Powell Loses Playoff Run-In
Ronnie Powell has never had a problem outrunning people. But Saturday afternoon at Albi Stadium, Northwestern State’s world-class sprinter and junior tailback found himself unable to outrun the comments he made earlier in the week.
His statement about having seen “bigger linemen and better linebackers” than those on Eastern Washington’s defense seemed refreshingly candid and relatively innocent.
But it ended up prominently posted on the lockers of several EWU defenders, according to Eagles middle linebacker Derek Strey.
“When somebody says that and they don’t know nothing about you, it’s hard to take,” said Strey, whose eight tackles helped contain Powell throughout much of Eastern’s 40-10 rout of the Demons in the opening round of the Division I-AA college football playoffs.
“We really didn’t like it. It just served as a little extra motivation - something to put on our lockers and look at all week.”
Still, Powell managed to make almost as big an impression with his feet as he did with his mouth by rushing for 206 yards on 26 carries. The only problem was that the 5-foot-10, 172-pounder, who has run the 100 meters in 10.25 seconds, never broke a long run.
“The strategy was to not let him get to the outside and take off running,” explained Strey. “We tried to keep him inside the tackles as much as possible, instead of going north and south, and it worked.
“He was the fastest (tailback) we’ve faced by far, but we play against Rex (Prescott) every day, so seeing a good running back is something we’re used to.”
EWU coach Mike Kramer made it clear, however, that he does not want to make a habit out of trying to deal with a runner like Powell.
“For a track guy - and I say that disparagingly, because most track guys are not great football players - he showed some great slipperyness,” Kramer said. “We never got a good, clear shot at him.
“He’s going to be a great player. I don’t want to see him in the regular season or playoffs again, period. I hope they have a great year next year, but I want to stay the heck out of his way.”
Depth on display
Northwestern State coach Sam Goodwin left town Saturday still marveling at EWU’s depth - particularly at running back, where starter Rex Prescott and backup Mike MacKenzie combined to rush for 231 yard and four touchdowns.
That depth, Goodwin explained, was never more obvious than late in the first half when Prescott was shaken up and MacKenzie came in and rambled 67 yards on the next play - his first of the game - to set up the touchdown that gave EWU its 27-3 halftime lead.
“We hurt the Prescott kid there for one play and, dang, they didn’t slow down at all,” Goodwin recalled. The next play they got about 80 yards. They proved they’ve got more than one running back that can step in and get the job done.
“If you’ve got that kind of depth you can go a long way. You need depth in the playoffs and it looks like they’ve got it all.”
Ticket lowdown
Tickets for Saturday’s quarterfinal-round Albi Stadium matchup between EWU and Western Kentucky are on sale at all Select-a-Seat outlets and the Eastern Washington athletics ticket office.
All tickets are general admission and cost $8 for adults ($7 if pre-sold to groups of 20 or more) and $5 for children and college and high school students with student-body cards.
They can be obtained by calling 325-SEAT, 359-4339 or 1-800-648-7697.
Injury update
Eastern lost starting offensive guard John Kane to a second-half ankle sprain and the status for the 6-3, 265-pounder from Lewis and Clark High School remains questionable for Saturday, according to Kramer.
Most of the Eagles’ other bumps and bruises - none of which was deemed serious - were sustained by second-stringers who played the majority of the final quarter, Kramer added.
, DataTimes