big plays against the other bunch. It looks like they got above average team speed," Cundiff said after watching the Bulldogs on film Monday night. "They run to the ball well. Adams tried to throw 35 times, so it's hard to tell exactly what the defense can do. When a team throws all the time you can't get a true indication."
Staff writer Javier Becerra can be reached at 886-3734 or by e-mail at becerraj@caller.com
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