Some personal notes/tidbits from the history of the ETBU vs. Hardin-Simmons football series:
-- The Cowboys have never scored less than 20 points in a game against the Tigers. That would be less than 21 points in a game, but HSU didn't get to get the now-infamous extra point in overtime back in 2003, a point that helped the Tigers get the ASC's automatic playoff bid under the old three-way tie system of point differential. (I guess our HSU Baptist brethren will always have bad blood toward us for that... even though it was just playing by the rules as they were written at the time, good or bad). For the record, the tiebreaker rule was changed after that season.
-- There haven't been many years in the rivalry where I can honestly, truly say I thought ETBU had the better team. One of those was that 2003 game, although HSU was certainly a stout bunch back then. I think last year's game in Ornelas Stadium was also a free-for-all, and the Cowboys simply made more plays on both sides of the ball to get the win.
-- Other than that 2003 overtime classic, none of the games in Abilene have been remotely close. The Cowboys put up a very easy-seeming 69 on us back in 2001, and the lowest point total HSU has put up in the other games was 31 back in 2005.
-- Over the years I think most ETBU followers and fans have grown to respect the Cowboys simply because Hardin-Simmons wins every year. I mean, last year was considered a bad year for them and they lost two conference games. That's it. You have to respect a bunch that never ever expects to lose...because that means they don't do it very often.
-- My most meaningful personal memory over the last eight years of this series is, ironically, a game I wasn't even attending. During Hardin-Simmons week in 2003, I had to undergo emergency surgery (I had a "ripe gallbladder that had gone bad) and I was forced to stay home and listen to the game on the radio. There I was, lying up in bed, listening to a bedside clock radio and trying not to get too excited as to rip the stitches out of my gut. The Tigers and Cowboys didn't do me any favors that day, and at the end of it I felt even sicker after HSU had pulled out that 20-14 overtime win. Never in my mind did I ever consider that ETBU would get a second shot at the postseason later, until Coach Harris pointed out the tiebreaker situation going into the UMHB game. Knowing those rules gave our coaches a definite plan going into the UMHB game a couple weeks later, something I'll probably touch on when the Cru visits ETBU in a few weeks.
Looking back, I will agree that yes, the situation and the rules totally wouldn't have been even considered remotely fair had the shoe been on the other foot, but playing by them shouldn't be considered wrong by anyone either. Luck of the draw had us playing UMHB later than HSU, and we had the luxury of playing by the tiebreaker rules. And we all finished 8-1 in the conference, something I don't really honestly think will ever happen again. Those were three very good football teams at ETBU, HSU and UMHB that year -- quite frankly, every one of them should have gotten into the playoffs. The team that upset us that year in the second round -- Lycoming -- would not have finished in the top three of our conference.
See you Saturday.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Up Close With The Tigers
Hopefully you have been noticing a newly-added feature to our upgraded ETBU athletics website, the Up Close section down the left side of the main pages for our sports.
While the site is really not quite finished (not sure it will ever be, because I keep getting all these ideas and I end up changing everything!), we will definitely be keeping Up Close. I try to highlight a player or two each week during the season in hopes that by the end of the year everyone in a Tiger or Lady Tiger uniform will have been featured.
Some sports will have to linger with theirs into the offseason, especially football. To combat that I have gone to two football players in the section instead of one. But we will eventually get to everyone.
If you might be wondering how we come up with the little survey there, that asks the players about their favorite types of things, etc. I give each player at the beginning of the year a bio sheet for them to fill out. This includes athletic information such as their high school, their high school accomplishments, their career plans, etc. The bulk of this information goes in the bios of the players in the media guides.
But I wanted to add the Up Close section to the website, so I attached another page to this year's bio sheets. It's up to the players to decide whether or not they want to answer every question, hopefully they fill it out completely enough to sound interesting.
The questions range from "Who is your favorite superhero?" to "The best advice you could give a child is..." Hopefully the answers are fun and enlightening at the same time. I know I have some fun reading each of them as they are posted to the site.
For some who might be wondering, there are a few trends and popular answers coming so far on the bio sheets. Most everyone lists a parent or close family member as the "person I most admire." The Dark Knight, to this point, has been the most popular movie in the past year for our student-athletes, and not surprisingly, Batman follows as the most popular superhero.
Most student-athletes list the sport they are involved with as the reason they chose to attend ETBU. That's really not a shocking thing, and it tells us that athletics is an important part of our university life.
