Eagles still searching for answers

September 11

Faulkner stepped onto the court last night eager to enter the win column. The 0-6 Eagles hosted Southern States Athletic Conference rival Southern Wesleyan, a team that entered the event at only 1-5. Both teams were looking for a spark in their substandard starts this year and adding a victory in the league play would only sweeten the sensation. The contest extended to a fifth set where the visitors were finally able to extinguish the Eagles’ fire. The Lady Warriors rallied late in the fifth set to take the match 25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13.

The Eagles opened game one somewhat flat and with little enthusiasm. The Lady Warriors exploded to a seven-point lead before the home team gained its composure and made a significant surge on offense. The boost came a little late, but the Eagles were able to battle back to within five.

Set two revealed a completely different Faulkner team as they pummeled their rather unsuspecting opponent. Sets three and four were even exchanges with the Eagles climbing to the peak of their intensity late in fourth set.

That vigor carried over into the final face-off as Faulkner rapidly struck four consecutive blows forcing a Southern Wesleyan timeout. When play resumed the Eagles extended their lead to 8-2 and looked to have the event all but sealed. Then, it happened.

Faulkner faltered through a string of points and the margin quickly closed as the Eagles held on to a single point lead. The fire and euphoria of a team that could not be stopped vanished and the Eagles looked as if playing not to lose instead of to win.

A handful of defensive miscues and hitting errors catapulted the Lady Warriors into a 14-11 lead and with match point on the line, things looked bleak.

In a last minute effort to force a turnaround, the Eagles put two solid points on the board. Setter Shaleen Knight found Jessika Robinson on the outside for a fierce blast down the line and immediately followed with a set to Neysa Hernandez who smashed a kill into a wavering defender.

The late thrust was not enough to pull the Eagles out of their rut, however, and Southern Wesleyan struck one last time to solidify the victory.

Neysa Herandez led the offense for Faulkner with 20 kills hitting .244. Defensively she added nine digs and four total blocks.

Kimber Holt followed with 14 kills hitting an impressive .429 and added a solo block and a dig. LaTanya Daniels had 10 kills and had three digs and a block assist. Jessika Robinson had 8 kills with five total blocks and three digs. Smantha Talley had seven kills four digs and a block assist.

Setter Shaleen Knight had a standout game as well with 49 assits, 18 digs and a solo block. Libero Abbie Melvin had 24 digs.

So, what remains for the Eagles? How does a team with so much fire and talent cool off so quickly? The answer to both questions will rest in their ability to increase confidence and mental toughness.

“We have a tremendous amount of talent on this team,” said head coach Tori Bartels with a frustrated tone. “They just have to recognize how good they really are and play up to their potential. We have faced a tough schedule so far, but it’s not going to get any easier. Once these girls realize they can hang with and defeat any of the teams we will see this season, they’re going to be difficult to deal with.”

The Eagles lost only one starter from last year and are returning nine players that have worked together on the floor. “We’ve had exceptional players throughout my time here, but we’ve never had this kind of overall potential and we’ve never had a five-player senior class,” Bartels added. “The leadership is there, the talent is more than there, right now, it’s a matter of confidence and finishing a match.”

Witnesses in the stands and players on the opposite side of the net can testify to the fact that when the Eagles play to win, when they are aggressive and on the attack, they are a difficult force to handle. But when they play conservatively and with hesitation, they become the easiest of targets. Faulkner’s weapons at the net are without parallel in the conference – when they’re activated – and their defense can be as scrappy as they come – when motivated.

The final piece of the puzzle then, it seems, is not missing, it’s simply not in place. Play with the intensity, passion and fire you did late in yesterday’s battle. Play to win. Know you’ll make mistakes, but that you can fight through them. Know that you are a team and that it will take all of you. The piece of the puzzle is in your hand. It’s time to set it in place.

The Eagles will host a tri-match with Columbia College and the University of Mobile on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The Eagles will take on Columbia in an SSAC contest at 1 p.m. followed by a match with Mobile at 5 p.m. Columbia and Mobile will play in the 3 p.m. time slot.

Faulkner holds off Webber International in opener

August 29

LAKE WALES, Fla. – Will all-conference linebacker Sean Thom and seven other starters having succumbed to cramps and the oppressive heat, the Faulkner defense needed a shot in the arm. And it came from defensive backs Anthony Haywood and Quinton Prothro, who both forced fumbles in the closing minutes as the Eagles escaped with a heart-stopping 17-16 victory over Webber International here at Legion Field Saturday afternoon.

The win made Gregg Baker’s debut as a collegiate head football coach a successful one, with the depleted Faulkner team dodging flying bullets the entire fourth quarter. Haywood and Prothro’s heroics, combined with a missed 47-yard Warrior field goal with 2:21 left, resulted in a water cooler shower for Baker – one he welcomed with a gigantic smile.

“I just can’t describe what these young men battled through today and what this day will always mean to me and my family,” said Baker, who clutched the game ball as if he’d never let it go. “In the fourth quarter we had so many guys out, and desperately needed to make plays and we did it. I’ve coached football for a long time, and I’ve never been more proud of a group of guys than I am right now.”

It was an emotional afternoon for the entire Faulkner team, which had dedicated the season to fallen teammates Teirson Hollis and Ryne Wilhite, who died in a car accident last April. The team wore a memorial sticker on their helmets, and players and coaches alike payed tribute to the pair as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“We played with 13 today against their 11, there’s no question about that,” an emotional Baker said. “This team became closer on the heels of that tragedy, and how we all stuck together today was a direct result of that. It was just an amazing day.”

