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The Fighting Bees are experiencing a feeling this week that they haven't experienced all season, until now. They're preparing for a game after a loss. SAU dropped their first game of the season last week 38-31 in overtime to Mid-States Football Association rival Saint Xavier. "It was a great college football game to be a part of, but it's just unfortunate that we had to be on the losing end of it," head football coach Todd Sturdy said, "We just needed to make one play to win the game and we had the opportunities, but we just couldn't get it done." It was a tough loss to swallow, after blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead, which moves St. Ambrose down into a first place tie with SXU and McKendree. It's up to the tenth ranked Fighting Bees to decide how they're going to react to the disappointment of their first defeat. "We have to stay positive. Anytime you lose, it's important that the players look inwardly instead of outwardly," Sturdy said. "It's so common today to see players say that it's never them, but always somebody else's fault and that's the absolute worse thing that can happen to a team." SAU will try not to let this loss carry over to the rest of their games like last year, when they lost two of their last three games, and missed the playoffs. They're sticking to what got them six wins, not what got them one loss. "The reason we've been successful is because we're close, we believe in each other and we support each other. Whenever you lose a game, you have to go back to what has made you successful and that is a great group of guys working together and believing in each other," Sturdy said. This week SAU tries to get back in the win column, as the William Penn Statesmen invade Brady Street Stadium on Saturday. William Penn is just 4-4 on the season, but holds a 2-2 mark in the MSFA, which is just one game behind the Fighting Bees. "Every game's critical from here on out, no matter who we're playing. In our league, every week's a big game. We know what we're going to have, and we're going to have a great football game each and every weekend," said Sturdy, "We just have to take it as one game at a time, but every game we line up, it's the biggest game of the year and this one's no different." William Penn is led by Junior running back James Jackson, who has been named MSFA Offensive Player of the Week three times so far, including last week when he rushed for a career high 268 yards on 51 carries and two touchdowns. Jackson currently leads the MSFA in rushing, with 1,175 yards. "He's one of the premier backs in our league. He runs hard and he's real strong and elusive, so it will be a big challenge for us," Sturdy said. Jackson poses the biggest challenge of the season, thus far, for a run defense who's tops in the conference, allowing just 70 yards per game. If anyone's up to the challenge, it will be SAU's defense, which has been solid as a rock all season long. "We're going to do the things that we do well," said Sturdy, "It's important that a team doesn't get too far outside it's schemes and philosophy." The Statesmen are coming off a 31-24 upset win over Olivet Nazarene in Oskaloosa, Iowa. That win jumbles up the conference standings even more than they already were and an upset of the Fighting Bees would completely change the landscape of the conference, which is the most competitive it's been in a couple years. "Two years ago we had a five-way tie for first, and it has the makings of all that and then some this season, so it's going to be interesting the next three weeks," said Sturdy, "We control our own fate and we're in the driver's seat right now." Return to the Football Homepage |
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