The "most interesting person from the Bible," ranges to anyone from Paul or Job, usually. I must say here that on most of the bio sheets I included, (other than Jesus). Duh, that would be like saying the most interesting person on your birthday was, well, you. Jesus is The Most Interesting Person in the Bible, period. But I wanted the answers to the bio question to vary this year.
Most TV shows that aren't missed among our student-athletes are stuff like Grey's Anatomy or CSI. Michael Phelps has been a popular "Favorite All-Time Athlete." And, for favorite U.S. President, it's almost a dead heat between Bill Clinton, Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush.
That's a quick, minor overview of the survey taken of our fall athletes with their bio sheets. We've still got basketball and baseball and softball to come, of course, so the information will be expanding further. Maybe. Or maybe not -- maybe the consensus of the fall is that everyone has pretty much the same favorites here at ETBU.
While the site is really not quite finished (not sure it will ever be, because I keep getting all these ideas and I end up changing everything!), we will definitely be keeping Up Close. I try to highlight a player or two each week during the season in hopes that by the end of the year everyone in a Tiger or Lady Tiger uniform will have been featured.
Some sports will have to linger with theirs into the offseason, especially football. To combat that I have gone to two football players in the section instead of one. But we will eventually get to everyone.
If you might be wondering how we come up with the little survey there, that asks the players about their favorite types of things, etc. I give each player at the beginning of the year a bio sheet for them to fill out. This includes athletic information such as their high school, their high school accomplishments, their career plans, etc. The bulk of this information goes in the bios of the players in the media guides.
But I wanted to add the Up Close section to the website, so I attached another page to this year's bio sheets. It's up to the players to decide whether or not they want to answer every question, hopefully they fill it out completely enough to sound interesting.
The questions range from "Who is your favorite superhero?" to "The best advice you could give a child is..." Hopefully the answers are fun and enlightening at the same time. I know I have some fun reading each of them as they are posted to the site.
For some who might be wondering, there are a few trends and popular answers coming so far on the bio sheets. Most everyone lists a parent or close family member as the "person I most admire." The Dark Knight, to this point, has been the most popular movie in the past year for our student-athletes, and not surprisingly, Batman follows as the most popular superhero.
Most student-athletes list the sport they are involved with as the reason they chose to attend ETBU. That's really not a shocking thing, and it tells us that athletics is an important part of our university life.
The "most interesting person from the Bible," ranges to anyone from Paul or Job, usually. I must say here that on most of the bio sheets I included, (other than Jesus). Duh, that would be like saying the most interesting person on your birthday was, well, you. Jesus is The Most Interesting Person in the Bible, period. But I wanted the answers to the bio question to vary this year.
Most TV shows that aren't missed among our student-athletes are stuff like Grey's Anatomy or CSI. Michael Phelps has been a popular "Favorite All-Time Athlete." And, for favorite U.S. President, it's almost a dead heat between Bill Clinton, Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush.
That's a quick, minor overview of the survey taken of our fall athletes with their bio sheets. We've still got basketball and baseball and softball to come, of course, so the information will be expanding further. Maybe. Or maybe not -- maybe the consensus of the fall is that everyone has pretty much the same favorites here at ETBU.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tiger Bites: ETBU vs. McMurry
Some notes and odd and ins about ETBU's football series against McMurry University over the years:
-- McMurry is the only team in the ASC never to have defeated the Tigers. That much you might already know. On the flip side of that, ironically -- McMurry's fellow Abilene ASC member, Hardin-Simmons, has never lost a game to ETBU in eight tries.
-- ETBU played its first home game in 50 years back on Sept. 23, 2000, against McMurry. Only thing was, it wasn't really a home game for ETBU -- the game was played at Marshall High School's Maverick Stadium, as Ornelas Stadium was still undergoing the final touches of construction. That game remains the only scheduled home game for ETBU to be played outside of The Jungle.
-- McMurry was ranked in the Top 25 nationally when it visited Marshall for the first time back in 2000. Since suffering a 28-14 defeat at the hands of a freshman-laden ETBU team that day, McMurry hasn't been ranked since.
-- Gary McClelland rushed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' first visit to Abilene to play McMurry, a 33-26 win for ETBU. That remains the single-highest rushing yardage in a game for a Tiger running back.
-- McMurry is 0-3 all-time on Ornelas Stadium. ETBU's wins in those three games, however, have been by just 10 points per game.
