’Dogs lose Family Day game

The contrasting reactions of Gregg Nesbitt and DeMarco Cosby said it all.

Nesbitt, Truman's football head coach, sat slouched in a chair in the Kennels as he answered reporters' questions last Saturday night at Stokes Stadium.

Meanwhile, Cosby, the No. 16 University of Central Missouri's preseason All-American tight end, was all smiles as he crossed the endzone and walked off the field.

Minutes earlier the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-3 MIAA) lost 38-14 to ruin Nesbitt's, and three other Truman coaches, first game against their former team.

"Tonight, we wanted to get after them," said Nesbitt, the former co-defensive coordinator at UCM. "I'm very disappointed. We're getting better - the score is not indicating it."

Cosby, who had 56 yards receiving and two touchdowns, exuded a different response.

"Obviously, being the relationship we had, [it] was kind of hard seeing him lose," Cosby said. "What else can you say? I feel like we played pretty well and we just put on the gloves. In a way I feel happy for me, but sad for him."

The loss marked the Bulldog's fourth straight Family Day-game defeat, in front of a crowd of more than 4,000.

Truman held Central (5-1, 4-0 MIAA) to less than its season average in total yards and points.  Also, Central quarterback Eric Czerniewski ended about 50 yards short of setting the all-time MIAA record, which was 267 on the night.

"We got to their quarterback - that's always important," senior defensive tackle Ryan Ploesser said. "We kind of forced them early on to do what we wanted to force them to do."

But it still wasn't enough for the Bulldogs, who lost their third straight game and will head to No. 19 Missouri Western State University next Saturday for another test against a ranked opponent.

"No consolation at all," sophomore defensive back Robert Gayden said of slowing the UCM attack. "We went into the game thinking a win."

The Bulldogs took an early 7-0 lead after the opening kickoff, a methodical 11-play, six-minute drive in which Nesbitt said every play had been scripted before the game.

Truman then forced a three-and-out on the Mules' first possession. But the Bulldogs were forced to punt it back after they declined a 5-yard running into the kicker call on 4th-and-6.

Central had an identical situation on the ensuing possession - 4th-and-6 - and an ensuing running into the kicker call on the part of Truman. But this time, it was a personal foul, and Central scored four plays later to tie the score at 7-7.

"It's difficult that theirs is a five-yard running into the kicker and ours is a personal foul," Nesbitt said. "We'll have to see it on the videotape. And that was a big call."

Central then tacked on a second-quarter touchdown as Czerniewski hooked up with Cosby. Truman went into halftime down only 14-7.

"We were riding high at halftime," Ploesser said. "We were ready to come back out and get going. I think maybe we played a little better, but things happen. Ball bounces one way. Scoreboard doesn't really reflect it."

From the first play on, the second half was all UCM. The Mules ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown and later returned a Truman onside kick for another score.

Truman's offense stalled as well, going 10 drives without putting up any points. The Bulldogs twice turned the ball over in the redzone and relied mostly on the running game of senior quarterback Phil Davis. Davis accounted for 143 yards on the ground and 88 percent of Truman's total offense.

The majority of Davis' runs were scrambles, including one in the third quarter, when he went for 50 yards.

"When he took off scrambling, that was all Phil Davis - just his athletic ability and his competiveness," Nesbitt said. "He did a nice job with that."

Defensively, the Bulldogs had their second interception of the season and consistently pressured Czerniewski, although they never brought him down for a loss.

The Bulldogs face off Saturday against their fourth stellar conference quarterback in a row - Western's Drew Newhart.

"Another ranked opponent I guess - it doesn't get any easier, does it?" Ploesser said.