MUNCIE, Ind. – None of the players or coaches on the Falcon football team are disappointed that the team won Saturday, but they may be a bit disappointed in how they won.
After accumulating 324 yards of total offense and holding Ball State scoreless in the first half, the Falcon defense squandered nearly the same amount of yards and the offense was held to just 131 yards in the second half of a 31-17 win.
‘I’m a little disappointed in the second half; that we didn’t finish it,’ said first-year BG coach Dave Clawson. ‘We let them back in the game [by] running the same plays that we were stopping in the first half.’
Many of those plays went to MiQuale Lewis, Ball State’s star running back, and Eric Williams, a true freshman and Lewis’ backup. Combined, the pair carried the ball 16 times for 160 yards in the second half.
In the first half, Lewis and Williams were held to 43 yards on 11 carries.
‘We were flat the first quarter, and we did not expect that,’ said first-year Ball State coach Stan Parrish. ‘If I knew why, I would correct it.’
Offensively, the Falcons were efficient throughout the entire first half, averaging 8.3 yards per play. As has been the case for the Falcons nearly every game this season, seniors quarterback Tyler Sheehan and receiver Freddie Barnes led the charge.
Sheehan was 21-30 for 299 yards and three touchdowns, which all went to Barnes, who had eight receptions for 140 yards.
‘In the first half, we played our best half of football the whole year,’ Clawson said. ‘I thought that’s probably as good as we’ve looked on defense, and on offense, we were sharp.’
Injuries The Falcons suffered many injuries in Saturday’s game – most significantly to the offensive line.
Senior left tackle Brady Minturn did not play the second half and sophomore center Ben Bojicic was injured in the third quarter, forcing Clawson to shift several players on the line.
Blaec Walker played in place of Minturn while left guard Shane Steffy filled in at center.
‘That’s why we went under center a little bit more,’ Clawson said. ‘At that point with the lead, we just wanted to eliminate negative plays.’
Defensive lineman Kevin Alvarado and safety Keith Morgan also had to be helped off the field at times during the game.
Announcements on their statuses will be announced later this week.
Barnes
Barnes continues to lead the nation in receptions with 85 and receiving yards with 882. He is now also in a tie for the lead in receiving touchdowns with eight.
He has almost broken the University’s single-season reception record, which is 99 and is six receptions from setting a new record for career receptions (currently 232, held by Charles Sharon).
‘I still have a lot of work to do and improve as the season goes along,’ Barnes said.
A selection committee will meet this week to determine the semi-finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is given to the nation’s best wide receiver at season’s end. There is a good chance Barnes will be included among those semi-finalists.
Long run
Chris Bullock scored in the third quarter on a 26-yard touchdown run. That run was the longest rushing play of the season for the Falcons.
Career bests
Freshman kicker Jerry Phillips booted a career-long 44-yard field goal, junior defensive lineman Darius Smith recorded a career-high eight tackles and Morgan had a career-best 11 tackles.’
