This past weekend, the Skyhawks improved to 1-2 against the North Alabama Lions with a score of 43-28. Finally getting into the win column in a come-from-behind victory that ended up looking more like a blowout for the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks move on to the Missouri State Bears this week who come to Hardy-Graham stadium 1-2. Both teams are looking to get back to a 2-2 record before we start to get into the grind of conference play. The Skyhawks play the Bears at home with kickoff at 6 p.m.
In week three’s win against North Alabama, the Skyhawks offense continued its dominance on the ground with 123 yards and two touchdowns from running back Patrick Smith and eclipsed 400 total yards for the second game in a row. However, the Skyhawks offense had a new signal caller in Kaiya Sheron who subbed in for Kinkead Dent in the second quarter after Dent’s second interception of the game. Sheron provided a much-needed spark to the Skyhawk offense that was struggling to get going. After the substitution the Skyhawks went on to outscore the Lions 33-10 to close out the game. Other standouts on the offensive side include receivers Trevonte Rucker with 83 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns and DeVonte Tanksley with 69 yards on five receptions.
Defensively, the Skyhawks got to a rocky start allowing two touchdowns and a field goal on the Lions’ first three possessions leading to the Skyhawks being down 0-17 to start the game. The defense eventually found its footing though, forcing four turnovers and only allowing one touchdown the rest of the game. No player reflected this performance more than junior cornerback JaMichael McCoy who racked up seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and interception. Other impact players included Jaylon Sharpe with eight tackles, Chris Hunter with six tackles and an interception, and Tevin Shipp with a pick-6.
For the Bears, senior quarterback Jacob Clark is fourth in the FCS in passing yards with 814 yards on 67.3 percent completion percentage. On the ground, the Bears return their leading rusher from last season, senior Jacardia Wright, who leads the Bears with 265 yards and four touchdowns. Wright is also third on the team in receiving yards with 143.
Clark has two favorites to target through the air, sophomore Jmariyae Robinson and senior Hunter Wood. Robinson leads the team with 198 yards followed by Wood’s 187 yards. The Bears like to air the ball out with a wide variety of players for Clark to get the ball to. Expect the bears to attack the Skyhawks vertically as much as they can.
On defense, the Bears return leading tackler Todric McGee. The junior safety led the team with 102 tackles last season. McGee already has 31 tackles and an interception on the season, leading the team in tackles again with linebacker Tahj Chambers right behind him with 30 tackles of his own. The Bears’ other safety, P.J. Hall, has two interceptions this season, with one being a pick-6.
Historically the Skyhawks have struggled against the Bears, with a head-to-head record of 2-7. However, when the teams met last year the Skyhawks came out on top in a 38-31 victory over the Bears. The Skyhawks will look to win back-to-back games against the Bears for the first time in program history, dating back to the 1996 season when the teams first met.
