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2018 Prairie View game page
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Rice 31, Prairie View 28


HOUSTON (Aug. 26) – What’s perhaps more
remarkable about Rice’s last-gasp, comeback win over Prairie View
Saturday was not the measure of victory but rather the very fact
that the Owls were able to avoid defeat.
Down 28-19 with under 12 left in the game after scoring on their
first four possessions in the first half, the Owls just burred their
necks, bit their lips, and put an exhibition of determination that
Owl fans have not seen very much of in the past decade, using big
plays on defense to wrest control of the game and score on a
touchdown, a safety, and a last-second, 23-yard Jack Fox field goal
to provide the final 31-28 measure of victory.
The game began with a display of offensive power by the Owls which
gave heart to the most pessimistic of their supporters. But that
shortly was followed by a second- and third-quarter defensive swoon
that reminded Owl die-hards of the same old same-old deficiencies
that have befuddled Owl defenders for what seems like decades.
In the end, the team’s true grit won out out – and that’s a pretty
decent stepping-stone from which to start the Owls latest attempt at
resurgence.
The Owls quickly surged to a 13-0 lead on their first two
possessions. But it was then that the Owl staff saw fit to
begin to experiment a little. First came a two point attempt after
the second touchdown, kickoff/punterr Jack Fox’s quick pass to the
flat narrowly missing for the two pointer when his receiver touched
the sideline marker upon hauling the pass in.
Even so, Rice’s offensive effort had cranked up in a way that all
had hoped – that is, a continuation of the Stanford power running
game. The Owls lined up with a fullback and twin tight ends, and,
led by starting quarterback Sean Stankavage and hard running back
Emanuel Esukpe, the Flock rolled 86 yards downfield in 14 plays, 24
of those yards picked up on three short passing attempts from
Stankavage to Austin Walter, Austin Trammell, and Jaeger Bull.
The
rest of the effort came on the ground, though, and mostly right up
the gut, Supe, Stank, and Austin Walter sharing the duties.
And after the Rice defense three-and-outed the Panthers on their
ensuing possession, the South Main Boys set up with good field
position at the Prairie View 44. First play, the Big Supe threaded
down on the far sideline for 34 yards to the Prairie View 15,
narrowly missing paydirt when his heel touched out at the fifteen.
No matter, as two plays later, he dashed in untouched that point,
and the Owls had gotten themselves a two touchdown lead with a
minute to go in the first quarter.
Stanford-on-the-Bayou, right?
Yeah,
that was good. That was what we were hoping for, right.
Stanford-on-the-Bayou. Alles gut, das gut beginnt, ja? “I
mean from day one we've talked about pounding the rock, controlling
the clock and playing great defense,” Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren
said afterwards."There were times tonight that we were able to do
all three. We just didn't do them at the same time very often."
The Rice defense overcame a personal foul penalty on Prairie View’s
next possession, shutting down the Panthers once again. The Flock
took over possession at its 27 after the ensuing punt, and, this
time with quarterback Jackson Tyner at the helm, the Owl offense
began to move again.
But
this time, it wasn’t 3 yards and a cloud of dust. This time,
different offensive looks had taken over, with multiple wideouts,
scantily clad backfields, and a lot of motion. (No Meerkats, though,
fortunately)
The
result was spotty, though, as the Rice offense sputtered. As a case
in point, the Owls traveled 60 yards reaching the Prairie View 15
before Supe got stopped behind the line, and a third and 12 fade
route into the end zone misfired.
Jack Fox had no problem converting the
ensuing Chipshot field goal, but instead of 21-0, it became merely
16-0 at that point.
And it was at that point that the
Prairie View offense suddenly found life, quarterback Jalen Morton
employing deep routes to quickly move the ball down the field. When
he found his Zarrian Holcombe open in the end zone from 20 yards
out, PV found itself back in the game at 16-7.
Rice responded with another sputtering
drive under Jackson Tyner, reaching the Panther 18 before bogging
down. From there, Hayden Tobola’s 36 yard field goal attempt was
easily true, and the Owls went back up 19-7.
