Western looks for second straight bowl win

By Gregor Avey

The Missouri Western football team will look to capture their second straight Mineral Water Bowl victory, as they prepare to face the Augustana Vikings.

The Mineral Water Bowl is not unfamiliar territory for the Griffons, this will be the sixth time Missouri Western will be in the bowl game, which is the most by any team in the history of the bowl. They currently are 4-1 all-time in the bowl game, with their only loss coming in 2000, in triple overtime to Winona State by the score of 43-41.

The Augustana Vikings’ (7-5) strong point to their team this season has been their rushing attack. The Vikings have rushed for 2100 yards this season and are led by sophomore Joe Clark, who was fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with 992 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Western’s head coach Jerry Partridge believes his team has the ability to stop the Vikings rushing attack.

“Our defensive line has been strong all season and if our linebackers fill the gaps, we could slow their rushing attack down,” Partridge said.

Defensively the Vikings have been solid all season. They have held their opponents under 10 points four different times this season. They are led by junior linebacker Andrew Keel, who has 99 tackles on the season. They are also led by senior defensive back Jason Donnelly, who has four interceptions on the season.

The Griffons come into this game being led on offense by quarterback Drew Newhart. Newhart has thrown for 2681 yards on the season with 18 touchdowns. The Griffons also have big play wide receiver Cedric Houston. Houston led the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association in receiving yardage averaging 21.7 yards per catch. On the defensive side of the ball the Griffons are led by standout defensive ends Soane Etu and Brad Davidson. Davidson led the MIAA in tackles for loss with 12.5 and both led the conference in sacks with 6.5.

Weather is going to be a factor in this game. The high for the game is only supposed to be 40 degrees. Newhart believes it will come down to which team can execute better in the cold conditions.

“This game is going to come down to who can establish the running game and the passing attack in the cold weather,” Newhart said.

Missouri Western comes into this game on a roll. After dropping four of their first five games they are currently riding a four game winning streak, while the Vikings come into the game dropping two of their last four games. Cornerback Jarrett Morris believes the Griffons need to keep the momentum rolling.
“We just need to keep doing what we have been doing,” Morris said. “If we keep playing the way we have the last few weeks, we have a great chance of winning.”
The coaching match-up is also quite appealing in this contest. On one hand you have coach Partridge, who has 86 career victories and this is his fifth Mineral Water Bowl appearance. Brad Salem is in his fourth season with the Vikings and he has 22 career victories. This will be his first coaching appearance in the Mineral Water Bowl. Salem comes from a coaching family. His father, Joe Salem was the head coach of Minnesota University from 1979 to 1983. Both of his brothers are also coaches. His twin brother Brent is an offensive coordinator for O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, S.D. and his older brother Tim is the offensive coordinator at the University of Central Florida.

The Mineral Water Bowl began in 1948 as a high school game; the game then featured small college football teams from 1954 to 1975. From 1992 to 1999 it was a junior college bowl game and since 2000 the game has featured teams from the MIAA and NSIC conferences. The MIAA holds a 7-1 advantage over the NSIC and the MIAA is currently on a seven game winning streak. The game has featured many great athletes including: former Kansas State standout Michael Bishop, former Kansas City Chiefs Kendrell Bell and Eric Downing and current Indianapolis Colt and former Missouri Western Griffon Gijon Robinson.
The Mineral Water Bowl will be played Sat. Dec. 6 at 1:00 p.m. in Excelsior Springs, MO.