Gameday Central
ABILENE – Thursday night's season-opener between No. 2 Northwest Missouri State and No. 5 ACU?marks the third time in less than one year that these teams have met on the field with each team having won once.
ACU ?took last year's season-opener with a come-from-behind 44-27 win in Maryville, Mo., that stamped its arrival on the national scene. But the Bearcats returned the favor last November when they came to Shotwell Stadium and delivered a 45-36 knockout blow to the Wildcats, ending their playoff run in the NCAA?Division II quarterfinals.
Now they'll kick off the 2009 season against each other in a game that will be broadcast nationally on CBS?College Sports. The national broadcast from Shotwell Stadium is a first in the life of the venerable stadium.
The game will also be shown on Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Houston, KRBC-TV and online at both www.acusports.com and www.ncaasports.com.
Jason Knapp will be doing the play-by-play for the broadcast, while former University of Michigan tight end Derrick Walker will be the analyst. Walker was a member of 1986 and 1988 Big Ten championship teams before going on to a nine-year NFL career with San Diego and Kansas City.
ACU senior and broadcast journalism major Kimberly Prather will work as the sideline reporter, rounding out the broadcast crew.
Both teams return a plethora of NCAA?Division II stars, including all-America standouts like ACU?left tackle Tony Washington, defensive end Aston Whiteside and receiver Edmund Gates, NW?Missouri State running back LaRon Council, safety Myles Burnsides and defensive end Sean Paddock.
Both teams, however, will be trying to replace their starting quarterbacks from the 2008 season.
Gone from ACU's lineup is Billy Malone, the all-time leading passer in Lone Star Conference and ACU?history, and a four-year starter and all-America selection. After a long battle to earn the starting job, it appears sophomore Zach Stewart has won the job over junior Clark Harrell, although head coach Chris Thomsen has said that he'll likely need both players during the season.
Stewart started two games in 2008 after Malone went down with an injury, and he won both starts, knocking off Tarleton State at home and leading the Wildcats?to a 42-17 road victory at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Blake Bolles will step in at quarterback for the Bearcats, replacing last year's starter, Joel Osborn. Bolles was a capable backup in 2008, and made a couple of game-turning plays with his legs in last year's playoff win over ACU. He ran for 51 yards and threw for 69 yards and one score and directed a couple of scoring drives in the contest.
The Wildcats also must replace offensive standouts Bernard Scott and Johnny Knox, who are now playing their trade in the NFL for the Bengals and Bears, respectively. ACU?has three running backs in place of Scott with transf ers Justin Johnson, Daryl Richardson and Reggie Brown all vying for the starting spot.
At the receiver spot, Gates returns, but no one else with a catch in an ACU?uniform is one of the top six receivers. Junior college transfer Kendrick Johnson and Rutgers transfer Dennis Campbell will be the other starters and should provide Stewart with solid threats.
Defensively, both teams should be solid to very good with Whiteside, linebackers Bryson Lewis and Fred Thompson and safety Tony Harp lead the Wildcats.
For the Bearcats, Burnsides is returning for his fourth season as a starter, as is Paddock, who was part of a defensive line that sacked Malone twice in the playoff win.
