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McKendree offers SOU a stiff test By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Football can be a simple game if you really break it down. The simple truths are these: Defense wins championships. Controlling the line of scrimmage is equivalent to controlling a football game. The team that turns the ball over the least has the best chance of winning. That recap may be bland, but it has served itself well over the years and will be in full force at 3 p.m. Saturday when Southern Oregon plays host to McKendree College in the first round of the NAIA Championship Series. "The game eventually boils down to somebody blocking somebody and somebody tackling somebody else," says McKendree coach Carl Poelker. "Whoever does that best usually comes out on top." When it comes to defense and tackling, Saturday's matchup may be a wash considering McKendree (8-2) is rated eighth and SOU ninth in the nation for team defense. Opponents have only been able to muster 247.7 yards per game against No. 16 McKendree and 264.3 against seventh-ranked SOU (8-1) this season. The Lebanon, Ill.-based Bearcats allow a paltry 11.9 points per game. The Raiders are a hair higher at 17.7. If you plan on watching the scoreboard Saturday, you might be in for a long evening. "They're certainly the biggest team we'll have played this year and are a very physical football team," says SOU coach Jeff Olson. "We have our work cut out for us. This is a well-coached football team we're playing." While SOU will be making its first playoff appearance since 1987, McKendree will be making its third in the past five years. The Bearcats lost in the first round in 1997 and '99. Poelker is downplaying the notion that his team has any sort of advantage heading into Saturday because of those two playoff games. "I'm not certain playoff experience means a lot," says the sixth-year coach. "If you're a senior or junior-laden football team, then you're experienced." Unfortunately for Poelker, that doesn't describe his bunch of Bearcats, who have overcome their youth with other intangibles. "Our kids play hard and have been playing smart," says Poelker, "and if you have that, you have a good chance each time out." McKendree's force on defense all season has been 6-3, 270-pound senior lineman Oku Satcher and junior linebacker Darius Green (6-0, 220). The two have combined for 23 tackles for loss, with Satcher posting 121/2 sacks and Green a team-high 65 tackles overall. "Darius has played well for us all season," says Poelker. "He's not a real big kid, but he runs well and has good instincts." Satcher's main attribute has been an ability to explode off the line and make plays with outstanding lateral speed. "Oku's got real good quickness," says Poelker. "And of course with the size he's got, he's able to take on a lot up front." Senior defensive back Bryan Cantu is second on the team in tackles with 52, and leads the team with three interceptions. McKendree's smashmouth style spills over to the offensive side of the ball, where the Bearcats rank eighth in the nation at 246.6 rushing yards per game. McKendree enters Saturday's game averaging almost seven carries per pass attempt. The Bearcats also have shown a knack for controlling the clock with lengthy drives behind a sturdy offensive line. To combat that imposing style, Olson says his team needs to "come out of the gate fast" and use an early lead to possibly force more of an air assault by the Bearcats. "We need to put them in a position where they have to throw the football because they can certainly control the line of scrimmage as big as they are," says Olson. "We have to keep their offense off the field and ours on the field." Making preparations even more challenging is the fact that the McKendree backfield features up to seven running backs who each see considerable playing time. Senior fullback Allen Walter (5-11, 205) leads McKendree with 120 carries for 505 yards and three touchdowns, with sophomore tailback Anthony Roland (5-7, 175) not far behind with 88 carries for 413 yards and four TDs. "Walter's one of those guys you put a clock on and it doesn't equate," says Poelker. "Height, weight, it just doesn't equate, but somehow he gets in the game and gets things done." Roland was injured in the third game of the season but has rebounded nicely, and his considerable quickness makes him a threat each time he touches the ball. Backup fullback Mark Albertini (6-1, 235) leads the team with eight touchdowns on 98 carries for 371 yards. Others to watch will be Jason Yelton, Russell McCallister and wingbacks Bart King and Drew Cofty. In each case, speed is the main asset for the McKendree backups. Making it all work for the Bearcats is sophomore quarterback Tyler Pankey, who has rushed 81 times for 168 yards and three TDs this season. In his rare times dropping back to pass, the 6-0, 195-pounder has completed 40 of 84 passes for 653 yards, three TDs and three interceptions. "Our quarterback is a Bobby Layne-type guy," says Poelker. "If he didn't play quarterback he'd probably play middle linebacker." When Pankey does take to the air, junior tight end Kolin Peterson (6-3, 215) has been his main target with nine receptions for 257 yards and three TDs. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.