When UND opens the 2008 season next Thursday against Texas A&M-Kingsville, veteran Sioux observers may harken back to Sept. 13, 1986, when the two teams last met in Grand Forks. The Javelinas, then known as Texas A&I, prevailed 67-44 in what remains the highest scoring game in Sioux history.
(Reprinted with permission of the Grand Forks Herald)
By Kevin Fee
Herald Staff Writer
On a day when 11 UND single-game records were broken, two running backs broke UND's back.
Freshman Johnny Bailey and sophomore Heath Sherman combined to rush for 460 yards and seven touchdowns to lead nationally ranked Texas A&I to a 67-44 non-conference football victory over the Sioux.
But Bailey and Sherman were just part of the offensive fireworks witnessed by more than 12,000 fans at Memorial Stadium Saturday in UND's home opener, the 21st annual Potato Bowl.
Consider:
•Texas A&I's 626 yards of total offense.
•UND's 542 yards of total offense.
•Texas A&I's 534 yards rushing.
•UND's 431 yards passing.
•UND quarterback Kurt Otto's 72 pass attempts.
In other words, UND exploited the Texas A&I pass defense and the Javelinas did the same to the Sioux rushing defense. But Texas A&I did a better job of it – scoring the most points on a UND team since Kentucky blasted the Sioux 83-0 in 1950.
“I would say that we got our butts kicked by a better football team – at least defensively,” UND defensive coordinator Tim Burke said. “I'm glad our offense is doing a good job. There were a lot of (fans) out there. I wish we would've given them a better defensive showing.
“They're good, but I'm sure we made them look good.”
It wasn't only the Sioux defense that had problems defending the speedy Javelinas. Two kickoff returns for touchdowns – 82 yards by Kerry Simien on game's opening play and 95 yards by Bailey late in the first quarter – also contributed to the mauling.
So what went wrong with the kickoff coverage? “I wish I knew,” UND head coach Roger Thomas said. “We did a great job last week (in a 38-28 loss to Northwest Missouri State). They just blocked us. I give them more credit than us breaking down.”
Despite Simien's touchdown on the opening kickoff and a Bailey 17-yard touchdown run 1:04 into the game after a UND fumble, the Sioux hung close.
Two Kurt Otto-to-Tracy Martin touchdown passes in a span 1:34 late in the first quarter pulled the Sioux even.
Then, after Bailey gave Texas A&I a 21-14 lead with his kickoff return, Willis Jacox and Otto hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown pass for a 21-21 tie with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
Back and forth in went. Bailey scored on a 10-yard run early in the second quarter and Otto answered with a 56-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later for a 28-28 tie. Otto fought away from a Javelinas defender, broke into the clear and outraced some defensive backs into the end zone.
“That surprised the heck out of me,” Thomas said. “He saw the blitz coming, took the ball and those ol' legs ran down the field.”
Otto was kept busy. He passed a school-record 72 times, completed a school-record 41 passes and had a school-record 506 yards of total offense. His 431 yards passing also is a school record. But even his performance had the down side as he also broke the school record for most interceptions thrown with five.
“You're going to have the risk when you throw the ball deep,” Thomas said of the interceptions. “We were there. We just didn't throw it there.”
Texas A&I took advantage of one of those interceptions to take a permanent lead at 31-28 with 6:20 left in the half.
One of the interceptions actually helped UND, however. After Tommie Williams picked off an Otto pass, Texas A&I was called for a clip in its end zone and the Sioux were awarded a safety on the play, which happens about as often as 111 points are scored in a football game.
“The tempo of the game kept everyone off balance,” Texas A&I coach Ron Harms said. “A couple of times, I thought we had the game in the bag. But then I would look at the scoreboard two minutes later and be scared to death.”
But Texas A&I pulled ahead 39-30 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Sherman late in the second quarter.
And the Sioux didn't get any closer in the second half, when Sherman ran for three touchdowns and Bailey for one.
“It was obvious from the beginning that we could run on them,” Harms said. “It looked like there was no stopping us on the run.”
The Javelinas ran the ball so well that they didn't need a single punt. Turnovers were the only thing that could stop their drives. Texas A&I had five turnovers compared with UND's eight. The Sioux have 14 turnovers in their two games.
Passing highlighted UND's performance in the second half, too, as Martin caught a school record third touchdown pass. Martin caught 10 passes for 124 yards to lead the Sioux, but eight players caught at least two passes.
Otto led the UND running attack with 75 yards on 12 carries.
Bailey had a school-record 244 yards rushing to lead Texas A&I. He broke his own record of 238 yards, which he set last week against Texas Southern.
The Sioux, who dropped to 0-2, are at South Dakota Saturday. Texas A&I, which was ranked eighth in Sports Illustrated's NCAA Division II preseason poll, improved to 2-0.
