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SAU Looks For Sixth
Straight Win
St. Ambrose has had it fairly easy so far this
season. That is about to change as they enter the second half of their
schedule, which will likely prove to be tougher than the early part of the
year in which they have won all five games thus far. The Fighting Bees
stung Trinity International last weekend, 40-18 to improve their MSFA
Midwest record to 2-0. A key to that fifth win was once again the play of
their defense, which forced Trinity to run for negative 87 yards.
"We did some great things defensively, and a big reason was the pressure
we put on them in the backfield and the (seven) sacks we recorded," Head
football coach Todd Sturdy said.
Even though they won in another blowout, there were some things that were
exposed as possible weak spots for the Fighting Bees, one of which was the
pass defense, which allowed two touchdowns of 70 and 83 yards.
"I think we made a couple poor decisions in that area on Saturday, and we
just didn't execute the way we needed to, but you have to give Trinity
credit for making the plays," Sturdy said, "They exploited us on a couple
of plays, but the nice thing is that we came out of it with a win, and
hopefully our kids will learn a valuable lesson and use it as a situation
to better themselves."
Saturday, SAU will battle Iowa Wesleyan, who comes into the game as
dangerous as they've been all season, fresh off a 24-17 upset of Olivet
Nazarene in Mount Pleasant.
"That's a huge win for Iowa Wesleyan and their coaching staff to beat a
team of the caliber of Olivet Nazarene. It's going to be a big challenge
for us because they're really playing well right now," Sturdy said.
That game may be an indication of how the MSFA Midwest will play out over
the course of the season.
"Our league this year is as good as it's ever been from top to bottom.
Anybody can beat anybody on any given Saturday," Sturdy said.
Iowa Wesleyan is looking for two straight upsets, after starting the
season 1-3, including a 41-33 loss to Waldorf, whom SAU defeated 31-3. IWC
will do what they do best, which is run the football, averaging 193 yards
per game on the ground.
“They’re going to try to run the ball, but we have to be prepared for them
to be balanced in their attack,” Sturdy said, “We have to look at what
their strengths are and we'll have to try to match up against them and try
to take those things away”
One reason they can run the ball so well is because of the versatility and
athleticism from their quarterback Jabari Woods, who won't hesitate to run
the ball, even out of the shotgun formation.
"Woods will be the most exciting player you'll ever see at Brady Street
Stadium," Sturdy said, "His only problem is his inconsistency. He'll make
one of the most unbelievable plays you've ever seen in your life, but then
he'll fumble the ball on the very next play."
As good as Iowa Wesleyan runs the ball, SAU passes the ball just as well,
if not better, ranking first in the MSFA in passing offense, with 278
yards per game. Saturday though, they'll get a true test, as they'll face
an Iowa Wesleyan ‘D’ that leads the MSFA in passing defense, allowing
114.7 yards per contest. The Tiger defense came away with eight turnovers
last week against Olivet Nazarene, including three for touchdowns.
"Their pass defense has been incredible, and that concerns us a little bit
because that's a big part of what we do, so it'll be a big challenge for
both teams," Sturdy said.
For a team that is undefeated, like seventh ranked St. Ambrose is, it's
sometimes difficult to get up for a game against a 2-4 opponent,
especially when the following game is against fifth ranked, and conference
co-leader St. Xavier in one of the more anticipated match-ups of the
season.
"All the focus and energy is on Iowa Wesleyan right now," Sturdy said, "We
consistently talk about playing one game at a time and taking it one day
at a time. You can't afford to do it any other way in our league. If you
end up looking past an opponent, you're just asking for trouble."
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