August 31, 2003
Tigers no match for Demons in Bell's debut
By Mark Alexander
malexander@clarionledger.com
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? At halftime here Saturday night, a Tennessee Titans scout turned to someone in the press box and said: "They better hurry up and show me something."
Less than five minutes into the second half ? after viewing Jackson State's offense stuffed yet again ? he gathered his stuff and left.
It was that kind of evening for Robert Kent and Co., who surprisingly showed very little during JSU's 23-7 loss to Northwestern (La.) State in first-year coach James Bell's debut.
The Tigers' new-look offense managed just 165 yards on 60 plays ? an average of 2.8 yards per play ? and nine first downs against the Demons' Purple Swarm defense featuring eight new starters.
This is the same JSU offense that ranked first nationally in total offense (485.5 yards per game), second in passing offense (319.9 yards per game) and averaged 30 points per game last season.
"It was obvious the offense wasn't clicking tonight," said Kent, who completed 13 of 31 passes for 135 yards. "We didn't do what we needed to do to score touchdowns."
JSU had 27 yards through one quarter, 42 at halftime, and 80 at the end of the third quarter. It didn't cross midfield until midway through the fourth quarter. The Tigers only points came on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kent to Tim Manning with 10 seconds remaining.
How bad was it? JSU actually set a Turpin Stadium record for punting yardage by an opponent (365 yards).
"We just couldn't get anything going on offense," JSU receiver Chris Jones said. "We sputtered all night. The defense played pretty good, but we didn't help them out.
"We're not used to being down like that, especially having zero on the board. Hopefully, we can regroup before next week."
The scout, in attendance mainly to look at Kent and Manning, wasn't the only one who left here disappointed. So did the 3,000-4,000 JSU fans among the 12,320 in attendance, many of whom voiced their displeasure at the new offensive philosophy brought aboard by Bell.
After watching JSU throw the ball early and often out of four and five receiver sets the past several years, they saw a much more conventional offense Saturday. The Tigers ran the ball 26 times netting 20 yards as the blitzing Demons' consistently poured through JSU's young offensive line.
"It has nothing to do with the play calling or the scheme," Bell said. "It's all about execution, and we didn't execute. We've got to learn how to block first. When we're able to do that, we'll be able to take the next step. They were running through our offensive line like water tonight."
Northwestern, ranked No. 23 in The Sports Network Division I-AA poll, took advantage of very favorable field position early on to take a 6-0 lead on a pair of field goals by Tommy Hebert.
The Demons then went ahead 13-0 midway through the second quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run by Derrick Johnese, who finished with a game-high 112 yards.
Johnese, an All-Southland Conference pick, tacked on a 3-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to make it 20-0.
JSU started its first three possessions on its own 12-yard line twice and its own 14. Northwestern State, meanwhile, started its first three possessions at midfield, the JSU 36 and the JSU 31.
If not for the defense, which performed fairly admirably all things considered, the outcome would've been much worse.
"I'm very surprised we were able to shut them down the way we did," Northwestern State coach Scott Stoker said. "They've got some great players. You can tell they are still trying to learn a new offense, and sometimes that takes time."
That was Bell's message afterwards.
"This is just one game, it means nothing," Bell said. "A lot of things went wrong, but Northwestern State has a very good team. We've got 11 more games to go. We'll continue to work and get better."
Tigers no match for Demons in Bell's debut
By Mark Alexander
malexander@clarionledger.com
NATCHITOCHES, La. ? At halftime here Saturday night, a Tennessee Titans scout turned to someone in the press box and said: "They better hurry up and show me something."
Less than five minutes into the second half ? after viewing Jackson State's offense stuffed yet again ? he gathered his stuff and left.
It was that kind of evening for Robert Kent and Co., who surprisingly showed very little during JSU's 23-7 loss to Northwestern (La.) State in first-year coach James Bell's debut.
The Tigers' new-look offense managed just 165 yards on 60 plays ? an average of 2.8 yards per play ? and nine first downs against the Demons' Purple Swarm defense featuring eight new starters.
This is the same JSU offense that ranked first nationally in total offense (485.5 yards per game), second in passing offense (319.9 yards per game) and averaged 30 points per game last season.
"It was obvious the offense wasn't clicking tonight," said Kent, who completed 13 of 31 passes for 135 yards. "We didn't do what we needed to do to score touchdowns."
JSU had 27 yards through one quarter, 42 at halftime, and 80 at the end of the third quarter. It didn't cross midfield until midway through the fourth quarter. The Tigers only points came on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kent to Tim Manning with 10 seconds remaining.
How bad was it? JSU actually set a Turpin Stadium record for punting yardage by an opponent (365 yards).
"We just couldn't get anything going on offense," JSU receiver Chris Jones said. "We sputtered all night. The defense played pretty good, but we didn't help them out.
"We're not used to being down like that, especially having zero on the board. Hopefully, we can regroup before next week."
The scout, in attendance mainly to look at Kent and Manning, wasn't the only one who left here disappointed. So did the 3,000-4,000 JSU fans among the 12,320 in attendance, many of whom voiced their displeasure at the new offensive philosophy brought aboard by Bell.
After watching JSU throw the ball early and often out of four and five receiver sets the past several years, they saw a much more conventional offense Saturday. The Tigers ran the ball 26 times netting 20 yards as the blitzing Demons' consistently poured through JSU's young offensive line.
"It has nothing to do with the play calling or the scheme," Bell said. "It's all about execution, and we didn't execute. We've got to learn how to block first. When we're able to do that, we'll be able to take the next step. They were running through our offensive line like water tonight."
Northwestern, ranked No. 23 in The Sports Network Division I-AA poll, took advantage of very favorable field position early on to take a 6-0 lead on a pair of field goals by Tommy Hebert.
The Demons then went ahead 13-0 midway through the second quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run by Derrick Johnese, who finished with a game-high 112 yards.
Johnese, an All-Southland Conference pick, tacked on a 3-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to make it 20-0.
JSU started its first three possessions on its own 12-yard line twice and its own 14. Northwestern State, meanwhile, started its first three possessions at midfield, the JSU 36 and the JSU 31.
If not for the defense, which performed fairly admirably all things considered, the outcome would've been much worse.
"I'm very surprised we were able to shut them down the way we did," Northwestern State coach Scott Stoker said. "They've got some great players. You can tell they are still trying to learn a new offense, and sometimes that takes time."
That was Bell's message afterwards.
"This is just one game, it means nothing," Bell said. "A lot of things went wrong, but Northwestern State has a very good team. We've got 11 more games to go. We'll continue to work and get better."
