Golden Gophers – Page 319 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Defense, Special Teams Impress But…

Posted on August 29, 2014August 29, 2014 by David Shama

In today’s column analysis of last night’s Gophers-Eastern Illinois game, high school football tales from long ago, and a few notes including about the Lynx, prep basketball rankings and (surprise) wiener dog races.

Well two out of three isn’t bad for an opening game. The Gophers impressed on defense and with special teams but the offense struggled in the 42-20 win over Eastern Illinois.

The defense tackled with authority and the secondary was as athletic as advertised. The Gophers, leading 42-0 in the fourth quarter, gave up late touchdowns when reserves couldn’t stop the Panthers from getting in the end zone, including the closing seconds as time expired.

Former Gophers coach Glen Mason, doing game analysis on the Big Ten Network last night, gave the defense a B+ grade. He credited the Gophers with not allowing any big plays when the game was yet to be decided. He also said the Gophers were effective in containing an offense with varied looks led by a new Panthers coaching staff that had the Gophers coaches wondering what to expect before the game.

The Gophers stopped drives by the Panthers with efforts by defensive end Alex Keith who recovered two fumbles, and an interception by safety Antonio Johnson. But they weren’t the only Minnesota players making dramatic plays. Early in the third quarter, with the Gophers leading 14-0, Eric Murray blocked a punt and Logan Hutton recovered the ball for a touchdown.

High level special teams play like that characterized Jerry Kill’s teams when he coached at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. With the Gophers, Kill is doing the same and there was more to applaud last night than the efforts by Murray and Hutton. Placekicker Ryan Santoso, playing in his first college game, sent ball after ball into the end zone on kickoffs, preventing the Panthers from even thinking about a return. Punter Peter Mortell, who averaged 43.3 yards last season, had a gaudy average of 51.2 last night.

Minnesota knows it has to make more explosive plays offensively and Berkley Edwards made a significant contribution last night in his first game as a Gopher. In the fourth quarter his second touchdown of the period was a 42 yard run down the sidelines where he showed the speed that makes him nearly the fastest player on the team.

Quarterback Mitch Leidner threw a big play 35-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to wide receiver Donovahn Jones, another guy the Gophers are counting on to change their reputation as a sputtering offense against elite teams. Leidner, though, struggled with his passing and the offensive line sometimes didn’t give him enough time to throw and at other times was ineffective at opening holes for runners. Plenty of room for improvement and fans are advised to show patience with the offense for awhile.

Mason told the TV audience Leidner played only limited minutes last year and can’t be viewed as an experienced returning starter. “It’s going to be a work in progress,” Mason said.

Leidner completed nine of 17 passes for one touchdown and also ran for two scores. Mason gave Leidner a C grade for his work last night. “I expected more out of him. His decision making…at times he got away with a couple of passes that were dangerous that he threw into a crowd of people. I know that he can run.

“He depended on the supporting cast. I would think that it was just a very, very average performance against Eastern Illinois.” …

Ron Stolski, 75, is the state’s all-time winningest prep football coach and he will lead the Brainerd High School Warriors into their opening game tonight at home against FergusFalls. Just for a moment today Stolski—with a career record of 355 wins, 156 losses and five ties—might watch his mind wander back to his first game as a high school coach.

The year was 1962 and Stolski was coaching eight-man football at Kensington High School, located near Alexandria, Minnesota. To say there was apathy in Kensington regarding football was an understatement. The team hadn’t scored a point at a home game in five years and at Stolski’s first practice only three boys came out for the team.

Stolski remembers the three lads. “One became a pilot for American Airlines. One sadly died of a heart attack, and the third ended up teaching here at Brainerd. He’s retired now.”

Contrast the player turnout at Kensington with Brainerd where the Warriors welcomed 90 to 100 players this month. Brainerd has been in the state semi-finals four of the last seven years and was 12-1 last year. “Not bad for a country school,” Stolski told Sports Headliners.

In that first year at Kensington Stolski was able to boost the roster to 13 players before the first game—or so he thought. “We had 11 for the opener because two (players) got a job mowing hay and didn’t show up,” the coach said.

Marietta High School defeated Kensington on its home field in that opening game. A year later Kensington travelled to Marietta for another opening game and that memory made Stolski chuckle. He not only coached but drove the team bus, and en route to the game got lost.

“Pretty soon I realize we’re going to be late so I tell the kids to dress in the bus. ‘You gotta change while I am driving,’ ” Stolski instructed. “We finally get there and we’re like 10, 15 minutes late.”

