Mcneese Used No Tricks, Just Stunts
The McNeese State Cowboys rarely blitzed. They didn’t have to.
McNeese State limited Idaho to its worst offensive output since 1986, handcuffing the Vandals 33-3 in the Division I-AA football playoffs on Saturday night.
“We blitzed once in a while, but mostly it was just stunts with our front four,” McNeese coach Bobby Keasler said. UI quarterback Eric Hisaw was only sacked twice, but he spent a great deal of time running for cover from on-rushing linemen.
“They recover so fast,” said Hisaw, 19 of 35 for 176 yards. “They don’t let things get behind them. One of our coaches was saying that everyone on their defense runs a 4.7 or better. They fly around like no one we’ve played.”
Keasler said one of the keys was picked up while watching UI videotape during the week.
“Everytime he (Hisaw) scrambled, he always scrambled to his right,” he said. “We were trying to hem him in and have him come back up the pipe.”
It worked.
“They did a good job of getting upfield and forcing me inside,” Hisaw said.
QB deluxe
McNeese quarterback Kerry Joseph is so good, even his mistakes look nice.
On one first-half play, he rolled to his right under pressure and uncorked a throw 58 yards on the move. It was intercepted, but the athletic ability required to launch the throw didn’t go unnoticed.
“Incredible speed and he’s gotten better,” UI defensive end Ryan Phillips said. “He’s got another year under his belt and he’s that much better than last year.”
A 65-yard missile from Joseph hit Damien Morris in stride in the end zone in the fourth quarter, but Morris bungled a certain TD. On the next play, Joseph hit Andre Perkins in the hands with a 20-yard bullet and he dropped the ball, too.
Coffey on board
Ted Coffey is a devoted father.
He drove to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to watch his son, Travis, UI’s starting safety from Bonners Ferry, play against Northern Iowa two weeks ago. That’s about 3,000 miles roundtrip.
He drove to Flagstaff to watch UI-Northern Arizona three weeks ago. That’s another 2,300 miles or so.
Coffey thought about driving to Lake Charles, but decided to hop on the team’s charter airplane. Travis, who entered the starting lineup when Montrell Williams went down with a knee injury at midseason, intercepted a pass and made two touchdown-saving tackles in the first half.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: I-AA playoffs Scores from the first round of the Div. I-AA football playoffs Saturday: Delaware 38, Hofstra 17 Marshall 38, Jackson State 8 Appalachian St. 31, J. Madison 24 Northern Iowa 35, Murray State 34 Stephen F. Austin 34, E. Illinois 29 Montana 48, Eastern Kentucky 0 Georgia Southern 24, Troy State 21 McNeese St. 33, Idaho 3