Dealing with adversity
Missouri State visits Western Illinois this Saturday for Homecoming weekend
Bill Welt
Issue date: 10/16/09 Section: Sports
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The Leathernecks have endured a four-game losing-streak and will have to continue the season without junior quarterback Matt Barr.
X-rays revealed that Barr has a chipped bone in his left thumb following the 'Necks' home loss to Southern Illinois. He underwent surgery earlier this Monday and will most likely sit out the remainder of the season.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Wil Lunt made his first career start last weekend at Youngstown State. Lunt struggled against the Penguins, going 2-of-7 for 13 yards in the first half. He ended the night going 9-for-19 for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Western's 31-21 loss to Youngstown State.
"Wil matured a lot more during the course of that game," said head coach Mark Hendrickson. "Of course it was his first start of his career and he came through in the second half and threw some pretty good balls."
Lunt's second half performance helped Western manage a late rally, scoring 21 unanswered points but fell short after he threw an interception late in the fourth quarter.
Hendrickson will rely more on the 'Necks' rushing game that picked up 168 yards against the Penguins. Senior running back Dre Gibbs led the attack with 155 yards on 27 carries.
"There's no question Dre is going to be relied on a little bit heavier than before," Hendrickson said. "Yet, we're going to have to remain balanced. We know we can't give it to him (Gibbs) on every snap and win a game. Dre is still going to need to be the workhorse for every game and yet, remain balanced as we can be."
The defense managed to keep Youngstown State scoreless in the second half but gave up a 31-0 deficit by halftime.
"Unfortunately, I'd say there's no explanation whatsoever," Hendrickson said about the defense's first half struggles this season. "We talked about it of course at length. We've changed things up this week in practice. We have taken a different approach to our practices, so that both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively, we'll be more prepared for the start of the game."
Missouri State also managed a second half comeback last weekend and came up short 24-17 at home against No. 19 South Dakota State.
The Bears managed to drive to the Jackrabbits' six-yard line with 38 seconds left in the game, but junior quarterback Cody Kirby was picked off in the end zone to seal the Jackrabbits' victory.
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