You can't talk about the ETBU-McMurry series without mentioning that very first game back in Maverick Stadium in 2000. The Tigers were literally running out a team full of first-year freshmen who most of which didn't know how to shave yet. McMurry was nationally-ranked but coming off a loss to an up-and-coming Mary Hardin-Baylor squad that year, as I remember, and the then-Indians were expected to be hopping mad and on the warpath against the young ETBU kittens...
I've never seen a game before or since where you can pin the outcome solely on emotion. Those young Tiger pups swarmed all over McMurry and raced out to a huge lead, putting pressure on the quarterback, forcing turnovers, cashing in points. The Indians tried to rally in the second half but kept shooting themselves in the foot, and one of the biggest upsets to this day in ETBU football history was finished with a 28-14 Tiger win.
ETBU wouldn't win a game the rest of the year, finishing 2-8. But it was McMurry that seemed to reel the most from that loss, as the Indians haven't won a game in the series yet and now aren't even called the Indians anymore, by the way, thanks to that controversial ruling a few years ago concerning nicknames and mascots. Luckily for ETBU, no Tiger or other large feline has complained much to the NCAA about being offended...
It's not like the Tigers have just penciled in a win every year against McMurry, either. These games are typically close and hard-fought until the fourth quarter. Last season's game out there in Abilene went into overtime, after McMurry had jumped out to a quick two-score lead in the first half. The home team appeared ready to lock up a game-winning touchdown late in regulation when ETBU's Shea Harborth delivered the punt of his career out of the back of ETBU's end zone and past midfield. Huggie Frazier then sealed the Tigers' win in overtime by knocking away a pass in the end zone on the game's final play.
See you Saturday for another one in The Jungle.
-- McMurry is the only team in the ASC never to have defeated the Tigers. That much you might already know. On the flip side of that, ironically -- McMurry's fellow Abilene ASC member, Hardin-Simmons, has never lost a game to ETBU in eight tries.
-- ETBU played its first home game in 50 years back on Sept. 23, 2000, against McMurry. Only thing was, it wasn't really a home game for ETBU -- the game was played at Marshall High School's Maverick Stadium, as Ornelas Stadium was still undergoing the final touches of construction. That game remains the only scheduled home game for ETBU to be played outside of The Jungle.
-- McMurry was ranked in the Top 25 nationally when it visited Marshall for the first time back in 2000. Since suffering a 28-14 defeat at the hands of a freshman-laden ETBU team that day, McMurry hasn't been ranked since.
-- Gary McClelland rushed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' first visit to Abilene to play McMurry, a 33-26 win for ETBU. That remains the single-highest rushing yardage in a game for a Tiger running back.
-- McMurry is 0-3 all-time on Ornelas Stadium. ETBU's wins in those three games, however, have been by just 10 points per game.
You can't talk about the ETBU-McMurry series without mentioning that very first game back in Maverick Stadium in 2000. The Tigers were literally running out a team full of first-year freshmen who most of which didn't know how to shave yet. McMurry was nationally-ranked but coming off a loss to an up-and-coming Mary Hardin-Baylor squad that year, as I remember, and the then-Indians were expected to be hopping mad and on the warpath against the young ETBU kittens...
I've never seen a game before or since where you can pin the outcome solely on emotion. Those young Tiger pups swarmed all over McMurry and raced out to a huge lead, putting pressure on the quarterback, forcing turnovers, cashing in points. The Indians tried to rally in the second half but kept shooting themselves in the foot, and one of the biggest upsets to this day in ETBU football history was finished with a 28-14 Tiger win.
ETBU wouldn't win a game the rest of the year, finishing 2-8. But it was McMurry that seemed to reel the most from that loss, as the Indians haven't won a game in the series yet and now aren't even called the Indians anymore, by the way, thanks to that controversial ruling a few years ago concerning nicknames and mascots. Luckily for ETBU, no Tiger or other large feline has complained much to the NCAA about being offended...
It's not like the Tigers have just penciled in a win every year against McMurry, either. These games are typically close and hard-fought until the fourth quarter. Last season's game out there in Abilene went into overtime, after McMurry had jumped out to a quick two-score lead in the first half. The home team appeared ready to lock up a game-winning touchdown late in regulation when ETBU's Shea Harborth delivered the punt of his career out of the back of ETBU's end zone and past midfield. Huggie Frazier then sealed the Tigers' win in overtime by knocking away a pass in the end zone on the game's final play.
See you Saturday for another one in The Jungle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)