Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

Missouri Western will add many local kids to its roster after last Wednesday, Feb. 3, when head football coach Jerry Partridge announced the signing of 23 new recruits for the 2010 season.
Read more: Football signs 23 recruits for 2010 season

Bert and Ernie, Crockett and Tubbs, Spears and Federline, Thelma and Louise. You can now add Thomas Hodges and Michael Hill to the list of dynamic duos.
Unlike the other tandems, Hodges and Hill are similar more than they are different. Both run with an equal amount of intensity, both are about the same build, Hodges 15 pounds heavier and Hill an inch taller, and both strive to be the best running back in the conference.

Photo | Marty Ayers

The redshirt freshman running back Hill knows that the dual system is of great benefit to the team.

“The system helps because one can come in right after the other,” Hill said. “That’s hard on the defense to adjust to. If you look at past games, you can see that.”

Another thing that is hard to adjust to is going from being the man to sharing the load. Hodges, a junior, was a conference player of the year in high school, and Hill was an All-State running back for Central High School here in Saint Joseph. Some might think that the two high school studs would have problems sharing duties, or that the two would form an unhealthy rivalry. But Hodges and Hill are proving that the two can co-exist.

“We have a friendly rivalry,” Hodges said. “I mean, there is no question we want to score as much as possible and when we see the other guy score, you just think to yourself ‘alright, now I have to get one.’ We always encourage each other and try to help each other out as best we can.”

The younger Hill had to get used to the idea but has seen the benefits of splitting carries.

“Sharing the ball, at first I didn’t think that I would like it,” Hill said. “After the first game, I realized that it would help the team out a lot and we could both do our thing. Now, I don’t care at all about sharing the ball, especially with Thomas. He’s a great guy and a good running back.”

Offensive coordinator Tyler Fenwick can attest to the fact that the two do, in fact, get along and enjoy playing with each other.

“They get along really well. They cheer for each other, they want to see each other do good,” Fenwick said. “For guys that have to share the ball, they get along.”

Getting used to the fact that the two would be used sparingly might have been easy for the two. But taking their game to the level that it is now took hard work. Both backs have put in tons of time into helping the Griffons ground game move up the MIAA statistics board. Hill’s year of redshirting definitely helped him in preparing for the 2009 season.

“My redshirt year I came in and learned that the game was faster and guys were bigger,” Hill said. “They were not only big, but they could move too. I also got better as a player, because I was on the scout team offense, and we got to go against the number one defense.”

As for Hodges, he accredits his jump in productiveness to his off season regiment.

“This summer I laid off the weight lifting to lose some weight, which has helped,” Hodges said. “I tried to run a lot. You have to be able to run to play this game, and it always seems like when I look back at games I see plays where if I was just a little faster I would have been able to score.”

Griffon quarterback Drew Newhart appreciates the time his teammates put in knowing that the end result will help the team’s offensive attack.

“They allow the offense to stay balanced and keep the defense on their toes,” Newhart said. “They both are great teammates that come to practice every day.”

One day while practicing, the two made up a nickname for their selves. The H-train. H for Hill and Hodges. With the progression both runners have made this season, the two can carry the Griffons to a National Championship, and opposing players into the end zone.

Western recovers from the loss against Missouri Southern with a win against the Emporia Hornets, 29-6, Saturday.

Western win came from a combined front that included running backs Hodges and Hill, along with wide receiver Cedric Houston scored for a touchdown in the game.

Hill’s touchdown was the result defensive back Shane Simpson’s interception.

Kicker Brad Beckwith had three field goals to help Western win as well.

Emporia only score came from an interception by Emporia’s defensive back Travis Brook when Western’s quarterback Drew Newhart threw under pressure from Emporia’s defense. The Hornet would capitalize on that play and score a touchdown several plays later. They tried for a 2 point conversion but failed.  

This makes Western 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA conference.

The Missouri Western Griffon football team lost 35-34 to the Missouri Southern Lions Saturday, faltering in the fourth quarter and allowing 21 unanswered points. This is the first loss for Missouri Western against the Lions since 2004, when the Griffons lost 23-21 at Missouri Southern.

The Griffons never gave up, but they had a few glaring problems that they will need to fix before their next game.

Senior Brad Davidson thought Western came out flat but still played tough.

“We never gave up,” Davidson said. “We came out flat footed and expected an easy game, which you can’t do in the MIAA. Every team is good; this is the toughest conference. We had defensive miscues and mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, but we played hard and never gave up against a good team.”

Freshman Mike Hill agreed.