The Kensington players were now in their uniforms but when they arrived in Marietta there was no time for preparations. The Marietta coach insisted that “we gotta play right now.”

Kensington got its revenge, though, from the 1962 loss to Marietta. “We ended up kicking the living hell out of them,” Stolski said. …

The Lynx has its opening Western Conference Finals game tonight in Phoenix against the Mercury beginning at 9 p.m. (NBA TV). In franchise history the defending WNBA champion Lynx are 22-9 overall and 15-2 for home postseason games—winning percentages of .709 and .882, and the best in league history. …

Grand Rapids native Alex Illikainen, a forward who will play his senior season at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, is ranked No. 130 in the Rivals.com top 150 list of best high school basketball prospects for 2015 released on Wednesday. DeLaSalle point guard Jarvis Johnson, a top 100 player earlier in the year, wasn’t ranked on Wednesday. …

Canterbury Park holds its annual Minnesota Festival of Champions on Sunday—a day devoted to races involving only Minnesota born and bred thoroughbreds and quarter horses. This is a racing calendar highlight as Canterbury celebrates the state breeding industry.

Among the promotional highlights of the summer at the Shakopee racetrack are the “Wiener Dog Wars” scheduled for Monday. In the biggest Dachshund race day of the year at Canterbury, 72 dogs are expected to compete in multiple races to determine a champion.

The fifth annual Camden’s Concert at the Hopkins Center for the Arts last month—featuring The Wright Brothers—generated over $52,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The record amount increased the five year total from the event to more than $200,000. A record crowd of 471 attended the concert named after Dave and Linda Mona’s six-year-old grandson Camden Mona.

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U Football Season Tickets Total Increases

Posted on August 27, 2014August 27, 2014 by David Shama

It’s unlikely tomorrow night’s opening game at TCF Bank Stadium against Eastern Illinois will sellout.

Minnesota’s opening game on August 29 last year against UNLV at TCF drew 44,217 fans. Tomorrow night’s game—unless there is a huge walkup ticket sale—likely will have similar attendance. Eastern Illinois isn’t a strong box office attraction and the Gophers face entertainment competition from the State Fair on a weekday night.

The total number of Gophers season football tickets has increased slightly from last season. As of Monday, the Gophers had sold 5,043 student season tickets compared with 4,175 on the same date a year ago. School hasn’t started yet at the University of Minnesota and more student season tickets will be sold. An additional 800 student season tickets were sold last year after August 25, bringing the 2013 total to 4,975.

The overall season tickets total as of Monday was 33,385—a bit more than the final 2013 total of 33,284. The nonstudent season tickets total is expected to be between 28,000 and 29,000. The 5,043 student number includes many tickets sold as part of packages that includes admission to basketball and hockey games.

With the addition of extra seats at the west end of the stadium, capacity has increased from 50,805 to 52,525. The potential for setting single game attendance records is in play for high demand games against Iowa on November 8 and Ohio State November 15.

Jerry Kill’s fourth season as Gophers head coach begins tomorrow night. He will tell you there’s no question who his No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks are—Mitch Leidner and Chris Streveler.

No doubt Kill wants to see that one-two order continue through a 12-game season and a bowl win. He made it clear to the team months ago that Leidner, the redshirt sophomore from Lakeville South, was the starter. “There is no question Chris Streveler is our No. 2,” Kill said last Saturday.

Either injuries or lack of production have often had the Gophers and fans wondering what to expect from the starting quarterback. The Gophers used four different starters at quarterback during the last three seasons. MarQueis Gray had 10 starts and Max Shortell two in 2011. Those players started three games each in 2012 and Philip Nelson had seven starts. Last year Nelson started nine games and Leidner four.

Can someone play the whole season as the No. 1 guy at the most important position on the team? Leidner is the only quarterback on the roster with gameday experience. Unless he flops—or is injured—he is a heavy favorite to be the starter all year.

Expect the Gophers to design and use their offense to keep Leidner healthy and on the field. That is so much easier said than done, though. The 6-4, 237-pound Leidner is not shy about running and although his legs won’t be the primary weapon in the offense, the Gophers will need rushing productivity from him in the more difficult games including road tests at Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Leidner threw only three touchdown passes last season while completing 55.1 percent of his passes. His passing is likely to be improved and that’s a must for the Gophers who had just 12 touchdown receptions last season and were among the most unproductive passing teams in the country.

Streveler, a redshirt freshman, isn’t the equal of Leidner as a passer. Streveler looks like an athlete playing quarterback, and a teammate said the Illinois native’s greatest strength “definitely” is his running.