Now the (Coach) Bloom was
off the rose
But somehow the bloom was off the rose,
for the ease at which the Rice offense moved the ball in the first
quarter was missing in those two second-quarter field goal drives.
Perhaps if Stankavage had stayed in, and the Owls had continued to
pound the rock, they would’ve had themselves 28 points instead of 16
at that point, but we'l never know. We suspect they would’ve, but
we'l never know.
Moreover, the coaching staff was guilty
of less than stellar clock management as the time ran out in the
half. Rice led by only four at 19-14, but with had a ready chance to
sit on the ball and go in with a halftime lead.
But instead, the Owls opened it up,
which, of course, ersulted in a three-and-out that gave Prairie View
the ball at their own 31 with 46 seconds to play in the half.
From there, shades of yesteryear
emerged, as it took Jalen Morton three plays, including a 42 yarder
and a 20 touchdown strike to his receiver Tristan Wallace, to allow
the Panthers to take a 21-19 lead into the halftime locker room,
much to the dismay of the Owl faithful
Things got quickly worse for the Owls in the third quarter, as they
failed to move the ball on receipt of the third-quarterg kickoff.
Things next got downright awful looking when PV commenced to take
the deep Jack Fox punt starting at their own six and march 94 yards,
most of it in gobs through the air, of course, to stretch their lead
to what was beginning to seem like an insurmountable Rice deficit,
at 28-19 midway in the third.
With Stankavage back in the game, still
the Owl offense was unable to get going, exchanging short
possessions with Prairie View three times in a row as the
third-quarter clock ran down and the fourth quarter began to ebb
away.
Still, the Rice head man stuck with the fifth-year Vanderbilt grad
as the steady hand on the tiller. “He was more productive. His two
drives in the first half ended in touchdowns,” Coach Bloomgren said.
“I just went with the feel and sometimes that’s what you do.”
It was at this point that, under prior regimes, – well, at least
under the most recent prior regime – that it likely would have been
time to Save the Equipment and call it a day.
Rice defense simply took over
the game
But the Owl fans in the stands hung on, in a triumph of hope over
experience, and to their wonder and the team’s credit, at that point
an aroused Rice defense simply took over the game.
Prairie View had possession of the pigskin facing third and four at
their own 35, when Anthony Ekpe roared in to knock the ball out of
the PV quarterback’s raised arm. Dylan Silcox was able to fall on it
in the scrum, and the Owls found themselves with field position at
the Prairie View 25.
Again,
disaster nearly ensued as on second and seven, the Owls drew a
personal foul penalty which set them back nearly to midfield. But
immediately the Supe got back that 15 yards and more, scampering 23
yards to the PV 14 and a first down.
Two plays later, Austin Walter dashed in from eight yards out, and
with that, the Prairie View lead was cut to 28-26.
Once
more the Rice defense proved up to snuff on Prairie View’s next
possession as well. On second and five at the Prairie View 30, Roe
Wilkins clobbered the PV quarter, the big defensive play set up a
punting situation and on fourth and four. Providence next
intervened, as, a high snap sailed over the Prairie View punter’s
head, so that all he could do was soccer-kick it out of the end zone
for a Rice safety, which, of course, suddenly tied the game at 28.
As the rules dictate, the Owls received the ensuing free kick and
set up shop at their 38. Running the clock, the Rice offense slowly
marched down the field reaching as far as the Prairie View 39 before
bogging down. But with the score tied, and instead of risking ceding
Prairie View significant field position if a long field goal try
missed, once again, Mr. Consistent, Jack Fox, laid his punt down to
sleep at the Prairie View 2 yard line, and the Panthers once again
had their backs against the wall.
That
made if four Jack Fox punts landing inside the enemy ten yard line
in the second half alone. Can someboday say “Player of the Game”?
“The punts inside the 10 and five, like you just have to get really
lucky,” Jack said afterwards. “So I think luck was on our side
tonight. I also think Coach Lembo called a really good game special
teams wise.”
Coach Bloom had equally high words for his senior
place-kicker/punter..
