Tigers end season with worse record

11/11/2008

By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

A 2-9 overall record and 1-8 run through the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association isn't going to look good in the record books.

Nor is it going to go very far in padding fourth-year Fort Hays State University football coach Kevin Verdugo's resume.

What the 2008 campaign meant for Fort Hays was another stepping stone to where the Tigers want to be -- a contender in the always-powerful MIAA, which will send three teams this season to the NCAA Division II postseason tournament.

The Tigers finished with two fewer wins then they did last year in the conference and were still near the bottom in every offensive category and at the top in numerous defensive categories. But 2008 did produce an increase in offensive production, something that won't show up in the tea,s avearge of 15.9 points per game.

The season culminated with Saturday's 24-21 loss at home to University of Central Missouri in a game the Tigers led 14-3 in the third quarter on Senior Day at Lewis Field Stadium.

"Our players came in with a great deal of energy today, and made some great plays at times, but gave up a few big plays at times," Verdugo said following the loss.

The statement did all but sum up the entire season -- one in which the Tigers at times looked like a contender (i.e. a 17-7 win over then No. 18 Washburn in Week 3), and at other times looked like the conference doormat (i.e. a 27-7 homecoming loss to Truman State (Mo.) University).

Following the Washburn win, the Tigers thought they had turned a corner. It was the first win over a ranked opponent in the Verdugo era, and it was one Verdugo called a signature victory for the program.

"We've won some games since I've been here. Those all feel great," Verdugo said following the Week 3 upset at Lewis Field Stadium. "But, I talked to our team about this being a signature win."

Following that victory, though, the Tigers limped through eight straight losses, coming close only twice. The skid extended the Tigers' road losing streak to 18 games and dropped Verdugo's record to 9-25 in four seasons.

At the beginning of the year, the Tigers were optimistic that the offense had improved, following suit of a defense that has now finished the last two seasons as one of the best units in the conference.

"When we got here we looked at where we were, We attacked the defensive side of the ball first," Verdugo said in a preseason news conference. "You can see after a couple of years, that paid off.

"With this last offseason, we were able to go out and continue to add to our team by improving our offense."

The offense did improve, despite the Tigers' averaging three fewer points per game in 2008.

Fort Hays finished with 3,236 total yards (up 183 from a season ago) and was middle of the road in the MIAA with 1,740 yards on the ground (up 366 from a year ago). Most of the Tigers' offense (Games 5 through 9) was with backup quarterback sophomore Anthony Smith, who became the starter after a broken jaw suffered by junior Mike Garrison. It wasn't until two weeks ago Garrison returned, and the passing game again started to take shape, helping improve the running game.

The Tigers also played the final five games without junior kicker Nathan Rausa, who broke his leg on the opening kickoff in Week 7.

In its last two games, Fort Hays scored in the first quarter, a feat shown few times throughout the season, and had a halftime lead in its final game, something that only happened three times in 2008 -- two of them were wins.

"Our offense has kind of not been a great first-half offense for most of the season," Verdugo said Saturday. "For us to have the ability to do that is a huge factor for us."

Part of the offense's success was the strong running of junior Anthony Dickson. Dickson, a highly-touted transfer from Los Angles Valley (Calif.) College, wasn't much of a factor in the Tigers' running game until the very end. As the feature back in the final three games, the once Div. I hopeful Dickson averaged 100.3 yards per game and was a big contibutor in the passing game as well -- a bright spot for the future of the Tiger offense, along with the return next season of Garrison.

"I feel great going into the offseason. That's what I am looking forward to this offseason -- bettering myself and my teammates," Dickson said. "I am going to be a senior coming up, so I have to put on a role model role -- so I'm ready."

On Saturday, Verdugo said goodbye to a group of seniors that were in the program when his staff took over four seasons ago.

"They are a great group of guys," Verdugo said. "A lot of them have been here three years and there are five guys that have been here since we got here, and they have done a great job of setting a foundation for we are."

The foundation hasn't yet allowed the Tigers to climb out of the MIAA's cellar, but Verdugo is optimistic about the future.

"They'll bounce back, the kids are resilient," Verdugo said. "They'll come out, work hard and get ready for this next year."