Leidner believes he is ready for a productive year leading an offense that includes Doak Walker Award candidate and running back David Cobb (1,202 yards last year), and a group of potential big play receivers. The experience of playing last season and all the preparation during the offseason made it easy for Leidner to answer the question whether there is any comparison with who he is now as a quarterback versus a year ago. “Nah, it’s not comparable at all, I don’t think. It’s a different mindset.”

That might be another way of saying the Gophers are ready to stop the quarterback carousel.

Worth Noting

Eastern Illinois is ranked No. 11 in the country in the FCS coaches poll. Historically, EIU has five wins over FBS programs like the Gophers including a 40-19 victory last year at San Diego State.

Kill predicted the Panthers will be ready to play and said this is a “bowl game” for the EIU program.

Panthers running backs Shepard Little and Taylor Duncan are the top returning FCS rushing twosome. Little had 1,551 yards last season while Duncan had 988 despite missing two games.

The Panthers are expected to play two quarterbacks including Andrew Manley who was the starter after spring practice. He is a transfer from New Mexico State and threw three touchdown passes for the Aggies when they beat the Gophers in 2011 at TCF Bank Stadium. The other quarterback is Jalen Whitlow, a transfer from Kentucky who started 15 games during the last two seasons for the Wildcats.

Near the top of any list for most anticipated Gopher debuts will be that of redshirt freshman running back Berkley Edwards. Fans have heard a lot about his speed and he is the second fastest player on the roster. His roommate, sophomore defensive back Jalen Myrick, is faster.

No Gophers unit is expected to be better in performance and depth than the secondary. Minnesota has six defensive backs who have started a combined 59 games led by Cedric Thompson with 19, Derrick Wells, 16 and Eric Murray, 13.

Last season the Gophers excelled against four of the best receivers in the Big Ten—Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin; Jeremy Gallon, Michigan; Cody Latimer, Indiana; and Allen Robinson, Penn State. The group had 4,982 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns. Against Minnesota they totaled 224 yards (4.4 percent of season output) and two touchdowns (6.4 percent of their production).

Kill’s 53rd birthday was last Sunday. His three-year record at Minnesota is 17-21 overall, but during the last two seasons he is 14-12. In their previous 26 games prior to the 2012 and 2013 seasons the Gophers were 6-20.

The Vikings, 3-0, play their final preseason game tomorrow night in Nashville against the Titans, 2-1. The last year the Vikings were undefeated in preseason was 2001, winning all four games. The regular season didn’t go so well, though, with a 5-11 record, and Mike Tice replaced Dennis Green as head coach for game No. 16.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told the team on Monday Matt Cassel will be the starting quarterback. What stood out, prompting the decision?

“Well, Matt did not do anything to lose the job this preseason. I think he’s played great,” Zimmer said. “The team has a lot of confidence in him. They feel good about his veteran leadership and presence.

“I had to think about the whole football team, it wasn’t just about the quarterbacks. I’ve said this before, it’s not always the best player at (any position)…it’s how everything works together, and at this stage where we are at right now I feel like that’s the best thing to do.

“I told (rookie) Teddy (Bridgewater) that I’m so happy that he’s here with us. I’m glad he’s the guy we picked…and Teddy will be still, in my estimation, a great player for this franchise for years to come.”

Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne will speak at the September 11 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Nanne, who left the North Stars in 1991 after serving as team president, has been honored many times for his playing and administrative career including induction into multiple halls of fame. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations (by September 8) for the lunch and program can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Twins rookie Kennys Vargas had one hit in last night’s 2-1 loss against the Royals. He has hit safely in 20 of 24 career Twins games. In his last 10 games the DH-first baseman is batting .395 with two home runs and 11 RBI.

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Jerry Kill Not Backing Off New Facility

Posted on August 18, 2014August 18, 2014 by David Shama

I know Jerry Kill well enough to tell you he has a philosophy about priorities. The Gophers football coach says what’s important gets emphasized.

Kill wants a culture at the University of Minnesota where school leaders inside and outside the athletic department make football a priority. If football isn’t going to be important at Minnesota, don’t be surprised if some day the Gophers are looking for a new head coach. Kill, a Kansas native, might end his career at a school where football is emphasized—maybe in Manhattan, Kansas coaching for Kansas State.

A new football practice facility is considered a must-have by the Gophers. Minnesota is at the bottom of the Big Ten Conference in football facilities, with other schools able to dazzle recruits with their amenities. Meanwhile the Gophers get along with an indoor venue that has a roof so low punts hit the ceiling, and after practices players eat at temporary tables set up in a lobby area near their indoor and outdoor fields.