Clinging to the one-point lead with less five minutes to play, Prothro stripped Webber’s Rupert Webley of the football at the Eagles’ 12 and Harrison Gore recovered for Faulkner. Unable to make a first down and forced to punt, Jared Corder’s kick was partially blocked and the Warriors had it back at the Faulkner 26 with 3:50 left. The short-handed Eagle defenders rose to the occasion yet again, with Emmanuel Grier knocking tailback Iziah Wyche down for a 4-yard loss on third-and-10. Webber’s Mason Prater then hooked a 47-yard field goal try wide left, and the Eagles had it back.

The Webber defense provided one more opportunity, stuffing the Eagles on three downs forcing another punt with 42 seconds on the clock. This time Corder got it away, with the Warriors’ Andre Edwards catching the punt at the Webber 45. Haywood quickly forced the ball free, and recovered it himself to send the Faulkner sideline into a frenzy. Freshman quarterback Joe Scott, who scored the Eagles’ only offensive touchdown on a 30-yard, first-half run, took a knee to end it.

“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” said Scott, who just a week ago was the Eagles’ third team quarterback but was thrust into duty when Trey Martin and T. J. Jacobs were unable to play. “To be able to have our team win my first college game is just unbelievable. We’re just all so happy for coach Baker.”

Webber drove 77 yards midway through the first quarter to take the lead. A 60-yard pass from Torrence Moise to Edwards was the drive’s big play, setting up Webley’s 5-yard scamper into the end zone for the touchdown. The extra point was missed, but the Warriors led 6-0 with 5:17 left in the opening quarter.

Faulkner special teams evened the score late in the quarter, when Haywood blocked a Webber punt and Prothro scooped it up and sprinted 15 yards to the end zone for an Eagles’ touchdown. A bad snap resulted in a missed extra point, leaving the game tied at 6.

The Eagles marched 63 yards early in the second quarter to grab the lead. Scott, who completed 11 of 26 passes for 95 yards on the afternoon, found Jerell Williams and Lincoln Taylor on key short passes that kept the drive alive, setting up Scott’s scamper. On third-and-2 from the Warrior 30, the Warner Robbins, Ga., product cut back on a quarterback keeper and outran the Webber defenders to the corner of the end zone. Scott then found A.J. Yelder in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion, and the Eagles’ led 14-6 with 7:16 to play in the half.

Prater’s 33-yard field goal at 3:08 mark sent the teams to halftime with Faulkner on top 14-9.

Faulkner missed a great opportunity to take control of the game in the opening minutes of the third quarter when, after Q. Braswell returned the second half kickoff 80 yards to the Webber 5, the offense could not punch it in, having to settle for Corder’s 23-yard field goal that pushed the lead to 17-9.

The Warriors drew closer on their ensuing possession, marching 65 yards for a touchdown. The score came when Moise found Edwards, who caught nine passes for 150 yards, from 23 yards out with 10:26 left in the third quarter. Webber head coach Kelly Scott opted to kick the extra point instead of going for two, cutting the Faulkner lead to one, an advantage the gutsy Eagle defense refused to give up.

The Eagles managed only 164 yards on 48 offensive plays, while the Warriors amassed 313 yards on 71 plays. The two late turnovers, however, allowed Baker to celebrate.

“We’ve got a lot of getting better to do,” Baker said. “We’ll get back to work immediately to try and correct our mistakes. We’ll need to be much better when we play Huntingdon. I can promise you that.”

Faulkner travels cross-town to face the Hawks on Sept. 12 in the third annual Capital City Showdown.

Eagles claim huge win in opener

August 27

Faulkner opened its season with Tennessee Temple at home this evening in miserable conditions. The athletes faced a soggy setting as the uncooperative weather offered a non-stop downpour throughout the event. The somber conditions could do little to dampen the Eagles’ spirits however, as they cruised to a 13-0 blowout.

“It was great to get this win in,” said head coach Brett Mitchell. “We really wanted to start the season off on a positive note. We’ve been focusing a lot on getting in position and then when we have possession in the final third, shooting the ball. We’ve been telling them to ‘put it on frame’ and ‘make it dangerous’ and that’s what they did today.”

Mitchell admits that Temple in a rebuilding year. The Crusaders are down in numbers and acquired a new coach over the summer. But the personnel shift doesn’t detract from the aggressive attack the Eagles put forth on the field.

The home team took 44 total shots with 25 on goal. Siaka Kone, a sophomore forward from Mali, led the onslaught with four goals. Freshman forward Rodrigo Pontes of Brazil knocked home thee goals and Sidaly Toure, a sophomore midfielder also from Mali, struck for a pair.

Tyler Umstead, Nels Midgarden, Roan Brown and Taona Kaulem each had a score as well.

The game marked quite a few firsts for the men’s program. It was the first game at their new Dalraida soccer complex, a site that Mitchell has been painstakingly renovating and nurturing for nearly a year and a half now. It was also the first time in program history that the Eagles started the season with a win and the 13-0 thrashing marked the Eagles’ largest margin of victory to date.

The Eagles will look to build on today’s win as they travel north to take on NCAA Div. II Montevallo tomorrow evening.

“They’re a top notch team with top notch facilities and they’re going to challenge us.” Mitchell said. “They might be a little bit better club than us, but we’re going to go there and learn from that experience and hopefully take a little momentum from today into that game.”

Mitchell liked what he saw on the field today, but confessed that there is always room for improvement. “There are some things that we still need to work on, some things that we need to do better, and I believe facing a stronger opponent like we will tomorrow will bring that out and let us look at it further.”

Munashe Boriwondo and Taona Kaulem are both transfers to Faulkner from Montevallo this year.

The Montevallo game is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow evening.