The Griffon News

Despite the loss of starting quarterback Michael Burton in the beginning of the second quarter, the Griffons along with replacement quarterback Matt Landess stepped up to the challenge with a 27-14 victory over St. Cloud State.

The first 2006 home football game kicked off last Saturday evening, and the Griffon men got off to a late start. The Huskies were able to fire off a fourth down touchdown in the early stages of the first quarter. St. Cloud stepped it up again by intercepting a Western pass to run it back for a touchdown setting the score at 14-0.

The Griffons fought back with a 62-yard drive ending when Burton connected a pass to red-shirted freshman Andrew Mead for his first career touchdown. The point after was blocked which set the score 14-6. Mead was very pleased with his performance and glad that the play came together.

“It was amazing,” Mead said. “Seeing the ref throw his arms up and say touchdown, there’s nothing better in my life.”

Senior linebacker Siraaj Mohammad took charge of the defense when he blocked a punt by the Huskies in order for sophomore Zach Sharp to run it in for a touchdown. Burton was able to run the ball in for a two-point conversion and brought the score to 14 - 14. Burton was injured during the play, but continued on in the game.

When the Griffs took the field for the next offensive drive, Burton made it to the fourth play before his injury took him out of the game. With Burton out for the rest of the game that meant backup quarterback junior Matt Landess had to lead the team.

Although getting off to a shaky start, Landess proved he had all of the ingredients to be a starting quarterback by passing 13-of-23 for 150 yards, and completing two touchdown passes to sophomore Anthony Anderson to secure the win and record of 2-0.

Senior running back Jeremiah White contributed to Western’s offense domination by rushing for 100 yards on 21 carries. Senior wide receiver Jarrett Brooks set the bar for receiving passes with 95 yards on six caught passes.

Landess was not bothered all that much about the pressure that was put on his shoulders, but more at the speed of the game. He said after he got in there and fell into sync with the other players things slowed down a bit. Despite a few errors, Landess is prepared to start the next game if Burton is not able to play because of his shoulder injury.

“I feel good,” Landess said. “Obviously I want to play.”

Burton injured his non-throwing shoulder and elbow during the conversion and series afterward. X-rays and therapy are scheduled sometime this week, but it is unknown exactly what the next step will be. Burton as well as head coach Jerry Partridge feel that Landess will start at the next game.

Partridge feels that the team has different aspects of their game that they need to improve upon in order to dominate throughout each series. One area that needs work is the deficit the Griffs found themselves in through the first stages of the game as well as turnovers.

“If we’re behind that doesn’t mean we’re out of it,” Partridge said.

Although there were some weaknesses, Partridge feels that there are positive aspects with the special teams, defense and a large part of the offense. The offense was able to bring in a total of 350 yards, with 230 in the air and 150 on the ground. A huge part of the offensive power was Landess coming into the game as well as other players showing what they were made out of.

“Offensively Matt Landess stepped up big,” Partridge said. “I was pleased with Matt’s throwing; he gave us some big throws.”

The Western men agree with Partridge that Landess did a great job under the circumstances.

The Western defenders were on top of their game by holding the Huskies to only 267 yards out of 67 plays. The Griffs were able to intercept two passes in order to compensate for the interception touchdown in the first quarter. Another fighting aspect was that senior middle linebacker John Mathew Fisher set the record for tackles by bringing down 11 Huskies.

The Western men have gone two games with a deficit of scores. The Griffons played Central Oklahoma on Aug. 31, and eventually pulled in a 32-29 win. The team will prepare for their next home game against Pittsburg State University on Sept. 16, at 6 p.m.

View video of the win against the Huskies: Multimedia