“I guess the only knock I got against him ] right now as he didn't
complete his pass attempt (when trying for a two-point conversion),”
Coach Bloom deadpanned. “So, he's not a Heisman candidate, but he
sure is a Ray Guy candidate and anything else to do with his leg.”
As enthusiasm heightened, sure enough, the Rice defense held once
again, and Prairie View had to punt out, giving the Owls possession
at the Rice 44 with 4:28 left on the scoreboard clock.
Once
again, the Owl offense, confident and in control, pounded on the
ground. Austin Walters set the table with a 12 yard scamper on
second and nine. But he cramped up on the Prairie View sideline, and
had to be spelled for the first time in the game by his twin
brother, Astin.
And
whaddayaknow but that brother Astin took the handoff on the next
play, followed his blockers, broke tinto the secondary, and peeled
off an athletic 26 yard broken field run which carried as far as the
Prairie View 11.
That
one got the Owls sitting pretty, what with a minute to go in the
game and within chip-shot field goal range.
The
Owl offensive brain trust decided to milk the clock down to the very
end, and so they did, Emanuel Esukpa plying the Prairie View line
three times in a row, setting up the ball between the uprights at
the PV 4 yard line. From there as the Owls managed to get timeout
called with two seconds left, Jack Fox came in and calmly booted the
ball through the uprights as the clock expired, giving the Institute
Boys a hard earned 31-28 win against a surprisingly game Prairie
View team.
"I
think it was our guys continuing to fight," Rice head coach Mike
Bloomgren said of the Owls’ fourth-qurter heroics. "The thing that I
expressed to them at halftime is 'Guys, you don't see any panic on
my face.' We're going to trust our training."
--PTH
Game on....


HOUSTON (Aug. 22) – The Mike Bloomgren era begins amid enthusism
among diverse quarters as the Rice Owls open their 2018 season’s
dance card with the Prairie View A&M Panthers, a 6:00 p.m. kickoff
at Rice Stadium Saturday.
But along with the almost universal
exclamations of good feelings out South Main way comes an underlying
wave of anxiety, albeit a bit stifled, among the nearest and dearest
of Owl fans, who are as if whistling in the dark as kickoff looms.
Those loyalists can’t help but remember
the inaugural effort of the previous administration, when, 11 long,
painful years ago, a newly-implemented Rice coaching staff laid a
huge egg in a
16-14 loss to Nicholls State, a middling Division IAA (now,
“FCS”) entrant.
Prairie View is likewise a second-rung
program, but it’s a crew that’s recently demonstrated that it can
put points on the board, whether in victory or defeat.
Much has been made of the downright
uncompetitive nature of Rice’s 1-11 team last year. One oft-repeated
meme had it that “they were like if you just picked up 11 guys out
grilling brats and drinking beers in the parking lot, and gave ‘em
uniforms.”
The
analogy, it must be explained, related to disorganization, rather
than any lack of effort. General consensus held that, when it
came to organization, the 2017 Rice coaching staff was "the gang
that couldn't shoot straight" -- and the results on the field showed
it.
And what remains of that 2017 team? Well,
first bear in mind that the 2017 roster lacked nine 2016 starters on
both sides of the ball. And the 2017 squad? It featured 23 seniors.
The Media Day
two-deep depth charts feature one senior on offense, six on
defense.
Gone is an all-senior offensive line
featuring an all-conference center and a graduating senior with
remaining eligibility who’ll be
playing this season for a lil ol’ Burnt Orange outfit up the
road a piece.
Rice’s most powerful returning running
back? Sam Stewart, a medical casualty. Its best defensive back?
Starting for Colorado State this season as a graduate transfer.
We get it. They’re green – even moreso
than they could’a been. But these returning guys haven’t been out in
the parking lot roasting brats all spring and August.
In fact, bratwurst is completely off the
training table menu for this new breed of Owl. Too much saturated
fat.
Even the casual observer could recognize
a much crisper, more disciplined, more focused approach to the game
as Mike Bloomgren’s Owls went through their repetitions in the
spring. And that tempo has quickened during August drills, the
players say.
