Bulls beat Kansas

Saturday's game couldn't have gone any better for the Bulls.

When the Bulls beat Kansas State University on Saturday 33-7 to kick off their league match play, they made it count as much as they could.

Whenever there is a league game, teams can gain points in the standings. Because the Bulls won by more than 10 points and scored more than four tries, they were awarded five points - the maximum for a single match. To top it off, Kansas State came away with no points, helping the Bulls widen the gap in the standings.

Head coach Bill Sexton said the game puts the team in a good position.

"As far as the league goes, this game creates some separation in the standings," he said. "It really was the ideal situation for us."

For the second week in a row, sophomore Mike Fitzgerald showed excellent offensive work, scoring two tries for the Bulls. This weekend's tries brought Fitzgerald to a two-week total of five tries.

Another player who had a solid offensive showing was freshman Xavier Jackson. After the normal starter, freshman Andy Vien, had to leave the game two weeks ago against Washington University with a leg injury, Jackson stepped up to take his spot. The Kansas State's game was Jackson's first start and he played very well, collecting two tries.

Sexton said he was very impressed with Jackson.

"That's a really good way to cement down a position for yourself," Sexton said.

Jackson said he plans to keep up his intensity, especially now that he is a starter.

"I fought hard to get to the spot I am at now," Jackson said. "If I relax, I could get injured or something could happen to me or somebody could take my spot."

The Bulls' defense also made a big stand against Kansas State, Sexton said.

"Our execution needs a little bit of work, but we have had some good, opportunistic plays that we took advantage of," he said.

One blow to the Bulls was the loss of freshman Phil Powell, who fractured his radius, ending his season.

Vien's injury, coupled with Powell's, is the second major injury for the Bulls' week. Sexton said the injuries alter the dynamics of the team.

"In terms of how we move bodies around and how we shuffle the lineup, it is certainly going to play a factor," Sexton said. "These are both talented young men, both starters, so we need to figure out how to cover those positions."

Looking forward to next weekend's match against Kansas University, Sexton said he looks for a bit more of a challenge.

"[Kansas] always has got a number of good solid athletes," Sexton said. "We've had our share of victories over them, but I am expecting that this is going to be a good solid match."

Strength and organization of the defensive patterns will be focus points for the Bulls this week.

"We're still a little too discombobulated, so we need to work a little bit more on our timing and our field awareness," Sexton said.

The women had a different outcome from the men. The Bullets dropped a match against the Des Moines (Iowa) women's club 36-10.

Player-coach senior Natalie Gerhart said the main reason they lost was a lack of sticking tackles.

"We were intimidated by them and their experience and their size, and so we just didn't hit those tackles like we could have," Gerhart said. "Our advantage was our youth, and we could have used that more against them than we did."

One bright point for the team was freshman Kelsey McFarland, who used her speed to score the first points of the game.

Gerhart said she isn't concerned about how the loss will affect the team's morale.

"Every season, we just go into it with just the goal of having a good time and learning the game," Gerhart said. "Winning is a nice side to that."

Also in on the scoring was junior co-coach Alison Hays, who came in with a try for the Bullets late in the game.

The Bullets have the next two weeks off to prepare for their alumni match, when past players come and team up against the current Bullets. Their next match will be the Ozark Tournament on Nov. 12 in Arkansas.