A new facility, perhaps costing $70 million, is part of a $190 million facilities fundraising plan announced last year by the Athletic Department. Campaign officials have been mostly silent regarding fundraising progress and no official announcement of a date to break ground on a football practice facility has come forward from department authorities.

But Kill sent a message on Saturday when Howard Griffith from the Big Ten Network asked him on a Gophers season preview special what’s next for a program that in the last three years has gone from three wins to six to eight? “…There’s no question I am looking forward to the new facility,” Kill answered. “We have to have that. That’s been kind of a deal in recruiting, and so Coach Kill has put a lot of pressure in that situation. That’s going to come through. So all those things help move the program forward.”

But that wasn’t all Kill said on Saturday. BTN writer Tom Dienhart tweeted that “Jerry Kill says ground will be broken on new football complex in Spring 2015.”

The coach knew he was talking to a national audience including potential recruits when he brought up the practice facility to BTN sources. He was also sending a message to school officials about how important the facility is to him.

Kill has earned the respect and trust of many Gophers loyalists since starting here as head coach in 2011. His skills as a football leader, and compassion for people inside and outside the program, have made him popular with school supporters including those with influence and money. There is no question he is the face of the Athletic Department and it wouldn’t be surprising if big money donors have assured him they will help fund the new facility—and soon.

Worth Noting

Derrick Wells, a senior and likely starter at cornerback, is one of several talented defensive backs for the Gophers, a group that makes Kill anticipate his secondary will rank with the best in the Big Ten Conference. The 6-foot, 201-pound Wells was injured last year and played in 10 of 13 games, starting five of them.

“He’s a big corner,” Kill said. “He’s a very, very good player.”

Wells has also played safety during his college career and said he could see spending time at that position in 2014. “I like both, actually,” he said. “I think I like safety a little more than corner.”

Gaelin Elmore, the true freshman from Somerset, Wisconsin, has been moved from tight end to defensive end. Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle yesterday that Elmore has played the position in high school and the Gophers need depth on the defensive line. He also said the 6-foot-6 Elmore weighs 265 pounds and will probably add 20 pounds. “He is going to play (this season) for us,” Kill said.

TCF Bank Stadium, Target Field and Target Center, located within several miles of one another, had combined announced attendance of 96,843 fans for their games in Minneapolis on Saturday night. The Twins audience watching their win over the Royals was 35,575. The Vikings attendance was 51,763 to see their exhibition win against the Cardinals. The Lynx had 9,505 fans and defeated the Shock. Combined with crowds watching Saints baseball, Minnesota United soccer and horse racing at Canterbury Park, well over 100,000 fans were entertained by sports in the metro area on Saturday night.

Murray’s Restaurant owner and baseball fan Tim Murray saw games last week at the home stadiums for the Astros, Marlins and Reds. With those trips he has now visited each of Major League Baseball’s 30 stadiums.

Here is his top 10: 1. Fenway Park; 2. Wrigley Field; 3. PNC Park; 4. Camden Yards; 5. Dodger Stadium; 6. Coors Field; 7. Target Field; 8. Safeco Field; 9. Kauffman Stadium; 10. Busch Stadium.

Murray made judgments not just on a ballpark’s architecture but on the “whole experience” of attending games. This included ease of entry and exit from the ballpark, food and beverage offerings and service, and restrooms.

Murray said despite not having great sightlines and food, Fenway Park is special. MLB’s oldest stadium has a special charm with its architecture, intimacy, field layout and “quirky Green Monster” wall, he explained.

Murray’s bottom five parks? Tropicana Field is ranked No. 30, then O.com Coliseum, Chase Field, U.S. Cellular Field and Yankee Stadium.

When the Twins play the Royals tonight, Josh Willingham has an opportunity to increase his total career home runs at Target Field. The former Twin has the most home runs ever hit at Target Field, 35. Now with the Royals, he homered yesterday.

Last Saturday was the 60th anniversary of Sports Illustrated’s first issue when Eddie Mathews of the Braves was on the cover. Here is a trivia question: Who is the only Golden Gophers football player ever on the cover?

It was Bobby Cox in 1957. The caption: “Best college quarterback.”

Bidding started earlier this month on Gophersports.com for the Goal Line Club’s online auction to support the football program. More than 70 items are part of the auction including memorabilia, travel and fan experiences. The auction goes until August 24.

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