“I fully expect that we’re going to go
out there and play really physical, really aggressive, really fast –
but also really disciplined at the same time,” senior special-teams
guru Jack Fox told scribes on Tuesday.
Senior defensive lineman and team
co-captain Zach Abercrumbia elaborated on the theme.
“When you go through the process that
we’ve been through, from spring, to summer workouts, to fall camp,
you have to adjust to the new culture that we’re creating in
‘Intellectual Brutality’,” Zach said. “And that’s something we’ve
lived, day in and day out, ever since Coach Bloom has arrived on
campus.”
First-year head coach Bloomgren, formerly
number one assistant at Stanford, outlines what he terms a
“predatory” approach to the game.
“An Owl is a predator,” he told press
Monday. “Anytime we impose our will in practice on another man,
we're going to show that in here as a team and let them see that
someone is doing what we want them to do in the manner in which we
ask. I guess I want to see maximum effort. I want to see us play in
an efficient and disciplined way and I want to see some of those
predators.”
Speaking of predators, those who remember
couldn’t help but note some similarities between the present
situation and that presented to then-rookie coach Todd Graham when
he took over the Rice program in 2006.
His predecessor, Ken Hatfield, had
manfully guided the program through the demise of the Southwest
Conference, and had won his share of games, while never breaking
through to the next level. His 2005 team, however, was just tired;
their schemes long sniffed out by opposing coaches, and the result
was a non-competitive 1-11 record. Hmm, now that does sound
familiar.
That transition, as the present one,
involved a rather major change in style of play – from Ken
Hatfield’s wishbone to a wide-open, pro-style offensive set. This
time around, the change is more in the way of difference in
philosophy than it is regarding different X’s and O’s.
The previous adminstration’s approach
could hardly be labeled “Intellectual.” Nor could the term
“Brutality” particularly be associated with it. “Move the rock, run
the clock,” was occasionally attempted in theory, but never with any
significant measure of success.
The 2006 team had a two-headed
quarterback going into the season opener, as well. Both Chase
Clement and Joel Armstrong were both relatively highly regarded, but
neither had much in the way of experience – or point production –
spilling over from the prior year.
On paper, the 2006 team certainly was no
more talented than the previous year’s, and less experienced. But
they had something extra. It was kind of like....well, maybe it
could be termed something like...”Intellectual Brutality.” Yeah,
that’s it.
Pop, drive, intensity. The feeling that
it could be done.
The
one-point
season-opening loss to UH was pretty much attributable to a
twisted ankle suffered by starting Owl quarterback Chase Clement
after the Flock had piled up a two-TD lead. But when Chase suddenly
found the atmosphere at West Point to his liking a couple of weeks
later, his 48-point
onslaught set the Owls on course to a seven-win season and their
first bowl berth in 45 years.
Granted, the Owls pulled off some
eleventh-hour heroics, got some good bounces of the ball, and won
some close games along the way. But that’s just it. They did what it
took to win.
Is such a
fall-into-a-pile-of-dung-and-come-out-smelling-like-a-rose outcome a
result that might be expected from a Mike Bloomgren-coached team?
Perhaps not immediately, the impression
is left – but eventually, yes indeed.
“The reality is that we're building
something really cool here,” Coach Bloomgren insists. “I can't wait
to see all their hard work in camp show up on that field under the
lights. It's something they've earned; an opportunity to go perform.
That's what I can't wait to see. I'm not going to play a single
play. It's all about them and I can't wait to watch them."
And don’t worry about his Owls taking
their Saturday opponent lightly, Coach Bloom added.
"For us, it's the ultimate ‘We're going
to respect all and fear none.' We're going to play our game. It's
going to be about us and I'm going to say that to them 12 more times
after this game.
“It's about us and what we do together
and how we perform,” he continued. “It's not going to be about the
opponent. Now, I can tell you from growing up in Tallahassee,
Florida and seeing the (Florida A&M) Rattlers and that band and the
hype around it, it's going to be a good game day atmosphere. You can
bet on that."
–PTH
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