Saturday, September 26, 2009

Lessons Learned: ACU vs. ENMU

  • ACU's rushing attack is formidable. Reggie Brown (235 yards) and Daryl Richardson (143) combined for nearly 400 yards and three TDs. They became the first pair of Wildcat backs to top 100 yards in the same game since Chancy Campbell (163 yards) and Taber Minner (114) did it in a 45-20 win over Northeastern State on Oct. 7, 2006. Brown is only the 12th ACU back to top 200 yards in a game, and his performance tonight is the sixth-best in school history.
  • Richardson joins Bernard Scott as the first pair of brothers to rush for more than 100 yards in a game as a Wildcat. Scott is a rookie RB for the Cincinnati Bengals after starring for ACU the past two seasons.
  • ACU's defense held the Greyhounds to half of their per-game average in total offense, and -1 yards of rushing, while almost doubling ENMU in time of possession. 
  • Justin Johnson's determined kickoff return of 100 yards in the third quarter lit a fire under the Wildcats. His teammate signaled him to take a knee in the end zone, but he waved him off and set sail on a beauty of a play, only the third 100-yard kickoff return in ACU history. Between Johnson and dynamic punt returner Kendrick Johnson, opponents have got to start to losing sleep about kicking to the Wildcats. Johnson, in particular, is a threat to score on most punts he doesn't fair-catch or that sail out of bounds so he can't reach them. His elusiveness is beginning to be reminiscent of former ACU star Danieal Manning in the open field.
  • The Wildcats may have found themselves a kicker in redshirt freshman Ryan Owens, who had three field goals (31, 23 and 27 yards) and five PATs.
  • ENMU's fine QB, J.J. Harp, was sacked four times by the magnificent Wildcat defense, and barely escaped on a half-dozen other plays where he had to throw the ball out of bounds. 
  • If ACU was tired of chasing Harp around by the fourth quarter, it didn't show. The Wildcats outscored the Greyhounds 21-3 in the final frame. 
  • A lackluster first half of mostly misfiring offenses turned into a track meet in the second half. Wildcat WR Edmund Gates showed his separation speed on a 38-yard TD catch in the third quarter.
  • Attendance for the game in Shotwell Stadium: 8,542.
  • Students doing the Macarena at halftime with Willie the Wildcat and the Big Purple Band: too many to count.

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